It was a big announcement by the end of last week: Finally, the original biblical Ark of the Covenant will be unveiled! Of course, it did not happen. It was all a big misunderstanding, according to the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia who was visiting the Pope in Rome. Nevertheless, Ethiopia insists they have the Ark, and that they will never allow it to be removed. Is it possible that something like the “ownership” or “custody” of the [alleged] original Ark might lead to violent and perhaps even military confrontations between Ethiopian and Christian and/or Muslim countries in the not-too-distant future?
The Catholic Church announced this week that the bones of the Apostle Paul were found in Rome. However, this claim is definitely false, as our comments explain.
The world was also shocked to learn that after the still ongoing violent unrest in Iran [as well as continued attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq, coupled with military threats from North Korea], Honduras joined the fold. The military action to oust its President, Manuel Zelaya, was strongly condemned by the Obama Administration and the international community, even though Zelaya attempted to subvert the Constitution. Zelaya is a close friend of anti-American propagandist, Venezuela President Hugo Chávez, and, as the Wall Street Journal suggests, America fears a political backlash in Latin America if they were to support the newly appointed interim President, Roberto Micheletti. The developments in Honduras, in spite of America’s attempts to prevent them, show how little influence America has in the region, and Mr. Obama’s “condemnation of the coup” is deeply unpopular with Honduran deputies.
Reviewing developments in Iran, time seems to be running out for that country to avert Israeli and perhaps even European military action against it. In the wake of an Irani “arrest” of British diplomatic staff, all of the 27 EU member states became united in their condemnation and threatened with a “strong and collective response.” The questionable finding of the Guardian Council that no irregularities had occurred during the recent elections did not help to restore any confidence in the reasonableness of Iran’s governmental system. Not surprisingly, however, Germany’s neo-Nazis have voiced in the meantime their unwavering support for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his insane measures, which, according to the Netzeitung, even prohibit public dancing and look with disfavor on listening to music.
Turning to the US, Mr. Obama seemingly scored a big victory when the House adopted a costly and expensive climate change bill. Politico’s and Fox News’ articles show, however, how bills are adopted through the questionable means of politics, and how politicians are pressured for their vote–while all of this is justified with the perception of a “greater good.” In the meantime, due to a worldwide loss of confidence in the American currency, the dollar continued to decline against the euro and the yen [even though it is suggested that China’s economy might be in grave danger]; President Obama’s Stimulus Package has FAILED; experts judge the Obama Administration as “lacking leadership and awareness”; California’s former riches have gone to rags; and Der Spiegel explains how Mr. Obama’s meeting with German Chancellor Merkel resulted in–to say it with Shakespeare–“much to do about nothing.”
In another shocking piece of news, it was revealed that the United Kingdom is the crime capitol of Europe.
Finally, and to nobody’s surprise, the German Constitutional Court gave the [politically motivated?] green light for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, but it ordered German lawmakers to adopt legislation to give more power to the German Parliament in EU matters. Most observers expect this new German law to be enacted within the next few months. And Der Spiegel speculates how a future unified Europe under the Lisbon Treaty might look.
