We begin with reporting on the volatile and chaotic situation both in Libya—including the capture of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi—and in Egypt, Yemen and Syria. Powerful forces in some of those countries seem to end the optimistic and unrealistic pipe dreams of democratic developments, while the West still thinks that in some of the other countries, reason might prevail. However, an interesting article in the EUobserver suggests that Europe should get actively involved in the Middle East, to prevent China from doing so, since there is no hope that the USA would be interested, and now talks have surfaced of a military intervention in Syria.
Turning to Europe’s ongoing debt crisis and Spain’s troubles, former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer reveals a plan as to how Europe could emerge from the ashes, which would demand political institutions with strong decision-making powers and which would exclude Great Britain. We are also focusing on the ongoing battle between the British and German media and some politicians, and the fact that the relationship between Germany and Canada seems to deteriorate. In this light, the sudden re-emergence of former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg is interesting.
We are reporting on the pope’s visit in Africa and his insistence of prayers to the “Virgin Mary,” relate an embarrassing incident, involving President Obama’s visit in Australia, speak about the predictable utter failure of the US “super committee,” and point at a report in the New York Times, suggesting that churches might be exempt from certain provisions of the Obamacare health care law—which exemptions seem to anger many Democrats. Nancy Pelosi, for example, stated that even though she was a devout Catholic, she could not understand “the conscience thing” of Catholics regarding contraceptives.
We conclude with a find of skeletons which scientists cannot explain.
