The group Catholic Democrats has hailed passage of HR 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009, and notes that the only House Republican voting for it, Representative Joseph Cao of Louisiana, is a Catholic and former Jesuit seminarian. "The Catholic Church has been at the forefront of advocating for health care as a right for decades, including pastoral letters issued by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in 1981 and 1993," the group notes.

The evidence indicates that the Bishops — and THE VATICAN ITSELF — ARE CALLING THE SHOTS behind the scene. In fact, as many media organizations are now reporting, they engineered the "compromise" that deleted abortion funding so the bill could pass the House. The Los Angeles Times reported that HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI, A CATHOLIC, not only "conferred with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to be sure the new restrictions were acceptable" but "CONSULTED BY TELEPHONE WITH A CARDINAL IN ROME." CNN reported that, as a deal was being made between Pelosi and Catholic lobbyists, "Several Democrats, including Representative Jason Altmire, Democrat for Pennsylvania, said they are in touch with their Catholic Bishops back home. Altmire said he must have the approval of his bishop in Pittsburgh before he can vote yes."

WHERE IS THE MEDIA OUTRAGE OVER "THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?" In this case, there is direct evidence of A FOREIGN ENTITY, THE VATICAN, actually passing judgment on legislation and, in effect, delivering votes for it. Few in the media, on the left or right, want to raise the issue, apparently fearful of being labeled "anti-Catholic." But the outcome of the legislation in the House demonstrates that while the Republicans don't have the votes to stop it, THE VATICAN HAS THE VOTES TO PASS IT. COULD THE SAME THING HAPPEN IN THE US SENATE?

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is holding a conference on astrobiology, the study of life beyond Earth, with scientists and religious leaders gathering in Rome this week. For centuries, theologians have argued over what the existence of life elsewhere in the universe would mean for the Church: at least since Giordano Bruno, an Italian monk, was put to death by the Inquisition in 1600 for claiming that other worlds exist.

Among other things, extremely alien-looking aliens would be hard to fit with the idea that God "made man in his own image". Furthermore, Jesus Christ's role as saviour would be confused: would other worlds have their own, tentacled Christ-figures, or would Earth's Christ be universal? However, just as the Church eventually made accommodations after Copernicus and Galileo showed that the Earth was not the centre of the universe, and when it belatedly accepted the truth of Darwin's theory of evolution, Catholic leaders say that alien life can be aligned with the Bible's teachings.

Father Jose Funes, a Jesuit astronomer at the Vatican Observatory and one of the organisers of the conference, said: "As a multiplicity of creatures exists on Earth, so there could be other beings, also intelligent, created by God. This does not conflict with our faith, because we cannot put limits on the creative freedom of God."

Not everyone agrees. Paul Davies, a theoretical physicist and author of The Goldilocks Enigma, told The Washington Post that the threat to Christianity is "being downplayed" by Church leaders. He said: "I think the discovery of a second genesis would be of enormous spiritual significance. The real threat would come from the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence, because if there are beings elsewhere in the universe, then Christians, they're in this horrible bind. They believe that God became incarnate in the form of Jesus Christ in order to save humankind, not dolphins or chimpanzees or little green men on other planets."

Figures calculated by House of Commons researchers show that Britain will have lost out on €10.5billion (£9.3billion) by not receiving the full rebate between 2007 and 2013, calculated at 2004 prices - equivalent to £344 for every household in Britain.

The article quotes Open Europe's Mats Persson, saying, "This £10 billion would certainly have come in handy at a time when the UK is facing a massive public deficit, and every tax penny counts. Taxpayers will not be pleased at this news." He added that Mr Blair had "naively agreed to give up large chunk of the UK's rebate from the EU budget, in return for vague promises of a root-and-branch reform of the EU's distorting and wasteful farm subsidy scheme".

The article notes that there are fears that the UK's rebate could be scrapped altogether by 2020, following a proposal included in a recent draft document from the European Commission.

The SUGV was developed as part of the US Army's Future Combat System, an ambitious collection of manned and unmanned systems that were supposed to be linked together through a single network. After that estimated $100 billion program was canceled last year, mainly out of cost considerations, the Defense Department opted to keep the SUGV as part of a new strategy to bolster infantry combat teams.

MILITARY ROBOTS HAVE FAST GROWN INTO A MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS. Massachusetts company iRobot has already delivered around 2,700 robots to militaries around the world. Some of those were part of a December 2007, $300 million US Defense Department contract that iRobot won after prevailing over an upstart that purloined its technology. A second Massachusetts firm, Foster-Miller, won a contract in 2008 for another $400 million to supply thousands of its TALON robots. Both iRobot's PackBot and Foster-Miller's TALON are mostly used to locate and detonate improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, which have proved to be one of the Taliban's deadliest weapons.

The SUGV has a broader application. Joseph Dyer, head of iRobot's government and industrial robots division, says he expects to see A "QUANTUM LEAP" IN NUMBERS NOW THAT ROBOTS are moving beyond IED disposal to become a more versatile tool for the infantry. "The big army is just a much, much larger market," he says.

These include the EU's policies on cohesion; research, energy and transport; external aid and enlargement; and part of the agricultural programme. However, the ECA gave an unqualified, or clean opinion, on the reliability of the 2008 EU accounts. This means that the Court considers the EU Commission's accounts to present a fair and accurate picture of how much money was spent out of the EU budget.

The Court concluded that cohesion policy, or the Structural funds, which is the second largest spending area in the budget (representing almost a third of the budget), "remains problematic and is the area most affected by errors." The Court estimated that at least 11% of the total amount paid out in grants from the Structural Funds should not have been paid out in the first place. Crucially the auditors note, that "In many situations THE ERRORS ARE A CONSEQUENCE OF TOO COMPLEX RULES AND REGULATIONS. Simplification, therefore, remains a priority."

The meeting had been grudgingly scheduled early Sunday morning by the White House just a few hours before Netanyahu was to leave for the US to speak at the 2009 General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. The ninth-hour appointment was a clear sign that RELATIONS BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND JERUSALEM REMAIN STRAINED; Netanyahu had requested the meeting weeks ago.

Also in attendance for part of the meeting was Defence Minister Ehud Barak, National Security Council head Uzi Arad, Ambassador Michael Oren and Netanyahu adviser Yitzchak Molcho. US officials included National Security Adviser General (retired) Jim Jones, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Special Middle East Envoy George Mitchell and National Security Council Director for Near Eastern Affairs Dan Shapiro.

On the agenda was the issue of IRAN'S GALLOPING NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, as well as the current paralysis in talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and the claim by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that he is resigning in January. All three matters are being taken "very seriously" by the Prime Minister's Office, said a spokesman.

Netanyahu had reportedly been planning to tell the president that Israel was willing to be "generous" in scaling back Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria, and "means business" about rejuvenating talks with the PA. But the brief statement issued by the White House following the talks said simply that the two leaders discussed "how to move forward on Middle East peace." The White House spokesman added, "The president reaffirmed our strong commitment to Israel's security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues."

Afghanistan, where US and NATO forces are battling a Taliban-led insurgency, is TOO FRAGMENTED BETWEEN CLANS TO BE CONTROLLED MILITARILY, Gorbachev, 78, said in an interview today in Berlin. While he said President Barack Obama would be unlikely to take his advice, Gorbachev said he saw no chance of success even with more US troops.

"I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS NO PROSPECT OF A MILITARY SOLUTION," Gorbachev said in Russian through a translator. "WHAT WE NEED IS THE RECONCILIATION OF AFGHAN SOCIETY - and they should be preparing the ground for withdrawal rather than additional troops."

Obama is considering a military request to send as many as 40,000 more US soldiers to Afghanistan, on top of the 68,000 due to be stationed there by the end of the year. Other North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, comprising personnel from 42 countries, number about 36,000.

THE ONE-HOUR-AND-FORTY-MINUTE PARLEY WAS ACCOMPANIED BY AN UNUSUAL NEWS BLACKOUT, as the standard photo op and press availability were not held. In addition, Netanyahu canceled a scheduled briefing with Israeli reporters and Defense Minister Ehud Barak scrapped plans for radio interviews following the talks. Instead, both sides referred to a brief statement put out by the White House after the Monday evening meeting, about half of which was one-on-one and half of which included four members of staff on each side.

"The president reaffirmed our strong commitment to Israel's security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues," said the White House readout. "The president and prime minister also discussed Iran and how to move forward on Middle East peace."

Pressed on the issue, as it is highly unusual for the president to see an Israeli prime minister without any media presence, Gibbs said that "THE PRESIDENT WANTED TO HAVE A MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING." He added, "The contents of the meeting generally seem to be well read out and I trust that this time will be no different." However, after the leaders' evening conversation, the White House did not provide more information than its brief statement.

A brass band played and politicians applauded the gas tanker as it set sail for South Korea, but Saleh's attention was elsewhere — on the attacks that Saudi Arabia's military forces were waging against antigovernment Shi'ite rebels in the north of Yemen. The rebels "are trying to demolish the economy," Saleh tells Time Magazine.

The conflict has rapidly intensified during the past week, since, according to the Saudis, the Houthis crossed into Saudi Arabia and killed a Saudi officer, leading Saudi Arabia to send fighter jets to bomb Houthi territory on November 5. SUDDENLY A LINGERING BATTLE THREATENS TO TURN INTO A WIDER CONFLICT, POTENTIALLY DRAWING IN IRAN, THE REGION'S BIGGEST SHI'ITE POWER. Saleh says he suspects Iran is already involved. "They want to follow the system of Iran," he says of the rebels. "It is impossible. Our people are one people." Using his public speech at the ceremony, Saleh told the crowd, "There will be no compromise or cease-fire until we finish the jihad."

Mounting hostility to Westerners is one reason Total opted to hire thousands of Yemenis to construct its new natural-gas facility, despite the fact that most needed extensive training. The company says Yemenis comprised about 70% of the 11,000 or so people who built the project. TOTAL EVEN NEGOTIATED SEPARATELY WITH EACH OF THE 22 TRIBES whose land the pipeline travels through in order to avoid angering locals.

At full capacity, the port is expected to export about 6.7 million tons a year of liquefied natural gas to Asia, Europe and the US, earning between $30 BILLION AND $50 BILLION FOR YEMEN'S GOVERNMENT over the next 25 years. That's an attention-getting number for any economy. Another notable figure is 500. That's the number of Yemeni soldiers who were hired to guard the heavily fenced facility and pipeline. Because in a country as unstable as Yemen, any symbol of progress is a target.

Married Anglican vicars have been able to convert and join the Rome priesthood since the 1950s, but this is the first time that married non-vicars have been allowed to become priests. The decision to allow Anglican converts to keep their tradition of married priests IS A BREAK WITH RULES THAT HAVE APPLIED IN WESTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES FOR NEARLY 900 YEARS.

The Vatican was at pains to insist that it does not mean a break with the celibacy for clergy nor the first step towards a married priesthood. But leading Anglo-Catholics confirmed that CofE bishops who switch loyalty to Rome will have the power to ordain their own priests and that - with permission from the Pope - some of the newly-ordained priests may be married. Bishop of Fulham the Right Reverend John Broadhurst said the offer from Rome was 'extremely impressive' and added that those who choose to accept 'HAVE A VALID CLAIM ON OUR OWN HERITAGE IN HISTORY.'

Details of the proposals for Anglicans were published by Cardinal William Levada, head of the VATICAN'S CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, a body which centuries ago ran the inquisition into heretics. They follow the announcement last month of an 'Apostolic Constitution' designed to allow tens of thousands of disaffected Anglicans to return to Rome and yet keep their own priests, parishes and traditions.

The gesture goes alongside a welcome package for Anglicans that will mean that converts will be able to worship according to services from the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer. SERVICES WILL BE RE-WRITTEN TO REMOVE REFERENCES TO THE QUEEN AS HEAD OF THE CHURCH AND TO PLEDGE LOYALTY TO THE POPE.

Bishop Broadhurst, who is the CofE's Suffragan Bishop of London and leader of the Anglo-Catholic pressure group Forward in Faith, said: 'I have been horrified that the Church of England while trying to accommodate us has consistently said we cannot have the jurisdiction and independent life that most of us feel we need. WHAT ROME HAS DONE IS OFFER EXACTLY WHAT THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND HAS REFUSED.'

Then, when the alleged perpetrator's name and religion were made public (NIDAL MALIK HASAN, A LIFELONG MUSLIM) along with eyewitness reports he had shouted the obligatory pre-terror-attack proclamation, "Allahu akbar" ("Allah is greatest") before commencing his orgy of slaughter, their suspicions were confirmed: THIS WAS SURELY A MAJOR ATTACK ON THE AMERICAN HOMELAND BY A MUSLIM TERRORIST.

Further evidence quickly rolled in: Hasan had reportedly refused to fight fellow Muslims, called the war on terror a "war on Islam," TOLD A CO-WORKER MUSLIMS HAD A RIGHT TO RISE UP AND ATTACK AMERICANS, and reportedly had posted online his astoundingly twisted belief that an Islamic suicide bomber was morally equivalent to a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades. In other words, although THE ARMY HAD MANY WARNINGS HASAN WAS A CERTIFIABLE, AMERICA-HATING, JIHADIST "TICKING TIME BOMB" waiting to go off, it did nothing to avert last week's terror attack. Why?

And why, after the truth about Hasan became undeniable following his mass slaughter, does the government, as well as its mouthpiece the establishment press, agonize in their usual pathetic manner over what could possibly have motivated the Army psychiatrist to coldly, methodically murder 13 and wound 38 others? So, why do we have this stubborn inability to come to grips with Islam? Everyone attributes it to "POLITICAL CORRECTNESS," but I think it's time to move beyond that shallow, passé, near-meaningless phrase. Do we dare admit what is really at play here? THE TRUTH IS ACTUALLY VERY SIMPLE. WE ARE AFRAID OF ISLAM. We are intimidated by Islam. And because we are afraid of and intimidated by Islam, Islam is changing us.

It is appallingly obvious, WE'RE AFRAID TO CRITICIZE ISLAM OPENLY, for fear of having our head cut off or having a fatwa put out on us like the director of the new "2012" film, or we're afraid of being sued by some of the very litigious Islamic organizations like CAIR, or we're afraid of being called a racist, extremist, hater or "Islamophobe" thanks to the tyranny of political correctness, or we're afraid of offending those in power and thereby risking our position, stature or other advantage. This reaction, while perhaps selfish and cowardly, is more-or-less conscious and strategic.

Every time a jihadist like Hasan goes on a terrorist killing spree, invariably all who knew him say they were totally stunned, as he was always so "calm, cool and soft-spoken." AND YET THERE WERE WARNING SIGNS, such that were we not blinded by our fears and cowardice, we would not merely have seen them, we would have acted on them – and prevented last week's terrorist attack.

According to the London Telegraph, in an article headlined, "Fort Hood gunman had told US military colleagues that infidels should have their throats cut". Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the gunman who killed 13 at America's Fort Hood military base, once gave a lecture to other doctors in which he said non-believers should be beheaded and have boiling oil poured down their throats. He also told colleagues at America's top military hospital that non-Muslims were infidels condemned to hell who should be set on fire. Hasan made these incendiary jihadist comments "IN FRONT OF DOZENS OF OTHER DOCTORS AT WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTRE IN WASHINGTON, DC" during a talk on the Quran, according to the report.

And how did his fellow doctors respond? Although they were horrified, "ONE ARMY DOCTOR WHO KNEW HIM SAID A FEAR OF APPEARING DISCRIMINATORY AGAINST A MUSLIM SOLDIER HAD STOPPED FELLOW OFFICERS FROM FILING FORMAL COMPLAINTS," reported the Telegraph. Are you with me? "A FEAR OF APPEARING DISCRIMINATORY" CAUSED 51 BRAVE AMERICAN SOLDIERS TO BE SHOT BY AN ISLAMIST MONSTER, 13 FATALLY.

This inordinate fear, implanted in us by the lords of politically correct attitude, the subtle brainwashers of modern, secular society, is to blame. It gets worse, much worse. As ABC now reports, "US INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES WERE AWARE MONTHS ago that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al-Qaida."

The evil of "political correctness" – the totalitarian manipulation of thought, foisted on us by twisted elitist sociopaths who hate America and everything our soldiers have fought and died for over the last two centuries, and continue to fight and die for – has to end. Now. It's over. THIS NATION MUST RISE UP AND DEFY THE INSANE THOUGHT CONTROL THAT IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES.

Sony Pictures's latest big screen offering "2012" arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths backed by the Mayan calendar. The doomsday scenario revolves claims that the end of time will come as an obscure Planet X - or Nibiru - heads toward or collides into Earth. The mysterious planet was supposedly discovered by the Sumerians, according to claims by pseudo-scientists, paranormal activity enthusiasts and Internet theorists.

Some websites accuse NASA of concealing the truth on the wayward planet's existence, but the US space agency denounced such stories as an "Internet hoax." "There is no factual basis for these claims," NASA said in a question-and-answer posting on its website. If such a collision were real "astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye," it added. "OBVIOUSLY, IT DOES NOT EXIST."

"Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012," NASA insisted. Among the other theories NASA has set out to debunk are that geomagnetic storms, a pole reversal or unsteadiness in the Earth's crustal plates might befall the planet. And while comets and asteroids have always hit the Earth, "big hits are very rare," NASA noted. The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, spurring the end of dinosaurs.

"Looking back, we can see many causes that led to the peaceful revolution, BUT IT STILL REMAINS A MIRACLE," German President Horst Koehler told the leaders of all 27 European Union countries, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Angela Merkel — GERMANY'S FIRST CHANCELLOR TO BE RAISED IN THE FORMER COMMUNIST EAST — called the events of November 9, 1989 an "epic" moment in history. "For me, it was one of the happiest moments of my life," Merkel told a crowd of tens of thousands packed around the Brandenburg Gate. Merkel also recalled the tragic side of November 9 for Germans — the Nazis' Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass — an anti-Semitic pogrom 71 years ago. At least 91 German Jews were killed, hundreds of synagogues destroyed and thousands of Jewish businesses vandalized and looted in the state-sanctioned riots that night.

"Both show that freedom is not self evident," Merkel said. "Freedom must be fought for. Freedom must be defended time and again." Merkel, who was one of thousands to cross that night, recalled that "before the joy of freedom came, many people suffered."

She lauded Gorbachev, with whom she shared an umbrella amid a crush of hundreds, eager for a glimpse of the man many still consider a hero for his role in pushing reform in the Soviet Union. "You made this possible — you courageously let things happen, and that was much more than we could expect," she said.

MOST OF THE LARGEST AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS IN THE PAST TWO DECADES HAVE FOLLOWED THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY POLICY THAT EASTERN JERUSALEM, Judea, Samaria and Gaza are "occupied territories," the dateline usually used in their articles from those areas.

However, US President Barack Obama's switch of gears from the Roadmap Plan has left his policy in quicksand, according to influential newspaper columnists. The liberal Washington Post surprised observers this past summer with a number of editorials and op-ed articles highly critical of President Obama for driving up expectations in the Arab world by demanding Jews stop all building in eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.

The newspaper's senior columnist Jackson Diehl wrote three weeks after President Obama's "reaching out to Muslims" speech in Cairo, "How foolish it would be to squander it over a handful of Israeli apartment houses."

Friedman, who once equated Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria with terrorists, wrote Sunday, "The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has become a bad play. This peace process movie is not going to end differently just because we keep playing the same reel. IT IS TIME FOR A RADICALLY NEW APPROACH. And I mean radical. I mean something no US administration has ever dared to do: TAKE DOWN OUR "PEACE-PROCESSING-IS-US" SIGN AND JUST GO HOME."

Mrs Hobson was taken to Scunthorpe General Hospital with an agonising pain in her left eye. Surgeons were forced to remove it and she was later fitted with a prosthetic eye. She said: 'I am devastated and still wake screaming in the night. Both my daughters have had counselling. But if a yob swore in front of my daughter again I'd do the same. To walk away isn't the kind of world we want to live in.'

Last night she urged police to clamp down on people who use obscene language in public, adding: 'It has become acceptable to swear in public. But it's just not on. SUCH HORRIBLE LANGUAGE SMACKS OF A FAILING SOCIETY, WHERE THERE IS NO RESPECT FOR OTHER PEOPLE AND NO CARE FOR CHILDREN.'

She said: 'This has changed my life. I can't work, my prosthetic eye is very painful, and there's a dark area of the sight I do have. My husband has to walk on my left, as I bump into things. I've been run over by a wheelchair twice and burnt myself because I can't see everything.'