The introduction of the telescope in Western Europe in the 1600s revolutionized astronomy, but it did not found it as a discipline. Astronomy had existed in some form for thousands of years prior to this. It is consequently impossible to assign a specific date to its founding. This is not the case with astrophysics. People in ancient and medieval times might speculate on the material makeup of stars and celestial bodies, but they had no way of verifying their ideas.

The € is heading south and all will have their feathers plucked. Pursued illusions are not at the end of a free ride.

 

1.The economic ignorance that, fortunately for certain groups, prevails even among the educated, cannot save Greece or a titillating “who is next” from the quickly changing headlines. Here again, we have a generally ignored country propelled to the top of the totem pole of attention. Although one likes to talk about Athens, this economic earthquake might only prove to be the beginning of the parade to follow. Several countries, all with failing public finances that hope to remain undiscovered, are lurking in the shadow cast by the spot lights that are now focused on the Greeks.

France and Spain are laying the political groundwork for the European Union to recognize a Palestinian state — possibly as early as October 2011 — even if negotiations for a permanent settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are not concluded.

The euro crisis is far from over. Markets are reacting with skepticism to the largest bailout ever – an attempt to prevent the bankruptcy of Greece. Former Eastern Bloc countries, such as Slovakia, are now expected to bailout Greece. On Sunday the IMF and the 15 other Eurozone countries – the member states of the European Union (EU) which, together with Greece, use the euro as their common currency – agreed to bail out Athens with bilateral loans totaling €120bn ($160bn) over the next three years. Many of these 15 countries, however, have huge debts themselves. They have agreed to help Greece, hoping that someone (read: Germany) will come to their rescue, too. Will Berlin and the IMF be able to save them all?

When power for security is the deal, poverty is the result. Some Socialists and their neo-fascistic continuation. The advocates of a failed idea that now defend their loot. Washington’s leftist pet? Higher hurdles blocking the road to nowhere.

 

1. Socialists like to imply that some liberty and self-determination must be surrendered to attain the economic security they promise. Oddly, wherever they got power with this claim, they used their might to administer their wards into poverty and crisis. Here it might be added that not all socialists identify themselves by that label. A number of parties are, regardless of the colors they wear in the combat zone of politics, essentially socialists.

Foreign press correspondents in Brussels are telling their readers and viewers in the home country that the Flemish Far Right is clamouring for the divorce between Flanders and Wallonia. This is true in itself, but by obscuring the non-Right support for this demand and the non-Flemish Far-Right support for Belgian unity, it falsely suggests a natural and intrinsic connection between separatism and the Far Right.

Greece is rightfully making headlines these days, hovering on the edge of what would be a quite embarrassing default – an open admission that the country will not be able to pay back its staggering debt.

While such an admission would cause turmoil, and probably a career change for several politicians, it remains the least harmful of available options.

 

Since I have written several essays about the Indo-European language family I can sum up what I have found so far. Interesting things happened in Europe long before the Greeks and the Romans entered the scene. One of the hypotheses presented in my writings is that culture is the product of genes plus ideas. Since most of our genes date back to the Stone Age, you could successfully claim that our culture indirectly has roots dating back to that era. However, one the most ancient parts of the European cultural heritage still used is the language.

1. Concluded nuclear arms reduction treaties are as such not a bad thing. Are they then a good thing? Not necessarily. In food terms, some deals remind one of an Indian dish without curry. “Bland” is the word. In his last show, Obama achieved a deal by which Russia and the US contract to reduce their arsenal by a bit. The notable extra attached to the American’s trade is a derivate of the powwow’s final terms. It is the US’ promise not to use nukes against those foes that are signatories to the non-proliferation agreements even if they resort to chemical or biological weapons. The sense this makes and what it encourages by not discouraging it, is not the subject of this commentary. The notable achievement of the summit was that, nothing significant has been agreed upon to prevent proliferation. It so happens that, proliferation – aided by the massive involvement of Western suppliers out to earn a buck – is the main threat to our future security. Ignoring this fundamental will not make proliferation go away; it assures us that it will happen.

Baltasar Garzón, a high-profile Spanish judge and leftwing champion of the legal doctrine of universal jurisdiction, has been charged with abuse of power. Spanish Supreme Court investigating magistrate Luciano Varela charged Garzón with knowingly overstepping his jurisdiction by launching an illegal investigation into political crimes committed during and after the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War.