Goering's Atlas

A German historian has published a set of 33 top-secret Nazi maps that once belonged to notorious Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering and that detail how Nazis got the raw materials to feed the German war machine. Known as "Goering's atlas," the maps have been in storage -- but totally forgotten -- in Washington D.C.'s Library of Congress for decades and were only recently rediscovered by Bleifeld University historian Werner Abelshauser. The maps were considered a badge of power by Goering and he only showed them to elite insiders. Among other things, they show sites in Germany and occupied countries where explosives, powder and chemicals were produced. US soldiers seized the original plans at Hitler's Obersalzberg complex in the Bavarian Alps after Goering's arrest at the end of the war. Goering -- one of Germany's most brutal commanders -- was convicted of war crimes in Nuremberg and sentenced to death. He committed suicide on Oct. 15, 1946, hours before his execution.

Leaders Sign EU Constitution

It was supposed to be the biggest European Union event of the month. Yet even if the current conflict between the European Parliament and the Commission is dominating the news, state leaders from the 25-member body gathered in Rome Friday for a gala ceremony to sign the EU constitution. The choice of Rome is symbolic, since the signing took place in the same room where the EU began in 1957 with the approval of the Treaty of Rome. The agreement on a constitution for the European Union is a major step forward for European integration, especially considering the highly publicized failure to reach a consensus on the first draft in December. At the time Poland and Spain blocked agreement, saying they would not be given enough voting power. Now, the ink may be dry, but the constitution still needs to be ratified by each member state -- a process that could take months and one that is not guaranteed of success. Nine countries, including the euroskeptic United Kingdom and France, which is growing more doubtful of the constitution, plan to hold national referenda on the document. (1:42 p.m. CET)

France's Sarkozy: Secularism is Tired!

In France, integration of the country's 5 million mostly North African Muslims is a serious problem. In cities like Paris, low wages force them into ghettos like La Cité, an unending series of towering low-rent apartments that rings the French capital. Without money to build traditional mosques, Muslims in these socio-economic badlands are forced to pray in basements or underground mosques, which are becoming breeding grounds for the kind of fundamentalism al-Qaida recruiters love. How do you cure the ailment? In a book released Friday, French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, a contender for president in 2007, argues the country should break from its century-old tradition of secularism and provide government money to establish what he calls a mainstream "Islam in France". "One of the biggest challenges of the century that is beginning is the struggle in the Muslim world between moderate Islam and the fundamentalism of certain currents," the book quotes him as saying. The best answer, he says, is for the government to aid Muslim communities through mosque-building and other projects that will help bring the disenfranchised back into the fold. "It is much preferable for youth to have spiritual hope than to have in their head than the religion of violence, drugs or money." Sarkozy's proposed break with secularism has sparked a furious debate in France. (12:51 p.m. CET)

Arafat's Mysterious Malady

For the first time in three years, Palestinian president Yasser Arafat left his compound in Ramallah. Not, however, under the conditions he might have liked. The critically ill Arafat flew via Amman, Jordan, to Paris on Friday morning for medical treatment as speculation swirled in the Middle East about the true state of his health. Conjectures have ranged from a bad case of the flu (from his aides) through gallstones to cancer of the digestive tract (Israeli intelligence). Widespread speculation that Arafat was suffering from leukemia have been ruled out by his doctors. They have, however, mentioned that blood tests on the 75-year-old Palestinian leader reveal a low platelet count -- a condition that could indicate bleeding ulcers, colitis, liver disease, lupus or chicken pox. Arafat has shown symptoms of Parkinson's disease since the late 1990's. Israel has promised Arafat the right to return, but his deteriorating health has raised questions as to who might follow him in office. Arafat himself hasn't crowned a successor. For a roundup of German reactions, read Friday's Fishwrap.  (11:38 a.m. CET)

Does Germany Lack an Energy Strategy?

The German government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is officially planning to abandon all nuclear energy in the country within 20 years. At the same time, it wants to close its coal burning power plants. Problem is, together they comprise 37.7 percent of all German energy consumption. Though Germany is admittedly a world leader in the use of renewable energies, many critics say the country won't be able to fill the shortfall with windmills and solar panels. The latest faultfinder is Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, who has accused the German government of chasing an energy policy pipe dream. "The German government needs to base its policies on more facts," Birol told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper. Birol says Germany's plan to secure 50 percent of its energy supply using renewables by the middle of the century is "a good thought and a good wish," but "unrealistic." The economist goes on to accuse Berlin of lacking an energy strategy for its post-nuclear life. If the country has to turn to more greenhouse gas-producing coal or oil, what good will that do the environment? (11:12 a.m. CET)

Signs the End is Near

A Wednesday report in the science magazine Nature reports the sun is currently experiencing its most active phase in over 8,000 years. Violent solar storms combined with gigantic and violent ejections of super-heated gasses have triggered intense debate in the scientific community about the causes of the sun's hyperactivity. The finding is based on research by solar physicist Sami Solanki of the Max Planck Institute in Germany, who has put together a history of solar activity over the past 11,000 years. Solanki's research also examines a period between 1650 and 1700 when there were virtually no sun spots, a time punctuated by a decades-long cold snap on Earth scientists call the Little Ice Age. The finding has given rise to speculation that a further increase in the sun's current activity could accelerate the process of global warming. (10:52 a.m. CET)

Volks-strike

Labor problems in the German automobile industry opened a new chapter on Friday. Less than two weeks after workers at Opel went on strike to protest deep job cuts in German factories, autoworkers at Volkswagen began what promises to be a series of warning strikes. At issue is Volkswagen's attempt to cut labor costs by 30 percent over the next seven years -- a move its executives say is necessary to make its German factories competitive with low-wage countries. Management is asking workers to accept a contract that includes no base-pay raises for the next five years, a proposal that chief union negotiator Hartmut Meine blasted by saying, "such demands don't belong on the negotiating table, they belong on the manure pile." The union is asking for a 4.9 percent pay raise over two years. In the first nine months of this year, VW's profit has dropped by 43 percent as car sales have lagged. Like many other German companies, VW is threatening to move jobs abroad  if it doesn't get what it's asking for. (10:26 a.m. CET)

Convening on the Extreme Right

Members of Germany's right-wing National Democratic Party (NPD) are meeting over the weekend at the party's first convention since its successes in September state elections in the eastern German state of Saxony. In that vote, the party received 9.4 percent support and 12 seats in the state parliament. Media and public attention will be intense over the weekend. Here's what you should be worried about:
1. The NPD will announce plans to team up with another right-wing party, the German People's Union (DVU), in order to bundle right-wing votes in upcoming state elections and in the 2006 general election. NPD leaders are hoping to overcome the 5 percent hurdle for representation in Germany's national parliament.
2. NPD party leadership will present three members of the violent neo-Nazi scene for election into party leadership positions. This is part of the party's strategy to bring more members of the violent far-right into its fold.
3. It's a members-only event. If you're not a hater, you don't get in because the convention will largely take place behind closed doors with the press only allowed in for three hours on Saturday and for a press conference on Sunday. (10:12 a.m. CET)

Deep Pockets