The "Ode to Joy" is more than just a universally popular piece of classical music that has become something of a cliché during the holiday season (especially, oddly, in Japan, where it has achieved cult status). It has also been, for more than a century, what literary theorists call an "EMPTY SIGNIFIER" - A SYMBOL THAT CAN STAND FOR ANYTHING.

In early 20th-century France, the Nobel laureate Romain Rolland declared it to be the great humanist ode to the brotherhood of all people, and it came to be called "the Marseillaise of humanity." In 1938, it was performed as the high point of the Reichsmusiktage, THE NAZI MUSIC FESTIVAL, and was later used to celebrate HITLER'S BIRTHDAY. In China during the Cultural Revolution, in an atmosphere of total rejection of European classics, it was redeemed by some as a piece of progressive class struggle.

IN THE 1950S AND '60S, WHEN THE WEST GERMAN AND EAST GERMAN OLYMPIC SQUADS WERE FORCED TO COMPETE AS A SINGLE TEAM, GOLD MEDALS WERE HANDED OUT TO THE STRAINS OF THE "ODE TO JOY" IN LIEU OF A NATIONAL ANTHEM.

There is, however, A WEIRD IMBALANCE IN THIS PIECE OF MUSIC. In the middle of the movement, after we hear the main melody (the "joy" theme) in three orchestral and three vocal variations, SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAPPENS that has bothered critics for the last 180 years: at Bar 331, THE TONE CHANGES TOTALLY, and, instead of the solemn hymnic progression, the same "joy" theme is repeated in the "marcia turca" ( OR TURKISH MARCH) style, a conceit borrowed from MILITARY MUSIC for wind and percussion instruments that 18th-century European armies adopted from the Turkish janissaries.

The mode then becomes one of a carnivalesque parade, A MOCKING SPECTACLE. After this point, such critics feel, EVERYTHING GOES WRONG, the simple solemn dignity of the first part of the movement is never recovered.

But what if these critics are only partly correct - what if things do not go wrong only with the entrance of the marcia turca? What if they go wrong from the very beginning? Perhaps one should accept that there is SOMETHING OF AN INSIPID FAKE IN THE VERY "ODE TO JOY," so that the chaos that enters after Bar 331 is a kind of the "return of the repressed," a symptom of what was errant from the beginning.

AND DOES THE SAME NOT HOLD FOR EUROPE TODAY? The second stanza of Friedrich Schiller's poem that is set to the music in "Ode to Joy," coming on the heels of a chorus that invites the world's "millions" to "be embraced," ominously ends: "BUT HE WHO CANNOT REJOICE, LET HIM STEAL WEEPING AWAY."

Now that it has been established that there is no such thing as an Iranian nuclear bomb, how exactly would the Israeli spin machine conjure up a nuclear threat from Iran? It is in the best interest of Israel to convey the image that it is threatened and therefore is in dire need of defense. The Israeli government will even buy air time in America to convince us to send them more money!

Each Israeli settler family that had to leave Gaza was given two hundred and twenty seven thousand dollars for giving up their claim and for moving! The Israeli government got that money by asking the U.S. Congress for more money. All this comes out of our tax pocket and is real money. The Iran threat will continue to be hyped as is and without any noticeable decrease in rhetoric. We will continue to see more stories by the Israelis claiming an almost immediate Iranian threat which can be combated with more money to Israel!

Msgr. Pietro Sambi - the Vatican's nuncio to Washington said, "the current impasse in the negotiations seems strange not only to the Holy See, the Christian world and many countries friendly to Israel, but also to many Jews, honorable citizens of Israel or denizens of other countries."

What are the underlying issues on each side? Beyond the specific cases of requested tax exemptions for religious institutions and non-profit activities connected therewith (mostly already conceded by Israel), the Vatican is concerned that whatever agreements are reached could be overturned by a future edict.

As an example, they point to the December 2002 law in which the Israeli government restricted the application of tax exemption statuses. Previously, dating back to the British mandate in 1938, RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS were exempt from paying all taxes, including those for services such as garbage disposal, utilities, etc. Now these services must be paid for, although in other respects the Catholic community still enjoys greater tax exemptions than all others.

Red tape regarding the acquisition of Israeli visas for priests and nuns is another source of discontent for the Catholic Church. The situation has worsened, because now individual visas are necessary, whereas in the past group visas were issued. It has become obvious that the solutions are not all to be found exclusively in Israel's camp, as both parts recognize that there are inherent difficulties in the expectations of each side.

AT THE BASE ARE THE CONFLICTING VIEWS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S STATUS IN ISRAEL. One view is that Catholicism is just one of the recognized religions and therefore cannot be awarded greater privileges than others. The OPPOSING VIEW IS THAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS REPRESENTED BY THE HOLY SEE, WHICH IS A STATE, and since the 1993 Fundamental Agreement is an agreement between states, it holds international validity that goes beyond Israeli laws applying to its various religious communities.

But while Jesus' place remains secure, the three kings - the wise men who followed the Star of Bethlehem to his manger - may need some help. In Spain it is these three, who, upholding the tradition they began when delivering gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus' bedside, bring presents to children on the Epiphany, January 6. THE FAT GUY IN THE RED SUIT who visits on Christmas Eve (Papa Noel as he is called here) is A FOREIGN IMPORT, PROMOTED BY HOLLYWOOD AND INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES EAGER TO EXPAND THE GIFT SEASON. And for many Spaniards, Santa - and the cultural imperialism he represents - must be stopped.

La Despensa, a local boutique marketing firm, appears to be leading the charge. The company's small band of Santa-detractors has blanketed the city with posters bearing slogans like "Down with the Fat Red Capitalist." They have issued a blunt manifesto (example: "REINDEERS DON'T FLY. CAMELS DO WALK. ENOUGH ALREADY WITH THE FRAUD.") and urged Kings' defenders to sign it.

"When we were kids, there was no question - IT WAS THE KINGS WHO BROUGHT PRESENTS," says Miguel Olivares, co-director for La Despensa. "So who is this guy in the red suit? Clearly the Kings are losing their market share, they're not getting as many letters as before. As marketing specialists, we could see they needed to communicate better, and to modernize their image."

Is the call to arms working? At the Christmas market in Madrid's Plaza Mayor, vendors were doing a brisk business in Papa Noel dolls attached to ladders (IN SPAIN, HE COMES IN THROUGH THE APARTMENT WINDOW, NOT DOWN THE CHIMNEY). But Nicholas, age 4, whose grandmother was hustling him into the car for a family gathering, was having none of it. Asked whether he'd side with Santa or the Kings, he was adamant: "The Kings, of course-? they're the ones who bring the presents!"

DIGITAL IMAGES OF FACES, FINGERPRINTS AND PALM PATTERNS ARE ALREADY FLOWING INTO FBI SYSTEMS IN A CLIMATE-CONTROLLED, SECURE BASEMENT HERE. Next month, the FBI intends to award a 10-year contract that would significantly expand the amount and kinds of biometric information it receives. And in the coming years, LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES AROUND THE WORLD will be able to rely on iris patterns, face-shape data, scars and perhaps even the unique ways people walk and talk, to solve crimes and identify criminals and terrorists.

The FBI will also retain, upon request by employers, the fingerprints of employees who have undergone criminal background checks so the employers can be notified if employees have brushes with the law. Employers could ask the FBI to keep employees' fingerprints in the database, subject to state privacy laws, so that IF EMPLOYEES ARE EVER ARRESTED OR CHARGED WITH A CRIME, THE EMPLOYERS WOULD BE NOTIFIED.

"Bigger. Faster. Better. That's the bottom line," said Thomas E. Bush III, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division, which operates the database from its headquarters in the Appalachian foothills. Intelligence agents could exchange biometric information worldwide. THE FBI IS BUILDING ITS SYSTEM ACCORDING TO STANDARDS SHARED BY BRITAIN, CANADA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.

In the world's first large-scale, scientific study on how well face recognition works in a crowd, the German government this year found that the technology, while promising, was not yet effective enough to allow its use by police. The study was conducted from October 2006 through January at a train station in Mainz, Germany, which draws 23,000 passengers daily. The study found that the technology was able to match travelers' faces against a database of volunteers more than 60 percent of the time during the day, when the lighting was best. But the rate fell to 10 to 20 percent at night.

To achieve those rates, the German police agency said it would tolerate a false positive rate of 0.1 percent, or the erroneous identification of 23 people a day. In real life, those 23 people would be subjected to further screening measures, the report said. Accuracy improves as techniques are combined, said Kimberly Del Greco, the FBI's biometric services section chief. THE NEXT GENERATION DATABASE IS INTENDED TO "FUSE" FINGERPRINT, FACE, IRIS AND PALM MATCHING CAPABILITIES BY 2013, SHE SAID.

Privacy advocates worry about the ability of people to correct false information. "UNLIKE SAY, A CREDIT CARD NUMBER, BIOMETRIC DATA IS FOREVER," said Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley technology forecaster. He said he feared that the FBI, whose computer technology record has been marred by expensive failures, could not guarantee the data's security. "If someone steals and spoofs your iris image, you can't just get a new eyeball," Saffo said.

Record levels of immigration combined with higher birth rates among newcomers will tip the balance between whites and non-whites and create a string of "superdiverse" cities where no single group will form a majority.
The watershed is expected to be reached first in Leicester, where whites will form less than 50 per cent of the population by 2020, followed by Birmingham in 2024, and by Slough and Luton soon afterwards.

London's population will still be 61 per cent white by 2026, although eight of the city's 33 boroughs will be 'plural', with no one group forming a majority, according to the study from the University of Sheffield. Britain is becoming ever more plural; our diversity ever more diverse," said Danny Dorling, professor of human geography. But he said it was becoming harder for experts to generalise about trends because different cities face widely differing experiences.

Leicester, with a large Indian community, has seen its white population fall from 70.1 per cent of the total in 1991 to 59.5 today, and the figure is predicted to fall below a half by around 2020. The city's Indian population is set to rise from 22.9 to 26 per cent over the same period, with the African population increasing from 0.4 to 11.2 per cent. Birmingham has strikingly different predicted trends, with the shift in the balance driven mainly by the growing Pakistani community.

In general immigrant and ethnic minority populations will no longer be dominated by large, distinct Afro-Caribbean or Asian communities, said Prof Dorling. Instead increasing numbers will come from countries scattered across the world - from Germany to Guyana, from Sweden to Singapore.

The cabinet allocated 811 million shekels (207 million dollars, 144 million euros) towards the development and manufacture of the missile defence system, it said. The system -- dubbed "The Iron Dome" -- will be developed by the Israeli arms firm Rafael and is expected to be operational within two years. The defence ministry first ordered its development in February.

In addition to being able to intercept the home-made rockets fired from the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militant groups, it will also be able to shoot down Katyusha-type short-range rockets of the kind fired by Lebanon's Hezbollah militia during last year's 34-day war with Israel. During that brief but bloody conflict, Hezbollah fired nearly 4,000 rockets into Israel, killing more than 40 civilians.

In Israeli territory around Gaza, 12 people have been killed as a result of some 4,000 rockets militants have fired into Israel since the start of the second Palestinian uprising in September 2000. Short-range rockets have been the bane of Israel's military, widely considered to be the Middle East's most powerful army. Although they have a relatively low accuracy rate, the rockets create a state of permanent anxiety among Israelis within range, and increase public pressure on the military to deal with the menace.

The sound of drums and bagpipes filled Manger Square as religious and political dignitaries arrived in the town where Christians believe Jesus was born. Ahead of the festivities, Palestinian security forces, many carrying newly-issued rifles, took up positions on the streets of Bethlehem in numbers not seen in years. It was the third major Palestinian deployment in a West Bank city under a Western-backed security push launched after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June.

Bethlehem was particularly affected when tourism slumped during the early years of a Palestinian uprising -- or Intifada -- that erupted in 2000. But this year store owners say they are celebrating their most peaceful -- and profitable -- Christmas in nearly seven years. "We are more satisfied. The economic situation is getting a little better," said Khaled Msalam, a 42-year-old Bethlehem shop owner. "Still, people have financial trouble and can't afford a lot of our products."

Tourism, the lifeblood of Bethlehem's economy, has improved as Western powers have sought to bolster Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas Islamists who routed his secular Fatah forces in Gaza. After struggling for years to fill rooms, many Bethlehem hotels are fully booked for Christmas.

MIDDLE EAST ENVOY TONY BLAIR has been trying to improve tourist access and facilities in Bethlehem. The former British prime minister recently stayed overnight in one of the city's best hotels to send a message it is safe.

The ARJ-21, which stands for "Advance Regional Jetliner for the 21st Century", has a capacity of 70 to 90 seats. It is expected to make its first test flight in March next year and enter commercial operations by late 2009, when mass production of the aircraft is set to begin. China also has much loftier dreams. Early this year, the nation announced plans to build a 150-seat passenger aircraft, which could eventually compete against planes made by the world's two dominant commercial jet makers, Boeing and Airbus.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, dismissed the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men as nothing more than a legend, saying there was scant evidence for the Magi and no evidence that there were three of them or, indeed, that they were kings at all. How much of the traditional Christmas Nativity could be true?

Every Christmas someone will come forward to cast doubt on the historical accuracy of almost every aspect of the traditional Christmas story. Several have questioned whether Jesus ever went to Bethlehem - let alone was born there.

His family came from Nazareth 120 miles away, and many honest-minded people believe that the stories told in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke about the birth in Bethlehem were made up to fit in with the ancient prophecy that the Messiah would be born in the City of David, as Bethlehem was known.

And if we are honest, however sentimental we might feel when we hear Christmas carols, few of us find it easy to believe that a virgin gave birth to a baby. Such thoughts can never be entirely absent from the mind of any adult going to church at this time of year or from anyone trying to explain the inconsistencies of the story to their children.

Does this mean we are simply celebrating a lot of sentimental legends when we celebrate Christmas? After all, if Jesus wasn't born in Bethlehem, and you can't believe in angels, and no astronomer has identified the star that supposedly guided the Wise Men, what are you celebrating? Why sing O Come All Ye Faithful if you don't have the "faith" in Bethlehem, angels and all?

Rationalists and sceptics may insist that every scintilla of the story of Jesus is examined for some basis in fact, and tiresome and patronising atheists may deride any of us who subscribe to the possibility of a Christ child in the absence of hard scientific evidence. But the rest of us should simply accept the old stories for what they were. Stories.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, commented on the conversion to Catholicism of the former British prime minister. This is "good news that we welcome with respect," he said. "Catholics are glad to welcome into their community those who, through a serious and reflective journey, convert to Catholicism."

For his part, Archbishop Rowan Williams, the leader of the Anglican Communion, to which Blair had belonged, wished the convert every good in his spiritual journey.

"Palestinians and Israelis are capable of living together in peace, each in their own territory, each enjoying their security, their dignity, and their rights," he affirmed. "But to attain that peace, it is necessary to believe that Israelis and Palestinians are equal in all things, that they have the same rights and the same duties, and that both parties must adopt the ways of God, which are not the ways of violence, whether they be carried out by the state or by extremists."

Archbishop Sabbah contended that recent proposals to establish "religious states" in the Holy Land do not provide a viable solution. "In this land, which is holy for three religions and for two peoples, religious states cannot be established because they would exclude or place in an inferior position the believers of the other religions," he said. "A state that would exclude or discriminate against the other religions is not suitable for this land made holy by God for all of humanity.

Europe just got bigger. At one minute after midnight local time on early Friday morning, border controls vanished for nine more European Union members, many of them former members of the Soviet Bloc. Fireworks, cheers, music and speeches throughout the morning welcomed the expansion, which means that travelers can move from the far corners of Estonia all the way to the Atlantic coast in Portugal without once encountering a border guard.

"This is an especially beautiful moment," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a Friday morning ceremony at the German border with Poland and the Czech Republic. "It is a source of great pleasure that coming generations will experience open borders as the European normalcy." The ceremony was just one of many across Eastern Europe as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Malta all joined the so-called Schengen zone, as the open-border area is known. The Schengen Agreement is named for the village in Luxembourg where it was first signed in 1985.

There are now 24 countries -- including two non-EU states, Norway and Iceland -- populated by 400 million people in the border-free travel zone. Switzerland is set to join in 2008, with Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria likewise in line. Most of those countries entering Schengen on Friday were behind the Iron Curtain just 20 years ago. The opening of the border between Germany and Poland -- one of the most contested in the past centuries of European history -- was of particularly symbolic importance.

The report assesses that a nuclear war would last approximately three weeks and ultimately end with the annihilation of Iran, due to Israel's alleged possession of weapons with a far larger yield. Even if Iran gained the means and knowledge to create nuclear weapons, according to the report it would still be limited to 100 kiloton weapons, which can cause a far smaller radius of destruction than the 1 megaton bombs Israel allegedly possesses.

Possible targets for an Iranian strike are the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and Haifa bay, while the list of possible targets in Iran includes the cities Teheran, Tabriz, Qazvin, Esfahan, Shiraz, Yazd, Kerman, Qom, Ahwaz and Kermanshah. The report cites Israel's Arrow missile defense system as an obstacle facing a possible Iranian strike and says that it could shoot down most of the missiles. Israel, on the other hand, would be capable of hitting most of the Iranian cities with pinpoint accuracy due to the high resolution satellite imagery systems at its disposal.

Another scenario presented by the report includes Syria joining the bandwagon in case of a war and lobbing missiles with chemical and biological warheads into Israeli cities. According to the report, up to 800,000 Israelis would be killed if that were to happen. Syria, however, would be forced to grapple with the deaths of approximately 18 million of its citizens were Israel to respond with its nuclear arsenal.

Israel, the report says, would launch a nuclear attack on Cairo and additional Egyptian cities, and would destroy the Aswan Dam if Egypt joined the fray.

Some Catholics condemned his previous support for causes which were apparently inconsistent with Church doctrine. But they drew a rebuke from senior figures in the Church, who said the Pope's welcome for the new recruit was the final word. Sources said Mr Blair's conversion 'is not retrospective' and that he does not have to account for his actions and beliefs in the past.

Over his decade in office Mr Blair frequently attended Catholic Mass with his family, and was once rebuked for taking communion while still an Anglican. Mrs Blair stood as his 'sponsor' on Friday night. Despite his private faith, as Labour leader and Prime Minister he oversaw legal changes which were fiercely opposed by the Church, including civil partnerships and embryo research.

Britain has never had a Catholic in Number 10, and Mr Blair is known to have taken advice on the constitutional implications. His former spokesman Alastair Campbell once famously told reporters: "We don't do God", but has since said that his ex-boss "does do God in quite a big way".