Romania's opposition Liberal Democrats and Social Democrats are running neck-and-neck in general elections, partial results show.

With 93% of the vote counted, President Traian Basescu's centrist Liberal Democrats (PDL) had won about 33%.

The ex-communist Social Democrats (PSD) had also taken 33%, while the ruling National Liberals (PNL) polled 18%.

Tough coalition talks are expected if these figures are confirmed, as none of the parties would have a majority.

Earlier, exit polls predicted that the Social Democrats would win the elections - the first polls since Romania joined the EU at the beginning of last year.

Saying that, "Privacy protection in authoritarian states is a matter of life or death," Jules Maaten, a Member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands, joined with seven colleagues to send letters to the major European internet and telecommunication companies to call on them to sign a voluntary human rights code which was recently developed and signed by the American Internet companies Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft, even though those companies operate in China and have agreed to be censored by the government there, which has been severely criticised for human rights violations. Nevertheless, Maaten said, The letters were sent to the CEOs of France Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, BT, KPN, Skype, Nokia, Ericsson, Eutelsat, and Vodafone, among others.

The global credit crunch has sparked a debate about joining the euro among "people who matter in Britain," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said.

Speaking on a French RTL radio and LCI television show on Sunday (30 November), Mr Barroso argued that the entry to the eurozone of some EU member states who had previously strongly opposed the move is "now closer than ever before."

President Barroso (r) says UK officials are warming up to the euro (Photo: European Community)

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"I'm not going to break the confidentiality of certain conversations, but some British politicians have already told me, 'If we had the euro, we would have been better off'," he said.

"I don't mean to say that it will be tomorrow and I know that the majority in Britain are still opposed, but there is a period of consideration under way and the people who matter in Britain are currently thinking about it", the former Portuguese prime minister added.

Delegates from 186 nations are in Poznan, Poland today (1 December) to launch 12 days of talks designed to bring forward an international deal to tackle climate change. But the conference is currently overshadowed by an EU internal row over how to share the 'effort' of reducing CO2 emissions.

"Even if it is too early to expect major breakthroughs, the Poznan conference must shift gear from exploratory discussions to concrete negotiations," EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas stated on 28 November.

There are hopes that Poznan, which runs from 1-12 December, will produce a text, accompanied by a detailed work programme, that can provide the basis for detailed negotiations to prepare for a global deal during the December 2009 conference in Copenhagen.

French politicians and newspapers reacted with shock and consternation yesterday to the brutal pre-dawn arrest of a senior newspaper executive over a relatively trivial libel case.
[..]
Politicians, including a spokesman for President Sarkozy's centre-right party, the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire called for a high-level investigation of the "surreal" and "utterly disproportionate" treatment of the senior journalist.

The incident is embarrassing for President Sarkozy who recently inaugurated discussions and investigations on the financial and political status of the press in France. Opposition politicians said that the incident, especially the use of the word racaille, suggested some French police officers felt that, with M. Sarkozy in power, they could get away with almost anything.

PARIS 2e: SARKOBAMA

On the night between November 26th and 27th, some mysterious group pasted numerous hundreds of posters in some streets of Paris, depicting the colorful face of Sarkozy in the now mythical Obama campaign style. The posters have different slogans ranging from "Producing a clean ecological source of energy" to "Create one million fixed jobs", followed by a big "Yes we can!"

Leading European socialists and Social Democrats met in Madrid on Monday to discuss the first common program for the group in European elections and to advocate for greater government intervention in the economy.

The ongoing economic crisis demonstrated the failure of the "economy of egoism" advocated by conservative parties, Spanish Socialist Party deputy leader Jose Blanco told the council of the Party of European Socialists in Madrid.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Jose Blanco said the failure of the "economy of egoism" meant a win for socialists in 2009

Some 30 leading politicians, including Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and recently elected French Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry, were to discuss the first common program of socialists and Social Democrats for European elections.

The socialists would win the 2009 elections, because citizens had understood that "governments are the solution," Blanco said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel affirmed her opposition to quickly admitting Ukraine and Georgia to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) through a spokesman on Monday.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a political rival who is running for the chancellorship next year, had last week also firmly rejected a US proposal to admit them quickly.

In Berlin, deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg said Merkel was "seamlessly" in agreement with Steinmeier on the matter. Neither candidate nation would fulfill the criteria for NATO entry in the foreseeable future, he said.

The question is on the agenda when NATO foreign ministers meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels.

MOSCOW: In the heat of the Georgia crisis in August, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany flew to Russia to warn about the consequences of renewed militarism. Two days later she was in Georgia, voicing support for the country's eventual entry into NATO.

Autumn crept in and passions cooled. The beginning of October found Merkel back in Russia, looking on as the German utility E.ON and the Russian state energy giant Gazprom signed a significant deal in St. Petersburg, giving the German firm a stake in the enormous Yuzhno-Russkoye natural gas field in Siberia.

Merkel's shifting focus served as a reminder of the pivotal role played by Germany in shaping the West's relationship with Russia. It is Russia's largest trading partner, Europe's single biggest economy and one of America's closest allies. Moscow's aggressive posture has not only thrust Russia, a nuclear-armed energy power, back to the geopolitical spotlight. It has also dragged Germany there with it.

Just as the United States is struggling to redefine its relationship with a resurgent and at times antagonistic government in Moscow, Germany is scrambling to protect the close commercial, cultural and diplomatic ties with Russia it has forged since the end of the cold war -- and, in some areas, long before.

As the UN climate talks (COP 14) in Poznań begin, the negotiations on the EU's climate andenergy package aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% have moved to a higher gear. Despite intense negotiations between the Commission, European Parliament and Council, there is little chance of having the package fully approved this year1. This article looks at some of the key strategies being deployed by business to weaken and delay the climate and energy package, which was originally put forward by the Commission in January 2007.

The coroner at the inquest of Jean Charles de Menezes today ruled out a verdict of unlawful killing.

Former High Court judge, Sir Michael Wright, began summing up seven weeks of evidence by telling jurors they will only be allowed to return a verdict of lawful killing or an open verdict.

The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research met by conference call on Friday, November 28. The committee maintains a chronology of the beginning and ending dates (months and quarters) of U.S. recessions. The committee determined that a peak in economic activity occurred in the U.S. economy in December 2007. The peak marks the end of the expansion that began in November 2001 and the beginning of a recession. The expansion lasted 73 months; the previous expansion of the 1990s lasted 120 months.

Addressing critics of the Federal Reserve's response to the current economic crisis, the central bank's chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, defended the Fed's actions on Monday, calling them "exceptionally rapid and proactive" measures that had helped stabilize the economy.

Ben Bernanke, speaking in Texas, onscreen behind traders on the floor of the new York Stock Exchange.

In a speech in Austin, Tex., Mr. Bernanke warned that the economy would "probably remain weak for a time," with particular problems ahead for exports and household spending. He called for broad new regulations that would allow the Fed more flexibility in assisting institutions considered "critical" to the health of the economy.

But, in response to a question, he said that the current economic conditions -- even with the recession now official -- bear "no comparison in terms of severity" to the 1930s, a period that Mr. Bernanke has studied extensively.

Mr. Bernanke acknowledged the limitations of the Fed's conventional policy-setting tool, the interest rate, and suggested that future actions by the Fed would focus on providing liquidity to the financial system by directly buying securities and acting as a backstop for the credit markets. He also indicated that the Fed was prepared to cut rates again in December.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil plunged more than 9 percent to below $50 a barrel on Monday after OPEC deferred a decision on new supply cuts at a meeting over the weekend.

The producer group delayed a decision on output until later this month as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf members called for greater compliance with existing cuts agreed to since September to help stem oil's fall from highs over $147 a barrel struck in July.

U.S. crude traded down $4.95 at $49.48 a barrel by 2:26 p.m. EST, while London Brent crude fell $5.41 to $48.08 a barrel.

"The major motivation for sellers is the discounting of the OPEC decision ... but motivation is not hard to find (as) the elements propelling prices from 2003 on have largely dissipated," said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global, in a report.

... Deutsche's is a high-risk strategy. Though the chief executive, Josef Ackermann, has not categorically ruled out a state recapitalization, turning to public coffers could cost him his job, some analysts said.

"For Deutsche, this would be such a U-turn that there would be a problem with credibility," said Simon Adamson, a banking analyst at CreditSights in London.

For now, the bank is walking a fine line, trying to shrink its balance sheet by reducing lending while simultaneously assuring the German government and its best clients that the money spigot remains open for well-run businesses. <...>

Mr. Krause said he had given each banking division targets for reducing lending. Mainly, he said, Deutsche will crank back lending for ventures that are now out of fashion, like leveraged buyouts.

The issue is particularly delicate in Germany, where the Mittelstand, a collection of mostly family-owned companies that has proved highly resilient to the crisis, forms the backbone of employment.

Jürgen Fitschen, the top Deutsche executive for Germany, said last week that Deutsche had raised the volume of its lending to the Mittelstand by 11 percent, to 40 billion euros in the last 12 months. Deleveraging "will not happen on the back" of the Mittelstand, Mr. Fitschen said. ...

The U.S. credit-card industry may pull back well over $2 trillion of lines over the next 18 months due to risk aversion and regulatory changes, leading to sharp declines in consumer spending, prominent banking analyst Meredith Whitney said.

The credit card is the second key source of consumer liquidity, the first being jobs, the Oppenheimer & Co analyst noted.

"In other words, we expect available consumer liquidity in the form of credit-card lines to decline by 45 percent."

Closing millions of accounts, cutting credit lines and raising interest rates are just some of the moves credit card issuers are using to try to inoculate themselves from a tsunami of expected consumer defaults.

The real tragedy of all this is that it doesn't have to happen. Like so many boiling frogs, we are oblivious to how simple the remedy really is.

Many civilizations throughout history have been poor - poor in food, energy, water, minerals. The US is not one of them. We have everything we need to put all of our people to work tomorrow building the greatest civilization the world has ever known.

We have the greatest supply of natural resources of any country on the planet. We have the greatest storehouse of knowledge. Even with the very real energy shortage, we could still use what is left to convert to renewable energy in record time.

And yet all we hear is how we are out of money. Does anyone even comprehend how ridiculous this is?

How did we allow ourselves to be brought to our knees by parasites who produce nothing, and a monetary/banking policy that has sucked all of the money away from the real producers?

Corruption. Plain and simple.

Most people go their entire lives without even questioning where money comes from. It's just always been. But currency is supposed to be a symbol, a tool. Not a shackle. We, as a society, have grown so accustomed to never asking questions about where the money comes from, that we don't see the most obvious thing in the world - we have become slaves to bankers who make more money off the money itself, than the goods or services the money is supposed to represent.

Money is supposed to represent real wealth - so you don't have to carry around your chickens. It should never be the sole source of wealth. Anyone who is making money solely off of money is a parasite.

What kind of system penalizes the producers of real wealth, things that have real value, and rewards the parasites? A system designed by parasites.

This is the greatest opportunity in almost a century to fix this absurd monetary system, and rebuild our country. But it won't happen because the parasites also control our political system. So the people are being taxed to death to pay for the parasites ponzi scheme.

The new national security team President-elect Obama is assembling reflects both caution and political pluck as the commander-in-chief-to-be leans on a Bush holdover as Defense secretary to ease the US out of Iraq and a Washington-savvy retired general to oversee national security matters.

Both choices, Robert Gates to stay on as Defense secretary and James Jones as national security adviser, reflect Mr. Obama's stated desire to build a bipartisan cabinet that is also effective.

In Secretary Gates, Obama chooses a Defense secretary popular with both parties who will temper his ambitious campaign pledge to get out of Iraq in 16 months. The choice of Mr. Jones, a retired Marine general with deep Washington roots, will help Obama to establish his own national security identity in a town wary of his military inexperience.

The two were formally introduced by Obama Monday along with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as his new secretary of State and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security chief, among other new members of his cabinet.

In making his choices, Obama said he sought foreign policy pragmatists who may not agree with one another but who "share a core vision."

Dozens of troops have run amok in the Zimbabwean capital Harare after losing their temper while queuing up to withdraw cash at a bank.

Riot police used tear gas to disperse about 40 soldiers and a number of civilians who joined the protest.

A local journalist told the BBC troops had looted shops and assaulted passers-by, before the authorities managed to restore control.

The disorder comes as much of Harare is without water amid a cholera outbreak.

India has summoned Pakistan's high commissioner to lodge a formal protest over the attacks in Mumbai.

Indian officials have repeatedly said in recent days there is evidence the militants behind attacks that killed nearly 200 people had Pakistani links.

Islamabad has denied involvement and warned against letting "miscreants" inflame tensions in the region.

India's new home minister has vowed to "respond with determination and resolve" over the crisis.

In an interview to be broadcast on ABC News tonight, President Bush conceded that he just might have been part of the reason Barack Obama won the White House.

"I think it was a repudiation of Republicans," he said. "And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me. I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy."

He apologized for the economic crisis, saying, "I'm sorry it's happening, of course... Obviously I don't like the idea of people losing jobs, or being worried about their 401(k)s. On the other hand, the American people got to know that we will safeguard the system. I mean, we're in. And if we need to be in more, we will."

He also admitted he was "unprepared" for a war in Iraq that has gone on to claim thousands of American lives and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Thirty-two people have been killed and about 55 injured in rioting blamed on community-based parties in Pakistan's commercial capital, Karachi. Sporadic gunfire was reported in the port city on Monday afternoon, despite patrols by 800 paramilitary troops.

Troops were authorised to use guns to quell the violence, after rioters set shops and houses on fire in the Orangi Town district. Schools and petrol stations were closed Monday, for fear of further violence.

Officials blame two parties, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP), but their leaders deny involvement.

The collapse of Afghanistan is closer than the world believes. Kandahar is in Taliban hands - all but a square mile at the centre of the city - and the first Taliban checkpoints are scarcely 15 miles from Kabul. Hamid Karzai's deeply corrupted government is almost as powerless as the Iraqi cabinet in Baghdad's "Green Zone"; lorry drivers in the country now carry business permits issued by the Taliban which operate their own courts in remote areas of the country.
[...]
Nobody I know wants to see the Taliban back in power," a Kabul business executive says - anonymity is now as much demanded as it was before 2001 - "but people hate the government and the parliament which doesn't care about their security. The government is useless.
[...]
"We" are not winning in Afghanistan. Talk of crushing the Taliban seems as bleakly unrealistic as it has ever been. Indeed, when the President of Afghanistan tries to talk to Mullah Omar - one of America's principal targets in this wretched war - you know the writing is on the wall. And even Mullah Omar didn't want to talk to Mr Karzai.

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."

He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

Just...wow.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

After years of being criticized for its response to food-sickness outbreaks and contaminated imports, the Food and Drug Administration is stepping up efforts to convince the public and skeptical lawmakers that it is making progress in overhauling the nation's food defenses.

The agency will release a report Monday that summarizes what officials call a "hugely ambitious" campaign to reshape its food inspection arm to root out safety hazards through things like sophisticated software and certifiers from the private sector.

"The goal is to radically redesign the process," said Dr. David Acheson, the agency's associate commissioner for foods. For imported food, for instance, that means trying to detect tainted products during the production process rather than waiting until they enter the country.

"We cannot simply rely on picking the ball up at the point of entry," Dr. Acheson said.

London-based maritime insurers began maintaining that the Malacca Strait was a "war risk" as early as early 2000, subsequent to which there's been a 10-fold increase in shipping insurance on sea-going commercial vessels.

Others are maintaining that the 'piracy' folly is being vaunted in order to usher in international military forces [ie, Nato] to police strategic shipping lanes, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea.

   
The great game of hunting pirates, by M K Bhadrakumar, of Asia Times Online. [worth reading in full]

Following is a Gulf perspective, provided simply as a reflection of acute regional concerns:

Piracy in the Red Sea: Saudi points towards Israel.

Divine what you may, from the various various accounts, there is a growing regional concern that, by hook or by crook, the US/ Nato bloc is setting itself up to conquer strategic ME waterways, national sovereignty be damned.
.

Thoreau observed that humans are happily designed in such a way that the distance they can cover in a day's walking means that were they to spend every day hiking in a different direction from their homestead, it would take a lifetime to get to know every corner of their surroundings.

There's something analogous in the distance that meat and vegetables can cover in an ox cart in the old formula of market towns gathering and redistributing the produce of a region. It's like concocting a meal with what you have in the kitchen, settling a craving for good economy.

Any region can use a patron saint, and in England's West Country, that saint is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (aka Hugh Fearlessly Eats-It-All). One of Britain's top TV chefs, Fearnley-Whittingstall is on a near-holy mission to return to the land. He had his first success with a show called "A Cook on the Wild Side," in which he traveled around cooking up game and wild plants on his camping stove.

Then he settled in Dorset and moved into growing his own food - saddleback pigs, old breeds of chicken - and reviving many old techniques for curing and preserving the food. His larder is permanently hung with sausages, salamis, hams and varieties of smoked fish.

ROME: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi governs with a solid majority, oversees RAI, the state broadcaster, and owns the country's leading private television networks.

So why, with all those means at his disposal, does the prime minister continue to respond to his journalist critics not on television or in the press but instead with lawsuits?

In recent years, Berlusconi has sued the magazine The Economist for writing that he was not "fit to run Italy" and the British journalist David Lane for his 2004 book, "Berlusconi's Shadow," which explored the origins of his fortune and noted that some of his associates had been investigated for Mafia ties. Berlusconi lost those cases in lower court and has either appealed them or still has the possibility of doing so.

Now, he has set his sights on Alexander Stille, America's best-known Italianist and one of the prime minister's most vocal Anglophone critics. A lower court in Milan is expected to rule on Tuesday in a defamation case filed against Stille by a close associate of Berlusconi.