BBC News - EU aims to boost tyre performance with new labels

The EU is to introduce a new tyre labelling system in three years' time to encourage fuel efficiency, safety and noise reduction.

The new regulation was adopted by the European Parliament on Wednesday, following agreement with the EU members' governments.

Tyre firms will have to display tyre performance data in advertisements.

The use of better tyres might produce the same CO2 emissions cut as taking 1.3 million cars off EU roads.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

EUobserver / EU parliament takes first shot at hedge fund regulation

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - A new report on hedge fund and private equity regulation, published by an influential MEP on Wednesday (25 November), highlights the diverging views held by European parliamentarians and the Swedish EU presidency on the matter.

The report by the French centre-right MEP Jean-Paul Gauzes says fund managers should be forced to agree on pre-determined levels of borrowing before making investments, a significantly tougher position than that currently adopted by the Swedes on behalf of member states.

In an explanatory memorandum attached to Mr Gauzes's report, the MEP says fund managers should "define [leverage] limits in advance for every fund they manage".

"To fix these limits, they must define the guiding principles," wrote the MEP charged with steering draft legislation on the topic through the parliament. "The managers are obliged to inform the national supervisors about the limits they chose."

However, Sweden's current compromise would let industry watchdogs alone decide whether or not to limit individual hedge fund borrowing, a move seen as less restrictive.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

EUobserver / New EU president plans first official trip

Correction: EUobserver was initially informed that Mr Van Rompuy's first trip as president-elect would be to Latvia and Finland. But it later learned that the first engagement will in fact be in Denmark.

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The newly-appointed president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, will mark his first semi-official engagement in the role when he visits Denmark next week.

The trip, to Copenhagen, on 30 November was originally planned for Mr Van Rompuy in his capacity as Belgian prime minister as part of a grand tour of 26 EU capitals in preparation for Belgium taking up the rotating EU presidency in mid-2010.

But following his appointment to the EU post last week, Mr Van Rompuy is to step down as Belgian leader on Wednesday (25 November), handing back the baton to former Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme.

Mr Van Rompuy will not formally begin work as EU president until 1 January. But his staff told EUobserver that he plans to go to Copenhagen anyway in his interim capacity as EU "president-elect."

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

EurActiv.com - EU unemployment levels to top 10% in 2010, says report | EU - European Information on Social Europe

EU unemployment levels will continue to rise and are expected to breach the 10% mark in 2010, while young people are the worst affected by mass joblessness, a report by the European Commission has found.

The 2009 'Employment in Europe' reportexternal  - released by the Commission earlier this week - paints a gloomy picture, with best-case projections predicting the loss of more than seven million jobs over 2009-10, and EU unemployment levels exceeding 10% sometime next year.

The gains made in EU employment growth earlier this decade have largely been reversed by the current economic crisis, meaning that the employment targets set by the EU's Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs will not be met.

The Baltic countries, Ireland and Spain are the EU member states hardest hit, with unemployment rates doubling or worse since the crisis began.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

EU telecoms reforms enter force in December - Telecommunication : europa, europe | euronews

Broad new telecommunications rules for the European Union have finally been fully approved, carrying various customer benefits. When a customer chooses to change service providers, the company will be required to transfer the same mobile phone number to the company that has landed the customer, within one working day. And the automatic downloading of personalised information to a user's computer when he visits a Web site will need the customer's consent.

Viviane Reding, the EU's information society Commissioner talked about further assurances as well: "When data are lost -- personal data -- the person should be informed immediately. Internet access could not be cut off without first going through a judge, and so on. So, we see that consumers' rights are central to this new legislation."

A European Parliament vote confirmed the reforms will enter force next month and have to be transposed into all EU countries' national laws by mid-2011.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

EU gaining appreciation in Washington - EU Presidency : europa, europe | euronews

For an outside look at Europe moving forward, euronews sought out an American expert in international relations who specialises in the EU: Dr. Kathleen McNamara, an associate professor at Georgetown University.

...

euronews: "Why should anyone in Washington care about the Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton nominations?"

McNamara: "I think the general public is sort of befuddled by the EU. I think the pundits and the media inside the US are often frustrated that it doesn't act like a nation state. I think more interestingly, the Obama administration is starting to get excited about what the Lisbon Treaty might portend for Europe."

euronews: "About President Obama... he enjoys a high international approval rating... Van Rompuy's charisma level, how will that go over in the US?"

McNamara: "Well there were some that really did want to see a very charismatic figure, like say a Tony Blair. The New York Times today has written an extremely critical article about this whole process, saying that if, in fact, the Europeans wanted to have a higher profile, they did the opposite by picking the Belgian prime minister. But I think that's a very short sighted view. I actually think that in the long run a conciliatory person who is able to bring about consensus among widely disparate views is actually a good choice for the EU. And I think in the long run, people inside the Obama administration understand that these are complex issues that they face within the EU -- projecting power on the part of these 27 governments is a very complex thing.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

BBC News - Inquiry told Iraq could not 'use' chemical weapons

The UK received intelligence days before invading Iraq that Saddam Hussein may not have been able use chemical weapons, an adviser has said.

Foreign Office official Sir William Ehrman told the war inquiry that a report suggested that such weapons may have been "disassembled".

A separate report suggested Iraq might also "lack" warheads capable of spreading chemical agents, he added.

Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell. Frank Borman

U.S. consumer spending rises, jobless claims tumble | U.S. | Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending and housing sales rose more than expected in October while new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, suggesting the economic recovery was gaining traction.

An unexpected decline in orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods, however, tempered some of the optimism and was a reminder that recovery from the most brutal recession in 70 years would be gradual.

The Commerce Department on Wednesday reported that consumer spending, which normally accounts for over two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased 0.7 percent last month after falling 0.6 percent in September. That was above market expectations for a gain of 0.5 percent.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

China banks' rush for billions could trip markets | U.S. | Reuters

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese banks, under government pressure to shore up their finances, are set to unleash a wave of billions of dollars in capital raising that could strain equity markets but also spur innovation in debt instruments.

The banks could go to the market with a slew of new stock and bond offers as they look to raise as much as 300 billion yuan ($44 billion) over the next few years, according to some estimates.

The move would follow a surge in bank lending in the first half of this year, encouraged by the central government under its broader 4 trillion yuan economic stimulus plan. But now the regulator, worried about a lending bubble, is cautioning banks to ensure their capital is adequate.

Three of the country's top four listed banks, Bank of China Ltd (601988.SS) (3988.HK), China Construction Bank (601939.SS) (0939.HK) and Bank of Communications (601328.SS) (3328.HK) have already started work on fundraising proposals, a source told Reuters on Monday.

"There's no doubt there will be a massive wave of fund raising from Chinese banks, but the key question is when, where and how," said Fan Kunxiang, analyst at Haitong Securities Co. "If banks all rush to sell shares within a short period, it would unavoidably be a blow to the stock market."

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

It's Time to Buy Commercial Property, Edinburgh Strategists Say - Bloomberg.com

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- First it was corporate bonds, then stocks. Now it's time to buy commercial real estate in the U.K., according to strategists in Edinburgh advising on about 400 billion pounds ($663 billion) of assets.

Standard Life Investments is telling investors to consider increasing the proportion of money they hold in stores, office buildings and warehouses, said Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy. Today, the commercial property market compares with where stocks were about seven months ago, said Mike Turner at Aberdeen Asset Management Plc.

"It's the last major asset class where there is still a higher risk premium than warranted, so we've been looking at it," Turner said in an interview at his office in the Scottish capital. "April is a good expression of the stage we're at, just off the lows and starting to gain some traction."

After gains this year in stocks and corporate bonds, Scotland's biggest fund management firms are honing in on where they reckon money can be made next.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

Company Profits in U.S. Stage `Lopsided' Gain on Banking Surge - Bloomberg.com

In the first three quarters of 2009, profits at financial institutions soared 198 percent, the biggest nine-month gain since records began in 1948. Earnings were down 65 percent in the nine months ended in December 2008, the biggest such decrease on record.

"The financials were a basket case," said Naroff. "The companies are coming off such a low basis that it's easy to get a big increase."

The Standard & Poor's Financial Supercomposite Index has climbed 123 percent since March 9, compared with a 63 percent gain in the S&P 500 Index. The S&P 500 fell to a 12-year low on March 9.

The jump in profits is probably not evenly distributed among banks, said Naroff, making it less likely that the money will find its way back into the economy in the form of loans.

"Unfortunately, not every company is a Goldman," Naroff said. "Not everyone is going to make tons of money." The banking system's ability to boost lending and spur business investment "will look more like a slow stream than a river."

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

Press Association

Car giant General Motors has firmed up plans to cut 9,000 jobs across Europe, saying that up to 60% will be in Germany.

Nick Reilly, a senior official of the US car maker, met employee representatives at a meeting in Germany to go through the firm's detailed plans for the future.

Mr Reilly said that "difficult decisions" will have to be made and repeated that jobs will have to be lost.

Production in Europe will be cut by about 20% and around 9,000 jobs will be lost, with between 50 and 60% in Germany, he said.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

BBC News - Banks win Supreme Court case on overdraft charges

Millions of bank customers hoping to be refunded overdraft charges have been dealt a major blow by a Supreme Court judgement.

The court has overturned earlier court rulings that allowed the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the fairness of charges for unauthorised overdrafts.

At stake in the case, which has run for over two years, is an estimated £2.6bn of annual income for the banks.

Campaigners said they were shocked and disappointed with the decision.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

BBC - Newsnight: Paul Mason: Banks: The world is weary of the past, but boy, was it exciting!

The historian is concerned with finished facts, a journalist has to be concerned not just with real-time information but with the near future. So all these secrets are getting a bit distracting.

Just over a year ago I, like many others, was obsessed with the question: what is the government about to do about the banking crisis?

The revelation yesterday of what they actually did - unleash a £61.7bn secret loan to HBOS and RBS - is a reminder that even for journalists, what happened in the past may be the most important question.

Because Mervyn King and Alistair Darling's revelations, delivered in the anodyne and obscure language the British state uses when it wants to drop an embarrassed bombshell, raise more questions.

Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell. Frank Borman

Gold Is Rallying Because....  Jesse's Café Américain

Gold is the ultimate currency.

It resists the attempts by the monetary authorities to debase it, because except for concerted attempts to suppress its price through non-profitseeking selling at key market points by central banks, and naked short selling by the global commercial banks in the paper markets, gold cannot be created and controlled by financial engineers like Ben Bernanke.

It provides a refuge, a store of wealth for private citizens during a period of general currency risk.

....

Alan Greenspan himself states the case most eloquently in his famous essay from 1966 Gold and Economic Freedom.  [And here we will go to that link and quote more extensively than did Jesse:]

Gold and Economic Freedom
by Alan Greenspan
[written in 1966]

    This article originally appeared in a newsletter: The Objectivist published in 1966 and was reprinted in Ayn Rand's Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal

An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense - perhaps more clearly and subtly than many consistent defenders of laissez-faire - that gold and economic freedom are inseparable, that the gold standard is an instrument of laissez-faire and that each implies and requires the other.

Thanks to Greenspan's decades long efforts at the Fed Ayn Rand's "Unknown Ideal" capitalism came to be all too real. But would not the Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve System of the USA normally be considered "a statist"? Yet Greenspan never disavowed his belief in the desirability of the gold standard. I have seen critics contend that he deliberately drove the US financial system into the ground to drive home the need for a gold standard. But I suspect that his actions were just intended to facilitate further  the self-aggrandizement of the Masters of the Universe, who Greenspan saw as embodiments of the Randian Ideal, and that this argument is just another lame attempt to devise "a superior moral justification for greed." Indeed, what else is the entire body of Ayn Rand's writings? Superlatively lame.

Ayn Rand's "philosophy" is a map which, when followed, seems to have blown up the world's largest economy. Who could have imagined that putting in charge of that economy a man who did not believe in the morality or appropriateness of the fundamental structure of that economy or in performing many of his legislatively mandated regulatory functions could end so badly? More than a few, it seems.

I do not know if gold is the ultimate currency, but it does seem, just now, to be a store of value superior to the US Dollar, and it seems likely to retain that superiority for a while before it too falls back to, or at least towards earth.


If sanity be culturally normative, then by the norms of this culture I claim insanity.

FT.com / FT Trading Room - LSE resumes trading after three-hour outage

During the LSE's last serious outage in September, traders largely chose not to trade rather than shift wholesale to LSE rivals on the grounds that the LSE, having by far the largest market share, was still the benchmark for reliable pricing.

However it has become harder in recent months for the LSE to rely on that mentality among dealers as its market share has fallen below 60 per cent in FTSE 100 stocks. Chi-X has captured 25 per cent of the FTSE 100, while BATS has almost 8 per cent.

The LSE said the latest outage had been caused by "a number of connectivity issues" that affected two of the "gateways" into the exchange's order books that are used by traders. The LSE has about 50 such gateways, which are the mechanism by which traders get access to the order book.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

Roy Greenslade: 21 journalists died in Philippines massacre | Media | guardian.co.uk

It is now reported that 21 journalists were killed in the massacre that took place on Monday in the Philippines' southern province of Maguindanao.

The Manila-based Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility told the International Press Institute that a total of 34 journalists are believed to have been part of a convoy that was ambushed by over 100 gunmen at a police checkpoint .

The convoy was travelling to file candidacy papers for gubernatorial candidate and local mayor Esmael Mangudadatu. He was not on board the convoy.

Police have found the bodies of 57 people buried in shallow graves close to the checkpoint.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

US President Expected to Announce Afghanistan Policy Tuesday | Asia | English

U.S. President Barack Obama will announce his new strategy for Afghanistan on Tuesday.

The White House says the president will make his plans known in an evening address (0100 UTC) from the U.S. military academy at West Point, in the northeastern state of New York.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs announced President Obama's plans Wednesday.

Gibbs noted that U.S. forces have been in Afghanistan for eight years.  He said the U.S. will not be in the country for another 8 or 9 years.

The White House spokesman also said President Obama will reveal his Afghanistan strategy to members of the U.S. Congress Tuesday, ahead of his address to the nation.

U.S. news organizations say President Obama is most likely to back a plan to send between 30,000 and 35,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

Al Jazeera English - Africa - UN mission 'failing' in DR Congo

The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo has failed to disarm Rwandan Hutu fighters, UN experts say.

According to a 93-page report for the UN Security Council, leaked on Wednesday, this has exacerbated conflict in the north of the country.

The report said that despite the mission in North and South Kivu provinces the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) was continuing to recruit and arm fighters

Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell. Frank Borman

CLIMATE CHANGE: "No Politics in the Melting of the Ice Sheet" - IPS ipsnews.net

WASHINGTON, Nov 25 (IPS) - As climate scientists defend their work from sceptics in the aftermath of researchers' emails being stolen over the weekend, a new report hopes to provide an update on science's latest climate-related findings.

"The Copenhagen Diagnosis: Updating the World on the Latest Climate Science" is intended to fill the gap between the last assessment of climate research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released in 2007, and the climate summit in Copenhagen less than two weeks away.

The report comes as climate change sceptics are crying foul in the U.S. Congress, editorial pages and elsewhere over recently hacked and publicised emails that they say reveal a manipulation of the science to paint climate change as more human-caused than they believe it is.

Unfazed by this uproar, the report's authors released their findings Tuesday after combing academic journals for the hundreds of papers that have been written on climate change-related topics since the IPCC's last cut-off, in 2006.

What they uncovered was a climate changing at a rate that outstrips what the IPCC projected based on the best available data of just three years ago.

"We're not the IPCC, we're not criticising the IPCC. We're just saying the science has not stopped since the last IPCC report," said Richard Somerville, a coordinating lead author of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report from 2007 and one of the 26 authors of Tuesday's report. "There's new science and there's also three more years of data."

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

Will Africa's farmland become a `resource curse'? | Grist

In his Late Victorian Holocausts, Mike Davis teases out the mechanisms of famine in British-ruled 19th century India.

When a drought would wipe out a grain harvest in one region of India, the price of grain would spike. People all over the subcontinent would suddenly find themselves priced out of grain markets--even in places where grain harvests went well. Grain would then flow out of India to the "mother country," where people could afford it, and literally millions of Indians would starve. That's one way relatively minor natural disasters become vast human catastrophes.

Devastatingly, Davis details how the British Empire (wittingly or not) used these eminently avoidable famines to consolidate its grip over the Indian Raj.

I got to thinking of Davis' dark masterpiece while reading Andrew Rice's excellent, nuanced report, "Is There Such a Thing as Agro-Imperialism?,"   in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

President to Attend Copenhagen Climate Talks | The White House

The White House announced today that President Obama will travel to Copenhagen on Dec. 9 to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference, where he is eager to work with the international community to drive progress toward a comprehensive and operational Copenhagen accord.   The President has worked steadily on behalf of a positive outcome in Copenhagen throughout the year.  Based on the President's work on climate change over the past 10 months - in the Major Economies Forum, the G20, bilateral discussions and multilateral consultations - and based on progress made in recent, constructive discussions with China and India's Leaders, the President believes it is possible to reach a meaningful agreement in Copenhagen.  The President's decision to go is a sign of his continuing commitment and leadership to find a global solution to the global threat of climate change, and to lay the foundation for a new, sustainable and prosperous clean energy future.   

The White House also announced that, in the context of an overall deal in Copenhagen that includes robust mitigation contributions from China and the other emerging economies, the President is prepared to put on the table a U.S. emissions reduction target in the range of 17% below 2005 levels in 2020 and ultimately in line with final U.S. energy and climate legislation.  In light of the President's goal to reduce emissions 83% by 2050, the expected pathway set forth in this pending legislation would entail a 30% reduction below 2005 levels in 2025 and a 42% reduction below 2005 in 2030.  This provisional target is in line with current legislation in both chambers of Congress and demonstrates a significant contribution to a problem that the U.S. has neglected for too long.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

India water demand set to double by 2030: study

New Delhi (AFP) Nov 24, 2009
India's water needs are set to double by 2030, which could dry up its river basins, according to new research released Tuesday that paints a grim picture for supplies across the emerging world.

Global fresh water demand by 2030 will be 40 percent higher than current supplies and agriculture is predicted to suck up 65 percent of all resources, said the report by the 2030 Water Resources Group.

The initiative, headed by consulting firm McKinsey and Co., studied China, India, South Africa and Sao Paulo state in Brazil -- four areas that together by 2030 will account for 42 percent of projected global water demand.

"The situation is getting worse. There is little indication that, left to its own devices, the water sector will come to a sustainable, cost-effective solution to meet the growing water requirements," it said.

Demand for rice, wheat and sugar will push India's huge agricultural sector to consume 1.5 trillion cubic metres of water by 2030, almost double that of China, said the study, called "Charting Our Water Future: Economic Frameworks to Inform Decision Making."

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

BBC News - Ships on alert for icebergs heading towards New Zealand

A warning has been issued to ships in the southern Pacific Ocean after more than 100 iceberg were spotted drifting towards New Zealand.

The icebergs, some of which are 200m (650ft) in size, are believed to have broken from an Antarctic ice floe.

Many scientists have said they believe these segments will break up long before reaching the New Zealand coastline.

The last time such a large flotilla was spotted so nearby was in 2006.

Maritime New Zealand has issued the alert to vessels in the area although it is not a major shipping lane

Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell. Frank Borman

BBC News - Newsnight - New UK nuclear stations unlikely to be on time

A Newsnight investigation suggests that UK government plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations to fill the energy gap by 2020 are wildly optimistic.

The British nuclear regulator has told Newsnight that he would not hesitate to halt construction if problems emerged and that no British nuclear power station had ever been built on time.

Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell. Frank Borman

Ritual sacrifice in Nepal sees 320,000 animals slaughtered to Hindu goddess - Wikinews, the free news source

In a tribute to Gadhimai, a Hindu goddess of power, a Nepalese festival began today with the mass sacrifice of 20,000 buffalo in the village of Bariyapur. Shortly after, 300,000 birds, sheep and goats were similarly ritually slaughtered.

It is estimated as many as 750,000 people travelled from India, which recently banned similar mass-sacrifices, to make up the majority of the festival's estimated one million attendees. Member of Parliament Shiv Chandra Kushwaha skipped Tuesday's legislative meeting, saying that the festival had more importance as a religious celebration.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

BBC News - 1920s disaster movie restored

Footage of a steam train, which was derailed for the 1928 silent movie The Wrecker, has been restored after 80 years with a new musical score.

The steam train was derailed on the Basingstoke to Alton line, in Hampshire.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

A good news day for women | Zohra Moosa | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

You may not know it but today is a good news day for women - 25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which launches the 16 days of activism against gender violence. Sixteen days of women and men all over the world tackling a global - but largely secret - scandal. Where's the good news? After years of lobbying, the UK government has delivered what we've all been asking for - a cross-governmental violence against women strategy.

The scale of the problem facing the government should not be underestimated. Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread abuses of human rights both here and abroad. It affects one in three women globally and is a major cause of death and disability. As ActionAid's work on violence against women reveals, it is also a leading factor in global poverty and a driver of conflict and the spread of HIV and Aids. Within the UK alone, violence against women costs about £40bn every year.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

Wikipedia bans Volvo's IT over racist rants * Channel Register

Wikipedia has banned editing from machines inside Volvo Information Technology - the outfit that operates the Swedish auto maker's IT infrastructure - after someone in the organization vandalized the free encyclopedia with a pair of profanity-laden racist rants.

Yesterday, an anonymous Wikifiddler sitting behind the IP address 192.138.116.230 suddenly unloaded a stream of egregious Wikiracism onto a pair of articles dedicated to Pakistani cricketers Wasim Akram and Inzamam-ul-Haq. According to an IP lookup, the address maps back to Volvo IT.

Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell. Frank Borman

Free to good home: carrier John F. Kennedy  LA Times

The U.S. Navy plans to give away the retired aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy for a museum or memorial. The ship is docked in Philadelphia with other retired warships.

The Navy says the deadline for submitting initial applications is Jan. 22. Bidders have to be a government or nonprofit group that pledges to use the ship as a museum or memorial. The winner gets the ship for free, but will be responsible for moving the 1,050-foot vessel from Philadelphia to its new home.

Known as "Big John," the ship was the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier built by the Navy. It once carried a crew of about 4,600 and 70 combat aircraft. It entered Navy service in September 1968 and was decommissioned in 2007.

If sanity be culturally normative, then by the norms of this culture I claim insanity.

At least seven redhaired students were victims of "ginger" attacks, authorities say  LA Times

At least four redhaired girls and three boys are believed to have been victims of the so-called ginger attacks at a Calabasas middle school that authorities say were inspired by a Facebook message, a Los Angeles County sheriff's investigation has revealed.

The seven victims were targeted in a series of assaults at or near A.E. Wright Middle School that began early Friday after the perpetrators acted on a Facebook message that informed them it was "Kick a Ginger Day," authorities said. Ginger is a label given to people with red hair, freckles and fair skin.

Detectives have identified  eight boys at the school as formal subjects of the investigation, said Steve Whitmore, a sheriff's spokesman. No arrests have been made.

The investigation began after a 12-year-old redheaded boy was assaulted by his classmates at the school, authorities said. His cuts and bruises were treated by a school nurse, who reported the incident to the principal.

"This was the most serious of the assaults," Whitmore said. "The other incidents tended to be pushing, shoving and intimation. More of an aggressive bullying."

Calabasas is an upscale community that has its own school system so as not to have to deal with all of LAUSD's problems.  Perhaps making these students part of an "exchange" program with one of the inner city LAUSD schools for a while would be instructive to the children.

If sanity be culturally normative, then by the norms of this culture I claim insanity.

People may remember that a month ago we were discussing rumours that Berlusconi might buy Spain's El Pais. Admittedly, that's a sensationalist way to put it and the reality was much less clear-cut and much less threatening for press freedom in Spain, though the possibility was there that Berlusconi might consolidate a dominant position in the Spanish TV market where he is already presence through Tele Cinco.

Telefónica adquiere a PRISA el 21% de Digital + por 470 millones · ELPAÍS.com		Telefónica acquires from PRISA 21% of Digital+ for €470M - ElPais.com
Como parte del acuerdo, las dos compañías han suscrito un pacto de accionistas que regulará los principios de gestión de Digital +. Con carácter previo a la ejecución del acuerdo, PRISA procederá a fusionar las dos compañías que desarrollan la actividad de televisión de pago: Canal Satélite Digital y DTS Distribuidora de Televisión Digital, así como las demás actividades relacionadas en una sola compañía. El pacto de accionistas prevé que Telefónica tendrá derecho a nombrar dos miembros del consejo de administración de esa compañía.		As pat of the agreement, both firms have signed a shareholders' agreement regulating the management principles of Digital+. Before executing the agreement, PRISA will merge into a single firm the two companies that carry out subscription TV: Canal Satélite Digital and DTS Distribuidora de Televisión Digital, as well as the rest of related activities. The sharedolders' agreement envisions that Telefónica will have the right to appoint two members of the board of that [new] firm.
El pago de la operación se hará, en parte, mediante la amortización de la deuda subordinada de Sogecable, suscrita por Telefónica en 2003, por un importe aproximado de 230 millones de euros, y el resto en efectivo. La adquisición queda condicionada a la obtención de las autorizaciones necesarias.		The payment for the operation will be made, in part, through the amortization of subordinated debt by Sogecable, subscribed by Telefónica in 2003, for an approximate amount of €230M, with the rest in cash. The acquisition is conditional on obtaining the necessary [regulatory] authorisation.
Telefónica y PRISA han firmado además un acuerdo marco de colaboración con la finalidad de explorar posibles ámbitos de cooperación en el desarrollo audiovisual y otros servicios de ambas compañías en España.		Telefónica and PRISA have also signed a framework agreement with the goal of exploring possible areas of cooperation in audiovisual development and other services by both companies in Spain.

In the discussion I refer to above, de Gondi suggested Berlusconi might put pressure on Telefonica through political meddling in Telecom Italia, where Telefónica has business interests, as a way to leverage himself into PRISA. It appears Telefónica has blunted Berlusconi's scheming, if there was any substance to the earlier rumours.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

Teen Dodges Scolding; Lives On Subway For 11 Days | AHN

Hernandez's mother, Marisela Garcia, 38, spent nearly two weeks in a panic over her missing son mainly because the boy has Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder affecting his ability to socialize or communicate. Garcia said her son disappeared after he thought he would get in trouble for something that happened at school. Garcia said she is disappointed about how little help she got from the police department when she contacted them about her son. She said she and her husband finally took matters into their own hands by passing out fliers around the area before eventually seeking the help of the Mexican consulate in New York.

A transit police officer saw Hernandez at the final stop of one of the trains on Coney Island. He was returned home a little skinnier, but unharmed. Garcia said her son has not opened up about what went on in the 11 days he was missing, but he did tell her he survived off of $11 and lollipops and potato chips, slept on the train and used public restrooms within the system. Hernandez wore the same clothes for the duration of his time on the subway.

Garcia said her son did not ask for help or communicate with anyone. Experts said that it is not uncommon for individuals with Asperger's not to communicate with others.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

Strap-on jetwing birdman does an Icarus into Straits of Gibraltar * The Register

Renowned backpack birdman Yves Rossy has suffered yet another mishap during an attempt to fly across the Straits of Gibraltar. Windy conditions were blamed by organisers after the Swiss daredevil plunged into the sea minutes after leaping from a small aircraft above Morocco, having intended to land in Spain.

Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell. Frank Borman

Bail Offer for Roman Polanski Is Approved - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com

Update | 3:12 p.m. PARIS -- A Swiss court on Wednesday granted bail to the filmmaker Roman Polanski, who was being detained as he fights extradition to the United States to face sentencing on child-sex charges.

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court granted Mr. Polanski's appeal against detention in exchange for 4.5 million Swiss francs, or $4.5 million, together with other guarantees like the surrender of his identity papers to ensure he does not leave the country, the federal tribunal said.

The three judges of the court estimated that the bail amount was a substantial portion of Mr. Polanski's fortune and that given his "advanced age" -- he is 76 -- the "possibility of re-accumulation of fortune in this amount would not be certain."

The court considered the bail and the supporting measures "as being sufficient to avert the risk of flight," it said.

The Justice Ministry has 10 days during which it can submit an appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. But the justice minister, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, told Swiss television that she could see no reason to appeal the decision, Reuters reported.

There's no such thing as original sin - Elvis Costello

The Book of Genesis illustrated by R Crumb | Book review | Books | The Guardian

All 50 chapters are present and correct, and, apart from some discreet nudity when there's begetting to be done, there's nothing to disqualify this from being sold in the staidest Christian bookstore. The text, heavily reliant on a recent translation by Robert Alter, reads like the King James partially revised, in haste, by a primary school teacher. Crumb is a non-believer but frowns on the liberties taken by some other graphic adapters of the scriptures. "This is a straight illustration job," he states, "with no intent to ridicule or make visual jokes." Intentional humour is indeed scarce, although the bit in Chapter 28 where God and the messengers of Abraham float down a heavenly ramp has a Teletubbyish daftness that made me smile.

If the book does not intend to ridicule, what exactly is its intent? Hard to imagine. Crumb's lack of religious fervour means the images lack the weird mystery that suffuses the visions of, say, William Blake or David Tibet. But, with his gifts for satire and grotesque playfulness locked away, Crumb merely manages to depict the soap-opera antics of primitive Israelites in a manner that neither illuminates nor nuances them. His drawing style here - unexaggerated, painstakingly cross-hatched - is the same as he's used for other "serious" works in the past, such as his adaptations of Boswell's journals, Kafka's life story, Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis, or the biographies of various American blues singers he adores. The difference is that there's no one, in the narrative of Genesis, through whom Crumb can vicariously live.

Of course there is some fine artwork. In a project encompassing one and a half thousand panels, there ought to be. The evocation of human wickedness that precedes God's decision to flood the world has a nauseous pall of Bosnian war crimes about it. Noah's construction of the ark is masterfully handled. The genealogy pages swarm with tiny yet distinctly characterful portraits of semitic faces. Abram's haunted sleep when the Lord tells him his seed will be scattered for 400 years is powerfully imbued with preternatural dread. Too much of the book, however, differs too little in conception from the many other graphic Old Testament stories that have been produced by inferior artists. In his foreword, Crumb thanks a pal for supplying him with source material in the form of "hundreds of photos from Hollywood biblical epics". Contempt for the mainstream entertainment industry used to be one of Crumb's strongest instincts, so it's sad to think of him earnestly studying kitsch Hollywood movies for inspiration.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma