European Parliament: Conference of Presidents in Madrid for talks with future Spanish Presidency (02-12-2009)

Ahead of the Spanish presidency of the Council, which begins in January, EP President Jerzy Buzek and leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament will be in Madrid on Thursday and Friday for meetings with Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, other ministers and members of the Spanish Parliament. The delegation will also be received by King Juan Carlos.

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The European Parliament Conference of Presidents is made up of the leaders of the political groups and is chaired by the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek.  On this occasion, the participants in the meetings will be: Joseph Daul (FR), EPP group leader, Martin Schulz (DE), S&D group leader, Guy Verhofstadt (BE), ALDE group leader, Raül Romeva I Rueda (ES), deputy leader of the Greens/EFA group, Adam Bielan (PL), deputy leader of the ECR group, Lothar Bisky (DE), leader of the GUE/NGL group and Nigel Farage, co-leader of the EFD group.

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

European Parliament: Catherine Ashton: EU should do more to "punch its weight" politically (02-12-2009)

Catherine Ashton, the EU's new High Representative for foreign policy, assured MEPs on Wednesday that she had the qualities needed to do the job. During a discussion with the Foreign Affairs Committee she said she would help Europe "punch its weight" politically. Baroness Ashton will face a full parliamentary hearing in January as her appointment - along with that of the rest of the future European Commission - is subject to Parliament's approval.

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Ulrike Lunacek (Greens/EFA, AT) stressed that "Europe needs a strong, united voice, a single face, a clear and transparent foreign and security policy".  Lady Ashton reassured MEPs that she wouldn't be "an extended arm of the UK government". She added she was proud to be known as a pro-European in Britain and elsewhere.

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David Campbell Bannerman (EFD, UK) referred to Catherine Ashton's past as treasurer of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in the early 1980s, as he asked if she "did or did not take money from any Soviet block country" or from any other communist source. Lady Ashton insisted she had not taken any "direct money from communist countries".  Much of the organisation's funds had been "collected in buckets" at marches and demonstrations, she said, adding that she was the first to order an audit of CND's finances.

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

Swedish EU Presidency: Council seeks uniform patent protection across the EU

A common patent system can be viewed as the single most important factor to improve the climate for innovation in the EU. The issue is on the ministers' agenda when they meet in the Competitiveness Council on 3-4 December. The overall theme of the meeting is the EU's strategy for growth and jobs after 2010. The research ministers will create a platform to revitalise European research policy.

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Also on the agenda is a guideline debate on the proposal for a directive on consumer rights. The proposal involves the revision and consolidation of the current directives on distance contracts (contracts via the Internet, telephone, etc.), doorstep sales, consumer sales and unfair contract terms. After intensive discussion between the Member States, the proposal will now be debated for the first time at ministerial level. The idea is that the discussion will provide guidance for the ongoing negotiations. The questions that will form the basis for the discussion concern both specific issues relating to distance and doorstep sales, and more general questions on other parts of the proposal.

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The ministers will discuss the establishment of a new form of company - the European Private Company. The proposal aims to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises by facilitating establishment on the market. Another aim is to reduce the costs incurred owing to differences in the rules on setting up and running a company between the Member States. It is hoped that the Council will be able to reach a political agreement at the meeting.

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

Tehran Times: 'Muslims should withdraw their money from Swiss banks'

Turkish State Minister and Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis has urged Muslim nations to withdraw their money from Swiss banks.

Bagis' comments came in response to a recently approved ban on the construction of new minarets in Switzerland.

...

He suggested that Muslims could deposit their money in Turkish banks instead of Swiss banks.

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

EconomPic: European Unemployment Remains at 11 Year High

Euro zone unemployment remained stable at an 11-year high in October but September jobless numbers were higher than previously reported, showing the labour market has yet to feel the effects of nascent economic recovery.

Unemployment in the 16-country area totalled 9.8 percent of the workforce, unchanged from September's upwardly revised reading, the European Union statistics agency said.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

From The Guardian

Adding a green sheen to a business is a common strategy for a company seeking to impress its customers, but what if that company makes missiles? Fire away, says the 10:10 climate change campaign.

In a potentially controversial move, the campaign has accepted MBDA Missile Systems, a UK-based arms manufacturer, after it pledged to meet the campaign's single aim - to cut its carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. But 10:10 has rejected Manchester Airport Group.

The campaign's leaders said the decision to accept an arms manufacturer had caused considerable debate, but it could not exclude an organisation operating lawfully on the grounds of ethical objections to its product.

From Deutsche Press-Agentur

Berlin - Germany is still paying World War I reparations, more than 90 years after that conflict ended with a peace treaty at Versailles in 1919.

The country is expected to pay off the remaining 56 million euros (84 million dollars) in interest and repayments by October 3, 2010, Germany's Bild newspaper reported Wednesday, citing a spokesman of the German Finance Agency, which manages the government's debts and borrowing.

Swedish EU Presidency: ECOFIN Council agrees on new financial supervisory structure

EU finance ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday for the last ECOFIN meeting of the Swedish Presidency and reached important agreements regarding a new financial supervisory structure, reverse charge for CO2 emission trading, and the implementation of fiscal exit strategies.

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Ministers agreed on a general approach regarding the establishment of three new authorities for supervision at the micro level: the European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and the European Securities and Markets Authority.

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The ECOFIN Council agreed on a general approach aimed at combating VAT evasion, which will give Member States the opportunity to introduce a reverse charge for VAT in relation to emission allowances. The agreement will help Member States to be more efficient in combating fraud and thus enhance the effectiveness of the emission trading market.

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

European Commission: Inauguration of key transport infrastructure project in Maastricht underlines the importance of European mobility

European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani today attended the start of works for an urban highway tunnel in Maastricht (The Netherlands) that removes the last traffic lights on a vital trans-European north-south road link. The works are co-funded by the European Commission under the European Economic Recovery Plan 1 (EERP) Call launched on 30 March 2009. The EERP's TEN-T projects, such as the Maastricht tunnel, aim to boost the European economy following the financial and economic crisis by increasing Community investment in strategic sectors such as infrastructure - giving a positive after-effect on European mobility as a whole.

Vice-President Tajani, in charge of transport, commented, "Today's launch of a key project co-funded by the European Commission exemplifies how effective infrastructure development can positively affect national and international mobility, jump start the economy and improve the quality of life of Maastricht's citizens. The construction of this tunnel will complete a vital TEN-T link connecting northern and southern Europe, and thus further integrate Europe's transport network."

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The Maastricht project was one of 39 successful initiatives benefiting from EERP funding, a programme endorsed by the European Council in December 2008. The EERP is aimed at boosting the European economy during the current economic and financial crisis by increasing Community investment in defined strategic sectors and in particular in infrastructure projects, with the objectives of giving an immediate boost to the economy and at the same time enhancing Europe's longer-term sustainable growth potential. The Maastricht tunnel will receive a contribution from the EU of €15 million.

This scores quite high on Bullshit Bingo.

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

FT.com / Global Economy - UN economists fear hard landing for dollar

A panel of UN economists on Wednesday renewed its warning of a possible hard landing for the dollar in a world economy that remains fragile in spite of a predicted return to modest growth in 2010.

The UN team credited bold stimulus policies by governments for having averted a new great depression but said it was too early to return to "business as usual". Predicting mild 2.4 per cent growth next year, the authors of the UN's annual status report on the world economy said: "The recovery is uneven and conditions for sustained growth remain fragile."

The improved economic outlook was mainly based on companies restocking in the current phase of the inventory cycle rather than on stronger consumer or investment demand, the report said.

It warned that two risk factors could still push the world economy into a double-dip recession: a premature exit from stimulus policies, and a further widening of global imbalances related to the growing US external debt "which could cause a hard landing of the United States dollar and cause a new wave of financial instability".

Rob Vos, a Dutch economist and lead author of the report, told the Financial Times: "It's inevitable for the dollar to fall if the US wants to correct its external imbalances. A weaker dollar is part of the game."

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Double dip warning - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com

I've never been fully committed to the notion that we're going to have a "double dip" -- that the economy will slide back into recession. But it has been clear for a while that it's a serious possibility, for two reasons. First, a large part of the growth we've had has been driven by the stimulus -- but the stimulus has already had its maximum impact on the growth of GDP, will hit its maximum impact on the level of GDP in the middle of next year, and then will begin to fade out. Second, the rise in manufacturing production is to a large extent an inventory bounce -- and this, too, will fade out in the quarters ahead.

Two stories this morning highlight the risks. The WSJ has a report on highway construction titled Job Cuts Loom as Stimulus Fades:

Highway-construction companies around the country, having completed the mostly small projects paid for by the federal economic-stimulus package, are starting to see their business run aground, an ominous sign for the nation's weak employment picture.

Meanwhile, the ISM for manufacturing suggests that industrial growth is already slowing down.

I'd be more sanguine about all of this if there were any indications that private, final demand is taking off -- consumers, business investment, whatever. But I haven't seen anything suggesting that sort of thing.

The chances of a relapse into recession seem to be rising.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Feudal Lords Of Finance « The Baseline Scenario

In some influential circles, these questions are now asked: What's wrong with high levels of inequality in general, and with having very rich bankers in particular. After all, human societies have survived the presence of extremely wealthy individuals in the past - in fact, some now argue, the presence of such a "new aristocracy" can finance growth and spur innovation.
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Can the rich and powerful really be counted on to save the system, or just themselves?  Go back carefully through the early history of the Great Depression (see Lords of Finance).  Certainly the big  New York players saved banks and securities firms that were seen to be part of their club (e.g., Kidder Peabody), but they - and the New York Fed - were not so inclined to save financial institutions they regarded as less than central (e.g., Bank of the United States), even if this meant thousands of people lost their life savings.

When the Bank of England's Andrew Haldane speaks of a "doom loop," he is describing the declining future for our middle class.  Powerful financiers, by and large, did just fine during the Great Depression.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

EconomPic: Still Shedding Jobs

Companies in the U.S. cut an estimated 169,000 jobs in November, according to a private report based on payroll data.

The drop, the smallest since July 2008, compares with a revised 195,000 decline the prior month, data from ADP Employer Services showed today. The figures were forecast to show a decline of 150,000 jobs, according to the median estimate of 32 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Worrisome Thoughts on the Way to the Jobs Summit  Robert Riech

The basic assumption that jobs will eventually return when the economy recovers is probably wrong. Some jobs will come back, of course. But the reality that no one wants to talk about is a structural change in the economy that's been going on for years but which the Great Recession has dramatically accelerated.

Under the pressure of this awful recession, many companies have found ways to cut their payrolls for good. They've discovered that new software and computer technologies have made workers in Asia and Latin America just about as productive as Americans, and that the Internet allows far more work to be efficiently outsourced abroad.

This means many Americans won't be rehired unless they're willing to settle for much lower wages and benefits. Today's official unemployment numbers hide the extent to which Americans are already on this path. Among those with jobs, a large and growing number have had to accept lower pay as a condition for keeping them. Or they've lost higher-paying jobs and are now in a new ones that pays less.

Yet reducing unemployment by cutting wages merely exchanges one problem for another. We'll get jobs back but have more people working for pay they consider inadequate, more working families at or near poverty, and widening inequality. The nation will also have a harder time restarting the economy because so many more Americans lack the money they need to buy all the goods and services the economy can produce.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

Calculated Risk: Goldman Forecast: Unemployment to Peak in 2011

James Pethokoukis at Reuters provides excerpts from the most recent Goldman Sachs forecast and writes about the political implications, but the economic implications are also significant. From Goldman:

The key features of our 2011 outlook: (1) a strengthening in growth from 2.1% on average in 2010 to 2.4% in 2011, with real GDP rising at an above-potential 3½% pace in late 2011; (2) a peaking in unemployment in mid-2011 at about 10¾%; (3) extremely low inflation - close to zero on a core basis during 2011; and (4) a continuation of the Fed's (near) zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) throughout 2011.

You read that right. 2011.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Comcast Buys Majority Stake In NBC From General Electric To Create Media Super Power | Business | Sky News

Comcast is putting up more than £8bn in cash assets to buy 51% of NBC Universal from General Electric.

GE will retain 49% of the company, having struck a deal earlier this week to buy the 20% owned by French company Vivendi.

The deal brings together Comcast's extensive US cable TV, phone and broadband network and NBC's broadcast network and the Universal film studio and theme parks.

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

U.S. housing market meltdown not over yet: Zandi | U.S. | Reuters

The meltdown of the U.S. housing market is not over yet, and home prices will soon start trekking downward again as a flood of foreclosures looms, a well-known economist said on Wednesday.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said in an interview with Reuters home prices will resume their decline by early next year as foreclosure sales pick up again.
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"Foreclosure sales will increase, and home prices will resume their decline by early 2010 as mortgage servicers figure out who will not qualify for a modification," he said.

Zandi said 7.5 million foreclosure sales will have taken place between 2006 and 2011. The majority of these sales, however, have not emerged yet, with 4.8 million foreclosure sales expected between 2009 and 2011.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Washington Post: In Jerusalem, revocations of residency for Palestinians escalate

Israel last year revoked the Jerusalem residency of more than 4,500 Palestinians, far more than in any other year since Israel took full control of the city in 1967, according to government figures obtained by a local human rights group under the country's freedom of information act.

In what an official for the group on Wednesday called a "frightening" escalation in the enforcement of Jerusalem residency laws, the interior ministry said that a sweep of its files last spring turned up thousands of names of Palestinian Jerusalemites who had left the country for longer than the allowed seven years, and would not be allowed to return.

In the 42 years that Israel has had full control of the city, it has on average revoked the Jerusalem residency permits of about 200 people a year -- and often fewer than 100. The previous high had been 1,363, in 2006.

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

Christian Science Monitor: Obama's Afghanistan timeline adheres to McChrystal assessment

The Afghanistan timeline President Obama outlined Tuesday calls for the 'surge' of 30,000 new troops to abate after only 18 months. That time frame is consistent with what Gem. Stanley McChrystal has called the 'decisive' period of the war.

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In urgent language, McChrystal stressed the importance of time in America's Afghan venture - suggesting that the next 12 months could well determine the success or failure of the mission.

The timeline Mr. Obama announced Tuesday night appears geared to providing McChrystal with as many boots on the ground in Afghanistan as soon as is logistically possible in an effort to turn the tide of the war.

Does that mean we're losing?

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

FT.com / US / Economy & Fed - Millions in US lack bank access

Some 60m adult Americans live without a bank account or rely on pawn shops and other non-bank operations to handle their finances, according to a landmark government report on Wednesday that led to calls for banks to expand access to their services.

A census survey commissioned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation showed about 43m adults live in households that rely on non-bank services such as pay-day lenders and pawn shops. Another 17m are in households without any bank accounts.

The figure dwarfs the estimated 46m Americans who lack health insurance; Barack Obama has staked his presidency on bringing that group back into the system.

The FDIC survey was the first of its kind and revealed vast racial disparities in access to financial services. Almost 22 per cent of black households had no bank accounts compared with 3.3 per cent of white households. In some areas the difference was starker: in St Louis, 31 per cent of black households had no bank accounts compared with just 1 per cent of white households.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Senator Sanders To Place "Hold" On Bernanke Reconfirmation, Chairman Will Need 60 Senate Votes To Override Tyler Durden  Zero Hedge

Tomorrow's Bernanke reconfirmation hearing just got more interesting, courtesy of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who has stated he will put a "hold" on the Bernanke confirmation process, meaning the Senate will need to amass 60 votes in order to override and proceed with the confirmation process. Yet as the NYT notes: "though the Senate has been paralyzed by similar blocking tactics on countless other issues, Mr. Bernanke probably has enough support in both parties to clear the 60-vote hurdle." It is time to call your Senators and remind them that at best only 21% of Americans favor Bernanke's reappointment.

The Zero Hedge articleprovides links to all of the Senators on the Banking Committee. I was able to send letters urging rejection of Bernanke to all Democratic Senators except Chris Dodd, whose site would only accept e-mails from Conn. residents, and to most of the Republican Senators. Others could do likewise. Won't hurt.  A senate staffer sent an e-mail that Yves Smith saw which indicated that all of the Senators have their fingers wet and up to see which way the wind is blowing and how strongly on this.  

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

Frank expects no changes to Fed bill  The Hill

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on Wednesday indicated he doesn't expect changes on the House floor to a measure that would increase scrutiny of the Federal Reserve.

Frank, the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, opposes the measure sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), but told reporters that he does not see language being changed on the House floor. "Absent some change in the way the public is reacting, I don't see any changes," Frank said.

Paul's bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), would add new audits of the Federal Reserve, which has come under increased criticism and scrutiny from lawmakers since the financial crisis. It is one of the most closely watched measures included in wide-ranging legislation aimed at beefing up regulation across the financial industry that the House is set to consider next week.

Paul has been a fervent critic of the Federal Reserve for decades, but his effort to increase audits of the Fed gained more than 300 co-sponsors in the House this year as public opinion soured on government bailouts for financial firms.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post last weekend in part to criticize the Paul amendment. The issue will likely come up on Thursday when Bernanke heads to the Senate Banking Committee for a confirmation hearing for a second term as Fed chairman.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

Rep. Murtha not convinced that U.S. faces serious threat from Afghanistan

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the House's top defense appropriator, said Wednesday that he does not believe Afghanistan poses a national security threat to the United States. Murtha said Obama's speech announcing the 30,000 troop increase to Afghanistan was very "impressive," but it failed to change his mind about the situation in the country.

The president "made a pretty good case if you believe the dangers to national security," Murtha said. Murtha has said for weeks that he does not see an "achievable goal" for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Murtha hinted on Tuesday that the White House may be concerned about his potential lack of support for the president's plan and the possible ramifications. He said that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel approached him Tuesday to ask for his backing.

Murtha also hit back at any notion that additional war money would be included in the regular 2010 defense appropriations bill now in conference negotiations between the House and the Senate. Murtha told reporters that Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the Senate Appropriations chairman, both oppose that idea as well.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

Syria bus bomb kills Iranian pilgrims | World news | guardian.co.uk

There are conflicting reports about the blasts. Al Jazeera said initial reports said five people had been killed and dozens injured. Reuters said six people had been killed. "Body parts are still scattered around the bus," a witness told Reuters. Iranian state-run Press TV reported that as many as 12 people may have been killed.

But state media in Syria reported that the coach was empty when the blast occurred and that no was killed and only four people injured including the driver.

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A previous attack in the area in September 2008 killed 17, the bloodiest attack in Syria in recent memory. It was blamed on Lebanon-based Sunni militants.

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

European Commission: Consumers: 30% of Christmas lights are a "serious safety risk" in the home, warns EU report

Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said: "If we are going to "keep the lights on" at Christmas, consumers need to be confident that there are no compromises on safety. Consumers want value for money and choice when they shop around at Christmas but never at the expense of safety. This report is a "wake up" call. National authorities and industry will redouble efforts to crackdown on the gaps and loopholes that can let shoddy goods into shops and our homes. But consumers also need to work to minimise safety risks: so be vigilant, be active and be aware, that way everyone can have a safe and happy Christmas."

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The 3 main problems found were:

1. 25% of lighting chains failed the safety tests for the cord anchorage. Insufficient cord anchorage can lead to the electric wires coming loose with a high risk of electric shock (serious non-compliance).
   
2. 23% of lighting chains failed the requirement for "cross sectional area." This means that the wiring is too thin for the electric currents it is carrying, which increases the risk of overheating and fire (serious non-compliance).
   
3. 28 % failed the safety tests for cables. This means the insulation and construction of the chain is such that there is a risk of electric shock (serious non-compliance).
   

In addition:
A number of other technical requirements are also regularly not met, though less frequently, for example basic mechanical problems that can result in an injury from sharp edges.

• Nearly 15% of samples did not carry the correct "technical markings" required. More importantly, warnings were lacking in 41% of the samples and proper user instructions in almost 35% of the samples.
  
• Lighting chains regularly fail more than one of the safety tests. Some lighting chains failed nearly all the technical tests and many failed 4 to 7 tests.
  
• The level of non-compliance varied from one Member State to another. While in Hungary, 95.7% of chains tested showed serious hazards to consumers, only 56% of those checked in the Netherlands showed any type of non-compliance. This is partially because the Netherlands has been carrying out market surveillance on lighting chains for 8 years and through these efforts has managed to halve the number of dangerous products destined for the market. (See MEMO/09/532 for details).
  
• With regard to origin of the dangerous products, China accounted for approximately 41% of the 196 samples tested.

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

European Commission: Copenhagen conference must produce global, ambitious and comprehensive agreement to avert dangerous climate change

President Barroso said: "In Copenhagen world leaders must take the bold decisions needed to stop climate change from reaching the dangerous and potentially catastrophic levels projected by the scientific community. We must seize this chance to keep global warming below 2°C before it is too late. But Copenhagen is also an historic opportunity to draw the roadmap to a global low-carbon society, and in so doing unleash a wave of innovation that can revitalise our economies through the creation of new, sustainable growth sectors and "green collar" jobs. The European Union has set the pace with our unilateral commitment to cut emissions 20% by 2020 and our climate financing proposals for developing countries. We will be ready to scale up our emission reduction to 30% provided our partners in both the developed and the developing world take on their fair share of the global effort."

Commissioner Dimas added: "I very much welcome that several major partners including the US and China have recently put concrete emission targets or actions on the table. The scientific evidence tells us that to keep global warming below 2°C, industrialised countries must cut their emissions to 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 while developing countries need to hold their emissions growth at some 15-30% below projected levels in 2020. However, the aggregate offers from developed countries still fall well short of the level of ambition needed, so I urge those countries with weak targets to improve them. Moreover a number of provisions in the current negotiating texts would have the effect of reducing developed countries' targets in practice. These provisions must be tightened up in Copenhagen. Ensuring the environmental integrity of the future treaty is of paramount importance to the EU."

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Given the slow progress made in the negotiations to date, and a lack of consensus about the shape of the eventual agreement, it is now unlikely that the treaty can be finalised in Copenhagen as originally planned.

The EU's goal at the conference is therefore to make as much progress as possible towards a full treaty and to reach an ambitious and comprehensive political agreement covering all its key elements as well as a `fast start' deal (see MEMO/09/534 ).

Link is to a Key EU Objectives document.

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

Reuters: EXCLUSIVE: India's provisional CO2 cut target at 24 pct by 2020

India thinks it may be possible to cut its carbon intensity by 24 percent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels, according to provisional government estimates obtained by Reuters Wednesday.

Carbon intensity is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of gross domestic product.

By 2030, India estimates it could achieve a reduction in its carbon intensity by 37 percent from 2005 levels. The figures were arrived at after an analysis by various government departments.

Cutting carbon intensity by 24% may still result in higher emissions if the economy grows above 33%...

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

Google offers a graphic glimpse of how climate change might affect California  LA Times

Researchers and policymakers have long rued that it's hard to illustrate the perils of global warming when its most serious impacts won't be visible for decades. But thanks to the state Natural Resources Agency and Google, a graphic view of climate change's potential effect on California -- based on scientific modeling --  is now just a mouse-click away.

• Do you want to know if global warming will wipe out the Sierra snowpack before your great-great-grandchildren hit college?
  
• Whether rising sea levels will obliterate landmarks in Baghdad by the Increasingly Deep Bay?
  
• Whether your neighborhood will be safe from wildfires whipped by rising temperatures 76 years from now?

If Google Earth already lives in your computer, see for yourself in living color. Dodger fans take note: Much of the field at AT&T Park, where San Francisco Giants play, could someday be under five feet of water. The interactive initiative is called CalAdapt, and it was unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Google CEO Eric Schmidt on scenic Treasure Island in the middle of San Francisco Bay.
Why there? "Within a century, Treasure Island, this place where we are right now, could be totally under water," Schwarzenegger said during a late-morning news conference. But when it comes to climate change, "it is technology in the end that will save us."

CalAdapt, which is still in the prototype stage, isn't a forecaster but rather an electronic way to visualize the possible effects of climate change based on current scientific data, according to the site. "It's a whole new way of communicating research," said Anthony Brunello, deputy secretary for climate change and energy. Although "grandmas, mothers and individuals are a key audience," the main focus for the site is local planners and scientific researchers.

Narrated by Arnold Schwarzenegger, this is an interesting and, to me, impressive document. It is a plus that a Republican governor is pushing it. Looks like one could spend at least an afternoon going through all of the links. Unless The Governator triggers your gag reflex. Far as I am concerned: Good on Arnie.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

N.C. power company will shutter 11 coal-fired plants
| Charlotte News & Observer   McClatchy

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Progress Energy plans to mothball 11 coal-burning power plants in the state, a move that signals the beginning of the end of the era of cheap coal that has defined the state's electricity production for decades.

The Raleigh electric utility is moving to shutter older coal-burning plants because it's becoming too expensive to modify the older plants to comply with ever-tougher environmental regulations. The aging plants, including one in Chatham County, produce 12.5 percent of the power company's electricity but lack pollution-trapping "scrubber" technology. Progress officials anticipate a slew of new federal restrictions on air pollution that crosses state lines, on mercury emissions and on waste pits that store coal ash.

For the power company it came down to simple math. The cost of replacing those plants with new ones mostly fueled by natural gas would be about $1.5 billion. The cost of retrofitting all 11 of the old coal-burning plants to cut emissions is at least $2 billion and rising. "We would have had to put some kind of environmental retrofits on all these plants eventually," said Lloyd Yates, chief executive of Progress Energy's operations in the Carolinas.

Additionally, Congress is debating proposals that would require cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent, with penalties for noncompliance. Currently there is no technology commercially available that can trap greenhouse gas emissions.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

BPA found in 90% of newborns - JSOnline

A study released Wednesday which found that nine of 10 babies tested were born with bisphenol A in their systems has renewed calls for the chemical to be banned.

In the study commissioned by the Environmental Working Group, scientists found the chemical in nine of 10 randomly selected samples of umbilical cord blood.

Previous studies have found BPA in the urine of 93% of Americans tested. But Wednesday's study is the first to find it in the cord blood of U.S. newborns.

"It's alarming," Janet Gray, director of the Environmental Risks and Breast Cancer project at Vassar College, said of the study results. "What more evidence do we need to act?"

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

BPA found in 90% of newborns - JSOnline

A study released Wednesday which found that nine of 10 babies tested were born with bisphenol A in their systems has renewed calls for the chemical to be banned.

In the study commissioned by the Environmental Working Group, scientists found the chemical in nine of 10 randomly selected samples of umbilical cord blood.

Previous studies have found BPA in the urine of 93% of Americans tested. But Wednesday's study is the first to find it in the cord blood of U.S. newborns.

"It's alarming," Janet Gray, director of the Environmental Risks and Breast Cancer project at Vassar College, said of the study results. "What more evidence do we need to act?"

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

European Commission: Eurobarometer: Climate change the second most serious problem faced by the world today

63% of citizens consider climate change as a very serious problem and 24% a fairly serious problem. Only 10% consider it is not a serious problem and 3% do not know. 47% of respondents consider climate change to be one of the two most serious problems facing the world today. Only poverty scores higher, being placed in the top two by 69%. Most Europeans (62%) believe it is not unstoppable.

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

Swedish EU Presidency: The EU in our daily lives: Larger text on packaging

A lot of consumers complain that the text on food packaging is too small and difficult to read. A minimum text size for this information is therefore being decided. This is one of a number of proposals from the European Commission that the Member States and the European Parliament are currently negotiating.

...

In Sweden and many other Member States, it is already quite common to list the nutritional value of foodstuffs, even though this is voluntary. Under the proposal, it would become compulsory for most packaged food products to have a nutritional analysis. This should show how much energy, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates (especially sugar) and salt the product contains. The new requirement has strong support and discussions are currently focusing on which nutrients should be included in the list. The Member States and the European Parliament are also discussing suggestions for how the nutritional analysis can be presented in a simplified format.

...

Allergies to different food products are very common. To protect consumers, rules state that it must be made clear if a product contains allergenic foodstuffs, including nuts, milk, egg or fish. Today the rules apply to packaged goods, but discussions are underway on extending this to unpackaged goods, for example those served in restaurants.

I'm a little surprised that these things are not standard in all EU countries.

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

BBC: New drug-resistant swine flu case

A sixth person has tested positive for a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu, public health officials say.

The news came shortly before two more swine flu-related deaths in Wales were reported, taking the total to 23.

The sixth patient is linked to five people who last week became the world's first confirmed cases of person-to-person transmission of such a strain.

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

Google Makes It Easier for News Sites to Opt-out

In what will be seen as a concession to media baron Rupert Murdoch, Google has made it easier for news sites--such as those Murdoch controls--to opt-out of Google News.

Where they used to have to fill out an online form to opt-out of Google's news aggregation site, publishers will soon have a means to opt-out or set other options automatically, using a small file placed on their sites.

Murdoch has previously threatened to take News Corp. content, including the Times of London, and the Australian, off Google when at some point in the future they become paid sites. His Wall Street Journal and Barron's are already largely subscription-based.

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

Click to enlarge

Hat tip The Big Picture

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Official advised Boris Johnson how to delay Arts Council appointment | Politics | guardian.co.uk

A memo sent to London mayor Boris Johnson, released today, shows he was advised by a senior official in his team that he could hold up the appointment process for a top London arts job until after the general election.

The note from Greater London authority deputy chief executive, Jeff Jacobs, appears to bolster the case of critics who have accused Johnson of deliberate delays to install the former editor of the Evening Standard, Veronica Wadley, into the role.

Johnson has refused to be drawn on whether he is waiting until after the election, which the Conservatives are favourites to win.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

BBC: New York senate rejects gay marriage bill

The state's senate voted against the legislation by 38 votes to 24. Several Democrats opposed the measure.

The bill legalising same-sex marriage had earlier passed easily in the heavily Democratic state assembly.

Gay rights activists had hoped New York would join Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont in legalising gay unions.

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

Inmate's 'concealed weapon' has to be surgically removed | Merced Sun-Star  McClatchy

Don't try this at home -- or in jail.

An inmate at the Merced County Main Jail had a homemade knife surgically removed from his body cavity last month, according to Merced county Sheriff's officials. He now faces concealed weapons charges.

The inmate, 19-year-old Rance Johnson, approached corrections officials Nov. 18, complaining about an item stuck inside his rectum, causing pain, according to Deputy Tom MacKenzie. Even worse, Johnson told deputies the improvised weapon -- known in jailhouse slang as a "shank" -- had been inside his body for three weeks.

He was taken to an emergency room in Modesto, and the 5-inch-long plastic shank was surgically removed, MacKenzie said. "The taxpayer money does cover actual stupidity; hence this guy did have to have this surgically removed," said Sheriff Mark Pazin. "It's unfortunate, but it's a mandated surgery."

MacKenzie said Johnson told investigators he had no idea what the item was, that he'd found it in an interview room and tried smuggling the weapon by inserting it into his rectum. The item was wrapped inside tissue paper and placed in a sandwich bag before it was inserted, MacKenzie said.

Talk about stabbing yourself in the ass!

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

El éxito de un manifiesto · ELPAÍS.com		The success of a manifesto
La noticia más vista en ELPAÍS.com del martes, con 150.000 páginas vistas y un récord de 2.336 comentarios, se titulaba En cinco años esto desaparece. No habrá ni canciones ni música. En ella, se daba cuenta de la queja de la industria musical española, atenazada por la piratería, y de su exigencia de medidas a Miguel Sebastián para garantizar su superviviencia. De las entradas, más de 15.000 procedían de sitios de microbloggin como Twitter, de redes sociales como Facebook y de agregadores como Menéame, y otros tantos sitios de mucho tráfico e influencia en el mercado online español. Estos resultados, que la colocan entre las más vistas de la semana, dejan entrever la tremenda repercusión mediática que se estaba generando.		The most-viewed news on ElPais.com this Tuesday, with 150,000 visits and a record 2336 comments, was titled In five year this will disappear. There will be no songs or music. It was an account of the complaint by the Spanish music industry, choked by piracy, and their demand of measures from [Spain's Industry Minister] Miguel Sebastián to guarantee its survival. Of the hits, more than 15,000 came from microblogging sites such as Twitter, social networks such as Facebook and aggregateors such as Menéame [Spain's Digg] and many other sites of heavy traffic and influence in the Spanish online market. These results, placing it among the most viewed for the week, hinted at the tremendous media impact being generated.
Al terremoto que provocó ayer en la Red la protesta de los músicos le ha seguido este miércoles otro no menor, el Anteproyecto de Ley de Economía Sostenible, presentado por el Gobierno en el Congreso y que afecta especialmente al uso de Internet como hasta la fecha lo conocemos, ya que incluye algunas cláusulas en las que, bajo orden de una comisión de ámbito nacional integrada por expertos independientes , se podrán cortar servicios de Internet a los que proporcionen enlaces de descarga a música y películas sin pagar derechos de autor.		The earthquake caused yesterday on the Net by the musicians' protest has been followed by another no smaller one, the draft Law on Sustainable Economy, introduced by the [Spanish ]Government in the Congress and which affect especially internet use as we know it, since it includes come clauses by which, under order of a national-scope commission made up of independent experts, internet services may be cut to those who provide links to music or fil downloads not paying royalties.
Blogueros, periodistas, responsables de páginas web, profesionales y creadores de Internet han redactado un manifiesto, En defensa de los derechos fundamentales en Internet, en el que rechazan la medida. Lo han colgado a las nueve y, según Google Blog Search, en apenas seis horas, más de 58.000 blogs se han hecho eco del texto y Google, usado por más del 95% de los internautas españoles, ha incorporado más de un millón de páginas sobre el tema.		Bloggers, journalists, managers of websites and internet [content] creators have composed a manifesto In defence of fundamental rights on the Internet, in which they reject the measure. They have published it at 9am and, according to Google Blog Search, in barely 6 hours more than 58,000 blogs have carried the text and google, used by more than 95% of Spain's internet users, has added one million pages on the topic.

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

Peter Mandelson declares war on Rupert Murdoch's media empire | Media | The Guardian

Lord Mandelson declared war on the Murdoch empire today when he accused News Corporation of maintaining an "iron grip" on pay television and warned that the company wants to import rightwing Fox News-style journalism to Britain.

In his strongest attacks on News Corp since the Sun abandoned its support for Labour hours after Gordon Brown's party conference speech, the business secretary accused the company of imperilling the traditions of British broadcasting.

Mandelson's intervention came as Rupert Murdoch faces a growing fight with the Australian government over a controversial tax avoidance scheme put in place when News Corp moved its headquarters to the US. Sydney tax commissioners claim that an elaborate series of legal manoeuvres, dubbed "flip and spin" by News Corp, wrongly deprived authorities in Australia, Britain and the US of billions of dollars in capital gains tax.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

Tiger Woods: Tiger comments on current events

Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.

...

Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it's difficult.

I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.

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

Telegraph [UK]: Wrong maps landed British sailors in Iranian captivity

The wrong maps and a faulty propeller landed five British sailors in the middle of an international incident when they strayed into Iranian waters, it has emerged.

As the yachtsmen celebrated their freedom in Dubai, having been released by their Iranian captors, they admitted the water border with Iran "wasn't marked on the charts that we had".

The five were freed on Wednesday morning by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, who concluded the sailors' incursion into waters near the island of Sirri 60 miles off Dubai in the Gulf had been "a mistake".

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

I can post what i want.

a musical salute to some friends, and a spirit which needs a bit rebornin'.

amurkan music, the best of end of empire. how strange the lyrics remain so appropriate, perhaps powerful, today.  Danke Scorsese for doing such a good job.

Als Geburtstag Geschenk, please play this loud.

Skennah Kowa

Susan Boyle's 'I Dreamed a Dream' No. 1 on charts -- latimes.com

A TV-fueled sensation, Boyle's collection of pop standards, "I Dreamed a Dream," sold 701,000 copies last week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Her orchestral-pop covers hit a holiday season sweet spot, with Boyle topping Eminem's "Relapse" to score the best debut week of 2009. The rapper's return arrived with sales of 608,000 earlier this year.

Adam Lambert, the week's other TV-driven media craze, fared well, if not exactly landing with a blockbuster debut. His "For Your Entertainment" sold 198,000 copies in the days after his American Music Awards scandal.

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

Spiel nicht mit den Schmuddelkindern sing nicht ihre Lieder. Geh doch in die Oberstadt, machs wie deine Brüder.

Well how to do that, when you are being brought up in the Oberstadt (well Frohnhof actually (-: )

Herzlichen Glueckwunsch Franz Josef...

(Just to clarify - FJ Degenhard and I share a birth town and the line from his most famous song refers to it.)

As Yurp finally begins to become Serious^TM, it is important to show the world our ability to weaponize psychedelic drugs.

To be fair, i've also had trouble with my rocket launcher team under the influence.  Still, such debilitations pale beside the advantage of seeing two thousand years of military history parade before your eyes while seeking out the enemy's strategy.

Skennah Kowa