Alternet: Labor Conditions USA: Overworked, Vacation-Starved America Ranks #1 in Depression, Mental Health Problems - by J.A. Silja Talvi

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Labor Conditions USA: Overworked, Vacation-Starved America Ranks #1 in Depression, Mental Health Problems - by J.A. Silja Talvi

U.S. workers' lives are beginning to look a lot like they did 100 years ago when 14-hour days were the norm. As John de Graaf, executive director of the Seattle-based advocacy group Take Back Your Time, puts it, Americans are "time-starved and vacation-starved." Americans put in more hours at work than any other nation, surpassing even the workaholic Japanese. We average nine more weeks of labor per year than our working counterparts in Western Europe, who get at least 20 paid days of vacation each year. Finland tops the list of vacation-supporting industrialized nations with 30 paid vacation days per year after the first year of work, plus 14 paid national holidays, according to a July 2007 report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research. (This is in addition to the possibility that the country might soon grant "love holidays" so that some couples can rekindle passions and have kids.) Canada and Japan are near the bottom of that list, with a legal minimum of 10 vacation days, while the United States has the dubious distinction of being the only industrialized nation that does not have a mandatory minimum of vacation time. In fact, out of the world's 195 independent countries, 137 have some kind of vacation/annual leave legislation in place.

Washington Post: Celtic Tiger Chained By Europe (say Euro Sceptics) - Anthony Faiola

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Celtic Tiger Chained By Europe - Anthony Faiola

When Ireland entered the world's most ambitious economic alliance -- the European Union -- the Celtic Tiger roared to life. Membership in Europe's private club, along with the subsequent adoption of the euro, lured scores of multinational companies to this country and ushered in an unprecedented era of growth.But as Ireland faces its worst recession in a quarter-century, the policies and institutions that bind the European Union now represent some of the country's biggest obstacles to recovery. n surrendering monetary policy to the European Central Bank and agreeing to meet specific budget targets, Ireland and other E.U. countries are now handicapped in their ability to craft responses to specific economic challenges. As a result, economists say, the recession in Europe is likely to be even deeper, and last longer, than the one in the United States, making it more difficult for the global economy to bounce back quickly.

Note EU-Digest

This report by Anthony Faiola is totally slanted and based on views expressed by Euro Sceptics. If it was not for Ireland's membership in the EU, and the support it got to develop a modern infrastructure, the present economic crises would probably bring Ireland back to the period known in its history as the Potato Famine.

EUobserver: Bruxelles turns regulatory eye on rating agencies - by Lucia Kubosova

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Bruxelles turns regulatory eye on rating agencies - by Lucia Kubosova

The European Commission has unveiled a proposal to regulate credit rating agencies, boasting the blueprint goes further than legislation anywhere else in the world in its attempt to prevent future turbulence based on false ratings of various market actors. "These very exciting rules are necessary to restore the confidence of the market in the ratings business in the European Union," said EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy when presenting the document to journalists on Wednesday (12 November).The package includes measures aiming to boost the transparency of the bodies whose malpractice is viewed by some policy makers as one of the factors behind the current financial crisis - by introducing an obligation for them to disclose the models, methodologies and key assumptions on which they base their ratings.

Apart from a broader disclosure, credit agencies will in future have to undergo a newly established registration procedure and face an "effective surveillance regime" by European regulators, under the proposed rules.

Researchers find substantial wind resource off Mid-Atlantic coast

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Alternative Energy: Offshore windmills - Researchers find substantial wind resource off Mid-Atlantic coast

The wind resource off the Mid-Atlantic coast could supply the energy needs of nine states from Massachusetts to North Carolina, plus the District of Columbia--with enough left over to support a 50 percent increase in future energy demand--according to a study by researchers at the University of Delaware and Stanford University. Willett Kempton, Richard Garvine and Amardeep Dhanju at the University of Delaware and Mark Jacobson and Cristina Archer at Stanford, found that the wind over the Middle Atlantic Bight, the aquatic region from Cape Cod, Mass., to Cape Hatteras, N.C., could produce 330 gigawatts (GW) of average electrical power if thousands of wind turbines were installed off the coast. The estimated power supply from offshore wind substantially exceeds the region's current energy use, which the scientists estimate at 185 gigawatts, from electricity, gasoline, fuel oil and natural gas sources.

With a scientifically reliable estimate of the region's offshore wind power potential now in hand, how likely is the US to actually install more than 100,000 wind turbines off the Mid-Atlantic coast? Kempton, the UD professor of marine policy said, "it's a matter of priority. Today, market forces and incremental technology developments will gradually make offshore wind the least-cost power in more and more East Coast locations. On the other hand, if climate change becomes a much greater priority for the United States, our study shows how we could displace more than half the carbon dioxide emissions of the Mid-Atlantic area quickly, using existing technology.” On the practicality of producing 166,720 wind turbines, co-author Richard Garvine noted, “the United States began producing 2,000 warplanes per year in 1939 for World War II, increased production each year, and, by 1946, had sent 257,000 aircraft into service. “We did that in seven years, using 1940s technology,” he said.

Irish Times: Kosovo rejects deal on deployment of EU mission - by Daniel McLaughlin

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Kosovo rejects deal on deployment of EU mission - by Daniel McLaughlin

A 2000 strong EU mission to oversee policing and justice in Kosovo could suffer further delays after leaders of the newly independent state rejected a deal on the mission's deployment that had been agreed by Brussels, Serbia and United Nations officials. The EU had hoped to deploy the mission soon after Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders declared independence from Serbia in February, but it has been blocked by opposition from Belgrade, by Serbia's main ally, Russia, and by the ethnic Serbs who dominate much of northern Kosovo.

Serbs see the EU mission as a symbol of Kosovo's sovereignty - which they vow never to accept - and instead want policing and justice powers to remain with the UN mission that has run Kosovo since 1999, when Nato bombing ended a brutal Serb crackdown on separatist rebels.

Istock Analyst: Russia-Eu Trade Turnover Grows 26% to 138 Bln Euro in H1

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Russia-Eu Trade Turnover Grows 26% to 138 Bln Euro in H1

Trade turnover between Russia and the European Union increased 26% to 137.7 billion euro in the first half of 2008 compared to the same period of 2007, the Statistical Office of the European Communities said in a report prepared for the 22nd EU-Russia Summit in Nice on November 14. EU exports to Russia grew 24% to 50.1 billion euro in the half, while imports from Russia increased 27.2% to 87.6 billion euro. The EU thus had a trade deficit with Russia of 37.5 billion euro in the half compared to 28.5 billion euro in January-June 2007. "Between 2000 and 2007, EU trade in goods with Russia nearly tripled in value. The share of Russia in the EU's total external trade in goods nearly doubled between 2000 and 2007. In the first half of 2008 the share rose further, with Russia accounting for nearly 8% of EU exports and more than 11% of EU imports. Russia was the EU's third most important trading partner, after the USA and China," the report says.

After U.S. Breakthrough, Europe Looks in Mirror - NYTimes.com

After U.S. Breakthrough, Europe Looks in Mirror - NYTimes.com:

"After U.S. Breakthrough, Europe Looks in Mirror
By STEVEN ERLANGER

PARIS — In the general European euphoria over the election of Barack Obama, there is the beginning of self-reflection about Europe’s own troubles with racial integration. Many are asking if there could be a French, British, German or Italian Obama, and everyone knows the answer is no, not anytime soon.

It is risky to make racial comparisons between America and Europe, given all the historical and cultural differences. But race had long been one reason that Europeans, harking back to the days when famous American blacks like Josephine Baker and James Baldwin found solace in France, looked down on the United States, even as Europe developed postcolonial racial problems of its own."

DW: EU Talks Washington Summit Unity Amid More Bad Economic News - Bright spot: Investor confidence improves

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EU Talks Washington Summit Unity Amid More Bad Economic News - Bright spot: Investor confidence improves

European leaders agree on the need to speak with one voice at Saturday's economic summit in Washington. But Europe remains split of how to deal with the increasingly dire economic situation. As the world's leading economic nations and the EU prepare to convene for the emergency economic summit in the American capital, European politicians are stressing their commitment to unity -- at least in words. Even Britain, traditionally somewhat of an outsider in Europe, is talking togetherness.

While some EU states may see the financial crisis as an occasion for governments to rein in out-of-control capitalism, others are more likely to view it as a problem to be overcome while preserving the basics of the current system. Positive news was provided by Germany's Center for European Economic Research, which announced a slight improvement in its poll of investor sentiment. At a near record low last month, the mood has improved slightly as investors have observed the government taking action to respond to the crisis.

eGov monitor - EU Commissioner Almunia : A recipe for recovery: the European response to the financial crisis

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EU Commissioner Almunia : A recipe for recovery: the European response to the financial crisis

Speaking to members of the Bruxelles International Economic Forum EU commissioner Almunia highlighted the impact of the US financial crises on the EU and the EU response to this financial crisis.

Bloomberg.com:The Netherlands - ING Posts First Loss, May Have Additional Writedowns

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ING Posts First Loss, May Have Additional Writedowns - by Martijn van der Starre

ING Groep NV, the financial-services firm that got a 10 billion-euro ($12.6 billion) lifeline from the Netherlands last month, said writedowns amounted to 1.51 billion euros in the third quarter and may extend through year end. The loss for the quarter ended Sept. 30, the first since the company was created in 1991, was 478 million euros, or 22 cents a share, it said today in a statement. That was less than the 500 million-euro loss it forecast last month and compared with net income of 2.31 billion euros, or 1.08 euros, in the year-earlier period. ING rose as much as 3.8 percent in Amsterdam trading.

EU-Digest:: Saint Maarten day celebration in Holland

A special report on Saint Maarten day in the Netherlands

Saint Maarten day celebration in Holland

Today was the traditional St. Maarten day in Holland, when small children come to the door with lanterns, singing the St.Maarten song. After they have sung you are expected to give them fruit or sweets or both. St. Maarten also hails in the Dutch holiday season where St. Maarten day is followed by Sinterklaas ( Saint Nicolas day) on December the 5th, Christmas December 24 and 25, and New Years Eve on December 31/January 1. The History of Saint Maarten has it that Sint Martinus was famous for his great love for the poor, the children and the people in need. As much as he could he tried to help others. In his early days, Saint Martinus was a soldier in the Roman army. On a cold day in the middle of the winter he was riding on a horse heading for home. When he arrived at the city-gate, there was a naked beggar, almost frozen to death, who asked for a penny. Maarten felt so sorry for this man, that he cut his cape in two, and gave one half to the beggar. The next night, Maarten had a strange dream. In that dream, Jesus emerged, wearing a half cape, which he gave to a beggar. From that moment, Maarten didn't want to be a soldier anymore but wanted to devote his life to Christ and God. He became a monk and several years later a bishop. He was so loved by the people that after his death his name has never been forgotten. Many churches in the Netherlands are named after him, like the Martini Church in Groningen. Also many school are named after him (Saint Maartens College).

November 11, the day he died, is the day when tens of thousands of children every year again, sing about him when they walk the street knocking on doors with mainly Chinese-lanterns and ask for an apple, pear or sweets.

Most towns in Holland, Austria, Belgium, Germany and France celebrate Sint-Maarten in the same way: When the sun goes down, and it becomes dark, children walk with their colorful lanterns by the houses singing the traditional songs as they try to gather as much candy and fruits as they can. But in Limburg (the southern part of Holland) Sint-Maarten sometimes rides on a horse through the streets, followed by many children with lanterns. In other parts of Limburg people make Sint-Maarten- bonfires. Then they walk from the village to the bonfire-location with their lanterns and sing more songs.

ChicagoTribune: Married women's cheating hearts beating faster -- having more affairs than ever before - Joel Hood

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Married women's cheating hearts beating faster -- having more affairs than ever before - Joel Hood

A study of infidelity sponsored by the National Science Foundation and based at the University of Chicago indicates that the percentage of women who say they have been unfaithful is growing faster than the percentage of men who admit the same. Data collected since 1972 and due to be presented next month at a behavioral studies conference show that 15 percent of women over 60 confessed to having an affair in their lifetime in 2006, compared with 5 percent in 1991. The rate for men over 60 increased from 20 percent to 28 percent.Some suggest modern innovations such as e-mail, cell phones and instant messaging are opening doors to intimacy that didn't exist in the past.

Business Miami Herald: Lufthansa expands in Miami - by Ina Paive Cordle

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Lufthansa expands in Miami - by Ina Paive Cordle

Despite the global economic slowdown, Lufthansa, the German airline, is expanding its presence in Miami. The airline recently launched seasonal nonstop service between Miami International Airport and Dusseldorf, marking its second destination, after Frankfurt. Swiss International Air Lines, a Lufthansa subsidiary since March 2005, also has daily nonstop service from Miami to Zurich. And other Lufthansa Group companies operate in South Florida, including Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Systems and LSG SkyChefs.

Telegraph: New British Defense Secretary John Hutton backs EU Army - Aislinn Simpson

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New British Defense Secretary John Hutton backs EU Army - Aislinn Simpson

He said Britain should be willing to contribute to a European force to sit alongside Nato, citing as a good example the plans for a European force to be sent to Somalia before Christmas to crack down on spiralling levels of piracy and hostage taking. Mr Sarkozy has suggested Europe's military structures have a new headquarters and rapid reaction forces of 1,500 troops from each member country.

IHT: EU to establish joint air transport fleet

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EU to establish joint air transport fleet

EU governments agreed Monday to establish a joint military air squadron to improve their transport capabilities to far-flung operations such as Afghanistan, Africa or the Middle East. The 27-nation bloc has had a long-standing shortfall in available military transport planes, and EU defense ministers meeting in Brussels hope to reduce this by pooling C-130s, the new Airbus A400 heavy lifter and other types of cargo aircraft. Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Spain have signed on to the initiative, which will be implemented by the European Defense Agency, the ministers said in a statement.

Bloomberg.com: U.S. Economy: Bonuses for Wall Street Should Go to Zero, U.S. Taxpayers Say - by Christine Harper

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U.S. Economy: Bonuses for Wall Street Should Go to Zero, U.S. Taxpayers Say - by Christine Harper

U.S. taxpayers, who feel they own a stake in Wall Street after funding a $700 billion bailout for the industry, don't want executives' bonuses reduced. They want them eliminated. ``I may not understand everything, but I do understand common sense, and when you lend money to someone, you don't want to see them at a new-car dealer the next day,'' said Ken Karlson, a 61-year-old Vietnam veteran and freelance marketer in Wheaton, Illinois. ``The bailout money shouldn't have been given to them in the first place.'' Compensation at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc. and the six other banks that received the first $125 billion of the federal funds is under scrutiny by lawmakers, including Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, also a Democrat. President-elect Barack Obama cited the program at his first news conference on Nov. 7, saying it will be reviewed to make sure it's ``not unduly rewarding the management of financial firms receiving government assistance.''

RNW: G20: Europe ( as a result of British generalities) unable to unite in credit crisis - by John Huizinga

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Europe ( as a result of British Generalities) unable to unite in credit crisis - by John Huizing

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who currently holds the European presidency, has called on his European colleagues to reconvene in Brussels to tackle the credit crisis. During a lunch arranged at the last minute, the European leaders formulated a common position on Friday for the G20 summit, due next week in Washington. But Europe is not expected to play a strong leading role. "They are hardly long-term solutions," says Karel Lannoo from the Brussels think tank CEPS. He also questions the idea to give the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a larger role. If the IMF really wants to act as a financial policeman, then national governments would more or less have to be obliged to adopt its recommendations. And for this to happen the structure of the IMF itself would have to change radically. The US already has trouble accepting interference by international organizations in its national politics, warns Mr Lannoo. And there's another difficulty.the IMF is largely controlled by Europe. But the United States and the newer industrialized countries might prefer to see the voting positions and the capital chairs within the IMF rearranged. Something European countries may not like. Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos said: "We should watch out that we don't just formulate a general ambition, a general agenda for things that need to happen across the globe. In the worst case, it would result in endless discussions about what needs to be done in the world, while we forget there's a couple of things we need to do right now in Europe." It was a deliberate sneer at the British. They would like to arrange everything globally in the hope that London's financial center, the City, stays free of strict European regulation.

BostonHerald: Vandalism disrupts French high-speed train service

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Vandalism disrupts French high-speed train service

Vandals jammed iron bars into two electrical lines on a high-speed rail track in northern France, disrupting service Saturday on more than 30 trains to London, Brussels and other routes, the national rail authority said. No injuries were immediately reported, but hundreds of people were stranded for hours on the tracks and others crowded into train stations awaiting delayed departures. The chief of the SNCF national rail network said it was the fourth act of "malice, even sabotage," on high-speed French rail lines in the past three weeks.

Note EU-Digest: "This not a question of vandalism anymore. The culprits when caught must be treated as serious criminals.

AFP: EU must improve energy security: says EC report

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EU must improve energy securit says EC report

The European Union must improve the security of its energy supplies with offshore wind turbines and gas pipelines to the Caspian region, according to a European Commission report. The 27-nation EU currently meets 54 percent of its energy needs with imports and its dependence on foreign sources has no chance of changing any time soon, according to a report the commission is to publish on Thursday.The report, obtained by AFP, singled out the EU's dependence on foreign gas as a particular cause of concern, with 61 percent of supplies coming from outside the bloc. Although the EU has a diverse range of gas suppliers including Russia, Norway, Algeria and other countries, some member states are particularly dependent on one supplier, as is the case with the Baltic countries and Russia.

LA Times: Deutsche Post's subsidiary DHL Express in US lays off 9,500, cedes U.S. delivery market to UPS, FedEx

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Deutsche Post's subsidiary DHL Express in US lays off 9,500, cedes U.S. delivery market to UPS, FedEx

DHL Express, Deutsche Post AG's overnight-delivery unit, said today it will abandon efforts to compete with United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. in the United States, laying off an additional 9,500 workers and closing three-fourths of its outlets. Deutsche Post's spending on U.S. express operations, including the unit's losses, reorganization costs and the price of acquiring the former Airborne Inc.'s ground unit in 2003, will total $9.6 billion by the end of next year, Chief Executive Officer Frank Appel told reporters at the company's Bonn headquarters today.DHL Express ranked fourth in U.S. express deliveries with 5% of the market, behind UPS, Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx and the United States Postal Service, which is No. 3 with 13%, according to SJ Consulting.

USAToday: Foul Play ? Jet fuel prices plunge, but Airlines Passenger fees defy gravity

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Foul Play? Jet fuel prices plunge, but passenger fees defy gravity

As any driver knows, oil prices have plunged in recent weeks and with them the cost of filling up the gas tank. Airlines are enjoying the same respite from the summer's record-breaking prices: Jet fuel fell to an average $2.16 a gallon last week, down 45% from its peak this July. But major airlines have been slow to share this good fortune with fliers.As any driver knows, oil prices have plunged in recent weeks and with them the cost of filling up the gas tank. Airlines are enjoying the same respite from the summer's record-breaking prices: Jet fuel fell to an average $2.16 a gallon last week, down 45% from its peak this July. But major airlines have been slow to share this good fortune with fliers.

When prices skyrocketed, the fuel surcharges were at least more understandable and palatable to passengers, who knew what it was costing to fill up their own gas tanks. But what goes up ought to come down. Instead, on international flights, just the opposite has been happening. In October 2007, when jet fuel cost an average $2.40 a gallon, the average surcharge on international roundtrips was, according to FareCompare.com, about $125. The average last Wednesday during a week when fuel averaged $2.16 was $300. Several flights across the Pacific carried surcharges of $506.

Daily Herald: Alternative Energy - BP to focus on U.S. wind farms

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BP to focus on U.S. wind farms

Europe's second-largest oil company, will end its planned wind power projects in India, China and Turkey to focus on onshore generation in the U.S. BP plans to have 1 gigawatt of wind power generating capacity in the U.S. by the end of the year, which will rise to 3 gigawatts ``in the next couple of years,'' said the company spokesman Robert Wine. Together with Clipper Windpower Plc, it plans to invest as much as $15 billion to build the world's biggest wind farm in the U.S.

BP is following the same strategy as its European larger rival, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, by focusing on U.S. wind projects. Shell in May sold its 33 percent stake in the London Array project, a 1,000-megawatt wind park off the English coast, citing rising costs. The U.S. offers access to land such as the Texan plains, where developers can build plants with less objections from local communities than in Europe.

EU-Business: Bosnia's main ethnic parties agree to pursue EU-required reforms

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Bosnia's main ethnic parties agree to pursue EU-required reforms

Bosnia's three main ethnic parties, representing the country's Croats, Muslims and Serbs, agreed Saturday to pursue EU-required reforms, mainly that involving the constitution, national television reported. The head of the main Muslim Party of Democratic Action, Sulejman Tihic, and leaders of the Croat Democratic Union and Serb Social Democrats, Dragan Covic and Milorad Dodik respectively, reached a deal on the reforms only three days after the European Union voiced concern that a rise of nationalism in Bosnia could undermine stability in the country. The three, who met in the small northern town of Odzak, agreed in particular to reform the country's constitution and hold a census in 2011, as required by Brussels.

Peteron Institute: Recipe for a Successful G-20: Preparation, the Right Actors, and Political Sensitivity

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Recipe for a Successful G-20: Preparation, the Right Actors, and Political Sensitivity - by C. Randall Henning

The impending Group of 20 summit in Washington, DC, November 14–15, organized to discuss solutions to the economic crisis and reforms to the international financial architecture, is potentially the most important international economic meeting in a very long time. However, it has been hastily convened, insufficiently prepared, and President-elect Barack Obama will not participate. To make this meeting and those that will follow successful, officials of the Bush administration and other governments should heed six key principles for successful international negotiations. The Obama team should also reflect on them as it prepares to take office.

EU-Digest editorial – The Obama Presidency – Europe should throttle down on their expectations

EU-Digest editorial on a new relationship between the EU and the US following the election of Barack Obama

Barack Obama: Europe should throttle down their expectations

Even though Obama's victory was a watershed political development of historic proportions, the European public and policy makers should not see him as the “new Messiah” or expect that the transatlantic relationship has suddenly become a “marriage made in heaven”. The reality is that Obama is the US President elect and that his main objective is to serve the American people and US interests. Therefore his principal focus, at least initially during his Presidency, will be to try and clean up the terrible mess the Republican Administration has left him. Obviously European relations are very important to any US Administration, but one should also realize that given Europe's already solid long term relationship and existing mechanisms of cooperation with the US, Europe will not be at the very top of Obama's Administration "to-do" list. European leaders therefore need to move forward with their own views and plans about solving the global financial crisis, or in dealing with environmental or foreign policy issues, independent of what the new Administration is saying or doing. At the same time the EU and the US should continue working together to uphold Western values, even though they might have a different interpretation or implementation of this philosophy.

uropeans and Americans must also not make the mistake to identify Mr. Obama as a left wing politician in the European sense of the word. If he was a European politician he would probably be catogorized as a “right from center” politician. Francis Wurtz, leader of the left wing Group in the European Parliament, said pressure from Wall Street to reassert US leadership of the financial world, which it lost to London after the Enron corporate scandal, was likely to be very high on the new president's agenda as he deals with the financial crisis. The challenges are therefore numerous for the EU and regardless of what the new Obama Administration does or not do, the EU must take a variety of independent decisions, to include, a realistic review of NATO's Afghan mission, dealing with the instability in Pakistan, reviewing Russia's long term relationship with the EU based on common needs, managing the emergence of China as a world power and partner of the EU, dealing with the the Middle East and Palestinian issues in a more balanced political and economic way than in the past. The EU must also realize that US support for a break-through global deal on climate change is not certain at all, even with Obama as the president. US domestic action to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is unlikely to be dramatic to say the least. The best the EU can expect is that the US Congress and Senate will sign off on the 2007 bi-partisan American Climate Security Act, proposed by US Senators Joe Lieberman (Independent Democrat, Connecticut) and John Warner (Republican, Virginia). While the relationship with Russia is a top priority for Europe, the Obama Administration will in all likelihood be dealing with it in the context of a variety of strategic relationships. Advisers to Obama have already stated that the missile defense shield alongside the Russian border, planned by the Bush Administration, is not high on their agenda.

On the other hand President Obama can be expected to demand more support from the Europeans, particularly as it relates to the NATO activities in Afghanistan. In return, Europeans must call on the US to deliver solid progress on issues that are of key importance to Europe, such as the financial crisis and the control mechanisms to be established, climate change, and non-proliferation. Equally urgent is a new US policy towards the UN, the International Criminal Court of Justice and the closing down of the Guantanamo Bay prison. All this while a time bomb is ticking away for the US in the form of a current account deficit of over 10 trillion dollars. To finance both the current account deficit and its own foreign investments, the United States must import about $1 trillion of foreign capital every year or more than $4 billion every working day. This situation is unsustainable in both international financial and domestic political (i.e., trade policy) terms. Right now this debt is covered largely by China and a variety of other countries. If any of these countries withdraws their support of the US economy the dollar won't be worth the paper it is printed on. Consequently the US bargaining position in the world market place has weakened. We can be sure the new US President will be dealing with that as a critical priority.

A Chinese proverb says “these are interesting times”. Yes they are indeed. So, regardless of the fact that the EU wants to, and should give Mr. Obama the benefit of the doubt, time is pressing and it certainly won't hurt the EU to be more assertive when it comes to urging the new US Administration to move swiftly in a more realistic direction than it has done during the past eight years.

EU-Digest: Worldwide poll shows todays 17-24 years olds reluctant to make personal sacrifices to solve effects environmental challenges

For the complete report on the 27 country Pleon survey click on this link

Worldwide poll by Pleon Communications in 27 countries sponsored by Shell shows today's 17-24 years olds reluctant to make personal sacrifices to solve effects environmental challenges

The poll shows that most of those questioned believe that by 2050 people will travel in flying cars, get much of their power from renewable energy and live a life of luxury in a world without borders. That optimistic image of the future emerged from a survey of young adults in 27 countries worldwide. And while survey respondents believe their generation will have to adapt to rising sea levels and other effects of global warming, they are reluctant to make personal sacrifices that could help address the problem. The worldwide poll gives a fascinating insight into the younger generations view of the future.

Their answers to 24 questions about hopes and fears show they are largely optimistic about their own welfare. Most expect to be better off than their parents by 2050. More young adults in Nigeria, India, Mexico and Russia think so than in any other surveyed country. On the other hand, Dutch and Japanes respondents were the most pessimistic, expecting to earn less than their parents. Although they fear climate change, very few young people say they are prepared to rein in their economic ambitions to help protect the environment. Over 80% of those surveyed want to live in a big house and to travel the world. Although two thirds are ready to make small changes in their lives to help the environment, such as composting or recycling, they are less willing when it comes to tougher lifestyle choices that could have the largest impact on climate change. Only one-fifth of respondents are prepared to take fewer long-distance holiday trips and just a third will change their diet to eat only locally grown food.

EU-Digest: Alternative Energy in the Netherlands: Almere to become the home of the worlds third largest Solar Energy Installation

The solar Island in Almere, the Netherlands

A special EU-Digest report on alternative energy applications in the Dutch city of Almere

Alternative Energy in the Netherlands: Almere to become the home of the worlds third largest Solar Energy Installation

Almere the most modern city in Europe, just 25 kilometers east of Amsterdam, is to be home to the world's third-largest solar energy installation. The alternative energy solar complex is being built on a 7,000-square-meter artificial island, and is expected to provide 10 percent of the city's domestic hot water. Only Denmark and Sweden have larger solar energy installations. The City of Almere, which only welcomed its first residents in 1976, has expanded to a city of 175,000 inhabitants and now is the fastest growing city in the Netherlands. Yearly some 6,000 people move there, mainly for its people friendly living environment.

The Sun Island project in Almere funded by the EU is expected to cut 50 per cent of the carbon dioxide levels required to generate necessary energy levels for the 2,700 homes. The Sun Island is just one of the many large-scale revolutionary initiatives taken by Almere that will benefit the environment, making it one of the most advanced alternative energy areas in Europe. People find it not only fun to live there but also a great place to operate a business. Almere presently has some 10,000 companies established within its borders, providing approximately 70,000 jobs, half of them filled by local residents. Another 50,000 Almere residents daily commute to work in Amsterdam by means of an efficient public transport system.

To meet its projected expansion to a city of some 400.000 inhabitants, the Almere City Council has also commissioned American architect William McDonough to develop an entire cradle-to-cradle neighborhood, called Almere Poort (Gate of Almere). It will be completed within the next five years. The cradle-to-cradle theory developed by William McDonough and German chemist and university professor Michael Baungart says that everything humanity needs can be made from environmentally-friendly, 100-per-cent sustainable material. The city, with commercial partners, has also laid an optical fiber network into homes and businesses. Its residents have access to services like flat-fee phone calls; super fast Internet; and digital radio and television (with 90 channels) and IP telephony - where voice calls are sent over the same network as data - which means calls made to numbers within the network are free of charge.

The solar power island in Almere is scheduled to open on June 21, 2009 - the longest day in the northern hemisphere.

For additional information on this article click on this link

Independent.ie: Crime - EU awash with drugs as 90pc of shipments get through - by Ralph Riegel

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EU awash with drugs as 90pc of shipments get through - by Ralph Riegel

An estimated nine out of every 10 drug shipments evade European customs and police detection. Despite the stunning success for the Irish authorities this week in the seizure of €675m of high-grade Colombian cocaine off the west Cork coast, the grim reality is that the drug is flooding onto European markets. The wholesale price of high-grade cocaine has plummeted from €130,000 to less than €80,000 per kilogram in the space of just four years -- while the number of cocaine addicts within the EU has doubled in seven years. Note EU-Digest: This is an unacceptable situation. Every EU member country is to blame for being lacks in the way they control the illegal import, sale and possession of addictive drugs which has become a major source of criminal activity. Member countries like the Netherlands which still provide legality to the use of drugs in various forms should be made to understand that what they thought to be a beneficial policy has now turned into a major criminal activity and needs to be cleaned up.

hurriyet.com.tr: Turkey's prostitutes seek to establish a union

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Turkey's prostitutes seek to establish a union

Activists and sex workers in Turkey are working on a project to establish Turkey’s first "sex workers" union. They are hopeful about finding a solution to their problems and changing society’s approach toward sex workers. They will organize an awareness walk to bring attention to their issues. Prostitution is mentioned in the Turkish Penal Code and sex workers have to be registered according to the law. However, statistics show that many sex workers are unregistered and have no health or social security. “Only 126 sex workers are registered in Istanbul, but the real number is much higher than this,” said Muhtar Çokar, a doctor who helps sex workers access free and easy medical support.

“The number of registered sex workers in Turkey is 3,500 according to police data,” said Çokar. “That is too small a number compared to Ankara Trade Chamber, which said there are around 100,000 unregistered sex workers in total in Turkey.”

Press TV - EU says - 'Israel war on Iran on the radar'

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'Israel war on Iran on the radar'

A senior European Union diplomat says the perfect time for Israel to strike Iranian nuclear installations 'is between now and January 20'. "A possible Israeli strike against Iran is not completely off the radar," Turkish paper Hurriyet quoted the diplomat as saying. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday that Tel Aviv is 'convinced that Iran continues to try to build a nuclear weapon'.Israel, meanwhile, argues that the use of military force is a legitimate option in halting Iran's nuclear progress. "Israelis would consider a move such as this before Bush and Cheney leave," said the EU diplomat, adding that once Obama takes office, Israel's chances of striking Iran would be off the agenda.

Note EU-Digest: One can only pray and hope this dangerous plan does not materialize. Unfortunately it has a far better chance to succeed than the possibility of Obama breaking loose from the Jewish lobby's terror and giving Israel and the Palestinians an ultimatum: "No more financial aid or political support until Israel dismantles all its settlements and roadblocks, and withdraws to the agreed-upon borders, and you the Palestinians no more support until rocket attacks on Israel cease."

Czechnews: Most Czechs know little about Lisbon Treaty

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Most Czechs know little about Lisbon Treaty

More than half of the Czech population oppose the Lisbon Treaty, but only one-quarter of Czechs know what effects the treaty would have on the Czech Republic, according to a poll conducted by STEM in October. Only three percent of the survey's 1,245 participants know with certainty what the treaty is about. One quarter said they knew "more or less", while almost a half of those polled knew nothing at all about the treaty. Note EU-Digest: This is most alarming, because in January the Czech Republic will hold the presidency of the EU.

Forbes.com: Buckle Up For Obama, Europe - by Lionel Laurent

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Buckle Up For Obama, Europe - by Lionel Laurent

Obama is, on the surface, a friendly force of good for the European Union. He lacks the unilateral, brash cowboy tactics of George W. Bush and the neocons; he has also promised to make jaw-jaw, rather than war-war, a top priority. But there is a chance that Obama might turn out to be a dangerous threat to Europe economically, if not politically, if he decides to turn his back on free trade and give America a helping hand directly. Most economists were optimistic on Wednesday that Obama would not fall into the trap of chasing populism over pragmatism, but that might not rule out future sticking points between the U.S. and Europe

IHT: Hundreds in Germany demonstrate against far right

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Hundreds in Germany demonstrate against far right

Police say several hundred people have peacefully protested against a march by a Germany's leading far-right party in the central city of Fulda. Fulda police estimate 600 people turned out to protest a march attended by about 150 supporters of the far-right National Democratic Party. The party is also known by its German initials as the NPD. Police used helicopters to monitor the protest, which came a day before ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Nazis "Kristallnacht" or "Night of Broken Glass" pogroms that destroyed synagogues, Jewish homes and businesses.

Market Watch: Amsterdam Poker Capital of the World

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Amsterdam Poker Capital of the World

Yesterday, November 7th, the 17th edition of the Master Classics of Poker started in Amsterdam. The Master Classics of Poker is one of the biggest and best-known international poker tournaments in Europe. Last year the total prize pot added up to more than 3.7 million Euros. This year the total prize pot will add up to almost 5 million euro. Between Friday 7th and Saturday 15th November the best poker players from all over the world will be pitted against each other. Amsterdam will be the poker capital of the world this week.

ChronicleHerald.ca Now, America is everyone’s promised land - by Jim Meek

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Now, America is everyone’s promised land - by Jim Meek

A century ago, most of the summer people traveled here ( Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia) from south of the border. This week, all eyes were looking southward. How could any nation, even a wildly unpredictable one like the United States, produce a Sarah Palin and a Barack Obama in the same election campaign? In response to the crisis, Obama may well attempt to emulate one of his heroes, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who regulated the financial and banking industries during the Depression. With Roosevelt and Lincoln as his presidential ancestors, Obama has steep monuments to climb. And as if that doesn’t make his job tough enough, he also has to carry the legacies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali. At least that’s my crackpot theory.

Pajamas Media : Watching Obama from Tehran

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Watching Obama from Tehran

Iranian President Ahmadinejad has great admiration for his own fortune-telling capabilities. For years, he has been making all kinds of predictions. Among his most famous are the destruction of Israel and the end of the “U.S. empire.” In March 2008, he made another prediction. “They would not allow Obama to become the U.S. president,” declared the Iranian president confidently in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais. This new failure in his clairvoyance has probably disappointed the president. Nevertheless, he took the time to congratulate the man he thought would never become president by saying, “Tehran welcomes basic and fair changes in U.S. policies and conducts.” He added what is obviously his idea of helpful advice: ”I hope you will prefer real public interests and justice to the never-ending demands of a selfish minority and seize the opportunity to serve people so that you will be remembered with high esteem.”

Despite this message, the conservative hard-line camp in Iran is worried about the overwhelming enthusiasm and support for the U.S. that Obama’s election has created around the world. A popular American president who talks about peace and wants to negotiate with Iran would take away their justification for leading the anti-American front in the Middle East. The most intriguing reaction to Obama’s victory in Iran was reported by the Saudi-based Al Arabiya. In a report, this news outlet said that some Iranian officials had interpreted Obama’s election as as a sign of the arrival of the Mahdi. This is because Obama’s first name, Barack, means blessing and his second name, Hussein, is the name of the third Shiite imam who Iranians revere. The Saudi channel refused to reveal the name of the Iranian website on which its reports were based. Note EU-Digest: According to the Muslims al-Mahdi is "the rightly-guided one" who, based on Islamic Hadiths (traditions), will come before the end of time to make the entire world Muslim. Over the last 1400 years numerous claimants to the mantle of the Mahdi have arisen in both Shi`i and Sunni circles.

EurActiv.com - ALDE chief: European Parliament needs 'ideological coalition'

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ALDE chief: European Parliament needs 'ideological coalition'

An "ideological coalition", holding a majority in the European Parliament, should be formed after the EU elections in June 2009 to push forward a substantial package on the economy, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) leader Graham Watson told EurActiv in an interview.

CSMONITOR: With Obama's victory, Europe's minorities sense new possibilities : Robert Marquand

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With Obama's victory, Europe's minorities sense new possibilities : Robert Marquand

The election of Barack Obama may have revolutionized the world's view of America. But for Africans and Arabs in Europe, he is much more – a liberator figure whose success and social mobility will help them one day crack open the closed doors of European politics. In Paris's black neighborhoods, in the barber shops, the African boutiques, the crowded bus stops, the groceries, President-elect Obama's election is felt deeply and personally – creating a sense that it is time to push for more. "Obama has restored belief in the American dream," says Pap Ndiaye, who is with the School for the Advanced Study of the Social Sciences in Paris. "But his election also has a direct social effect in France, because the black youth think it is possible there [in the US] but not here.

Note EU-Digest: Very true. In some countries like the Netherlands this is already happening. Click on this link to read the story.

EU-Digest: Spain barred to attend G20 summit by Bush Administration as payback for their Iraq position

EU-Digest report on G20 summit in DC

Spain barred to attend G20 summit by Bush Administration as payback for their Iraq position

Spain,which has the world's eight largest economy has pressed for an invitation to next week's global G20 financial crisis summit in Washington. They have won French support, which presently also represents the EU presidency, to attend as an observer, officials said yesterday. France, which first proposed the summit last month, has asked the U.S. to let Spain attend as an "associate". As the host of the summit, the Bush Administration is in charge of the guest list.

Detroit free Press:/EU-Digest : US Auto industry comes with hat in hand for Government bailout after years of stubbornly lobbying against regulations

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US Auto industry comes with hat in hand for Government bailout after years of stubbornly lobbying against regulations to making more efficient and environmentally clean cars.

The chief executives of the Detroit's automakers and the UAW president met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday to discuss the possibility of a second $25-billion loan to the companies, as General Motors Corp. prepares to report financial results Friday that will sound new alarms about the industry's need for aid. The Center for Automotive Research said Wednesday that if the Detroit automakers cut U.S. operations by 50%, 2.5 million jobs could be lost in 2009. Of those, 250,000 would come from automakers, 800,000 would come from suppliers, and 1.4 million other jobs from a ripple effect.

Note EU-Digest: One would only hope the US government makes sure that before any loan or handout is given to the auto industry it includes stringent regulations and deadlines for producing more efficient and environmentally clean cars.

guardian.co.uk/reuters: The EU will likely take a 5 key point message to Washington

EU comes to G20 meeting with constructive proposals

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The EU likely will take a 5 key point message to Washington

Europe is likely to take a five key point message to the Washington meeting on the overhaul of global financial institutions. This boils down a more extensive list of actions agreed by EU finance ministers, a draft paper showed. The paper, prepared by the French presidency of the European Union for a meeting of EU leaders on Friday, also said the EU would like the Washington summit to produce concrete proposals on priorities agreed within 100 days from Nov. 15.

The five priorities identified by the EU stick closely to the priority wish-list approved by the EU finance ministers earlier this week, and they are:
- to give the IMF "primary responsibility", together with the Financial Stability Forum, to recommend steps to restore confidence and stability. The IMF should be given the necessary resources and appropriate tools to help countries in trouble.
- registration of rating agencies and surveillance of implementation of codes of conduct relating to them.
- convergence of accounting standards and a review of the application of the "fair value" rule in financial institutions. The "fair value" rule currently requires instititions to value their assets at market value, which creates valuation problems when the market for a given security is not functioning.
- to take steps to ensure that no market segment, territory, or financial institution, including hedge funds, is beyond regulation or surveillance.
- to implement codes of conduct to avoid excessive risk taking in the financial industry, including the sphere of compensation. These codes should be taken into account by supervisors in evaluating the risk profile of institutions.

EU-Digest-- Poverty and a failing economy is created by the system not the people

A special EU-Digest report

"Poverty and a failing economy is created by the system not the people"

The current financial crisis is a direct result of the utterly unregulated derivatives and other speculation driven markets combined with large scale lending and borrowing which have choked the system to the point of no return. As average income of all economic units are usually equivalent to the average wage of all working people, only a few can draw very high salaries at the expense of the majority drawing less than average. In order to deal with this inequality and the potential opposition to it, the corporate powers developed a multi-layered income structure whereby income can be widely distributed in a trickle down fashion among people, without endangering the income levels of the top 1.5 percent of the people at the top. The ones who control more than 90 % of the wealth.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus says: "Globalization is not working for people who are poor. ... Sometimes, it acts like a 20-lane highway running across the world. But the problem is the big trucks from the USA are taking over all the lanes. No lane is safe for rickshaws. ... So if that image is correct, why don't we have traffic rules? This lane is reserved for rickshaws ... that lane is for heavy vehicles. Today, heavy vehicles are taking over everything. ... So we need traffic rules and traffic police". Today, in globalization, there are no traffic police.

But the system is not only creating more poor people in the developing world. Even the US considered the worlds economic powerhouse has had the most unequal distribution of wealth in the past 30 years. opinion polls show that a substantial majority of Americans say the rich don't pay their fair share of taxes. A growing number also say the U.S. is becoming a nation of haves and have-nots. The public's concerns reflect a shifting dynamic in recent years, as an increasing share of the wealth has gone to people at the top of the income scale. The top tenth of U.S. households now earn an average of 11.2 times what those in the bottom tenth make, according to the Census Bureau. That's up from a ratio of 8.7 three decades ago. The wealthiest fifth of U.S. households now take in 50 percent of all income, up from 44 percent in 1977. The differences are even more pronounced in analyzes of incomes for the top 1 percent of households. Already in 2005 the then Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said: "The income gap between the rich and the rest of the U.S. population has become so wide, and is growing so fast, that it might eventually threaten the stability of democratic capitalism itself." Today at the end 2008 the economic system as we know it is broken on a world-wide scale and needs urgent repair. Bandages in the form of tax breaks or economic stimulus programs, or propping up failed banks just won't solve the problem anymore.

EUobserver: EU asks US for greater role on world stage - by PHILIPPA RUNNER

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EU asks US for greater role on world stage - by PHILIPPA RUNNER

The EU has in a letter to the next US president appealed for a greater European role on the world stage, more engagement with a resurgent Russia and more emphasis on peacemaking in Afghanistan and the Middle East. The six-page text was agreed at an informal EU foreign ministers meeting in Marseilles on Monday (3 November) and will remain under wraps until after the US election on Tuesday. But its contents were outlined by French EU presidency officials on the margins of the Mediterranean Union gathering in the southern French city, Le Figaro reports.Based around four priorities, the text calls for a better interplay between security and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, with a view to making Afghan elections in late 2009 determinant for peace in the country. It says the US and EU should take note of Russia's economic revival and intensify diplomatic contacts to avoid the risk of confrontation. The EU as Russia's permanent neighbour should have a major role in future negotiations.

The letter urges the new US administration to put the Middle East peace process at the top of its agenda and foresees a "useful role" for the EU as co-guarantors of a future Israeli-Palestinian accord.

Note EU-Digest: The EU should not ask to play a greater role. It should take the initiative, play a greater role and lay out a plan to the US saying where it stands on these issues and how it will act. Europe must not be subservient to any country in the world.

DutchNews.nl - EU court backs Dutch on diesel fumes

For the complete report from DutchNews.nl click on this linkEU court backs Dutch on diesel fumes

The European Commission was wrong to ban the Netherlands from making soot filters on diesel vehicles compulsory, the European Court of Justice said today. The court said the Commission had not taken the country’s highly concentrated population and infrastructure into account, reports Reuters news agency. The Netherlands wanted to introduce the filter in 2006, arguing it could not meet Commission targets on exhaust pollution without them. Brussels plans to make them compulsory next year and said it did not want the Netherlands to go it alone, a position upheld by the court last year.

Guardian.co.uk: US Economy - Obama should spend money on healthcare to stimulate the economy - by Dean Baker

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US Economy: Obama should spend money on healthcare to stimulate the economy - by Dean Baker

Few presidents will come into office having generated the sort of expectations Barack Obama created over the course of his campaign. The country's economic crisis poses substantial dangers but it also presents enormous opportunities. If President Obama is prepared to seize these opportunities, he will establish himself as one of the countries truly great presidents, alongside Lincoln and Roosevelt. Specifically, Obama can take advantage of the current economic crisis to announce plans to jump-start national health insurance. Extending health insurance can be an effective stimulus that will provide an immediate boost to the economy. More importantly, it will provide the same access to healthcare that people in other wealthy countries have long taken for granted.

The backdrop is straightforward. Economists from across the political spectrum are now calling for a large stimulus package to limit the economy's decline and the rise in unemployment. The consensus is in the range of 2.0-2.5% of GDP, or $300-400bn a year.

FON: LINK TO A WIFI CONNECTION AROUND THE WORLD FOR FREE

For further details about FON click on this link

LINK TO A WIFI CONNECTION AROUND THE WORLD FOR FREE

FON is the largest WiFi community in the world. Community members, Foneros, share some of their home Internet connection and in return gain access to free Wifi worldwide.

Alternet: Can Obama Stop the Bush Administration's Final Economic Heist? - by Naomi Klein

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Can Obama Stop the Bush Administration's Final Economic Heist? - by Naomi Klein

"The question now is whether Obama will have the courage to take the ideas that won him this election and turn them into policy. Or, alternately, whether he will use the financial crisis to rationalize a move to what pundits call "the middle" (if there is one thing this election has proved, it is that the real middle is far to the left of its previously advertised address). Predictably, Obama is already coming under enormous pressure to break his election promises, particularly those relating to raising taxes on the wealthy and imposing real environmental regulations on polluters. All day on the business networks, we hear that, in light of the economic crisis, corporations need lower taxes, and fewer regulations -- in other words, more of the same.

"The $700-billion "rescue plan" should be regarded as the Bush Administration's final heist. Not only does it transfer billions of dollars of public wealth into the hands of politically connected corporations (a Bush specialty), but it passes on such an enormous debt burden to the next administration that it will make real investments in green infrastructure and universal health care close to impossible. If this final looting is not stopped (and yes, there is still time), we can forget about Obama making good on the more progressive aspects of his campaign platform, let alone the hope that he will offer the country some kind of grand Green New Deal".

Time Magazine : The Meaning of Obama's Win: How He Rewrote the Book - by Nancy Gibbs

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The Meaning of Obama's Win: How He Rewrote the Book - by Nancy Gibbs

Some princes are born in palaces. Some are born in mangers. But a few are born in the imagination, out of scraps of history and hope. Barack Obama never talks about how people see him: I'm not the one making history, he said every chance he got. You are. Yet as he looked out Tuesday night through the bulletproof glass, in a park named for a Civil War general, he had to see the truth on people's faces. We are the ones we've been waiting for, he liked to say, but people were waiting for him, waiting for someone to finish what a King began.

Barack Hussein Obama did not win because of the color of his skin. Nor did he win in spite of it. He won because at a very dangerous moment in the life of a still young country, more people than have ever spoken before came together to try to save it. And that was a victory all its own.

EUobserver: Europe awaits 'new deal' from President Obama - by Lujcia Kubosova

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Europe awaits 'new deal' from President Obama - by Lujcia Kubosova

Europe has welcomed the victory of the democratic candidate in the US presidential elections, with the French leader Nicolas Sarkozy praising the choice of "change" and "optimism" by the American voters, while Brussels urged for a "new deal in a new world" under the leadership of Barack Obama. Europe has welcomed the victory of the democratic candidate in the US presidential elections, with the French leader Nicolas Sarkozy praising the choice of "change" and "optimism" by the American voters, while Brussels urged for a "new deal in a new world" under the leadership of Barack Obama.

Good Morning, Mr. President: What Europe Wants from Obama

SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

"What Europe Wants from Obama

In conversations and e-mail exchanges with SPIEGEL ONLINE, European leaders and thinkers express their wishes for US President-elect Barack Obama. Yes, they want the US to join the Kyoto successor. And, yes, they want to see Guantanamo close. But many also know that theirs is a view from Mars."

NYT: The Challenge - For Obama, No Time for Laurels; Now the Hard Part - by Peter Baker

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The Challenge - For Obama, No Time for Laurels; Now the Hard Part - by Peter Baker

No president since before Barack Obama was born has ascended to the Oval Office confronted by the accumulation of seismic challenges awaiting him. Historians grasping for parallels point to Abraham Lincoln taking office as the nation was collapsing into Civil War, or Franklin D. Roosevelt arriving in Washington in the throes of the Great Depression.Given the depth of these issues, Mr. Obama has little choice but to “put your arm around chaos,” in the words of Leon E. Panetta, the former White House chief of staff who has been advising his transition team. “You better damn well do the tough stuff up front, because if you think you can delay the tough decisions and tiptoe past the graveyard, you’re in for a lot of trouble,” Mr. Panetta said. “Make the decisions that involve pain and sacrifice up front.”

What kind of decision maker and leader Mr. Obama will be remains unclear even to many of his supporters. Will he be willing to use his political capital and act boldly, or will he move cautiously and risk being paralyzed by competing demands from within his own party? His performance under the harsh lights of the campaign trail suggests a figure with remarkable coolness and confidence under enormous pressure, yet also one who rarely veers off the methodical path he lays out.

Ottawacitizen.com: World reaction to Obama victory: From jubilation to trepidation

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World reaction to Obama victory: From jubilation to trepidation

Reaction to Obama's win ranged from jubilation to trepidation on the streets of the world's capital cities as official congratulations from heads of state began to flow shortly after Republican candidate John McCain conceded the election. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki called Obama's victory in the US presidential election a "momentous" day for Kenya, where Obama's father was born. French and EU President Nicolas Sarkozy called Obama's U.S. presidential election win "brilliant victory." "I give you my warmest congratulations and, through me, those of all French people," Sarkozy told Obama in a letter made public by the French presidency. "Your brilliant victory rewards a tireless commitment to serve the American people." In Cuba, Obama's campaign vow to ease the 46-year-old U.S. trade embargo and his willingness to consider dialogue with the Cuban government were a breath of fresh air after almost eight years of tough talk and hard-line policies from the Bush administration, Cubans said. China also welcomed Obama and the excitement of his victory filtered down to the streets of Beijing, where ordinary Chinese citizens who have never voted themselves and some who could not even name the candidates embraced Obama's message of change.

LATimes: The Complete Text of President-elect Barack Hussein Obama's Acceptance Speech - An Historic Moment for America and the World

President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama

For the complete report from the Los Angeles Times click on this link

The Complete Text of President-elect Barack Hussein Obama's Acceptance Speech - An Historic Moment for America and the World.

"This is our moment. This is our time –- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth –- that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people. Yes, we can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America". From the acceptance speech by the 44th President Elect of the United States of America - Mr. Barack Obama.

Editors Note: To EU-Digest's American subscribers and readers: "This was truly an historic and watershed Presidential election. All Americans, including every Republican and Democrat, should take great pride that they live in a country which still has the best functioning and self correcting democratic system of Government in the world. Who could have ever imagined in 1968, when segregation was abolished in America, that only 40 years later the US would have the son of a black African immigrant win the presidential election by a landslide and become its 44th designate - President. Congratulations America - Yes you did ! Rick Morren"

Newspost Online: Marijuana with Viagra topping selling on Netherlands’ streets

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Marijuana with Viagra topping selling on Netherlands’ streets

While analysing a liquid, which was being sold on the streets of Utrecht, Netherlands, as a “marijuana adulterant”, researchers have discovered Viagra-like compounds in it. The team led by Dries de Kaste from National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven has identified compounds called homosildenafil (HS) and thiohomosildenafil (THS) that belong to the in the same class of compounds called sildenafil, sold as Viagra. Although De Kaste still needs to know why HS and THS are being added to cannabis, but she believes that it could be to enhance the uptake of its psychoactive constituents or to exploit a perception that marijuana use affects libido.

IPP Media: What Africa expects from the US elections

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What Africa expects from the US elections

"The world watches as America sets to elect its 44th president today. The election battle is between Democratic contender Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain.Over a period of time, it has been stated by various African intellectuals on several occasions that they would wish to be able to vote in an American election precisely because if ``they pipe in America, they dance in Africa.``

The establishment of democratic institutions and the building of multi-party political culture in Africa have been dogged by poverty, ignorance and even armed uprisings, while many of the internal crises in the still infant African countries had a foreign hand in them. The power that the United States wields in the United Nations and global affairs is sufficient for adoption of UN reform, which should lead to Africa having a greater say; and one of its nations occupying a seat in the United Nations Security Council as permanent member with veto power. This is not too much to ask the winner of today's US presidential election."

WSJ.com: EU - Next up Croatia

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"If anyone is looking for a diversion from the U.S. election this week, may we suggest EU enlargement. This always touchy subject will pop up again tomorrow when Brussels reviews its expansion strategy. The European Commission is expected to announce that Croatia is on track to finish accession negotiations next year and join the union in 2011, and that progress in other countries, including Turkey and Serbia, has been slow in the past 12 months. Then Paris and Berlin will restate their opposition to any more enlargement before the stalled Lisbon Treaty is fully ratified.

Admission to the EU requires candidates and existing members alike to uphold their respective ends of the bargain. At present, both sides have more work to do."

EU-Digest:: A European Obama? - Ahmed Aboutaleb chosen as Rotterdam's new Mayor

Ahmed Aboutaleb, the new Mayor of Rotterdam

EU-Digest focus on Ahmed Aboutaleb, the new Mayor of Rotterdam

A European Obama? - Ahmed Aboutaleb chosen as Rotterdam's new Mayor

A Moroccan-born Dutch politician who told immigrants to either integrate or take the next plane home, will become the first immigrant to lead Rotterdam, one of the Netherlands' major cities and Europe's number one container Port. On Jan. 1, Ahmed Aboutaleb will take the reins of Rotterdam, a city and subburbian region of some 1 million people, when incumbent Ivo Opstelten retires. Mr.Aboutaleb was born August 29, 1961 in Beni Sidel, Morocco, and is the son of an Imam. After growing up in his small Moroccan village, he moved to the Netherlands in 1976. He studied electrical engineering and telecommunications, and worked as a reporter for Veronica, NOS-radio and RTL Nieuws. Later, he also worked at the public relations department of the Dutch Health Ministry. In 1988, Ahmed Aboutaleb became the director of the Forum organization, which was directly related to multiculturalism in Dutch society. Ahmed Aboutaleb, who is a Muslim strongly advocates the separation of church and state (secularism).

In 1988, Aboutaleb became the director of the Forum organization, which was directly related to multiculturalism in Dutch society. The government approved Aboutaleb's appointment Friday after the municipality voted overwhelmingly for him. Ahmed Aboutaleb, 47, is presently deputy minister for social affairs in Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's government along with another foreign born deputy minister, Nebahat Albayrak, of Turkish descent. Before taking the ministerial job in 2007, he made his reputation as an alderman in Amsterdam, where he pushed migrants to integrate or leave.

Aboutaleb was propelled to prominence when he went to a mosque in Amsterdam the day after Van Gogh's murder and told the worshipers to either integrate or take the next plane home.

Rotterdam was the power base of populist anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn, who was murdered by an animal rights activist in 2002. Ruud Lubbers, a former prime minister, said Mr. Aboutaleb is an excellent choice who should be able to keep anti-immigrant sentiment under control in the city. Nearly 36 percent of Rotterdam's population is classed as "non-western immigrant" by the Dutch national statistics office. The immigrants are mainly families and descendants of Turkish and Moroccan guest workers.

tehran times : Turkey-Iran trade exceeds euro 8.7b

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Turkey-Iran trade exceeds euro 8.7b (US$ 11b)

Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen announced on Friday that Tehran-Ankara trade exceeded 11 billion dollars in the current Iranian calendar year (to end on March 20, 2009). Such a trade volume is an indication to existence of close economic cooperation between the two nations, he added. He made his remarks in a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Istanbul on ‘Europe and Central Asia’.

RIA Novosti - Russia-EU cooperation pact talks may resume in November

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Russia-EU cooperation pact talks may resume in November

Bernard Kouchner said in an interview with the Kommersant business daily that restoring ties between Russia and the EU was not a "two-day issue," although he added that the talks on the long overdue strategic cooperation agreement could still resume at a Russia-EU summit in Nice scheduled for November 14. Kouchner added that Moscow had on the whole complied with all the international commitments under the French-brokered peace plan to end the conflict in Georgia, although "a few disputable points remain." The first round of talks on a new wide-ranging deal between Russia and the EU was held in July. The agreement is set to replace the 1997 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was extended for a year when it expired in December 2007.

Intellectual Conservative: The Impending Defeat of John McCain - by George Shadroui

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The Impending Defeat of John McCain - by George Shadroui

"With one day to go, barring a miracle, the United States is about to elect the most left-wing government since 1964 — perhaps in its history. But even worse, there are signs that Obama's team will combine with his big government tendencies, an authoritarian mindset that in recent days has become disturbing even for those of us who were once willing to concede that the Senator was a talented, decent man. Friends, when we lose this year — if we lose — it will be largely because we failed to articulate in a compelling way the great enterprise for which we labor and struggle. It is not an enterprise on behalf of the mighty, the rich, the famous, or the collective. It is an enterprise on behalf of each individual striving to find dignity, self-respect and self-worth. To paraphrase one writer: striving as thoughtful individuals, we will reach our goals together; forced to strive for it collectively, we will perish alone."

Note EU-Digest: what a bunch of "crock" from US Conservatives, who only have themselves to blame for eight years of mismanagement, deceit and underachievement.

Javno - EU - Merkel Wants New Financial Rules Within A Year

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EU - Merkel Wants New Financial Rules Within A Year

Merkel also said she expected Europe to push its views forcefully in the talks, which will include leaders from the so-called G20 nations.The White House has said the Nov. 15 summit will be the first in a series at which major nations will discuss reforms to the financial system. The meeting comes in the midst of the worst financial crisis in nearly 80 years. Speaking at the same conference, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck spoke of a window of opportunity for creating new rules for the financial system and cautioned that a change in government in the United States should not delay their implementation. "My hope is that ... we don't see any developments that might change the path we are on," he said, referring to the U.S. election. The United States will vote next Tuesday in an election contested by Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

Both Merkel and Steinbrueck have criticised the United States for resisting European efforts in past years to introduce tougher regulation of the financial system, including more supervision of hedge funds.

Radio Netherlands - Dutch economy healthier than EU counterparts

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Dutch economy healthier than EU counterparts

The European Commission has predicted that the Netherlands will not enter a recession and that the Dutch economy will grow by 0.4 percent in 2009. The economic outlook for the Netherlands is far rosier than for the other 14 countries in the euro zone. The EC has predicted that average growth in the euro zone in 2009 will be 0.1 percent but also said that Germany, France and Italy will see their economies stagnate and experience zero growth. The EC has also forecast that the Dutch economy will grow by 2.3 percent in 2010, well above the euro zone average of 0.9 percent.

BBC : Will US voters face poll chaos? - by Laura Smith-Park

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US elections: Will US voters face poll chaos? - by Laura Smith-Park

In 2000 it was the problem of hanging chads, recounts and court decisions in Florida. In 2004, some voters endured an eight-hour wait to vote in Ohio. Four years on, a study by the Pew Research Center has warned of a possible "perfect storm" creating chaos at the polls - fueled by record numbers of voters, new voters, and shortage of polling station staff.Another report on 10 swing states, by The Century Foundation and Common Cause, found that "significant problems in the basic functions of American election administration system persist, and in a few cases have worsened".

For the latest poll updates click on this link

EU-Digest/China View: EU FMs to finalize plans for establishing co-op with U.S. - "November G20 meeting an exercise in futility - EU-Digest"

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EU FMs to finalize plans for establishing co-op with U.S

Foreign ministers of the European Union members are to gather today, on the eve of the U.S. presidential elections, for an informal meeting to finalize their plans for establishing a balanced and closer cooperation with the United States. At the Informal Meeting of Foreign Ministers (Gymnich) in the southern France city of Avignon two months ago, the ministers had discussed how the EU could enhance political dialogue with the United States to carry more weight in the resolution of regional crises and to intensify transatlantic cooperation for dealing with major global challenges. Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the EU Council and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, together with Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations, will attend the one-day meeting.

Note EU-Digest: "we can only hope the EU will look at their relationship with the US in a more objective way. As it stands now the US in dealing with the EU has gotten their way in most areas, including those on issues of security, privacy, and transportation. A recent agreement between the EU and the US has resulted in EU citizens privacy rights being compromised. One of the reason's for this lopsided relationship in favor of the US is that the US usually deals with each individual EU member state on a bi-lateral level instead of dealing with the EU as one body.

It also seems a futile and costly exercise for the EU to participate in the G20 conference later this month, presided over by a lame duck US government. A new US Administration, whichever candidate wins the presidential election will want to have their say in these deliberations. Even though the winner of that contest will be known at the time of the planned G20 meeting, there can only be one President of the US at a time, and that President will still be Mr. Bush. The new Administration will be in office on January 20 and it would make far more sense to to wait until after that date to hold the G20 meeting soon thereafter".

Timesonline: US Presidential elections: Victory may prove to be the easy part: by Martin Ivens

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US Presidential elections: Victory may prove to be the easy part - by Martin Ivens

The inexperienced Obama is a blank page on which half the country has written its hopes. Like new Labour in 1997 he preaches consensus healing. His campaign has succeeded through cautious restraint, his mantra of change allowing him maximum room for manoeuvre. The talk is a Republican titan will head defence or the State Department.

Obama’s ability to “redeem” or heal America has been widely overhyped by the liberal media. Like Tony Blair, will inexperience mean he is similarly slow to learn to use the levers of power? Abroad, he has already been greeted as a hero though he will soon be tested. The weight of expectations is almost too great.

Peak Oil News : Offshore windfdarms : Alternative Energy - Great Lakes eyed for offshore wind farms

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Great Lakes eyed for offshore wind farms

Imagine sections of the Great Lakes dotted with rows of gleaming, 12-story turbines, blades whirring in the stiff breeze as they generate electricity for homes and businesses onshore. It's only an idea — for now. But government regulators are bracing for an expected wave of proposals for offshore power generation in a region that never seems to run short of wind. Despite its allure as a plentiful source of clean energy, they say, offshore wind power could affect the aquatic environment and commerce. State and federal officials are taking initial steps toward writing rules, as conservation activists watch closely.

EU-Digest: Human Flower Project: Major slump in cut fresh flower market - Dole Dents South American Flower Industry

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Human Flower Project: Major slump in cut fresh flower market - Dole Dents South American Flower Industry

A pair of recent stories both point to the fickle fortunes of those in the cut flower business, especially in South America. First, Dole Foods announced its subsidiary Dole Fresh Flowers would close all its flower farms in Ecuador and two in Colombia. In what sounds like a euphemism, one report described the decision as “impacting 2188 employees” in those two countries. Dole is—or was—the biggest fresh flower producer in Latin America. John Amaya, DFF president, announced, “The fresh flower business is highly fragmented and competitive. Industry oversupply has driven prices down, creating significant pressure on growers to improve performance. Latin American growers are also facing new competition from emerging markets in Africa and Asia,” It appears that Dole will concentrate on a narrow range of flower types, varieties which, for one reason or another, Kenyan and Chinese growers don’t have the hang of—yet. Meanwhile the DFF sales force will be cut by 35%, management by 29%. In Miami, with word of the layoffs at Dole Fresh Flowers, labor activists called for an immediate protest in front of the company’s headquarters, “saying Amaya and Dole failed to meet farmworker demands for collective bargaining agreements.

Oversupplies, unfortunately, have coincided with decreased U.S. demand, according to Ernest Velez, chairman of Asocolflores, the Colombian Flower Exporters Association.

Monbiot.com : The Triumph of Ignorance - by George Monbiot

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George Monbiot

The Triumph of Ignorance - by George Monbiot

How was it allowed to happen? How did politics in the US come to be dominated by people who make a virtue out of ignorance? Was it charity that has permitted mankind’s closest living relative to spend two terms as president? How did Sarah Palin, Dan Quayle and other such gibbering numbskulls get to where they are? How could Republican rallies in 2008 be drowned out by screaming ignoramuses insisting that Barack Obama is a Muslim and a terrorist?Besides fundamentalist religion, perhaps the most potent reason why intellectuals struggle in elections is that intellectualism has been equated with subversion. The brief flirtation of some thinkers with communism a long time ago has been used to create an impression in the public mind that all intellectuals are communists. Almost every day men like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly rage against the “liberal elites” destroying America.The spectre of pointy-headed alien subversives was crucial to the election of Reagan and Bush. A genuine intellectual elite - like the neocons (some of them former communists) surrounding Bush - has managed to pitch the political conflict as a battle between ordinary Americans and an over-educated pinko establishment. Any attempt to challenge the ideas of the rightwing elite has been successfully branded as elitism.

Charlotte Business Journal: T. Boone Pickens not bullish on energy smarts of Obama, McCain - by Kent Bernhard

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T. Boone Pickens not bullish on energy smarts of Obama, McCain - by Kent Bernhard

It's the end of a long Wednesday and T. Boone Pickens is in the Nashville studio of the RFD Network, surrounded by young members of 4-H clubs and Future Farmers of America. It seems the 80-year-old billionaire has touched a nerve with these young people. They chant, "Boone! Boone! Boone!" Maybe he's got a few new recruits here to the 1.5-million-strong Pickens Plan Army of supporters he's built to back his proposal to start weaning the U.S. off foreign oil. Pickens and his army want wind farms across the Great Plains to generate electricity, and natural gas to be used as a transportation fuel, reducing the need for foreign oil. The Texas oilman turned wind farmer and hedge-fund manager believes so much in his plan for weaning the United States off foreign oil that he's barnstorming the country like a candidate in the final stretch of a campaign. He's already spent $40 million on television commercials pitching his proposal. "We have gotten ourselves into such a hell of a mess," he says. "We don't have oil, but we operate like we do. We Americans have got to solve the problem."

IHT: Obama's fans in Europe are in for a big surprise - by John Vinocur

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Obama's fans in Europe are in for a big surprise - by John Vinocur

If Barack Obama is elected president of the United States next week, he'll bring into office with him the advantage of not being pre-cast as a villain in Europe. As pluses go, it may be an impermanent one. The realities of American interests, American responsibilities and the American presidency mean that all the soft power instincts and readiness for multilateral mosh-pit politicking attributed to Obama by Europeans can quickly look imaginary. Obama is not Michael Moore transmogrified. He will fulfill no one's dreams of a capitulating, apologetic United States. On Iran, there is little indication that European public opinion is listening closely either when Obama says, "We'll never take the military option off the table." Or on Georgia and Ukraine, when Obama insists that they must be given plans for NATO membership "immediately." Or on Afghanistan when he complains that some NATO countries, like Germany, are present there but not sharing the missions with the most murderous risks.

David Sturtevant Ruder, a former chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission, America's market regulator, who has endorsed Obama, sees American capitalism eventually coming out of this "horrible situation" with a better version that's "a little tamer" and "a little more regulated." He added: "But the US is built on an appetite for risk. We don't want to be France."Almost surely, a newly elected President Obama would be too slick to tell the truth that way.

CBS: U.K.: Europe Could Send Troops To Congo, Official Says E.U. Forces May Be Used If Fragile Cease-Fire Between Rebel Fighters, Army Fails

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U.K.: Europe Could Send Troops To Congo, Official Says - E.U. Forces May Be Used If Fragile Cease-Fire Between Rebel Fighters, Army Fails

The European Union could send troops to Congo if a fragile cease-fire between rebel fighters and the army fails, the U.K. minister for African affairs said Saturday as rebels forced tens of thousands of people from makeshift refugee camps in the insurgent-held zone. The French and British foreign ministers arrived in Congo for talks with Congolese and Rwandan officials as pressure mounted for a regional summit to secure an end to the country's worst violence in years.

Outside the regional capital, Goma, rebels were pushing people to leave camps and return home, witnesses and a U.N. official said. They did not say why this was happening and the rebels issued no immediate comment.

National Journal Magazine - Political Insiders Poll US Presidential Elections - by James A. Barnes and Peter Bell

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Political Insiders Poll US Presidential Elections - by James A. Barnes and Peter Bell

This report contains the latest US polling information and predictions by National Journal Insiders.

Sofria Echo.com: US Elections : Could Barack Obama really be a president for Europe? - by Clive Leviev-Sawyer

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US Elections : Could Barack Obama really be a president for Europe? - by Clive Leviev-Sawyer

With five days to go to the elections, polls including those by RealClearPolitics give Barack Obama a comfortable chance of becoming the next president of the United States. It is well-known that were Europe able to vote, polls would be barely worth a glance because an Obama landslide would be a certainty. But for all the current flush of romance, a president Obama’s long-term relationship with Europe may not live up to expectations.Probably the most inspiring exposition of Europe’s expectations was expressed in a scintillating speech at Harvard in September 2008 by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. He told his audience that he had in his pocket a letter to the next president of the US, whoever that may be. The letter, which runs to about five pages, spells out a vision of hope for a new-era relationship between the EU and the US.Barroso underlines that the EU is a global player and a natural ally of the US. He explains their joint weight in the world economy, in trade and world finance, international organizations, the management of world security and in development aid. “But in these times of uncertainty, the EU needs the US and – yes – the US needs the EU more than ever.”

There is one consolation, though. Unlike Palin, McCain or that Action Man doll of contemporary Republican politics, Joe the Plumber, no one in Europe is ever likely to call president Obama a European Socialist.