Honest Inventions

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama plans to deal with a Dec. 31 deadline that automatically would declassify secrets in more than 400 million pages of Cold War-era documents by ordering government-wide changes that could sharply curb the number of new and old government records hidden from the public.
In an executive order the president is likely to sign before year's end, Obama will create a National Declassification Center to clear up the backlog of Cold War documents. But the order also will give everyone more time to process the 400 million pages rather than flinging them open at year's end without a second glance.
The order aimed at eliminating unnecessary secrecy also is expected to direct all agencies to revise their classification guides — the more than 2,000 separate and unique manuals used by federal agencies to determine what information should be classified and what no longer needs that protection. The manuals form the foundation of the government's classification system.
Two of every three such guides haven't been updated in the past five years, according to the 2008 annual report of the Information Security Oversight Office, which oversees the government's security classification.
The anticipated timing of Obama's order was disclosed by a government official familiar with the planning who requested anonymity in order to discuss the order before its release. A draft of the order leaked last summer.
The still-classified Cold War records would provide a wealth of data on U.S.-Soviet relations, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the fall of the Berlin Wall, diplomacy and espionage. A Soviet spy ring in the Navy led by John Walker headlined 1985, which became known as "The Year of the Spy."
It took 19 years and a lawsuit for the National Security Archive, a private group that obtains and analyzes once-secret government records, to get documents on the 1959 crisis when the United States and the Soviet Union faced off over control of West Berlin. For nearly two decades, the contested documents were shuttled back and forth among various offices in the Defense Department, then on to the State Department and an unnamed intelligence agency, each conducting a separate declassification review, before the government finally gave some of them up.
Obama's executive order will follow on the president's inauguration day initiatives on open government. On his first day in office, Obama instructed federal agencies to be more responsive to requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act and he overturned an order by President George W. Bush that would have enabled former presidents and vice presidents to block release of sensitive records of their time in the White House.
William J. Bosanko, director of the Information Security Oversight Office, says the classification policies in place under executive orders signed by Bush and President Bill Clinton have protected national security and enabled increased declassification.
But Obama's review is necessary to enhance security and increase declassification "to a level that our open society expects and deserves," Bosanko said.
Obama's executive order "is an experiment, but it just might work," said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. "By changing the rules about what gets classified, this could lead to a dramatic reduction in secrecy throughout the government." Aftergood obtained a leaked copy of an early draft of the executive order last summer.
The government spent more than $8.21 billion last year to create and safeguard classified information, and $43 million to declassify it, according to the oversight office, part of the National Archives and Records Administration. The figures don't include data from the principal intelligence agencies, which is classified.
"What we're seeking to do is come up with a system that refocuses the finite resources available," says Bosanko.
"Serial reviews" are among the requirements causing declassification delays that can take years to resolve. When a classified document contains secrets from multiple agencies, each agency must review its part, a process that can add years to the declassification process.
In 2000, Clinton gave agencies a three-year extension to complete a review of multiple-agency classified records. When it became clear that the deadline wouldn't be met, Bush in 2003 gave federal agencies a six-year extension.
Declassification spending was cut from an average of $224 million annually in the last four years of the Clinton administration to only $47 million a year during the last four years of the Bush administration.
Today, the problem is not much closer to being solved than it was in the 1990s. Under the terms of Bush's extension, sensitive information in hundreds of millions of pages of historical documents will declassified automatically on Dec. 31 unless Obama acts.
"If the agencies haven't found the sensitive old documents after nine years, that's some indication those records don't deserve being secret anymore," said Tom Blanton, director of the National Security Archive.

Obama's order probably will centralize the review process for old records, having all agencies look at the same classified documents at the same time through the new National Declassification Center. Michael Kurtz, who has been with the National Archives for the past 35 years, has been chosen as the center's acting director.

Much of the work of a National Declassification Center probably would be conducted at the National Archives facility in College Park, Md., where many of the documents are housed and many of the agency declassifiers already spend a great deal of time.

Critics say Obama should do more than the upcoming executive order is likely to. They note that Clinton ordered a "bulk declassification" of millions of records from World War II and before; they want Obama to do the same with Cold War-era records.

The premise of bulk declassification is that "we're not going to spend taxpayer dollars to go through these records one by one," said William Leonard, Bosanko's predecessor as Information Security Oversight Office director.

And the planned National Declassification Center, said Leonard, should have authority to decide the status of millions of classified records on its own.

"We shouldn't need multiple opinions from multiple agencies," said Leonard.

But intelligence agencies have resisted surrendering their authority over secrets to an interagency group.

___

On the Net:

Information Security Oversight Office: http://www.archives.gov/isoo/

Project on Government Secrecy: http://www.fas.org/sgp/

National Security Archive: http://tinyurl.com/a8dwh

White House background: http://tinyurl.com/ylap898

KATMANDU, Nepal – Supporters of Nepal's former Maoist rebels clashed with riot police, attacked vehicles, forced shops to close and blocked highways across the country Sunday to enforce a general strike called to protest the president.
The Maoists called the three-day strike to protest President Ram Baran Yadav, whom they accuse of acting unconstitutionally after he overturned the previous government's decision to fire the army chief.
Police spokesman Bigyanraj Sharma said 67 protesters were arrested.
Maoist supporters clashed with police in two separate locations in the capital, Katmandu.
The protesters blocked the main streets in the city and threw stones at officers, who retaliated by firing tear gas and beating them with bamboo batons.
Six officers were injured, including one who was in critical condition with head injuries, Sharma said. About two dozen protesters were injured.
Those arrested were accused of vandalizing vehicles that took to the streets and defied the general strike, which began Sunday, Sharma said.
Political tensions have been high in Nepal since a Maoist-led government resigned in May amid the dispute with Yadav over the army chief's refusal to incorporate former Maoist rebels fighters into the military. Since then, the former rebels have protested the president in the streets and in parliament.
The Maoists gave up their armed revolt in 2006 to join a peace process. They have since confined their fighters in U.N.-monitored camps and joined mainstream politics. They contested elections last year and won the most seats in parliament.

In some specialized businesses, there may also be licenses required, either due to special laws that govern entry into certain trades, occupations or professions, which may require special education, or by local governments who just want your money. Professions that require special licenses run the gamut from law and medicine to flying airplanes to selling liquor to radio broadcasting to selling investment securities to selling used cars to roofing. Local jurisdictions may also require special licenses and taxes just to operate a business without regard to the type of business involved.

Businesses often have important "intellectual property" that needs protection from competitors in order for the company to stay profitable. This could require patents or copyrights or preservation of trade secrets. Most businesses have names, logos and similar branding techniques that could benefit from trademarking.

NJ Business Broker

CHICAGO (Reuters) –
Even the prospect of a golf landscape temporarily minus Tiger Woods is not one PGA Tour officials, advertisers and sponsors care to ponder as speculation swirls around the popular athlete's private life, which has kept him secluded in his Florida home.

Yet as corporate sponsors like Gatorade and Gillette consider ways to deal with recent negative coverage of the world's No. 1 golfer, some media companies are seeing an upside.

Woods' absence since a minor car accident last month sparked tabloid reports of marital infidelity has prompted flashbacks to the eight months from last year to early this year when Woods was absent from golf courses and recovering from knee surgery.

In that time, TV ratings for golf tournaments tracked by Nielsen Media slumped almost 50 percent, causing advertising rates to fall. Attendance on courses dropped off too.

"Tiger's presence at a golf tournament and being on the leader board generates significantly increased ratings," said Neal Pilson of consulting firm Pilson Communications and former president of CBS Sports. "When deals are negotiated, the fact Tiger is a member of the tour influences what networks pay."

After the accident, Woods missed a tournament in California he had hosted for the past nine years and he has not discussed when he will return to play.

The business environment was already tough for the PGA Tour as it suffered losses of corporate sponsors over the past year. While this year's numbers are not final, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem has said charitable donations raised at tournaments -- a reflection of the sport's revenue -- are expected to be down from 2008's record $124 million, due to the recession.

For many fans, Woods is golf. Almost single-handedly, he has ushered in an era of multimillion-dollar endorsements and lucrative appearance money since turning professional in 1996.

His background and spotless reputation spread golf to millions of new fans, and he became among the world's most marketable athletes. Product endorsements made him, perhaps, the world's richest athlete, with assets estimated at $1 billion.

Not everything Tiger touches turns to gold.

Before the accident, Beverage Digest reported PepsiCo's Gatorade was dropping its "Tiger Focus" drink to make room for other products, quoting an unidentified executive saying the company preferred to use Woods across its entire group of products. Still, for the first 10 months of 2009, the Tiger drink's volume was down 34 percent.

SPONSORS WAIT AND SEE

For now, Gatorade and other sponsors are standing by their man, and while ads featuring Woods have disappeared recently from prime-time TV and the 19 cable networks monitored by Nielsen -- the last prime-time ad with Woods, a 30-second spot by Gillette, ran on November 29 -- that decline could be due as much to the golf season winding down as his current troubles.

Officials with Procter & Gamble's Gillette, Electronic Arts and Nike said their companies had not altered marketing plans since the accident.

Other sponsors include Accenture, Upper Deck, AT&T, TLC Vision Corp, Berkshire Hathaway's NetJets private jet unit and Tag Heuer watches.

They are now experiencing a "double-edged sword" of publicity due to their association with Woods, said Randall Beard, executive vice president with Nielsen IAG, which tracks the effectiveness of TV ads and in-program product placement.

Woods has been the butt of many jokes on late-night TV, but that has increased audience recognition of brands tied to him.

"The average recall of those brands, having been in those shows, is about 41 percent higher than average," Beard said. "On the other hand, the brand opinion shift is more negative than usual ... about double the negative impact of the usual brand that ends up in those talk shows."

But even on TV, there could be an upside to Woods' absence. The first few tournaments in which he plays can expect strong TV audiences as viewers tune in to see how Woods handles himself, Pilson said.

Already, the scandal has been welcome news for websites dispensing the latest news and speculation.

"God bless Tiger. This week, we got a huge uplift," Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz told investors on Tuesday in New York.

(Additional reporting by Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Cooney)

MADISON, Miss. — Elizabeth Dampier doesn't get the royal treatment at home, even though the 5th grader plays a princess-to-be on the big screen.
The 10-year-old Mississippi girl is the voice of young Tiana, the female title character in the new Disney animated movie, "The Princess and the Frog," opening nationwide this weekend.
Elizabeth does chores, sings in a Baptist church choir, makes snacks for her three younger siblings and is a straight-A student in a family of high achievers. Her father, Dr. Arthur R. Dampier, is an optometrist. Her mother, Jeanna, is a molecular biologist.
Sitting in the bedroom she shares with her 7-year-old sister, Elizabeth says she is a bit like her character.
"I'm fine with, like, the princess stuff," Elizabeth says. "I am like her. I don't like kissy and mooshy-gooshy stuff."
Tiana likes to cook with her father and dreams of owning a restaurant. Elizabeth says she'd also like to own a restaurant when she grows up — unless she makes it big as an actress or decides to run a toy store.
Elizabeth has appeared in school productions and local commercials, but young Tiana is her first movie role. Anika Noni Rose is the voice of the older Tiana.
Elizabeth learned about the Disney part three years ago from an agent. She had three auditions in 2007 and learned in early 2008 that she'd been chosen. She did the voice recording in New Orleans and Los Angeles in 2008 and 2009.
"The Princess and the Frog" is set in 1920s Louisiana, and Elizabeth learned a New Orleans accent with the help of family friends who moved out of the city after Hurricane Katrina.
"I got used to shaping my mouth in an 'O' when you want to say something. That is very different from talking like we do in Mississippi," Elizabeth says in lilting drawl.
One of the directors, Ron Clements, says Elizabeth learned her lines and took direction well.
"Her attitude was very determined and really wanting to do a good job and wanting to work really hard, which is very similar to Tiana," Clements says from California.
Fellow director John Musker says the young actress "brought a lot of natural cuteness and warmth to the part," including an endearing pronunciation of "frog."
"She said 'a fruh-aug' and that was her own thing, and we really loved that so we used that in the movie," Musker says.
Tiana is Disney's first African-American princess, and while Elizabeth understands the significance, she's not overwhelmed by it, her mom says. Jeanna Dampier calls the movie "an awesome blessing" for her daughter.
"She's just very proud and excited about the work that she's done, and that's really what she focuses on," Jeanna Dampier says.
Elizabeth lists President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Harriet Tubman as heroes. Winfrey — also a Mississippi native — provides the voice of Tiana's mother, Eudora, but Elizabeth did not meet her during production.
Elizabeth aspires to meet the Obama daughters, Sasha and Malia. "They don't seem like some stuck-up girls just because their dad's the president," she says.

Elizabeth's fifth-grade class at St. Richard Catholic School in Jackson was planning a field trip to see "The Princess and the Frog." Teacher Kristi Garrard says classmates are supportive, and Elizabeth has not bragged about being in a movie: "She's a normal kid."

LONDON (Reuters) –
The International Olympic Committee is meeting in Lausanne this week and will discuss radical and controversial proposed changes to the track cycling program for the 2012 Games.

Here are some questions and answers on the issue.

WHY IS THE IOC CHANGING THE PROGRAMME?

The IOC was not happy at the gender imbalance of the track cycling program, which in 2008 featured seven medal events for men but only three for women. They asked the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to come up with a fairer program and it is the UCI's proposals that are being discussed in Lausanne.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES?

The men lose the individual pursuit, points race and madison and gain the multi-event omnium. The women lose the individual pursuit but gain a team sprint, team pursuit and omnium. That delivers a line-up of five men's events and five women's.

WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST ADD MORE WOMEN'S EVENTS?

The IOC wants to cap the numbers of athletes at the Games at around 10,400 and sports federations are under instructions that if they want to introduce new events then some existing ones have to go to make room. The UCI would have loved to have added new events but has to work within the constraints laid down by the IOC.

SO SOME PEOPLE WHO WON GOLD MEDALS IN BEIJING WILL NOT BE

ABLE TO DEFEND THEIR TITLES?

Yes, and not for the first time. Briton Chris Hoy won the 1-km time trial in 2004, which was then taken out of the program for 2008 to make room for BMX racing. He switched his focus to other events and won the sprint, keirin and team sprint. Rebecca Romero and Bradley Wiggins, who won the individual pursuit titles in 2008, will have to look elsewhere for gold on home soil in 2012.

WHAT IS THE OMNIUM AND WHY IS IT BEING ADDED?

The omnium is a multi-discipline event made up of five separate races - a 200-meter time trial, a 5-km "scratch race," a 3-km individual pursuit, a 15-km points race and a 1-km time trial. Supporters of the omnium say it rewards the best all-round track cyclist and that as it runs over several days it provides good entertainment for fans and on TV.

Critics say the best performers in classic events such as the pursuit and time trial will not have a chance to shine, that the races are too confusing for supporters to follow and that the gold medal can be won by a rider who does not win any of the individual races.

WHY ARE THE CHANGES CAUSING SO MUST UNREST IN THE CYCLING

WORLD?

Many cycling fans are angry about the changes, particularly the removal of the individual pursuit, saying that there is now no individual endurance event. The pursuit, where riders start of opposite sides of the track and effectively chase each other, is easy to follow and always a crowd favorite. It was already part of the program for men and women so there seemed little logic in removing it as part of a plan to equalize the genders.

There is also discontent that the changes were rushed through by the UCI's management committee with very little consultation with individual federations.

WILL THE IOC ACCEPT THE CHANGES?

Traditionally the IOC tends to go along with the proposals of its sports federations but it is not obliged to.

(Editing by Dave Thompson)

NEW ORLEANS – Drew Brees and the unbeaten Saints left Tom Brady in the dust, zipping up and down the field in a dominant romp over the New England Patriots.
Brees threw for a season-high 371 yards and five touchdowns, carving up coach Bill Belichick's defense like few quarterbacks ever have in New Orleans' 38-17 victory Monday night.
By harassing Brady all game and routing one of the NFL's top powers, the Saints joined the Indianapolis Colts at 11-0 — the first time two NFL teams have opened with that many consecutive wins in the same season.
"It only counts for one win on the stat sheet, but emotionally, those types of wins can mean a little more," Brees said. "Anytime you can win, and win that way, it builds confidence for you."
The convincing victory left little doubt about New Orleans' credentials as the Saints try to match the Patriots' 16-0 regular-season mark in 2007. New England remains the only team to go undefeated in a 16-game regular season — for now.
Brees threw touchdown passes to five different players: Pierre Thomas, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, Darnell Dinkins and Marques Colston. In doing so, the Pro Bowl quarterback kept New Orleans on pace to narrowly eclipse New England's single-season scoring record of 589 points set in 2007.
It was the second time the Patriots (7-4) lost to an unbeaten team on the road in three weeks. Unlike in Indianapolis, there was no drama at the end this time, only thunderous chants of, "Who dat say they gonna beat them Saints?"
"There's obviously a big gap between us," Brady said. "It wasn't nearly as competitive as we all were expecting."
Brady, returning to the Louisiana Superdome for the first time since leading the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title in 2002, won't have many fond memories of this game. He was intercepted twice, sacked once, hit as he threw several times and pulled from the game in the fourth quarter with New Orleans leading by three TDs.
"There's a reason why they are 11-0," Brady said. "They played really well and we didn't play up to their level."
Brady finished 21 of 36 for 237 yards and did not throw a TD pass. He did, however, become New England's career passing leader, eclipsing Drew Bledsoe's mark of 29,657 yards.
Brady fell short of tying the record for consecutive games with 300 yards passing. He had done it in his previous five games, one short of the mark shared by Steve Young, Kurt Warner and Rich Gannon.
The Patriots were within a touchdown early in the third quarter after marching 81 yards on a drive highlighted by Brady's 47-yard completion to Randy Moss, which set up Laurence Maroney's 2-yard TD.
New Orleans needed only three plays to get it back, though. Brees hit Colston along the right sideline and the receiver turned it into a 68-yard gain by eluding Jonathan Wilhite's tackle. That set up tight end Dinkins' first TD of the season on a 2-yard pass to make it 31-17.
Belichick, clearly worried about his club's ability to stop Brees, made his latest unconventional fourth-down call.
Unlike in Indianapolis, where the Patriots tried to put the game away by going for it in their own territory late in the fourth quarter, New England this time went for it on fourth-and-4 from the New Orleans 10 in the third quarter.
Brady's pass for Moss along the left sideline was broken up by Mike McKenzie, who was playing for the first time since fracturing his right kneecap a year ago. The play preserved New Orleans' two-touchdown lead.
McKenzie apparently had little trouble learning the system of new Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. McKenzie also had an interception in the first half that stalled a promising Patriots drive and led to a Saints score. Darren Sharper intercepted Brady in the fourth quarter, ending the quarterback's night.

Brees' scoring passes of 18 yards to Thomas, 75 yards to Henderson and 38 yards to Meachem gave New Orleans a 24-10 lead at halftime.

Brees — who threw six TDs in Week 1 against Detroit — made the long TD to Henderson look easy, recognizing that Wilhite's blitz had left the receiver wide open. Brees' 20-yard TD pass to Colston with 7:49 to go left little doubt about the outcome.

[edit] Fitting

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WASHINGTON – The NFL Players Association is trying to set up a meeting with Cleveland Browns players this week to talk about coach Eric Mangini's practices, a person at the union told The Associated Press on Monday.
The person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to protect the Browns players' confidentiality, said the union is looking into what has been going on in Cleveland this season because of concerns about health and safety.
Two Browns players have been injured during post-practice drills Mangini calls "opportunity periods." A member of Cleveland's practice squad, defensive end Keith Grennan, hurt his knee on one such drill last week. Rookie running back James Davis went on injured reserve last month with a season-ending shoulder injury.
The NFL examined what happened to Davis and determined the Browns did not violate any league policies. The league reviewed video of the practice session and interviewed Browns players, coaches and team staff.
Last week, veteran running back Jamal Lewis said he thought Mangini was tiring out his players by overworking the Browns, although Lewis then reversed field a day later and blamed the media for exaggerating his complaints.
In his first year with Cleveland after being fired by the New York Jets, Mangini ran a tough training camp, one with much more contact than any held by former Browns coach Romeo Crennel. The Browns also have practiced in full pads more under Mangini than in the past.
Cleveland was 1-7 heading into its game against the visiting Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) –
The European Union and Russia hope to lay the foundations of a new economic and political partnership at a summit on Wednesday despite differences over energy, trade, human rights and climate change.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the EU's Swedish presidency will seek to rebuild trust shattered during Russia's war with Georgia last year but boosted by a deal this week on an "early warning" mechanism to shield Europe from supply cuts.

They are setting their sights low for now, especially as the EU fears gas supplies from Russia are threatened by a dispute between Moscow and Ukraine, but hope at least to avoid new quarrels and start a gradual improvement in ties.

"We need to work closely with Russia. There is a level of mutual dependence -- we depend on them for energy supplies and we are energy consumers for them," Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said on Monday as the EU prepared for the talks.

The EU, which represents almost 500 million people, is Russia's biggest trading partner, accounting for about half its overall trade turnover in the first nine months of this year.

Russia, a country with vast natural resources and a population of about 142 million, hopes to win more foreign investment from the EU following the global economic crisis.

EU officials are encouraged by Medvedev's calls for reform and modernization of Russia's economy. Moscow sees positive signs from Sweden under Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who hosts the one-day summit because Stockholm holds the EU's six-month presidency until the end of this year.

"We see signs of pragmatism ... in the Swedish leadership which we hope will lead to productive meetings," said Sergei Prikhodko, Medvedev's chief foreign policy adviser.

TALKS ON NEW PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

The EU and Russia are negotiating a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to provide the framework for their relationship, but it will not be completed on Wednesday.

Relations are improving only slowly after the Georgia war in August 2008, which prompted Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt to compare Russia's military intervention to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's invasion of parts of central Europe.

"Certainly I'm looking forward to a constructive discussion rather than a heated exchange of criticism," Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's envoy to the EU, told reporters on Friday.

Hopes of ties improving were lifted by the signing on Monday of a memorandum requiring both sides to notify the other of any likely disruption to energy supplies and to work together to resolve the problem.

Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, a route that supplies a fifth of Europe's gas, were halted for more than two weeks in January because of a quarrel between Moscow and Kiev.

Fears are growing of a new dispute next January, when Ukraine holds a presidential election. But the EU hopes the summit will help build trust on energy issues, even though it is seeking to diversify its supply routes.

"The EU should reiterate that it sees Russia as its key energy partner. The summit will serve as an opportunity for the EU to underline the need to rebuild confidence and ensure predictability in EU-Russia energy relations," the EU said in a document setting out its position for the summit.

The EU hopes to persuade Moscow to do more in the fight against global warming and wants clarity from Russia over its plans to join the World Trade Organization after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said it would join only as part of a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Regional security and issues such as conflict in Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear program are also expected to be discussed.

(Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Brussels and Oleg Shchedrov in Moscow; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Some countries require a formal apprenticeship with an experienced practitioner, while others do not. For example, a few jurisdictions still allow an apprenticeship in place of any kind of formal legal education (though the number of persons who actually become lawyers that way is increasingly rare).[80]

In many countries, lawyers are general practitioners who will take almost any kind of case that walks in the door.[88] In others, there has been a tendency since the start of the 20th century for lawyers to specialize early in their careers.[89][90] In countries where specialization is prevalent, many lawyers specialize in representing one side in one particular area of the law; thus, it is common in the United States to hear of plaintiffs' personal injury attorneys.[91]

Atlanta Georgia Construction Law

GENEVA – Global wages fell in the United States and some other wealthy nations in the second quarter of the year, raising questions about whether workers are sharing in any economic recovery, the U.N. labor agency said Tuesday.
The International Labor Organization said inflation-adjusted wage growth fell sharply around the world last year to 1.4 percent, from 4.3 percent in 2007. It said wages are falling in a number of countries so far this year.
"The picture on wages is likely to get worse in 2009, despite the beginning of a possible economic recovery," the 15-page report said.
The ILO analyzed data from 35 countries including Brazil, Britain, Japan, South Africa and Ukraine. China and India, which provide large amounts of the world's workers, were excluded from the report.
Monthly wages have fallen almost 2 percent in the United States since January, said Patrick Belser, an ILO economist.
Manuela Tomei, ILO's employment chief, said wage declines were depriving national economies of much needed demand and were contributing to sapping consumer confidence.
"The continued deterioration of real wages worldwide raises serious questions about the true extent of an economic recovery, especially if government rescue packages are phased out too early," Tomei said.
The ILO noted some good efforts by governments to help workers, citing minimum wage increases above inflation in the United States, Brazil, Japan and Russia.
"In the U.S., there is a real policy toward strengthening the wage policies," Belser said, adding that Washington was trying to make it easier for workers to join unions.
"These measures can go a long way in addressing the imbalance that we found before the crisis, particularly with zero growth in the median wages in the U.S. for many years despite a booming economy," he said.

Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- During one of his first meetings
about overhauling U.S. financial regulations in February,
President Barack Obama had a question for his economic advisers,
who included Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National
Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers.

“What about the families?” Obama asked, according to people
familiar with the discussions. He then asked them whether they’d
read the work of Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law School
professor and longtime advocate of a national consumer financial
protection agency. Michael Barr, a University of Michigan
professor who was a Summers aide at the time, jumped in to say
he knew Warren’s work.

“Well, what do you think about it?â€

“I think it’s a great idea,” Barr, 44, replied. The two
debated the merits of such an agency during several meetings
over the following three days. Then Obama offered Barr, whose
own work included research on the borrowing patterns of low-
income households, the job of assistant Treasury secretary for
financial institutions. He was confirmed by the Senate in May.

Thus an idea that the U.S. banking industry has learned to
hate moved a giant step closer to reality. The creation of a
consumer protection agency is part of the Obama administration’s
plans to enact the most wide-ranging financial regulations since
the Great Depression.

Following the 1999 decision to overturn the Glass-Steagall
Act that separated commercial banks from securities firms, bank
lobbyists have been able to shoot down virtually any proposed
rule they perceived as unfavorable to their industry, lobbyists
and politicians say.

Campaign Contributions

Banks and securities firms spent $193 million to fund
political campaigns for the 2008 elections and raise even more
money through events that their trade groups organize. They have
successfully fought the administration’s efforts to limit
executive pay and are battling against draft legislation
governing the $592 trillion market for derivatives.

When it comes to consumer banking, the industry’s lobbyists
are no longer all-powerful. Banks lost their bid to squelch new
credit card rules that Obama signed into law in May. They
lobbied for months before a bill that would have forced them to
renegotiate mortgages failed in the Senate.

Now the banks and their trade associations are lobbying
furiously to kill Obama’s plan to create the new financial
protection agency, which was approved by the House Financial
Services Committee in late October and is likely to face a full
House vote by the end of 2009.

Influence Lost

The different trade groups that represent the industry are
also divided over how they want the bill rewritten. They will
now shift their struggle to the Senate, which has yet to unveil
its version of proposals overhauling financial regulations.

“Banks have lost their influence on consumer issues,” says
Brian Gardner, an analyst monitoring Washington’s impact on
financial services for the brokerage firm Keefe Bruyette & Woods
Inc. Gardner says banks will retain their clout when it comes to
more complex financial issues such as derivatives. “Folks on
Capitol Hill still need to talk to the banks for the expertise
on highly technical areas,” Gardner says.

Members of Congress who have traditionally been supportive
of the banks’ positions are breaking ranks as popular opinion
shifts strongly against the institutions. Some 80 percent of the
public blames banks and other financial firms for the economic
crisis, according to an ABC News-Washington Post poll in March.

“Many members of Congress who have been pro-banking and who
have done the banks’ bidding are walking more cautiously since
the financial meltdown,” says Representative Maxine Waters, a
California Democrat.

Frank’s Priority

Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the Financial
Services Committee, says he’s making it his priority to create
the new agency to protect consumers.

“The existing structure for consumer protection in the
financial area, particularly in the area of bank products, has
failed miserably,” the Massachusetts Democrat told a news
conference in July.

Frank has gotten $2.1 million in campaign contributions
from financial firms over the past three elections, according to
the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research
group.

The biggest U.S. banks have a lot at stake. They rely on
the relatively stable revenue from consumer lending to balance
out the volatility of their investment banking operations. Bank
of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank in terms of assets, and
No. 3 Citigroup Inc. got almost half of their revenue from
consumer lending, including credit cards, in the first nine
months of 2009.

Dimon in Washington

Harvard’s Warren says the consumer agency she proposes will
affect the larger banks disproportionately: “It may cost the
community banks some nickels, but the real impact will be on the
big banks’ profit model.”

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-biggest U.S. bank, got 48
percent of its revenue from consumer lending in the first nine
months of 2009. The bank, which was one of the least scathed by
the crisis, has stepped up its lobbying. Chief Executive Officer
Jamie Dimon now visits the capital twice a month, meeting with
administration officials and congressional leaders, up from
twice a year in 2006.

JPMorgan also added two lobbyists to its Washington staff,
which includes former Commerce Secretary William Daley. Jill
Blickstein, who was previously chief of staff at the Office of
Management and Budget in the Obama administration, was one of
the new hires.

‘Weakened Position’

Citigroup and Bank of America are both partially owned by
the government following the bailouts of 2008, and have cut
their lobbying budgets as a result. The two banks spent a
combined $6.6 million to lobby in the first nine months of 2009,
down 12 percent from a year earlier, according to congressional
disclosures they have filed.

“No question that the banks and the rest of the industry
are in a weakened position,” says Bruce Thompson, who lobbied
Capitol Hill for 22 years on Merrill Lynch & Co.’s behalf. “They
used to be able to say, ‘This will hurt us,’ and Congress
wouldn’t do it. Now, they laugh at you.”

Waters says she has introduced or sponsored dozens of
legislative proposals to rein in banking practices. For example,
she proposed a 2003 bill that aimed to prevent predatory lending
by increasing the amount of information that banks would have to
disclose when offering mortgages. All were blocked by bank
lobbying, she says.

“They manage protecting their interests quite well,” she
says.

‘Losing Some Battles’

Consumer advocates agree.

“We couldn’t get a vote on bills banks opposed,” says Ed
Mierzwinski, the consumer program director at the U.S. PIRG, a
federation of state public-advocacy groups that lobby for
consumer rights. “Now, they’re losing some battles, winning
others.”

One fight the banks lost in 2009 was against the creation
of a credit card consumer’s bill of rights. The failure came
even though financial industry lobbyists, led by the American
Bankers Association and the largest individual banks,
outnumbered consumer lobbyists by 10 to 1, according to
congressional staffers involved in the talks.

The credit card bill, which was first introduced in 2008 by
Representative Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York, passed
the House and then died in the Senate amid opposition by banks
and credit card companies. Christopher Dodd, the Democrat from
Connecticut who is chairman of the Senate banking committee,
sided with the banks. Dodd has received more than $8.4 million
in election contributions from financial firms since 2005,
according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Banks Fought Bill

The financial crisis, and Obama’s election, improved the
bill’s prospects. Maloney reintroduced the measure in January,
revising it to incorporate elements from Obama’s campaign
platform, such as restricting how and when credit card issuers
can increase interest rates and late-payment penalties.

The ABA, along with Bank of America, Citigroup and
JPMorgan, argued that the bill would hurt the availability of
credit and jack up interest rates on cards. This time around,
Dodd didn’t try to convince fellow senators to support the
banks’ argument.

The banking committee chairman was humiliated in March when
it was disclosed that a bill he sponsored curtailing pay for
executives of firms bailed out by the government made an
exception for insurance company American International Group
Inc. The company’s derivatives arm is based in Connecticut,
Dodd’s home state, and the senator is the largest recipient of
campaign contributions from AIG. Dodd said the exemption had
slipped in during negotiations without his knowledge.

Bill Sails Through

In the spring of 2009, Maloney’s bill sailed through
Congress, getting 357 votes in the House and 90 in the Senate.

Banks also had to fight hard before they succeeded in
blocking the so-called cram-down provision proposed by six
senators led by Dick Durbin of Illinois and Chuck Schumer of New
York this past spring. The proposal, which would have given
judges the right to restructure mortgages during a personal
bankruptcy trial, was being considered by some of its sponsors
as early as 2007.

After the government bailed out several of the largest U.S.
financial institutions in the fall of 2008, interest in the
measure grew. Citigroup, which got the biggest U.S. bailout --
$346 billion -- decided to back the cram-down provision,
reversing its previous stance. In January 2009, Durbin and
Schumer held a news conference together with Dodd to announce
the bank’s support for the provision.

Obama’s Role

It was the new political circumstances with Obama in power
that made the bank change course, former and current Citigroup
lobbyists say. Citigroup’s consumer-friendly position gave the
bank some positive publicity, too, these people say.

The House passed a version of the cram-down bill in March.
In the Senate, Durbin and Schumer needed at least a handful of
Republicans to muster 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. Without
the banks’ support, that majority wouldn’t materialize. So the
two senators started negotiating with the ABA, JPMorgan and two
trade groups that represent credit unions. The Independent
Community Bankers of America, which represents small banks,
later joined the talks along with Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of
America.

After a few meetings, the ABA pulled out and lobbied
quietly against the cram-down bill, while the ICBA publicly
opposed it. The Financial Services Roundtable, which consists of
the CEOs of the top 100 U.S. financial firms, coordinated the
different groups’ efforts and meetings with members of Congress
from both parties, says Scott Talbott, the Roundtable’s chief
lobbyist. The provision died in the Senate in April.

Cramdown Is Back

The lobbyists’ success may be short-lived: In September,
Durbin and his allies introduced a new version of the cram-down
bill.

The next big test for the banks is whether they can
influence plans to create the new regulatory agency to protect
consumer rights.

“The administration’s proposal would hurt banks that never
made a subprime loan, and yet you’re going to pile a whole new
set of regulations and a new regulator on them,” says ABA
President Edward Yingling.

The ABA has organized its members to write 140,000 letters
to congressmen, provided Op-Ed templates for community bank
executives who want to write editorials in local newspapers and
set up hundreds of meetings between its members and their
congresspeople.

Lobbying Tips

In September, some 80 bankers from 28 states mingled at an
ABA reception at the Madison hotel in downtown Washington,
gearing up for meetings with congressmen representing their
districts. Floyd Stoner, the ABA’s chief lobbyist, circulated
among the crowd, stopping to chat with bankers and dispensing
lobbying tips.

The pressure from the community banks has had some impact:
In October, Frank’s committee revised the original proposal so
that small banks can stick with their existing regulators, which
will enforce the consumer agency’s rules.

The banks face opposition from consumer groups, which have
banded together in a 200-strong coalition to push for the
agency. Obama, who himself started in politics as a community
organizer, has been sympathetic to their concerns.

“In a financial system that has never been more
complicated, it has never been more important to have a watchdog
function like the one we have proposed,” Obama said in October.

The Treasury’s Barr has even appointed a former consumer
advocate at the Center for Responsible Lending, Eric Stein, as
his deputy in charge of consumer protection.

Leveling the Playing Field

While Barr asked the banks for their opinion of the
consumer agency during meetings in March and April, their
objections weren’t heeded, according to people familiar with the
discussions. He also asked consumer groups and community
organizations to weigh in, an unprecedented move when the
government considers financial regulation, according to
lobbyists.

“The status quo has fundamentally failed consumers and
helped to bring us to the brink of financial disaster,” Barr
says. “We need to level the playing field.”

While banks’ lobbying efforts may have been weakened, their
deep pockets still give them willing listeners on Capitol Hill
and in the White House, says Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the 2001
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.

“It comes down to the influence of money on our political
process,” the Columbia University economics professor says.

Even if Barr levels the playing field and the new agency is
created, banks bearing cash still may win the game.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Yalman Onaran in New York at
yonaran@bloomberg.net .

KABUL (AFP) –
Afghan President Hamid Karzai vowed Tuesday that his new government would eradicate corruption and offered an olive branch to Taliban insurgents, launching his programme for another five years in office.

Under pressure from US President Barack Obama to wipe out corruption and world leaders to unify the war-torn nation, Karzai used his first appearance since electoral authorities declared him president to pledge a cleaner rule.

"Afghanistan's image has been tainted by corruption. Our government's image has been tainted by corruption," Karzai told a press conference flanked by his controversial vice president Mohammad Qasim Fahim, who is widely accused of rights abuses.

"We will strive, by any means possible, to eradicate this stain."

Karzai was declared president for another five years after the cancellation of a run-off ballot by the country's election commission, which followed the withdrawal at the weekend of his only challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. Related article: US urges Kharzai on corruption

The president said it would have been better for Afghanistan, which is rife with ethnic rivalry, to have voted in a second round following a fraud-tainted first election on August 20, and bemoaned Abdullah's withdrawal.

Karzai has been urged by a number of world leaders to ensure his next government can command the support of all the Afghan people.

"The future government will be a government that reflects all the people of Afghanistan ... We hope that no-one feels themselves isolated from this future government," he said.

The 51-year-old president, whose warm relations with the West have cooled over corruption and spiralling insecurity, also urged his Taliban "brothers" "to come home and embrace their land".

The Taliban insurgency is now at its deadliest, contributing to record US fatalities eight years since the militia was driven out of Kabul by a US-led invasion, paving the way for Karzai to take power.

The Islamists ridiculed Karzai as a "puppet" president, however, and said his re-election without a second round showed the West was dictating events.

"What is astonishing is two weeks ago they were arguing that the puppet president Hamid Karzai was involved in electoral fraud... but now he is elected as president based on those same fraudulent votes, Washington and London immediately send their congratulations," said a Taliban statement.

Obama and UN chief Ban Ki-moon led world powers in congratulating Karzai, but the US president called for "a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption" and a "new chapter" in cooperation between the two countries. Related article: Karzai faces array of challenges.

"This has to be (the) point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance," Obama said he had told Karzai in a phone call.

Karzai "assured me that he understood the importance of this moment but... the truth is not going to be in words, it's going to be in deeds", added Obama who is to decide whether to deploy thousands more troops in the coming weeks.

The New York Times reported the Obama administration was pressing Karzai to set up an anti-corruption commission, which would establish "strict accountability" for national and provincial government officials.

US and European officials are also seeking the arrests of what one US envoy termed "the more blatantly corrupt" people in government, the paper added.

Abdullah quit the contest on Sunday, saying there were no safeguards against a repeat of widespread fraud that resulted in the rejection of nearly a quarter of votes cast in August.

Karzai's anointment by the Independent Election Commission sought to draw a line under two months of political chaos in the conflict-ridden nation where 100,000 NATO and US troops are battling the Taliban. Related article: Cash-strapped US media struggles to cover war

Ban met Karzai and Abdullah amid a concerted diplomatic push to bring a quick end to the paralysis, which has undermined Western efforts to cultivate democracy in Afghanistan.

IEC chief Azizullah Ludin, a Karzai appointee who oversaw the fraud-riddled first round, said the decision had been made in line with the provisions of Afghan law and was "consistent with the high interest of the Afghan people".

There had been widespread unease about staging the November 7 run-off poll.

First-round turnout was as low as five percent in areas and Taliban had threatened fresh attacks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
Federal Reserve officials meeting this week must weigh improving economic data against the risk, reinforced by a persistently weak job market, that a burgeoning recovery remains on shaky ground.

A 3.5 percent annualized jump in third quarter gross domestic product revived debate between analysts who believe a sustainable turnaround is under way, and those who think growth will falter once a heavy dose of stimulus fades.

The uncertainty is evident within the Fed itself, with many policymakers emphasizing the hazards in their outlook, even as they vow to vigorously fight any early signs of inflation.

With inflationary warning signals largely absent, an immediate shift in the central bank's ultra-easy policy stance, including any tinkering with its pledge to keep interest rates low for an "extended period," appears unlikely.

"The Federal Reserve is unlikely to change its assessment significantly," said Marc Chandler, global currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman.

The Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank's policy setting group, meets on November 3 and November 4.

RECOVERY'S ARRIVAL

The third quarter GDP report on Friday signaled the end of the worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression, but government stimulus, including the "cash for clunkers" incentive for auto purchases and a $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers, helped prop the economy up.

The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index, a widely watched barometer of industrial strength, suggested activity remained robust in October. The measure jumped to 55.7 last month, its highest level since April 2006. It has held above the 50 line that separates expansion from contraction for three straight months.

Even the ISM employment index, long in contraction territory, turned positive, indicating the first inklings of a willingness to hire.

"Given the fairly good performance of this indicator in predicting the performance of the U.S. economy more generally, it is pointing to further upward momentum in U.S. economic activity," said Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM

Despite signs factory activity is picking up, the U.S. consumers who normally account for around 70 percent of the economy's growth, are facing major challenges.

Chief among them is a jobless rate currently hovering at a 26-year high just below 10 percent, which is expected to continue climbing into next year.

Coupled with three years of declines in home values, the unfavorable labor market has dampened consumers' appetite to spend. Even for those who have managed to hold onto their jobs, incomes largely remain stagnant or have lost ground.

The grim employment outlook raises doubts about whether growth can be sustained when the effects of the government's stimulus program fade.

FINANCIAL STABILITY

The banking sector, which has regained some of its swagger but remains relatively fragile, is another important consideration for Fed officials.

Some banks, like JPMorgan and Goldmans Sachs, have returned solidly to profitability and have, controversially, set aside vast sums for bonus payouts.

But much of this largess, say analysts, is the product of the government's implicit -- and sometimes explicit -- backing. The perception, cemented after Lehman Brothers' disastrous bankruptcy, that the public sector will not allow a major financial institution to fail, has lowered the cost of borrowing for banks.

Losses in the commercial real estate sector, which have been flagged loudly by Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo and a host of regional central bank presidents, suggest the perils of the credit crunch are not yet over for banks.

This should make the Fed leery of any sudden policy movements that might unhinge gains made thus far.

KABUL (AFP) –
The 10 weeks of chaos that dogged Afghanistan's tumultuous election were accompanied by a string of diplomatic blunders that ended with the scrapping of a run-off imposed on President Hamid Karzai.

The decision to announce that November 7's run-off would not take place came after UN chief Ban Ki-moon flew to Kabul to persuade the country's nominally independent election commission not to stage a one-horse race.

Yet less than two weeks earlier, the United Nations was at the forefront of international arm-twisting designed to force Karzai into a second round despite his protestations that he won fair and square the first time.

"It's been the biggest mistake by the international community in the last eight years," said Nasrullah Stanikzai, an analyst at Kabul University.

"There's been no coordination between the United States and the Europeans... And they don't have good coordination with the Afghan government."

Karzai was catapulted to power in late 2001 after US-led coalition forces toppled the Taliban.

But warm relations between Washington and Kabul have steadily declined, with Karzai humiliated when he was reluctantly forced to announce his participation in the run-off, flanked by US Senator John Kerry and UN envoy Kai Eide.

But while diplomats managed to persuade Karzai to stand in a run-off, praising his "statesmanship", they failed to nail down the participation of Abdullah Abdullah, runner-up in the first round who quit the contest on Sunday.

There had been expectations that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would fly to Afghanistan over the weekend after a trip to neighbouring Pakistan.

But Clinton never made it to Kabul and was in Abu Dhabi by the time Abdullah's camp was making it clear that their man would not take part.

Asked whether the outcome of a run-off with only one candidate would result in a legitimate government, Clinton appeared unfazed by such as prospect, saying such situations were "not unprecedented" and occur in the United States.

But after the election commission decided to scrap the poll, the US embassy in Kabul said it welcomed the cancellation.

A European diplomat said the pressure on Karzai to compete in the second round was prompted by a desire to make him acknowledge the large-scale fraud that dogged the first round.

"What was important was to make Karzai admit he had not won in the first round," said the diplomat.

However, Karzai was then able to keep the electoral institutions, which oversaw the rigging in August, intact for the second round -- prompting Abdullah to conclude the contest would again be tilted against him.

Peter Galbraith, Eide's deputy until a major fallout after the first round, says it was clear that fraud would have played "as large a part in the presidential runoff voting as it did in the original August balloting".

"Eide is the victim of his past passivity," he wrote in the LA Times.

Haroun Mir, head of Afghanistan's Centre for Research and Policy Studies, said the UN made a series of mistakes and was guilty of "a lack of management and incompetence", with Eide failing to tackle concerns about vote-rigging.

"Eide wanted to cover up to show the process was successful," he told AFP.

The sight of Karzai announcing the run-off alongside Kerry and Eide also reinforced the perception in Afghanistan that the president was taking his orders from foreign powers.

Faheem Dashty, editor of The Kabul Weekly, said such an overt display of influence was unfortunate.

"For a young democracy such as ours, there is a need sometimes for pressure," he told AFP.

"But when the pressure is so public and open, this gives a very negative impression to the people of Afghanistan that we are not independent," he said.

Mir said, however, that the United States knew exactly what they were doing by putting Karzai in his place as it wanted him weakened.

"Now I think Karzai is very weak and he is not able to fight back when there is pressure on him," said Mir. "I think this is what the US wanted from the beginning."

LONDON (AFP) –
The leading stock exchange climbed higher on Monday, after much better-than-expected US data helped ease concerns the economic recovery could falter and threaten recent sustained gains.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares was up 1.19 percent to 5,104.50 points.

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was the most traded stock, seeing 247 million units change hands, followed by telecom giant Vodafone, which saw 118 million shares switch owners.

Gold miner Randgold Resources was top of the leader board, gaining 236 pence -- or 5.96 percent -- to close at 4196.

It was followed by miner Eurasian Natural Resources, up 45.50 pence -- or 5.46 percent -- to close at 879.

On the downside, RBS was the day's biggest loser, dropping 3.27 pence -- or 7.80 percent -- to close at 38.65.

It was followed by property firm Hammerson, which lost 14 pence -- or 3.45 percent -- to close at 392.20.

PHILADELPHIA – Cole Hamels isn't ready to call it a season.
Hamels wants to pitch again if the Philadelphia Phillies need him against the New York Yankees in the World Series. It would be the struggling left-hander's turn to take the mound in Game 7 on Thursday.
Hamels angered fans and created a stir on talk radio with his comments after his latest poor outing Saturday night. He clarified those remarks after the Phillies avoided elimination with an 8-6 victory in Game 5 on Monday night.
"Sometimes I might not say the best things or the smartest things, but I've learned and am learning," Hamels said. "I wasn't able to sleep the past couple of nights because of it."
Hamels allowed five runs over 4 1-3 innings in an 8-5 loss in Game 3. Last year's World Series and NLCS MVP, he's 1-2 with a 7.58 ERA in four starts this postseason after going 10-11 in the regular season.
"I can't wait for it to end," Hamels said after the game. "It's been mentally draining. At year's end, you just can't wait for a fresh start."
Many took that comment and ran with it. But Hamels talked for about 30 minutes to groups of reporters and also said he looked forward to the possibility of redeeming his season in Game 7.
Hamels reached out to manager Charlie Manuel to make sure they were on the same page.
"I went to Charlie just to talk to him because that's who I am, and I think he understands that," Hamels said. "I just wanted to tell him my true thoughts — that I'll never ever quit. I want to play this game until somebody takes it away from me.
"I think Charlie knows me. He has managed me for quite a few years. I think the only doubt it left in people's minds were the fans, and you know, it hurts. I love the city of Philadelphia, I play as hard as I possibly can. I might not necessarily have the results that they hope (for), but I know that if I go out there, and do everything I possibly can, and in the end they see (that), then I think they can respect that."

WASHINGTON – The health care bill headed for a vote in the House this week costs $1.2 trillion or more over a decade, according to numerous Democratic officials and figures contained in an analysis by congressional budget experts, far higher than the $900 billion cited by President Barack Obama as a price tag for his reform plan.
While the Congressional Budget Office has put the cost of expanding coverage in the legislation at roughly $1 trillion, Democrats added billions more on higher spending for public health, a reinsurance program to hold down retiree health costs, payments for preventive services and more.
Many of the additions are designed to improve benefits or ease access to coverage in government programs. The officials who provided overall cost estimates did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss them.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has referred repeatedly to the bill's net cost of $894 billion over a decade for coverage.
Asked about the higher estimate, Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said the measure not only insures 36 million more Americans, it provides critical health insurance reform in a way that is fiscally sound.
"It will not add one dime to the deficit. In fact, the CBO said last week that it will reduce the deficit both in the first 10 years and in the second 10 years," Daly said.
Democrats have been intent on passing legislation this year to implement Obama's call for expanded coverage for millions, curbs on industry abuses and provisions to slow the rate of growth of health care costs nationally.
"Now, add it all up, and the plan I'm proposing will cost around $900 billion over 10 years," the president said in a nationally televised speech in early September.
Whatever the final cost of legislation, the calendar is working increasingly against the White House and Democrats. While a House vote is possible late this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., may not be able to begin debate on the issue until the week before Thanksgiving. Additionally, the Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has hinted at efforts to extend the debate for weeks if not months, a timetable that could extend into 2010.
One casualty of the time crunch and threatened Republican delaying tactics may be formal House-Senate negotiations on a final compromise. An alternative is a less formal hurry-up final negotiation involving the White House and senior Democrats.
Pelosi and her lieutenants worked on last-minute changes in the measure to ease concerns among opponents of abortion and a contentious provision relating to illegal immigrants. Conservative Democrats have expressed concern about the cost of the bill, and an evening closed-door meeting gave the leadership its first chance to hear their response.
The bill includes an option for a government-run health plan.
The leadership can afford more than two dozen defections and still be assured of the votes to prevail on the bill, one of the most sweeping measures in recent years.
Republicans put the cost of the bill at nearly $1.3 trillion.
"Our goal is to make it as difficult as possible for" Democrats to pass it, House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said at a news conference. "We believe it is the wrong prescription."
One day after announcing Republicans would have an alternative measure, Boehner offered few details. He said it would omit one of the central provisions in Democratic bills — a ban on the insurance industry's practice of denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions. Instead, he said the Republicans would encourage creation of insurance pools for high-risk individuals and take other steps to ease their access to coverage.
Boehner also said Republicans would propose limits on medical malpractice lawsuits in what he said was an attempt to reduce the cost of coverage.
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., the third-ranking leader, said that Democrats looked at their bill as a way to advance universal coverage. In contrast, he said, Republicans "believe the real issue back home is cost" of insurance, and said their alternative would be designed to tackle it.

Democrats have made elimination of the industry's practice a linchpin of their drive to overhaul the health care system. The industry has said it would not fight the change, and an accompanying restriction on its ability to charge higher premiums for certain groups, as the legislation includes a requirement for individuals to purchase insurance. Lacking that, the industry says millions of relatively healthy individuals would refuse to pay for coverage until they became sick, and the cost of premiums would rise sharply for everyone else.

Republicans oppose any government requirements for individuals to purchase insurance or for businesses to provide coverage.

The Congressional Budget Office is seen by lawmakers as the arbiter of claims about the costs and effects of proposed legislation, and the agency has been under intense pressure in recent weeks to compete assessments on several bills circulating in House and Senate.

In a letter last week, the agency's director, Dr. Douglas Elmendorf, said the net cost of expanding coverage in the House measure was estimated at $894 billion over 10 years, a figure reflecting a gross total of $1 trillion in federal subsidies as well as other spending.

The letter contained no similar assessment for the balance of the legislation and it was not clear when or whether one would be forthcoming.

In a letter last week to Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., on the general subject of health care, Elmendorf cautioned that some provisions in legislation have elements that raise costs and elements that lower costs.

"Tabulating all of the aspects of the proposal that would, in isolation, increase federal outlays would be complicated and would require somewhat arbitrary judgments" about calculating overall costs, Elmendorf said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) –
US President Barack Obama has signaled a tough new approach to Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, urging him just hours after his re-election to wipe out corruption amid warnings of hard talks ahead.

"This has to be point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance," Obama said he had told Karzai in a telephone call, just after the Afghan leader was declared the winner of the fraud-tainted poll.

Obama congratulated Karzai, but told him to make "a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption.

"He assured me that he understood the importance of this moment. But as I indicated to him, the proof is not going to be in words. It's going to be in deeds," Obama warned.

Karzai, installed as the Afghan leader after the US forces ousted Taliban Islamic militants in 2001, was Monday declared the winner of presidential elections in August that were marred by widespread fraud and ballot-stuffing. Reactions: World powers stick by Karzai, US says fight corruption

"Although the process was messy, I'm pleased to say that the final outcome was determined in accordance with Afghan law, which I think is very important not only for the international community that has so much invested in Afghan success, but most importantly is important for the Afghan people," Obama said.

The US leader added that "after some difficult years in which there's been some drift" he expected to see Karzai demonstrate that "he's going to move boldly and forcefully forward and take advantage of the international community's interest in his country to initiate reforms internally."

"That has to be one of our highest priorities," said Obama, whose administration has put increasing pressure on the Afghan leader and made no secret of its concerns about corruption in Afghanistan.

The announcement that Karzai would receive a second five-year term, cancelled a run-off that had threatened to descend into farce and further destabilize Afghanistan.

It followed intense diplomatic pressure and sought to draw a line under two months of political chaos in a war-torn nation where 100,000 NATO and US troops are battling an increasingly virulent Taliban resurgence.

Obama, who is mulling a wide-ranging review of US policy in Afghanistan, said he also wanted to see "joint efforts to accelerate the training of Afghan security forces so that the Afghan people can provide for their own security."

But he gave no indication on when his keenly-awaited announcement on whether to deploy more troops to the conflict would come.

General Stanley McChrystal, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has called for an extra 40,000 US troops to fight an increasingly deadly insurgency by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked forces.

But the conflict, which has claimed the lives of more than 400 coalition troops this year, is growing increasingly unpopular among the American public as it drags into its ninth year. Related article: Cash-strapped US media struggles to cover war

"Now begin the hard conversations," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said earlier, signaling the administration intended to take a firmer stand with Karzai.

Gibbs said talks had to begin on "governance, civil society, and corruption... to ensure that we have a credible partner in our efforts to help secure the country."

He said any decision by Obama on whether to commit more troops to the conflict would "be made in the coming weeks."

"The president is working with the national security team to evaluate... how best to formulate a strategy that supports the goal of disrupting, dismantling, and ultimately destroying Al-Qaeda," Gibbs said.

Now that Karzai had been declared the winner of the August elections, there is "no question it illuminates the situation going forward," he said.

But Gibbs stressed it was not the "single" question that had to be resolved.

US officials recently said it would be irresponsible to deploy more troops -- with the US military already stretched from fighting in Iraq -- before the election crisis was resolved.

But Karzai's only challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, quit the second round contest on Sunday charging there were no safeguards to prevent a repeat of the massive fraud that threw out nearly a quarter of votes cast in August.

WASHINGTON – In the largest single strike at Mexican drug operations in the U.S., federal officials on Thursday announced the arrests of more than 300 people in raids across the country aimed at the newest and most violent cartel.
La Familia has earned a reputation for dominating the methamphetamine trade and displaying graphic violence, including beheadings. U.S. officials said the cartel, based in the state of Michoacan, in southwestern Mexico, has a vast network pumping drugs throughout the United States, specializing in methamphetamine.
The arrests took place in 38 cities, from Boston to Seattle and Tampa, Fla., to St. Paul, Minn., in 19 states.
Attorney General Eric Holder pledged to keep hitting La Familia and the cartels responsible for a wave of bloodshed in Mexico. He said the U.S. would attack them at all levels, from the leadership to their supply chains reaching far into the United States.
"To the extent that they do grow back, we have to work with our Mexican counterparts to cut off the heads of these snakes, to get at the heads of the cartels, indict them, try them, if they're in Mexico, extradite them to the United States," Holder said at a news conference.
Michele Leonhart, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration, said La Familia's power has grown quickly, in part due to its quasi-religious background. DEA officials say the cartel professes a "Robin Hood mentality" of aiding the poor by stealing from the rich. Some drug proceeds are used to give bibles and money to the poor, according to investigators.
The Obama administration has directed more agents, resources and money to fight the cartel's presence along the Mexico-U.S. border. But the arrests over the past two days occurred far beyond that region.
"The problem is not just along the southwest border, it is all over our country now," said Kenneth Melson, head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
In Dallas alone, 77 people were charged by a number of different federal and local law enforcement agencies.
On Wednesday and Thursday, more than 3,000 federal agents and police officers carried out arrests in more than a dozen states, as part of a long-running effort that has netted nearly 1,200 arrests over almost four years.
The suspects face a combination of federal and state charges.
In the latest legal assault on La Familia, a New York grand jury has indicted an alleged cartel leader, Servando Gomez-Martinez. He is linked to one of the more brazen acts of cartel violence.
In July, after a dozen Mexican police officers were found murdered, officials say Gomez-Martinez publicly proclaimed his membership in La Familia and said the cartel was locked in a battle with Mexican police.
Many of the new charges are centered on the cartel's methamphetamine distribution, but other charges involve cocaine and marijuana, the officials said.
The officials said states where arrests were made or charges filed include Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington state.
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On the Net:
Justice Department: http://www.justice.gov/

Drug Enforcement Administration: http://www.dea.gov

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives: http://www.atf.gov/

PARIS – The glories of Istanbul have arrived in Paris.
From white marble statues of Greek and Roman gods to gleaming medieval Christian icons to a huge red Ottoman tent, an exhibition devoted to Istanbul seeks to expand French awareness of the city's multicultural heritage in a country deeply skeptical of Turkey's European aspirations.
Some 300 works of art from museums in 14 countries in Europe, Turkey and Qatar cap two years of work to create the exhibit "From Byzantium to Istanbul" at the Grand Palais. Some of the pieces from Turkish museums have left their country for the first time.
Bathed in subdued red light, the exhibition takes the visitor through 8,000 years of history of the "city of a hundred names" known as Byzantium, then Constantinople and now Istanbul. It focuses on its role linking Europe and Asia as "one port for two continents."
The exhibition, opened this month by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Turkish President Abdullah Gul, is the centerpiece of the "Year of Turkey," a panoply of some 400 Turkish cultural events over nine months offering everyone a chance to become better acquainted with Turkey's culture.
"(Istanbul) always has been a multicultural city, with many different languages, ethnicities, religions," said Nazan Olcer, director of the Sakip Sanci Museum in Istanbul and curator of the exhibition.
"I wanted to bring also this colorful face of the city to the exhibition. Maybe, you know, you cannot change all the prejudices with one exhibition only, but at least you can try to open a window to the visitor, to ask him to think differently," she told The Associated Press in an interview.
Olcer says she has collaborated on many international exhibitions that included art from Turkey. Some had focused just on Ottoman art, some on different periods of Turkish art and sometimes just one period of the Turks.
The decision to extend the time span and to focus on Istanbul gives the visitor insight into the array of cultures that have shaped the city, as well as its major role as capital of the Christian Byzantine and the Islamic Ottoman empires.
"The strategy was this. We all are sometimes tending to simplify many things. If Byzantium was a Christian capital, so we think it's been only a Christian capital. If we say after the conquest, after the fall, all of a sudden it has become an Islamic capital. No. It was not like this. Istanbul has been always a multicultural city," she said.
The visitor begins by looking at artifacts from the Neolithic era and glides into the 8th century B.C., when Greek settlers developed a flourishing port they called Byzantium. A stern marble head of the Greek god Heracles stares out, a stark reminder of the city's classical heritage. Next, a bust of the Roman emperor Constantine, who transformed Byzantium into the capital of his eastern Christian empire in the 4th century.
Golden icons and crosses as well as chalices elaborately decorated with precious stones and pearls evoke the long centuries of the city's Christian era when it was known as Constantinople.
Key to understanding the exhibition is a striking section devoted to Mehmed II, who conquered Constantinople in 1453 at age 21 and ended Byzantine rule. His childhood notes written in Turkish using Arabic script and a letter he wrote to the Italian painter Gentile Bellini inviting him from Venice are displayed alongside a 13th-century copy of Homer's Iliad in Greek, one of the seven languages Mehmet knew.
The exhibition includes portraits by Italian painters of Mehmed and his successors, including Suleyman the Magnificent, a testament to European fascination with the east.
Turkey's ethnic and religious minorities long present in Istanbul do not figure prominently, but they are not absent. Engraved stone funeral steles in Armenian, Hebrew and Greek document the city's diversity.
The exhibition ends on a contemporary note with a room devoted to a slideslow of color photographs of the city today and a remarkable display of artifacts of an ancient Byzantine port discovered in 2004 during the construction of an underwater metro station.
"Maybe this exhibition also can open new windows for them (visitors) by looking at the old city with all of its secrets," Olcer said.
"From Byzantium to Istanbul" runs through Jan. 25, 2010.

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On the Web:

http://www.rmn.fr/De-Byzance-a-Istanbul

This type of vehicle was once rather common in some locations. An example of its use was in the transport of travelers arriving by railroad at Merced, California to Glacier National Park and Yosemite National Park in the first half of the 20th century. In Glacier National Park, these were referred to as "Jammers" in reference to the nickname of their gear-jamming drivers. In Yosemite, passengers would then stay in rustic platform tent camps or more expensive lodges (both of which are still available) and hike or rent bicycles for movement around the park.

Coach builders can perform aftermarket extensions on luxury sedans and SUVs. These extensive limousine conversions have been performed on several luxury marques, including: Audi, Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Chrysler, Ford, Holden, Hummer, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen. In the United States the most popular vehicles for stretch limousines conversion are the Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac DTS, Hummer H2, and the Lincoln Navigator. There are even instances of Corvettes and VW Bugs being stretched to accommodate up to 10 passengers.

Phoenix Airport Car Service

ORANGE PARK, Fla. – After 7-year-old Somer Thompson vanished on her way home from school, investigators tailed nine garbage trucks from her neighborhood to a Georgia landfill nearly 50 miles away, then picked through the trash as each rig spilled its load.
They sorted through more than 225 tons of garbage before their worst fears were realized: Sticking out of the rubbish were a child's lifeless legs.
Sheriff Rick Beseler said the quick discovery of Somer's body on Wednesday, two days after she disappeared, may have saved precious evidence that could lead to her killer.
"Had we not done this tactic, I believe that body would have been buried beneath hundreds of tons of debris, probably would have gone undiscovered forever," he said Thursday.
An autopsy to establish the cause of death was performed Thursday, but authorities would not disclose their findings. At a news conference, Beseler would not say if Somer had been sexually assaulted or answer other questions about the condition of the body.
"I fear for our community until we bring this person in. This is a heinous crime that's been committed," Beseler said. "And we're going to work as hard as we can to make this community safe."
Searching landfills is common when children disappear, but it is unusual to try to zero in on them more efficiently by tracking a neighborhood's garbage trucks, said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
"Time is the enemy in these cases and the sheriff used every resource," Allen said.
The sheriff said police have questioned more than 155 registered sex offenders in the area so far. State online records show 88 sex offenders live in Orange Park, a Jacksonville suburb of about 9,000 people just south of Jacksonville Naval Air Station.
Beseler would not say whether investigators believe the crime was committed by more than one person.
Somer's father and other family members were "torn up" upon hearing the news, aunt Laura Holt said.
As for the killer or killers, "I don't think they deserve to live," Holt said. "I don't think there's anything worse that a person can do — to kill a child and dump her in the dump like a piece of trash?"
The girl disappeared in a heavily populated residential area about a mile from a stretch of fast-food restaurants and other businesses. Investigators will presumably try to pinpoint the trash bin or garbage can where she was dumped, based on the trash around her and the truck's pickup route.
Tuesday was trash day in Somer's neighborhood, and it was Detective Bruce Owens' idea to track the garbage trucks to the landfill they use in Folkston, Ga., 48 miles way.
"At that time I realized that this is probably not going to turn out good," the 10-year veteran of the Clay County Sheriff's Office told The Florida Times-Union. But he said he had been expecting to find perhaps a backpack or a piece of clothing, not a body.
The sheriff said he had told the girl's mother, Diena Thompson, to prepare for the worst, and called her after receiving the news Wednesday night.
"Needless to say, she was absolutely devastated," Beseler said. "It was the hardest phone call I've ever had to make in my life, and I hope I never have to make another one like that."
Somer vanished on Monday during her mile-long walk home from school. Authorities said she squabbled with another child and walked ahead of the group. She was last seen outside a vacant house that was on her route home, sheriff's spokeswoman Mary Justino said. Investigators are examining the house for evidence, Justino said.

On Thursday, flowers and dozens of teddy bears were heaped around an oak tree across the street from Somer's home where about 200 people gathered for a candlelight vigil in front of the family's home just after sundown.

Diena Thompson came out to thank the group who sang "Amazing Grace" and "You Are My Sunshine," then recited the Lord's Prayer.

"I wish I could hug every one of you," Thompson said. "I love every one of you."

Neighbor Carter Beukema shouted his comments about if the accused killer goes to trial: "I hope I'm on the jury. He will pay."

Somer "was always happy unless she couldn't find anyone to play with," neighbor Robert Ocain said. "She trusted anybody. Honestly, I think all the kids around here do."

At the tree, Catherine Sullivan held her teary-eyed 5-year-old daughter, Nya Frederick. They drove to the Thompsons' neighborhood from Jacksonville because Sullivan wanted to show her child the dangers of being too friendly with strangers.

"She seemed to understand when I explained to her her mommy wouldn't see her anymore," the mother said.

___

Associated Press writers Suzette Laboy, Sarah Larimer and Jennifer Kay in Miami and Katrina Goggins in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this story.

LOS ANGELES – Nicolas Cage is suing his former business manager for $20 million, claiming the man's advice led him toward financial ruin.
Cage claims in a lawsuit filed Friday that Samuel J. Levin and his firm placed the actor in a precarious financial situation that has resulted in catastrophic losses.
The lawsuit claims Levin gave Cage bad advice, failed to tell him about his shaky finances and collected exorbitant fees.
The lawsuit states Cage has sold numerous assets in recent months because of his finances.
A phone message left for Levin was not immediately returned.
Cage won an Academy Award for his role in "Leaving Las Vegas" and has made millions starring in action flicks such as "Con Air" and the "National Treasure" films.

CAIRO (AFP) –
Ghana overcame Brazil 4-3 on penalties in the final of the Under-20 World Cup at the Cairo International Stadium here on Friday to become the first African side to win the tournament.

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu struck the winning spotkick in sudden death after substitute Maicon had spurned the chance to give Brazil their fifth title by placing his penalty over the crossbar.

Ghana fought manfully after the controversial first-half dismissal of Daniel Addo, taking the game to extra-time and then riding their luck in the shootout after 120 goalless minutes.

Goalkeeper Daniel Aygei kept Ghana in the game earlier in extra-time with a point-blank save from Maicon, who had been teed-up 10 yards out by Alex Teixeira's cut-back.

Reported Manchester United target Douglas Costa twice went close in the additional 30 minutes, while Aygei was also called into action by Wellington Junior.

The game changed with the straight red card shown to Ghana centre-back Addo, who was very harshly dismissed for a halfway-line foul on livewire striker Teixeira in the 37th minute despite the presence of a covering defender.

Ghana's numerical disadvantage handed their opponents the initiative after an attritional first 45 minutes and Brazil dominated the second half.

Striker Alan Kardec scored Brazil's winner in the 1-0 semi-final victory over Costa Rica but he was in profligate form against Sellas Tetteh's men.

He spurned four chances inside 12 second-half minutes, first diverting a cross straight at Aygei before twice heading over and also firing into the side netting after a burst down the left.

Tetteh punched the air at the end of extra-time, proud to have kept the favourites at bay despite being a man down.

His joy turned to delirium when Agyemang-Badu slotted his penalty into the bottom-right corner after Maicon had fluffed his chance to give Brazil an unassailable 4-2 lead in the shootout.

Earlier, Hungary secured victory in their third-place play-off match against Costa Rica after heroics from goalkeeper Peter Kulacsi in another penalty shootout.

Marcos Urena's fine 81st-minute opener for Costa Rica was cancelled out by an injury-time penalty from Vladimir Koman and in the ensuing shootout Kulacsi saved three penalties and saw one strike the crossbar to earn the Europeans a 2-0 spotkick victory.

BRUSSELS – Cod is slipping closer to disappearing from key European fishing grounds, officials warned Friday, saying that only steep catch cuts will prevent the disappearance of a species prized for centuries for its flaky white flesh.
The European Union's executive body called for sharp cuts in the amount of cod fisherman can catch next year — up to 25 percent in some areas. The European Commission said recent studies showed cod catches in some areas are far outstripping the rate of reproduction.
Scientists estimated that in the 1970s there were more than 250,000 tons of cod in fishing grounds in the North Sea, eastern English Channel and Scandinavia's Skagerrak strait. In recent years, however, stocks have dropped to 50,000 tons.
"We are not that far away from a situation of complete collapse," said Jose Rodriguez, a marine biologist with the environmental group Oceana. He and other environmentalists said pressure from the fishing industry had kept quotas at levels too high to sustain a viable populations around Europe, while lack of enforcement meant illegal fishing made the problem worse.
The European Commission said Friday it would seek in 2010 to cut the catch in some fishing grounds around Britain, France, Spain and much of Scandinavia from 5,700 tons to 4,250 tons.
In the Mediterranean, bluefin tuna has been overfished for years to satisfy increasing world demand for sushi and sashimi. The tuna population is now a fraction of what it was a few decades ago, but the EU's Mediterranean nations last month refused to impose even a temporary ban.
Oceana estimated that illegal fishing doubled the amount of tuna caught.
Meanwhile Cod, which once sustained vibrant fishing communities from Portugal to Britain to Canada, is increasingly consumed by the ton as salt cod and fish-and-chips.
"People don't ask for fish and chips, they ask for cod and chips," said Mike Guo, a manager at Great Fish and Chips in Essex, England. "It's a traditional dish."
The depletion of the species has caused the decay and disappearance of hundreds of fishing villages on both sides of the Atlantic.
Overfishing off Canada's maritime provinces exhausted the world's richest cod grounds and forced the government to impose a fishing moratorium. The collapse wiped out more than 42,000 jobs, and 18 years later the fish have still not returned.
"It was devastating," said Tom Hedderson, minister of fisheries in Newfoundland. "This affected whole communities ... all up and down the coast here in Newfoundland and Labrador."
He welcomed the EU call to cut catches by 25 percent, but suggested more drastic cuts may be needed.
Some Canadian scientists believe the collapse of cod stocks off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia changed the marine ecosystem so dramatically that it may be impossible for cod to recover. Off Newfoundland alone, cod stocks once exceeded more than 400,000 tons but now scale only 5,500 tons, Hedderson said.
There are signs of recovery of Atlantic cod off New England, however, after years of conservation efforts. And international regulators have reopened some areas off Canada for limited fishing, Canada's Fisheries and Oceans Department spokesman Scott Cantin said.
The fishing industry in Europe, however, is in decline. The number of vessels in the 15 nations that were part of the EU in 1995 has dropped from 104,000 then to 81,000 in 2006. In Britain, employment in the fishing sector sank from 21,600 in 1990 to 16,100 in 2006.
The EU Commission's demand for cod cuts will be discussed by the bloc's 27-member states in a Dec. 14-15 meeting, when the fishing quotas for 2010 will be finalized.
"The scientific prognosis for most stocks is not encouraging, with many in a worse state than last year," Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said Friday. "This, combined with the difficult economic climate, will mean that the negotiations will be even more challenging this time around."

Keeping fishermen in port with excessive quotas will add to their economic woes, said Bertie Armstrong of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation.

Norway and the EU jointly oversee cod stocks in North Sea, with each party regulating the stocks in its waters.

Norway and the EU will begin annual negotiations on cod stock management in November. Ann Kristin Westberg, deputy director-general of Norway's Fishery Ministry, said her country was unlikely to accept a 25 percent quota.

"We probably want to have it lower," she said. "We would like to point out that stock the EU are involved in managing are in terrible shape."

The cod harvest from the Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine fishing grounds, the two primary New England fishing grounds, in 2007 totaled 3,868 metric tons, the biggest catch since 2003 but far under the landings of the 1980s when fishermen often caught more than 20,000 tons annually.

"The Gulf of Maine stock is responding to the recovery plan, and the Georges Bank stock is recovering but not as much," said Teri Frady of NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachussets.

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Associated Press writers Clarke Canfield in Portland, Maine, Rob Gillies in Toronto, Karl Ritter in Stockholm and Rachel Leamon and Maresa Patience in London contributed to this report.

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – If her check were bigger, 76-year-old Agnes Conti might be able to spring for a better cut of meat for her pot roast. She could afford to send her nine grandchildren more than $20 for their birthdays and Christmas. She'd be able to buy some nice new clothes, like she sees on QVC, not what she settles for at Walmart.
If only. The government has said the Social Security checks Conti and tens of millions of other seniors rely on as their primary source of income will not increase next year as consumer prices have fallen overall. And while the retired hospital clerk will get by, she'll be watching her spending even closer, knowing she can't expect the annual raise she's been accustomed to.
"We were good citizens all our lives. We went to work, we lived by the book, we weren't on welfare, we didn't ask the city for anything," Conti said while taking a break from crafts at a senior center here. "And what do we get?"
At the Southwest Focal Point Senior Center in this Fort Lauderdale suburb, seniors lamented the cost-of-living freeze and praised a White House plan for $250 checks to soften the blow. But they took all of the news in stride, saying they've had a lifetime of experience living on a fixed income and would manage with the money they currently receive.
Frank Ferreira sits in the center's lobby, near a decorative fireplace and an autumn centerpiece. The 90-year-old retired truck driver loves to sing, even practicing on a karaoke machine at home, and loves to dance even more. He gets about $890 a month from Social Security, most of which he hands over to his daughter to help pay his share of the bills.
The money isn't the biggest issue, Ferreira said. It's the message the government is sending about caring for seniors.
"I could use a little more, but that's all right, I get along," he said. "But I think that we deserve it, the elderly. You can't just discard them. You've got to help them."
Nearby, 89-year-old Miriam Danzinger is shuffling along with a walker. She gets about $1,300 monthly in Social Security, and after rent and other expenses, including a MediGap plan, she has little to spare. Her daughter helps pay her bills.
When her Chevrolet Cavalier broke down a few months back, Danzinger was forced to give it up. When she goes to the store, she's thrifty, having learned how to cut grocery costs when she ran a coffee shop. She lives as simply as possible.
"Listen, there's no money. People are going hungry," she said. "But what can I say? I'm only a little ant."
The freeze in next year's checks is the first since automatic Social Security cost-of-living increases were adopted in 1975, and follows a 5.8 percent increase in January, the largest since 1982. By law, the adjustments are pegged to inflation, which is negative this year because of lower energy costs.
The Obama administration plan to send $250 stimulus payments to about 57 million seniors, veterans, retired railroad workers and people with disabilities, would amount to a roughly 2 percent raise for the average Social Security recipient. If approved, the checks would cost about $13 billion, though there is no plan yet how to finance them.
While seniors here have grown used to the annual raises, many of them said they're willing to cut the government some slack given the recession and the federal deficit.
"When they have the money, they give us the raise. If they don't have it, they don't have it," said Lucy Polieto, a retired waitress who lives in Southwest Ranches. She wears a glittery gold sweater and chains around her neck, and walks with a spry bounce that belies her 94 years. "Sometimes, I'm so surprised when I look at the check and I get a raise."
The news this week that checks would be stagnant is buffered by some positives: Seniors won't be getting any less than they already do, most recipients' Medicare part B premiums will freeze as well, and the president's plan could soften the blow. But because the one-time stimulus payments won't be a lifetime raise, it means many seniors will never see what amounts to thousands of dollars.
For those in poverty, the raise could have made a huge difference. But for the average senior simply living on a fixed income, it is seen less in dollars and cents, and more in the tangible costs they might be more careful with.
Polieto cooks eggplant, chicken cacciatori and pasta fazool. A raise could have given her more leeway with her grocery bill.
"Then I could buy some steaks, maybe," she said. "But I'd rather have a pork chop."

An entity seeking to transfer risk (an individual, corporation, or association of any type, etc.) becomes the 'insured' party once risk is assumed by an 'insurer', the insuring party, by means of a contract, called an insurance 'policy'. Generally, an insurance contract includes, at a minimum, the following elements: the parties (the insurer, the insured, the beneficiaries), the premium, the period of coverage, the particular loss event covered, the amount of coverage (i.e., the amount to be paid to the insured or beneficiary in the event of a loss), and exclusions (events not covered). An insured is thus said to be "indemnified" against the loss events covered in the policy.

Many independent inventors are in favor of patenting new insurance products since it gives them protection from big companies when they bring their new insurance products to market. Independent inventors account for 70 percent of the new U.S. patent applications in this area.

Florida Life Insurance

MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee newspaper reported Monday that local police had arrested a suspect in connection with the killings of seven women, including six suspected prostitutes, over a 21-year period that started in 1986.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the suspect, a 49-year-old Milwaukee man, was arrested Saturday and booked on a temporary felony warrant.
Police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz would not confirm an arrest Monday, telling The Associated Press only that police were talking with a "person of interest" in connection with a number of cold-case homicides.
The police department scheduled a news conference for Monday evening.
Police Chief Edward Flynn and Milwaukee County district attorney John Chisholm announced a new investigation four months ago after DNA evidence linked the women's deaths to one person. Police said then that they never stopped investigating the cases, but scored a major breakthrough when DNA technology suggested the same person killed six of the women and had sex with the seventh.
The victims were six black women between the ages of 19 and 41 and a white 16-year-old runaway. Their bodies were found within a 3-square-mile area of Milwaukee's north side between 1986 and 2007.
The investigation produced breaks in other cases. Detectives resubmitted more than 20 other DNA samples taken from prostitutes in unsolved homicide cases to the state crime laboratory to check for possible links to the killer. That work led to progress in at least 10 unrelated killings, authorities said.
Two people were charged in a pair cases from 1990 and charges were being considered against a third suspect, Chisholm said late last month.
Five other suspects have been identified in other cold cases, four of whom are currently serving life terms or extended terms, Flynn said. Police were continuing to gather more evidence in those cases, he said.