Vancouver, Melbourne and Vienna named world’s most liveable cities

9 June 2009: Vancouver, Vienna, Melbourne have again been named as the three ‘best’ cities in the world to live in and to visit. The survey by the London-based Economist Intelligent Survey (EIU) describes Vancouver as almost perfect with only petty crime and the availability of good-quality housing presenting any challenges. Similar research by Mercer Consulting puts Vienna in first place followed by Zurich and Geneva.

Vienna is ranked second in the EIU survey, followed by Melbourne in third place. Toronto has seen a slight improvement in its index, bringing it up to fourth place, from sixth previously. Canadian and Australian cities account for six of the top ten, with Vienna, Helsinki, Zurich and Geneva making up the most liveable destinations surveyed. The German cities of Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin are placed 14th, 19th and 22nd respectively. London (51st) and Athens (63rd) are outside the top 50. In fact, Manchester, in 46th place, is the UK’s highest ranked city.

EIU's ten best cities in the world

Rank	City	Country
1	Vancouver	Canada
2	Vienna	Austria
3	Melbourne	Australia
4	Toronto	Canada
=5	Perth	Australia
=5	Calgary	Canada
7	Helsinki	Finland
8	Geneva	Switzerland
=9	Sydney	Australia
=9	Zurich	Switzerland

Cities that score best in the EIU research tend to be mid-sized, in developed countries with a low population density, benefiting from cultural or recreational availability but with lower crime levels or infrastructure problems that can be caused by large populations.

With the exception of high scores in Australasia and some Asian centres, most of the better-scoring locations are based in the more developed regions of Western Europe and North America. This is unsurprising, given the implied stability and mature infrastructures offered by the two regions. The West European and North American averages are, respectively, only 5.8% and 6.5% short of top-scoring Vancouver. No city in either region falls below the highest-rated category for liveability, which can give any city a claim to occupy the same tier of liveability as top-scoring Vancouver and Vienna.

Athens fares worst in Western Europe, with an overall score of 81.2%, failing to match the regional average in any category and suffering from educational and infrastructural challenges similar to less-developed locations. Lexington (US, 59th) fares worst in North America with an overall score of 85.8%. As a much smaller city than many in the US, Lexington scores more highly in terms of stability owing to the lower threat from crime. However, the downside to its smaller size is a lower availability of cultural or recreational activities.

At the other end of the ranking, most of the poorest-performing locations are in Africa or Asia, where civil instability and poor infrastructure present significant challenges (the survey does not include locations such as Afghanistan or Iraq). The prospect of violence, whether through domestic protests, civil war or the threat of foreign incursion, plays a significant role in the poorest-performing cities. This can exacerbate the impact of instability on other key liveability categories, such as infrastructure, healthcare indicators or the availability (or freedom) of certain activities.

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After the Storm: A new era for risk management in financial services

Less than half of financial services risk professionals believe the principles of risk management remain sound, Economist Intelligence Unit report finds

The global financial crisis has exposed fault lines in the management of risk across many sectors of the financial services industry. Faced with a massive erosion of confidence among key stakeholders, and the prospects of difficult times ahead as the industry seeks to rebuild itself, risk professionals are now questioning the very foundations of risk management. According to findings from a new Economist Intelligence Unit report entitled After the Storm: A new era for risk management in financial services, which is sponsored by SAS, a business analytics software and services firm, less than half of risk professionals in the industry believe that the principles of risk management remain sound.

This suggests that fundamental changes to risk management are required – not just better execution. Indeed, out of the 334 senior risk professionals from the industry questioned for this research, 53% say that they have conducted, or plan to conduct, a major overhaul of their risk management in response to the crisis. The findings also highlight a lack of understanding between the risk function and the broader business, with just 40% of respondents indicating that the importance of risk management is widely understood throughout the business.

In their efforts to overhaul risk management, key areas of focus for respondents include the strengthening of risk governance, a move towards a firm-wide approach to risk, and the ongoing need to improve data availability and quality to support deeper integration of risk within the business. Respondents say that the need for reform is being driven, in particular, by executive management, but that regulators are also starting to apply the pressure.

"The financial crisis has prompted a wholesale reassessment of risk management in many financial institutions as they come to terms with a dramatically changed environment," says Rob Mitchell, editor of the report. "Firms are adopting a range of new ideas and approaches, but face a number of important cultural, technological and organisational challenges before they can successfully recalibrate their risk management."

Other findings from the research include the following:

• The financial services industry is retreating from risk. Only around one-third of executives believe that the outlook is positive for their business in terms of either revenue growth or profitability over the next year, and less than one-third say that they are seeing confidence return to their business. This erosion of confidence is having a dramatic impact on the kind of business that financial institutions are willing to carry out, with many retreating into familiar, domestic business.
• Increased transparency is the main goal of reform. Asked about the initiatives that they thought would be most beneficial to the financial services industry, respondents pointed to greater disclosure of off balance sheet vehicles, stronger regulation of credit rating agencies and the central clearing of over-the-counter derivatives as being three among the top four that have the greatest potential benefit. Although these are wide-ranging activities, there seems to be a common theme across all of them—namely, the requirement for greater transparency and disclosure to facilitate the more effective management of systemic risk issues.
• Respondents lack confidence in the ability of supervisors to formulate the right response to the crisis. Just three in ten respondents are confident that policy-makers can formulate an effective response to the crisis. Regulators, in particular, are singled out as being a potential weak spot, with less than one-third rating their handling of the financial crisis as good or excellent (a lower proportion than for either central banks or governments).

China moves up the global innovation rankings but innovation techniques still lag global best practice, says Economist Intelligence Unit

From workshop to the world to a budding test bed for global innovation, China is on the move. To increase productivity, China’s government is investing in research and development (R&D) and education, the foundations of innovation. But innovation is not just an official mantra. A survey of 181 senior executives in China, conducted in Chinese by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Cisco, found that companies view innovation as critical to their success, and have clear opinions on what helps and hinders their progress. This focus on innovation has enabled China to move up eight slots in Economist Intelligence Unit's global innovation rankings, to 46th place. Although the country improved the most in the innovation stakes, in practice it still lags behind the global leaders.

Unlocking innovation in China presents the results of the China survey and interviews with top executives in China. An impressive 83% of survey respondents say senior management at their companies are focused on transforming ideas into the most profitable innovations possible. But the Economist Intelligence Unit found there are differences in how innovation occurs in China and globally, with some sharp contrasts between this study and that of a 2006 survey of 485 executives worldwide.

The new study highlights some high-profile technological advances that Chinese firms have made in areas such as aerospace and defence, biomedicine and energy. But Chinese companies are also finding ways to compete globally through innovating simple, low-cost solutions that give them an edge on price or in the customisation of products. Nonetheless, the report points out that they face challenges in their drive towards innovation.

Key findings of the report include:

• Chinese companies fail to draw the wider organisation into the innovation process, relying instead on R&D departments. Whereas sales and marketing play the leading role in generating new ideas within most global companies, in China it is R&D departments that drive innovation. Sixty-seven percent of respondents in China say that ideas for new products and services are most often generated by the R&D department, compared with 42% who said so globally.
China’s companies are already aware that a tighter focus on the consumer will enhance innovation, however. Forty-three percent say that changes in consumer tastes or habits are the source of their organisation’s most successful innovations.
• Companies in China would benefit from intensifying their interaction with partners and suppliers to generate new ideas. The survey shows that China lags in applying the concept of open innovation, in which ideas are allowed to flow among organisations. Only 17% of respondents there say partners are important sources of new ideas, compared with 34% in the global survey. In interviews, Chinese executives often cited a lack of trust, including the fear of reverse engineering or pirating, as a reason for not working with external organisations.
• To improve China’s position as an engine of innovation, the country needs highly skilled managers. Survey respondents recognise the importance of leadership skills: 99% say it is “very significant” or “significant” to innovation. But although the government has invested heavily in the physical underpinnings for innovation, China continues to lag in building up its management capacity. It needs leaders who can help it complete the transformation of its production system and tear down rigid hierarchies within companies. Organisations can only benefit from improving the retention of top managers who can foster innovation.
• The government has an important role in creating an environment that is conducive to innovation. Financial regulations, tax policies and technical standards affect the ability of companies to innovate, and to profit from their innovations. But the most important national factor that government can provide is macroeconomic stability, according to 52% of respondents in China.

“China is becoming a more innovative economy, but to maintain momentum it will have to focus not just on glamorous technology programmes but also on the more basic tasks, such as maintaining macroeconomic stability and developing leadership skills, that enable innovation to flourish,” says Katherine Dorr Abreu, senior editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Notes for editors

Unlocking innovation in China is an Economist Intelligence Unit report, sponsored by Cisco. The research is based on an online survey, fielded in Chinese, of 181 senior executives in China. It was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit in November 2008. A total of 32 regions are represented in the survey, although most of the respondents are located in Beijing (13%), Jiangsu (12%) and Shandong (11%). The survey encompasses a variety of ownership structures: 27% are from state-owned enterprises or owned by provincial or municipal governments; 26% are from wholly owned foreign operations; 22% from private Chinese concerns, and 18% from joint ventures. They represented a wide range of company size: 28% with annual revenues of $100m or less, 29% between $100m and $500m, 8% between $500m and $1bn, and 34% more than $1bn. They represent a broad range of industries, but manufacturing accounted for 35% of respondents and financial services for another 12%. Forty-one percent are C-level executives. They have a broad range of functions, with 35% responsible for general management, 17% for customer service and 15% for finance. The quantitative survey was supplemented by interviews with executives in China.

Less than half of financial services risk professionals believe the principles of risk management remain sound, Economist Intelligence Unit report fin

The global financial crisis has exposed fault lines in the management of risk across many sectors of the financial services industry. Faced with a massive erosion of confidence among key stakeholders, and the prospects of difficult times ahead as the industry seeks to rebuild itself, risk professionals are now questioning the very foundations of risk management. According to findings from a new Economist Intelligence Unit report entitled After the Storm: A new era for risk management in financial services, which is sponsored by SAS, a business analytics software and services firm, less than half of risk professionals in the industry believe that the principles of risk management remain sound.

This suggests that fundamental changes to risk management are required – not just better execution. Indeed, out of the 334 senior risk professionals from the industry questioned for this research, 53% say that they have conducted, or plan to conduct, a major overhaul of their risk management in response to the crisis. The findings also highlight a lack of understanding between the risk function and the broader business, with just 40% of respondents indicating that the importance of risk management is widely understood throughout the business.

In their efforts to overhaul risk management, key areas of focus for the survey respondents include the strengthening of risk governance, a move towards a firm-wide approach to risk, the deeper integration of risk within the business and improvements to data quality and availability. Respondents say that the need for reform is being driven, in particular, by executive management, but that regulators are also starting to apply the pressure.

“The financial crisis has prompted a wholesale reassessment of risk management in many financial institutions as they come to terms with a dramatically changed environment,” says Rob Mitchell, editor of the report. “Firms are adopting a range of new ideas and approaches, but face a number of important cultural, technological and organisational challenges before they can successfully recalibrate their risk management.”

Other findings from the research include the following:

• The financial services industry is retreating from risk. Only around one-third of executives believe that the outlook is positive for their business in terms of either revenue growth or profitability over the next year, and less than one-third say that they are seeing confidence return to their business. This erosion of confidence is having a dramatic impact on the kind of business that financial institutions are willing to carry out, with many retreating into familiar, domestic business.
• Increased transparency is the main goal of reform. Asked about the initiatives that they thought would be most beneficial to the financial services industry, respondents pointed to greater disclosure of off balance sheet vehicles, stronger regulation of credit rating agencies and the central clearing of over-the-counter derivatives as being three among the top four that have the greatest potential benefit. Although these are wide-ranging activities, there seems to be a common theme across all of them – namely, the requirement for greater transparency and disclosure to facilitate the more effective management of systemic risk issues.
• Respondents lack confidence in the ability of supervisors to formulate the right response to the crisis. Just three in ten respondents are confident that policy-makers can formulate an effective response to the crisis. Regulators, in particular, are singled out as being a potential weak spot, with less than one-third rating their handling of the financial crisis as good or excellent (a lower proportion than for either central banks or governments).

About the research

After the Storm: A new era for risk management in financial services is an Economist Intelligence Unit report that is based on a survey of 334 senior financial services respondents from around the world and a programme of in-depth interviews with high-profile industry participants and commentators. The survey included companies from a variety of sizes and sub-sectors within the financial services industry, and all respondents have a primary focus on risk management.

About the Economist Intelligence Unit

The Economist Intelligence Unit is the business information arm of The Economist Group, publisher of The Economist. Through our global network of 650 analysts, we continuously assess and forecast political, economic and business conditions in more than 200 countries. As the world's leading provider of country intelligence, we help executives make better business decisions by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on worldwide market trends and business strategies.

China's Hidden Bankruptcy

Throughout 2008, only 3,500 enterprises formally filed for bankruptcy in China. Hiding behind this tiny number however is the approximately 800,000 businesses that exited the market by either canceling their registration or having their business license revoked.

The rise in the number of these hidden bankruptcies has emerged since a new bankruptcy code came into force in China on June 1, 2007.

In order to solve problems that have emerged since the introduction of the new legislation, the Supreme People's Court has accelerated it's timetable to release judicial interpretations of the law.

The draft interpretation of the law on enterprise bankruptcy, which consists of more than 200 provisions, has already been circulated among judicial circles. In coming months, a new draft will be unveiled for feedback and advice from related authorities and the public.

After amendments based on suggestions received from stakeholders, the interpretation of the law on enterprise bankruptcy will come into effect next year.

Professor Li Shuguang, the vice principal of China University of Political Science and Law's Graduate School, noted that currently "the biggest problem is that hardly any enterprises have filed for bankruptcy." As one of the authors of the current bankruptcy law, he has paid close attention to its implementation.

According to Li, the huge gap between the number of businesses seeking bankruptcy and those exiting the market via other means demonstrated that most enterprise withdrawals were not in accordance with the procedures as stipulated by China's Law on Enterprise Bankruptcy.

"Among those 800,000 enterprises, some managed to responsibly resolve issues related to creditors' rights and to settle their debt, but many enterprises simply cancelled their license or registration in order to avoid debt obligations. This kind of withdrawal can be deemed as malicious bankruptcy or even credit fraud."

Li noted that there were far more bankruptcy cases when the former corporate bankruptcy law, introduced in 1986, was in effect. At that time bankruptcy was mainly instructed by government policy.

According to Li, these new methods of withdrawal provide no guarantee for creditors' interests and also bring about a higher risk of credit default in the market as a whole and amounted to a huge waste of quality assets.

Not only were these enterprises not making use of the market exit mechanism provided by the Law on Enterprise Bankruptcy, but in doing so, they also failed to take advantage of the the market economy's ability to efficiently allocate resources.

He believed that government intervention was the major cause of the huge drop in bankruptcy cases, saying "the Government has intervened too much in the market."

Prof. Li said, the reason a lot of enterprises that should make use of bankruptcy procedures don't, is because so many government officials fail to recognize that bankruptcy is a common method utilized by market economies. Bankruptcy procedures are used by market economies as a way to allocate resources.

A case in point was the bankruptcy of Sanlu Group, the dairy company at the heart of the melamine contamination scandal last year. Owing to governmental intervention, the Sanlu bankruptcy left a lot of unsolved problems behind.

"The new law put an end to government-endorsed bankruptcy and eliminated the use of incentive measures like the writing off of bad debts from banks, etc.," said Prof. Li. "This is one of factors that has contributed to the downturn in the number of bankruptcy cases."

According to Wang Xinxin, a law professor at Renmin University of China and also a expert adviser for the drafters of the bankruptcy law's interpretation, officials need to fully understand the way in which the law on enterprise bankruptcy plays a role in the allocation of social resources.

Aside from establishing a procedure for enterprise liquidation, the law also contains important provisions regarding mechanisms to save enterprises in financial trouble.

Many areas lacked special courts devoted to handling bankruptcy cases and this hampered the courts ability to handle bankruptcy cases, according to attorney Yun Zhengyou, a partner of Beijing's Wei Heng law firm who also served as director of the committee which dealt with China's first bankruptcy case.

No Chinese financial institution has declared itself bankrupt since the financial crisis hit.

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新加坡‧大馬網友斥搶殘友停車位‧新加坡車主被轟亂泊車

新加坡）獅城車主被轟在馬來西亞亂停車！

最近在馬來西亞的網絡論壇上，有網友熱烈討論新加坡人在新山胡亂停車，甚至是在殘障人士停車位停車的醜陋行為。

網友“ahlong7788”首先爆料說，6月6日當天，他在武吉英達佳世客購物中心（Bukit Indah Jusco）看到2輛新加坡車子停在殘障人士的停車位裡。

他立刻把車子連同他們停靠的停車位一起拍下來，放在網絡論壇上。

停車位地上清楚畫明殘障人士符號，也用藍色油漆漆過，以更突出那些停車位的特別之處。另外，停車位旁也有告示，白底黑字用英文寫明“給殘障顧客”。

這名網友說︰“這些新加坡人難道不會看英文？我去的時候，車位還很多，我覺得他們只是貪方便。真是自私的行為！”

消息一出，馬上引來其他網友對新加坡車主的猛烈炮轟，說新加坡人在自己國家就嚴守法則，一到馬來西亞就胡作非為。

網友“nobodycareme”說︰“在新加坡不能做的事，他們就在馬來西亞做咯！”

許多網友諷刺說，新加坡人自認教育水平高，卻連簡單的英文，甚至是圖案也看不懂！

“圖文並茂不可能不懂，只能說他們（指新加坡）的道德教育徹底失敗！”

其他網民則建議把照片和事情的經過告知購物商場負責人或管理層，讓他們加強檢查工作。

理智者提出疑點

在這一片喧嘩中，仍有理智的網民指出，違法的可能是馬來西亞人或新加坡永久居民。

“未必是新加坡人啊……馬來西亞也有很多人駕駛新加坡注冊的車！不過，不管是誰，他們這麼真的很不應該。”

“jboy”說︰“不要光看到新加坡車就借題罵人。這裡有2個疑點︰第一，車主可能真的是殘障人士。第二，駕新加坡車的不一定是新加坡人，可能是新加坡永久居民（世界各地人，也包括馬來西亞人），也可能是他們讓在馬來西亞的親友駕的。”

“alextkc”說︰“最近在同個購物中心，我就看到這樣的情形。所有靠近商場的停車位都滿 了，包括殘障人士的。但是，停車場其他離購物商場較遠的部份，還有很多空位。當時我覺得很失望，因為我所看到的都是馬來西亞車。這表示，不論新加坡人還是 馬國人，都一樣有這類不負責人的車主。”

“JC_LEONG”則說，他也看過很多柔佛車停在殘障人士專用停車位，所以這是50步笑百步。

另外，有網友看出，照片裡也有馬來西亞車子停在殘障人士停車位，為何就沒有人提出？

“請不要煽動他人仇恨新加坡人。你的照片裡也有馬來西亞車！別當作看不到只說新加坡車有錯！”

網友指出，不論甚麼種族、國籍、年齡，只要是正常人，停在“殘障人士停車位”就是錯的，應該討伐。

Judge denies ACLU request to reveal US role in torture of American citizen

A federal court judge in Washington, D.C. denied on Thursday a request by the American Civil Liberties Union to reveal alleged U.S. government involvement in the torture of Naji Hamdan, an American citizen.

Hamdan, a 42-year-old Muslim, father and small business owner from California, was arrested by United Arab Emirates authorities in August, 2008 and tortured repeatedly. During the abuse, he says, a man who spoke perfect English was present, ever threatening him to comply with his interrogators.

“In his ruling from the bench, U.S. District Judge James Robertson left the door open for the ACLU to bring new a new legal argument in the case, but said that the ACLU had not demonstrated he had sufficient legal authority to involve himself in the case [...]” noted ABC News. “Hamdan was detained for months by UAE officials before the government there charged him with three terror-related crimes.”

The network continued: “Robertson also said that the evidence the ACLU cited to argue that U.S. government officials may have been involved in Hamdan’s detention was based largely on ‘hearsay upon hearsay upon hearsay,’ and on Hamdan’s own allegations, which he called ’self-serving.’”

“His imprisonment appears to have been done at the request of the U.S. government, and his interrogation, which included severe torture, appears to have been done with participation of U.S. federal officials,” insists the ACLU. “If the U.S. government requested or participated in his detention and torture in the U.A.E., the United States government has violated this U.S. citizen’s most fundamental rights.”

The FBI and Justice Department have denied involvement in the case.

“Hamdan told his brother that his captors routinely beat him and kept him in a freezing underground room during his months-long detention by state security forces,” the ACLU said in an advisory. “The torturers sometimes beat him in the location of his liver, knowing that he has a liver condition, and denied him his prescription liver medication throughout his detention. His torturers also beat him on the soles of his feet, deprived him of sleep by shining a bright spotlight on his face for hours at a time, and engaged in other abuses.

“The torture was so severe that he often passed out from the pain, Hamdan told his brother. The agents also threatened to punish Hamdan’s wife and family if he did not confess to their allegations.”

“Naji would never be involved with terrorism, but he has now suffered horrible torture for no reason. I am very worried for my brother’s health. The U.S. government must help him,” Hossam Hemdan told the civil rights group.

The ACLU has created a Web site where supporters may sign a petition to Secretary of State Clinton seeking Hamdan’s release.

中美展开史上最复杂谈判 竭力打破气候政策僵局

据《纽约时报》6月7日报道，作为世界上两个最大的污染排放国，中美两国目前正在就全球气候问题展开会谈，以期能够达成协议联合对抗全球变暖，并希望能够打破两国长期以来在全球变暖政策上的僵局。面对谈判中的种种困难，美议员称，这将是历史上最为复杂的外交谈判之一。
美国一资深专家团队在周日已抵达北京寻求与中国展开会谈。目前两国确定了“可测量、可核查、可报告”的方针，都共同要求能将降低温室气体的排放的措施落到实处。
鉴于两国目前在关税方面的争端，以及如果其中一国不同意设置温室气体的排放上限，另一国可能会设置关税壁垒的种种可能性，美国众议院电信与金融小组委员会召集人、马萨诸塞州民主党议员爱德华-马尔基表示，两国的会谈将是历史上最为复杂的外交谈判之一。
作为世界上两个最大的污染排放国，中美目前所排放的温室气体数量占全球总量的40%。再加上多年来贸易方面的摩擦，两国对此次会谈都尤为重视。
尽管白宫和国会方面都相当看好此次会谈，美国目前仍未制定出有关温室气体排放方面的绑定目标。在国会最终确 定排放目标之前，现有能源协议所设定的排放目标与中国和其他各国要求的目标仍相去甚远。中国表示，在2020年前，美国必须将温室气体的排放在1990年 水平的基础上降低40%。而美国所承诺的降幅却不足4%。
不仅如此，当前经济环境的形势也是使得这一会谈变得更为复杂主要因素。两国公众目前似乎更加关注由经济危机所带来的高失业率问题上，而不是环境问题。
截至目前，两国在北京会谈的主要成果就是，彼此同意就环境问题展开更多的讨论。
然而，时间紧迫，距离今年年底在哥本哈根举行的联合国气候变化大会仅剩半年时间。届时，各国将商讨出有关气候方面的新条约以取代1997年所制定的《京都 议定书》。许多谈判专家都认为，如果没有中美两国的全力参加，大会上不可能达成任何有实质意义的协议。《京都议定书》将在2012年到期，由于其里面只规 定工业化国家才必须削减温室气体排放，并没有对中国以及其他发展中国家排放污染物的限制要求，因此，美国国会以及前两届总统都拒绝遵守该条约。如果美国不 批准该项协议，而中国和其他发展中国家又不愿意加入进来，该项协定只会成为一纸空文。
美国总统气候变化特使托德-斯特恩表示：“尽管中国并不是国际谈判中的全部因素，但是它的作用不可小视，如果我们不能找出与中国合作的途径，那么今年底在哥本哈根举行的全球气候变化大会上任何协议都不可能达成。”
尽管目前还不确定国会是否会同意确定温室气体排放目标，以及是否会尽一切可能为欧洲、中国、印度、巴西等主要参与国提供帮助，对于今年底的联合国气候变化大会，奥巴马政府已经派出了谈判领导人出席大会。
中国目前已经考虑采取一系列终极措施降低二氧化碳气体的排放，如加大可再生电能的产量，提升制造业、建筑以及电动汽车方面的效率。但北京方面坚称，绝不会以牺牲中国经济发展目标而去满足上述目标。
中国气候变化谈判小组的领头人物苏伟称，虽然中国不会接受对温室气体排放的绝对限制，但官员们已经开始考虑在国内设置温室气体的排放目标，在始于2011 年的下一个五年计划中，引入一个将限制排放与经济增长联系在一起的国家碳排放目标。计划在2010年前，单位GDP能源消耗大约降低20%。但不少专家对 报告的精准度提出质疑，他们认为，如果没有更好的控制温室气体污染的体系，很难对该进度进行监测。

飞机神秘失踪之谜(组图)

据美国《世界新闻周刊》披露:1995年,一位美国天文学家公布了他的惊人发现,声称他在观察火星时,竟意外地看到有4架“二战”时期失踪的美国轰 炸机在火星空域编队飞行。而在此“发现”公布前的1987年,前苏联也曾公布“卫星扫瞄”发现有一架“二战”时期的美国老式轰炸机停在月球背面的陨石坑 里,从卫星传真照片上可以清晰地辩认出机上的美军军徽标志。这两起闻所未闻的离奇发现,使得科学界为其绞尽脑汁,大伤脑筋。

　　也引起社会公众议论纷纷,一片哗然。美国官方拒绝作出评论,瑞典的权威科学家威尔海姆．格莱德博士则认为:路丁博士在火星看到的飞机与苏联在月 球发现的飞机是相联系的,也与失踪地“魔鬼三角”有联系的。这一令人难以置信的不解之谜究竟是怎么一回事呢?50年前在百慕大神秘失踪要了解这５架飞机是 怎样从地球上消失的,还得把历史翻到52年以前,那是在第二次世界大战刚刚平息的1945年12月5日,还带着“二战”硝烟的美国海军航空兵19轰炸机大 队的5 架格鲁门轰炸机,从佛罗里达州的芬德代尔堡基地起飞,飞往大西洋海上巡弋。

　　这一天的天气很好,在波涛万顷的大西洋上未出现任何影响飞行的气候异常。可是,当飞机进入了以百慕大、波多黎谷和迈阿密三点构成的三角地带＿＿ 也就是以无数船舰飞机在此神秘失踪而闻名于世的“魔鬼三角”海域时,却突然消失得无影无踪。失踪前飞机未发出遇险求救信号,失踪后也未留下任何失事痕迹。 与基地中断联系的时间是下午17时,派往该海域搜寻救援的马丁水手式(PBM)巨型水上飞机也没有再飞回来。直到失踪2小时后的19时零4分,芬德代尔堡 空军基地却又意外地收到了它们不知从那个遥远空间发来的微弱、反复的无线电专用呼救信号___“FT...FT...”,而这时飞机的燃油理应早已耗尽, 求救又未报方位坐标,搜寻救援已无从下手,于是,对这５架飞机连同机组人员就只能作“遇难”处理而永远从军籍名册上抹去了。事件已过去50年,岁月流逝, 物换星移,军中人员换了一批又一批,人们已经不再想它了。万万不会想到他们在50年后的今天,竟还会奇迹般地出现在遥远的外星。

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飞机神秘失踪之谜(组图)

在1984年一个晴朗的日子里，墨西哥北部的沙滩上突然出现了5架美国军用飞机。机身闪亮，油箱里储藏了汽油，但机舱里却空空如也，不见人迹。应邀赶来鉴 定的美国专家认为，它们就是1945年在百慕大海域上空突然共同失踪的那5架战机。不过此事还在争议中。因为已有人提出飞机番号有出入。无论对此如何结 论，失踪飞机的再现事实却是无可否认的。

最让调查人员惊讶的还是飞机状况，它的蓄电池仍充满电，当扭开几个开关时，机内的灯皆亮了起来。飞机的油缸也几乎全是满的。这种种情形令调查人员不禁感到毛骨悚然。

　　这架飞机看来是用机轮紧急着陆的，它刚好落在沼泽软泥上，所以完全没有损坏，仍可像50年前一样飞行。为揭开客机失踪重现之谜，当局对这架来自“过去”的飞机仍在进行调查中。

　　据记载，类似事件在60年代已出现过。“格得”号是一架美国利贝雷达型轰炸机，1946年4月4日，该机升空后既失去踪影。事后美国军芳在它失 踪现场周围500公里的空域内搜寻，毫无结果。不料到了1962年，“格得”号飞机竟又重新出现在机场外数百米的地方。飞机上的无线电设备完好无损。根据 对仪器装备的分析，它好象是在当天下午降落地面的，可是实际上该机早失踪达17年了。

飞机神秘失踪之谜(组图)

一组由印尼军方派出的航空专家，经过数小时在这架“像新的一样”的客机内调查后， 出来时个个面色大变和震惊不已。负责调查的主管部门当既下令军队封锁飞机再现的地区。

　　调查人员最初见到该机时，简直没法相信自己的眼睛：它的外客是那么新，机身完全没有瑕疵，在太阳下犹如一面镜子闪闪发光。调查人员本以为机门一定生了锈，很难打开，可是它却一扭便开，没有一丝“唧唧”的声音。

　　进入机舱后，见不到任何活的或死的人。但机舱内有空的纸杯、烟蒂，几份完全没有发黄的1937年的报纸；显示出最近曾有人乘坐过。在其中的一个 烟灰缸内，放了一个空香烟盒，它的牌子在1930年十分流行，但到第二次大战时已停止生产。而出现在杂志上的服装和发型，也全是美国经济大衰退时期的。保 温瓶内还有烫热的咖啡，而它的味道完全没变 ；那里还有三明治，也同样新鲜。

飞机神秘失踪之谜(组图)

自近代以来，人类蒙受神秘灾劫的主要表现形式就是飞机与船只的失踪。其实，这类失踪事件以非希奇，希奇的倒是失踪后的飞机与船只完好如初的重新出现；这些无人驾驶的飞机与船只，就像幽灵一般从另外的时空中返归到了地球上。

　　1985 年，一架失踪了差不多半个世纪的双擎客机，在新几内亚的一片森林沼泽内被发现。令人无法理解的是，这架飞机看来就像它失踪时一样簇新，毫无陈旧异变。机身 上清晰可辩的标志显示，这架银光闪闪的飞机正是48年前由菲律宾马尼拉飞往民琴哪峨岛失踪的一架客机。在机舱内找的报纸，其日期是1937年1月的第3个 星期日。

35億石油終站料明年初開跑‧戴樂尋跨國伙伴

（吉隆坡）戴樂集團（DIALOG,7277,主板貿服組）預計，最早在明年首季與柔佛聯營展開總值超過10億美元（約馬幣35億令吉）的獨立深水石油終站計劃，並致力與跨國公司展開洽談，期藉攜手發展這項可能長達10年的計劃，與區域油氣中心的新加坡並駕齊驅。

公司主席兼董事經理饒文傑在與柔佛州政府、州政府秘書簽署合作備忘錄後指出，已開始為上述計劃進行環境影響評估（EIA），料至少需時6個月，一旦評估完成，並獲政府批准後，計劃有望最早在明年初開跑。

這項總值超過10億美元的發展計劃料分3階段，初步估計首階段需時3至5年，若需求量蓬勃，可能縮減至一到兩階段，計劃期限長達3到10年。

饒文傑透露，正尋求獨立儲油服務的跨國公司聯手開發，現已確定至少三方參與，投資成本的劃分仍在探討。

“若在技術與經濟層面上有必要，各方可能成立聯營公司來發展計劃。”

此石油終站將設在柔佛邊加蘭東南部，面積逾500英畝的開墾地，主要為藉VLCC油輪的港口設施，裝卸、貯存、混合與分銷石油和原油產品的油槽設備。

饒文傑表示，儘管金融危機籠罩，油槽設備的需求已走高，此現象已反映在新加坡進一步拓展產能的趨勢。

目前新加坡是亞洲最大的油氣交易中心與世界最忙碌的裝箱港口，新加坡最近宣佈發展地下油槽與浮式油槽設備，以應付節節上升的需求。

“基於新國缺乏可開發土地，這計劃因而為柔佛成為關鍵石油物流與交易中心鋪路，同時新國地下油槽的開發成本超過一般開發費用30至50%，促使柔佛的深水石油終站更具競爭力。”

這項深水石油終站計劃是戴樂集團繼格底與浪沙終站油槽計劃後的主要投資，同時是東南亞首個獨立深海終站設備，長達26公尺。’

柔首季油氣投資額11.4億

柔佛州務大臣拿督阿都干尼透露，柔佛州首季油氣投資佔總投資11億4000萬令吉，這次領域的投資趨勢顯示，油氣投資已因賺幅擴大而顯著超越電器產品（E＆E）領域。

詢及柔佛是否持續尋求更多油氣計劃，他回應，柔佛仍有大片土地，不排除可能性。

然而，他表示，柔佛深水石油終站計劃非大馬依斯干達特區的一部份，只是地點靠近此區。

他也提到，柔佛今年首季已順利攫獲總值23億令吉的投資額，佔大馬已收投資率的30.83%，數據已從前期顯著增加232.33%，反映投資者視柔佛為投資據點的信心。”

柔佛的外來直接投資也自去年4億1000萬令吉大幅走高266%至14億9000萬令吉，其中新流入的投資佔逾80.1%。

Wall Street Ends Hope for Homeowners Via Congress

As if the bank bailouts weren’t proof enough that Wall Street owned Congress. History will likely show that these bailouts involved the largest transfer of wealth ever — from the working class to that small group of billionaires who own the corporations.

This fact is recognized by most people now and is such common knowledge that even the mainstream media feels comfortable discussing it…matter-of-factly.

These corporations have also exerted tremendous influence in other realms of politics, working towards destroying Obama’s campgain promises of health care, job creation, civil liberties, the Employee Free Choice Act, peace, etc.

In each case, the promised reform was gutted of its essence, and “compromise” versions of the bills are now being discussed: instead of universal health care, we will likely be universally mandated to purchase health insurance; instead of “job creation” we are told that the stimulus has “saved jobs” (contrary to the evidence); while troops are “drawing down” from Iraq, the war in Afghanistan/Pakistan is being escalated; instead of allowing workers to organize unions easier, a compromise version – Employee Free Choice Act, minus card check — seems more politically “pragmatic,” etc.

Even Obama’s smaller reforms face similar partial abortions in Congress. For example, Obama recently signed into legislation the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. But, as The New York Times pointed out, the bill “was missing its centerpiece: a change in bankruptcy law he [Obama] once championed that would have given judges the power to lower the amount owed on a home loan.” ( Ailing, Banks Still Field Strong Lobby at Capitol, June 6, 2009)

Obama was not demanding that foreclosures cease, or that those who’ve recently lost their homes — because of the economic crisis — be allowed to return to them; he was merely advocating that those who can still afford mortgage payments be allowed to lower their balances.

Even this small crumb for homeowners was rejected by Wall Street, whose profits would have suffered.

The New York Times explains: “… the [bills] real threat was to their [the banks] profits. The proposal would have shifted negotiating power to the millions of troubled homeowners who could use the threat of bankruptcy to wrest lower monthly payments from lenders.”

This truth prompted an oddly blunt reply from Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse:

“This is one of the most extreme examples I have seen of a special interest wielding its power for the special interest of a few against the general benefit of millions of homeowners and thousands of communities now being devastated by foreclosure.”

The New York Times article also quieted those apologists for Obama who claim that he is an honest leader held back by an unreasonably conservative Democratic Congress:

“Throughout it all, the banks took advantage of the Obama administration’s seeming ambivalence. Despite its occasional populist rhetoric, the White House was conspicuously absent from weeks of pivotal negotiations this spring.”

And:

“While Mr. Obama reaffirmed his support for the proposal shortly after becoming president, administration officials barely participated in the negotiations, a factor that [corporate] lobbyists said significantly strengthened their hand.”

It must be noted that the corporation’s next big demand on the government will be to eliminate the tremendous U.S. debt, which they rightly view as a destabilizing factor for making profits. The problem lies in how they will propose to correct the problem: through the gutting of the U.S. social safety nets such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs that benefit working families and the poor.

This government debt is the direct result of trillion dollar bank bailouts and wars of aggression that benefit only the rich. The working class, however, is being enlisted to pay for these polices.

The New York Times article ends with an important lesson:

“There was no counterweight to that [the banks] legislative muscle. Bankrupt homeowners do not have a political action committee or lobbyists.”

And while labor unions do have lobbyists, they cannot compete with the purchasing power of the banks. The fact that these two groups are both members of the same political party — vying for the ear of the same politicians — is utter lunacy. This tactic has yielded absolutely zero results for workers: every progressive promise of Obama’s has been butchered beyond recognition, or outright ignored.

This is because the Democratic Party is a party of big business, now more than ever. This fact is especially important in these times of economic crisis, where corporations are — because of shrinking profits — becoming louder in their condemnation of unions, while being emboldened by Obama’s horrendous anti-labor handling of the General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcies.

The political power of the corporations is dramatically exposing the rotten nature of America’s political and economic system — represented by the Republicans and Democrats — where the tremendous wealth of a small group allows them unprecedented power at the expense of millions of others. Without an independent political voice, the working class will continue to be “betrayed” by Democratic politicians whose pie in the sky campaign promises fail to yield even crumbs.

Source : Global Reseach

Dead In The Water - The Sinking of the USS Liberty

Cover up and hidden history on Nov 12 2006

ON TODAY'S GCN RADIO SHOW OUR GUEST WILL BE RON KUKAL, A SURVIVING CREWMEMBER OF THE USS LIBERTY!

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