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LL Cool J to Kick Off Grammy Nominations Concert - LIVE

The 41-year-old rapper-actor LL Cool J will kick off "The Grammy Nominations Concert... more

02yamahaR1
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Major Corporations Write EU's Script

The real power in Europe isn't wielded by MEPs or by unelected officials, but by male-dominated corporations.

"It is little wonder that José Manuel Barroso is seldom seen without a grin on his face these days. For the European commission chief is one of the luckiest guys in international politics. First, the appointment of a low-profile Belgian as the EU's first permanent president has meant that Barroso will be able to keep on behaving as if he is the most powerful man in Brussels. And now, it looks likely that Barroso won't need to lose any sleep about assembling his new team of commissioners (even if they don't formally start work until January, a few months later than originally expected).

To a large degree, the hearings in the European parliament which Barroso's new team is required to undergo will amount to a tedious charade. The real power in Europe isn't wielded by MEPs or by unelected officials but by male-dominated corporations. If you don't believe me, here's an exercise I recommend. Click on the website of BusinessEurope, the umbrella group for major companies, and read a few of their policy papers. Then check the European commission's statements on the same subjects; if you can spot any substantial difference, you deserve a higher reward than I can afford to give you.

Both Barroso and Thumann want lower wages (though not for themselves, of course) and measures that curb the influence of trade unions. The former seeks reforms on labour relations to make Europe more competitive, the latter indicates that it's necessary to "contain wage pressures" to stimulate exports. Despite their claims to the contrary, it seems that they wish to start a process whereby Europe's welfare states begin to implode, condemning millions of men, women and children to greater hardship. The commission's recent calls on many EU governments to cut public expenditure suggest, too, that this is its agenda.

Without doubt, Barroso will make some efforts on the public relations front to persuade us that he cares deeply about social and environmental issues. The expected appointment of a commissioner for climate change is one such ploy. Nobody should be fooled by these efforts, however. Barroso may be adept at smiling for the cameras but that's exactly what you'd expect from an actor reading a script written by the captains of industry."

They also write the Democrat and Republican script as well.The real power in Europe isn't wielded by MEPs or by unelected officials, but by... more

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Worlds biggest multitouch multi-user wall

After more than one and a half years of development, the world biggest multitouch... more

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U.S. seeks 10,000 troops from allies for Afghan war

WASHINGTON — The United States is scrambling to coax NATO allies to send 10,000 additional troops to Afghanistan as part of President Obama’s strategy for the region.

NATO members and other foreign allies have expressed reluctance to send more soldiers because of the Afghan war’s growing unpopularity in their countries and increasing concerns over corruption in President Hamid Karzai’s government.

The Obama administration views a substantial contribution from its allies as a way to keep the American troop increase lower and blunt domestic political criticism of the Afghan war. It would also allow the administration to come close to the military’s request for 40,000 additional troops without relying totally on the already stretched American armed forces.

After weeks of deliberation, Mr. Obama is to announce his Afghan war policy on Tuesday. Administration officials say that a strong speech explaining Mr. Obama’s strategy for achieving success would provide them with fresh ammunition to galvanize support in foreign capitals.

Washington has not yet made formal troop requests to allies, but there have been diplomatic and other conversations seeking commitments in principle, carried out by senior American officials; the NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen; and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain.

Mr. Obama’s aides have signaled that he intends to commit close to 30,000 additional American troops, on top of the 68,000 already there.

The president is likely to ask NATO allies to fill the gap between whatever new American troop contribution he announces and the approximately 40,000 that the NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, favors to carry out his proposed counterinsurgency strategy, according to administration officials. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the policy had not been formally announced.

After Mr. Obama gives his speech and Mr. Rasmussen delivers a statement of support, NATO foreign ministers are to meet in Brussels next Thursday and Friday to discuss Afghanistan. But troop commitments are not likely to be discussed in detail before a so-called force-generation conference on Dec. 7, also in Brussels, American and allied officials said.

Informal commitments of several thousand additional allied troops have already been made, but they include some of the 10,000 more European troops that were sent to Afghanistan by governments last year, as well as troops sent for the recent presidential election, NATO officials said. While some countries are planning to pull these troops out, “there will be pressure on allies to keep those forces in Afghanistan,” a senior NATO official said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/world/asia/26troops.html?_r=1&hpWASHINGTON — The United States is scrambling to coax NATO allies to send 10,000... more