Pope prays for peace at Christmas Eve Mass in Vatican

 

 

Pope Benedict has prayed for peace as he delivered his traditional Christmas Eve homily in Rome.

At a Mass at St Peter's Basilica, the Pope prayed for God to "implant his peace in our hearts" but also to "break the rods of the oppressors".
Security was tight. Last year at the same Mass a woman jumped the barriers and lunged at the Pope.
Meanwhile at a Mass in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, a senior cleric called for peace in the Middle East.
'Garments rolled in blood' The BBC's David Willey in Rome says plain-clothed security men followed the Pope as he walked in procession up the central nave of the basilica watching for any sign of trouble.
The 83-year-old pontiff stopped twice to bless babies held up to him.
About 10,000 people attended the Mass.
The Vatican had reviewed its security procedures after last year's incident. The same woman had also attempted to throw herself at the Pope at the Mass a year earlier.

The Pope lit a nativity candle from his window

Security concerns had also been heightened by parcel bomb attacks on Thursday at two embassies in the Italian capital which injured two people.
In his Christmas homily, Pope Benedict said: "We are grateful that God gives himself into our hands as a child, begging as it were for our love, implanting his peace in our hearts.
But this joy is also a prayer: Lord, make your promise come fully true. Break the rods of the oppressors. Burn the tramping boots. Let the time of the garments rolled in blood come to an end."
He added: "Help us to live together with you as brothers and sisters, so as to become one family, your family."
Earlier in heavy rain the Pope had lit a candle in his window, which overlooks St Peter's Square, to open officially the Vatican's nativity scene.
One American tourist, Gayle Savino, told Reuters: "It's just a blessing to be here on such a wonderful night on Christ's birthday."
Later on Saturday, the Pope will deliver his Christmas message to the city of Rome and the world.
Then he will host a Christmas lunch in the Vatican's audience hall for 350 homeless people.
'Model for the world' Thousands of people also converged on the West Bank town of Bethlehem ahead of the midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity - built at the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.

Some 90,000 people are expected to visit Bethlehem for celebrations there

It was addressed by the Catholic Church's top representative in the Middle East - Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal - who made his traditional call for peace.
"During this Christmas season, may the sound of the bells of our churches drown the noise of weapons in our wounded Middle East," he said.
"Our hope for Christmas is that Jerusalem not only becomes the capital of two nations, but also a model for the world, of harmony and coexistence of the three monotheistic religions."
The patriarch also recalled October's bloody attack on Christians in a Baghdad church.
"Such fanatic actions are universally condemned by Christians and Muslims," he said.
More than 50 people were killed when security forces stormed the church to free dozens of hostages.
The number of tourists visiting Bethlehem has been rising in recent years as violence has decreased.

 

Dozens die in Pakistan suicide bombing

 

 

At least 40 people have died after a suicide bomb attack on a large crowd receiving aid in north-west Pakistan.

The blast took place in the town of Khar in the Bajaur region, in tribal areas close to the Afghan border - a Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold.

About 1,000 people displaced by fighting had been receiving food at a distribution centre.

Reports say at least another 50 people have been injured and the death toll could rise.

Civilians

Saturday's bombing was the latest in a string of recent attacks in Pakistan's unruly north-west.

No group has so far said it carried out the attack on the centre, used by the World Food Programme and other aid agencies to distribute food to conflict-affected people in the region.

"I myself have counted 40 bodies but the death toll could rise as several wounded people are in critical condition," Dosti Rehman, an official at the main government hospital in the region, told Reuters news agency.

Dozens of injured people are being taken to hospital by helicopter.

Most of the victims are believed to be civilians who had fled the fighting between Taliban militants and the Pakistani army, the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad reports.

The tribal district of Bajaur, where the attack took place, has seen several military operations to clear it of insurgents - the army had previously declared the operations a success, and the area safe for the displaced to return to, our correspondent adds.

Among recent other attacks, at least 11 Pakistani soldiers and 24 militants were killed on Friday after some 150 Taliban fighters attacked five Frontier Corps checkpoints in the neighbouring Mohmand tribal region.

Earlier this month, a suicide bomb attack in Mohmand left at least 40 people dead.

A double suicide bombing in Mohmand in July killed more than 100.

 

Top 10 lies that men tell women

 

 

 

Well ladies, it's official - men really do tell more lies than us women. A recent survey commissioned by the Science Museum found that the average male tells around 1,092 lies a year - that's roughly three a day!

So just what are these porkies that we're being told? We reveal the top 10 lies that men tell women...

1. 'I didn't have that much to drink'

According to the Science Museum's survey, this is the most popular lie that men tell women. Us ladies also use it on the lads, but not as frequently.

10 lies women tell men

 

Much was made of a recent study for the Science Museum suggesting men tell more lies than women. According to excited newspaper columnists, men had been 'rumbled'. Apparently, we lie to impress, we lie to deceive, and we lie because we are men and that is what men do.

But the findings were a bit less black and white than that. Men do lie more than women, according to the study. But while men average over a thousand lies a year, women still weighed in with a hefty 728.

And the most common subject men lie about? Our drinking habits. Which begs the obvious question, so what? I always knock a pint off the previous night's tally when my better half is within hearing range. It saves her from worrying - and is thus not so much a fib as an act of kindness.

So what fibs do women tell men? Well, by combining the results of the Science Museum study and a straw poll of 'men we know', MSN Him has come up with the definitive list. Have you heard one of these recently...?

What Is the Quantity Theory of Money? 

 

The concept of the quantity theory of money (QTM) began in the 16th century. As gold and silver inflows from the Americas into Europe were being minted into coins, there was a resulting rise in inflation. This led economist Henry Thornton in 1802 to assume that more money equals more inflation and that an increase in money supply does not necessarily mean an increase in economic output. Here we look at the assumptions and calculations underlying the QTM, as well as its relationship to monetarism and ways the theory has been challenged. 

QTM in a Nutshell
The quantity theory of money states that there is a direct relationship between the quantity of money in an economy and the level of prices of goods and services sold. According to QTM, if the amount of money in an economy doubles, price levels also double, causing inflation (the percentage rate at which the level of prices is rising in an economy). The consumer therefore pays twice as much for the same amount of the good or service.

Another way to understand this theory is to recognize that money is like any other commodity: increases in its supply decrease marginal value (the buying capacity of one unit of currency). So an increase in money supply causes prices to rise (inflation) as they compensate for the decrease in money’s marginal value.  

The Theory’s CalculationsIn its simplest form, the theory is expressed as:

MV = PT (the Fisher Equation)

Each variable denotes the following:
M = Money Supply
V = Velocity of Circulation (the number of times money changes hands)
P = Average Price Level
T = Volume of Transactions of Goods and Services  

The original theory was considered orthodox among 17th century classical economists and was overhauled by 20th-century economists Irving Fisher, who formulated the above equation, and Milton Friedman. (For more on this important economist, see Free Market Maven: Milton Friedman.)

It is built on the principle of "equation of exchange": 

Amount of Money x Velocity of Circulation = Total Spending

Thus if an economy has US$3, and those $3 were spent five times in a month, total spending for the month would be $15.    

QTM Assumptions
QTM adds assumptions to the logic of the equation of exchange. In its most basic form, the theory assumes that V (velocity of circulation) and T (volume of transactions) are constant in the short term. These assumptions, however, have been criticized, particularly the assumption that V is constant. The arguments point out that the velocity of circulation depends on consumer and business spending impulses, which cannot be constant.  

The theory also assumes that the quantity of money, which is determined by outside forces, is the main influence of economic activity in a society. A change in money supply results in changes in price levels and/or a change in supply of goods and services. It is primarily these changes in money stock that cause a change in spending. And the velocity of circulation depends not on the amount of money available or on the current price level but on changes in price levels.  

Finally, the number of transactions (T) is determined by labor, capital, natural resources (i.e. the factors of production), knowledge and organization. The theory assumes an economy in equilibrium and at full employment.  

Essentially, the theory’s assumptions imply that the value of money is determined by the amount of money available in an economy. An increase in money supply results in a decrease in the value of money because an increase in money supply causes a rise in inflation. As inflation rises, the purchasing power, or the value of money, decreases. It therefore will cost more to buy the same quantity of goods or services.  

Money Supply, Inflation and Monetarism
As QTM says that quantity of money determines the value of money, it forms the cornerstone of monetarism. (For more insight, see Monetarism: Printing Mone To Control Inflation.)

Monetarists say that a rapid increase in money supply leads to a rapid increase in inflation. Money growth that surpasses the growth of economic output results in inflation as there is too much money behind too little production of goods and services. In order to curb inflation, money growth must fall below growth in economic output.  

This premise leads to how monetary policy is administered. Monetarists believe that money supply should be kept within an acceptable bandwidth so that levels of inflation can be controlled. Thus, for the near term, most monetarists agree that an increase in money supply can offer a quick-fix boost to a staggering economy in need of increased production. In the long term, however, the effects of monetary policy are still blurry. 

Less orthodox monetarists, on the other hand, hold that an expanded money supply will not have any effect on real economic activity (production, employment levels, spending and so forth). But for most monetarists any anti-inflationary policy will stem from the basic concept that there should be a gradual reduction in the money supply. Monetarists believe that instead of governments continually adjusting economic policies (i.e. government spending and taxes), it is better to let non-inflationary policies (i.e. gradual reduction of money supply) lead an economy to full employment.  

QTM Re-Experienced 
John Maynard Keynes challenged the theory in the 1930s, saying that increases in money supply lead to a decrease in the velocity of circulation and that real income, the flow of money to the factors of production, increased. Therefore, velocity could change in response to changes in money supply. It was conceded by many economists after him that Keynes’ idea was accurate.  

QTM, as it is rooted in monetarism, was very popular in the 1980s among some major economies such as the United States and Great Britain under Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher respectively. At the time, leaders tried to apply the principles of the theory to economies where money growth targets were set. However, as time went on, many accepted that strict adherence to a controlled money supply was not necessarily the cure-all for economic malaise.

What Is Wrong With Gold? 

 

 

In one scene in the James Bond film "Goldfinger", the gold-intoxicated villain - the film's namesake - watches delightedly as a laser inches closer to a gold-topped table to which Bond is tied at the ankles and wrists. Before bidding farewell, Goldfinger leaves Bond with this thought: "This is gold Mr. Bond. All my life I have been in love with its color, its brilliance, its divine eminence." Movies like this epitomize the human fascination with this precious metal and the greed that it sometimes inspires. Contrary to what Goldfinger thought, gold may not be the most valuable investment in the world - it may be nothing more than a form of insurance.  

Here we look at the major issues facing gold, such as its demand/supply imbalance and its potential to share the same fate as silver, and we examine what gold really means as an investment.

Introduction To Remittances 

 

Each year, billions of dollars are sent by migrant workers to their home countries, with some estimates putting the total value of remittances at more than $200 billion. For some countries, remittances make up a sizable portion of GDP. How do remittances work, and what are some of the pitfalls that developing countries face when dealing with such large inflows of cash?

Remittances are funds transferred from migrants to their home country. They are the private savings of workers and families that are spent in the home country for food, clothing and other expenditures, and which drive the home economy. For many developing nations, remittances from citizens working abroad provide an import source of much-needed funds. In some cases, funds from remittances exceed aide sent from the developed world, and are only exceeded by foreign direct investment (FDI). (For more, see Re-evaluating Emerging Markets.)

A History Of U.S. Monopolies 

 

Monopolies came to the United States with the colonial administration. The large-scale public works needed to make the New World hospitable to Old World immigrants required large companies to carry them out. These companies were granted exclusive contracts for these works by the colonial administrators. Even after the American Revolution, many of these colonial holdovers still functioned due to the contracts and land they held.

Monopoly is the extreme case in capitalism. It is characterized by a lack of competition, which can mean higher prices and inferior products. However, the great economic power that monopolies hold has also had positive consequences for the U.S. Read on to take a look at some of the most notorious monopolies, their effects on the economy and the government's response to their rise to power.

Sherman's Hammer
Responding to a large public outcry to check the price fixing abuses of these monopolies, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed in 1890. This act banned trusts and monopolistic combinations that lessened or otherwise hampered interstate and international trade. The act acted like a hammer for the government, giving it the power to shatter big companies into smaller pieces to suit its own needs.
Despite this act's passage in 1890, the next 50 years saw the formation of many domestic monopolies. During this same period, the antitrust legislation was used to attack several monopolies with varying levels of success. The general trend with the use of the act seemed to have been to make a distinction between good monopolies and bad monopolies as seen by the government.
Case Study 1: International Harvester and American Tobacco
For example, International Harvester produced cheap agricultural equipment for a largely agrarian nation, and was thus considered untouchable lest the voters rebel. American Tobacco, on the other hand, was suspected of charging more than a fair price for cigarettes - then touted as the cure for everything from asthma to menstrual cramps - and consequently called down the legislator's wrath in 1907 and was broken up in 1911.
The Benefits of a Monopoly
Case Study 2: Standard Oil
The oil industry was prone to a natural monopoly because of the rarity of the deposits. Rockefeller and his partners took advantage of both the rarity of oil and the revenue produced from it to set up a monopoly without the help of the banks. The business practices and questionable tactics that Rockefeller used to create Standard Oil would make the Enron crowd blush, but the finished product was not near as damaging to the economy or the environment as the industry was before Rockefeller monopolized it. (For more on this sector, read Oil And Gas Industry Primer and Unearth Profits In Oil Exploration And Production.)
Back when there were a lot of oil companies competing to make the most of their find, companies would often pump waste products into rivers or straight out on the ground rather than going to the cost of researching proper disposal. They also cut costs by using shoddy pipelines that were prone to leakage. By the time Standard Oil had cornered 90% of oil production and distribution in the United States, it had learned how to make money off of even its industrial waste - Vaseline being but one of the new products launched.
The benefits of having a monopoly like Standard Oil in the country was only realized after it had built a nationwide infrastructure that no longer depended on trains and their notoriously fluctuating costs, a leap that would help reduce costs and the overall price of petroleum products after the company was dismantled. The size of Standard Oil allowed it to undertake projects that disparate companies could never agree on and, in that sense, it was as beneficial as state-regulated utilities for developing the U.S. into an industrial nation.
Despite the eventual break of up of Standard Oil, the government realized that a monopoly could build up a reliable infrastructure and deliver low-cost service to a broader base of consumers than competing firms - a lesson that influenced its decision to allow the AT&T monopoly to continue until 1982. The profits of Standard Oil and the generous dividends also encouraged investors, and thereby the market, to invest in monopolistic firms, providing them with the funds to grow larger.
The Limitations of a Monopoly
Case Study 3: U.S. Steel
Andrew Carnegie, a Scot of the penny-pinching Braveheart variety, went a long way in creating a monopoly in the steel industry when J.P. Morgan bought his steel company and melded it into U.S. Steel. A monstrous corporation approaching the size of Standard Oil, U.S. Steel actually did very little with the resources in its grasp - which can point to the limitations to having only one owner with a single vision. The corporation survived its court battle with the Sherman Act and went on to lobby the government for protective tariffs to help it compete internationally, but it grew very little.
U.S. Steel controlled about 70% of steel production, but competing firms were hungrier, more innovative and more efficient with their 30% of the market. U.S. Steel stagnated in innovation as smaller companies ate more and more of its market share. (To read more about Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan, check out The 5 Most Feared Figures In Finance.)
Clayton Improves Sherman's Aim
Following the break up of sugar, tobacco, oil and meat-packing monopolies, big business didn't know where to turn because there were no clear guidelines about what constituted monopolistic business practices. The founders and management of so-called "bad monopolies" were also enraged by the hands-off approach taken with International Harvester. They justly argued that the Sherman Act didn't make allowance for a specific business or product, and that its execution should be universal rather than operating like lightning bolts thrown down upon select businesses by the wrathful gods in government.
In response, the Clayton Act was introduced in 1914. It set some specific examples of practices that would attract Sherman's hammer. Among these were interlocking directorships, tie-in sales, and certain mergers and acquisitions if they substantially lessened the competition in a market. This was followed by a succession of other acts demanding that businesses consult the government before any large mergers or acquisitions took place.
Although these innovations did give business a slightly clearer picture of what not to do, it did little to curb the randomness of antitrust action. Major League Baseball even found itself under investigation in the 1920s, but escaped by claiming to be a sport rather than a business and thus not classified as interstate commerce.
End of a Monopoly Era?
The last great American monopolies were created a century apart and one lasted over a century, whereas the other was very short-lived or still continuing depending where you sit.
Case Study 4: AT&T and Microsoft
AT&T was a government-supported monopoly - a public utility - that would have to be considered a coercive monopoly. Like Standard Oil, the AT&T monopoly made the industry more efficient and wasn't guilty of fixing prices, but rather the potential to fix prices. The break up of AT&T by Reagan in the 1980s gave birth to the "baby bells". Since that time, many of the baby bells have begun to merge and increase in size in order to provide better service to a wider area. Very likely, the break up of AT&T caused a sharp reduction in service quality for many customers and, in some cases, higher prices, but the settling period has elapsed and the baby bells are growing to find a natural balance in the market without calling down Sherman's hammer again.
Microsoft, on the other hand, was never actually broken up even though it lost its case. The case against it was centered on whether Microsoft was abusing what was essentially a non-coercive monopoly. Microsoft has been challenged by many companies, including Google, over its operating systems' continuing hostility to competitors' software.
Just as U.S. Steel couldn't dominate the market indefinitely because of innovative domestic and international competition, the same is true for Microsoft. A non-coercive monopoly only exists as long as brand loyalty and consumer apathy keep people from searching for a better alternative. Even now, the Microsoft monopoly is looking chipped at the edges as rival operating systems are gaining ground and rival software, particularly open source software, is threatening the bundle business model upon which Microsoft was built. Because of this, the antitrust case seems premature and/or redundant.
Conclusion
Globalization and the maturity of the world economy have prompted calls for the retirement of antitrust laws. In the early 1900s, people suggesting that the government didn't need to have a hammer to smash big business with would've been eyed suspiciously as a member of a lunatic fringe or one of Wall Street's big money cartel members. Over the years, these calls have been coming from people like economist Milton Friedman, former Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan and everyday consumers. If the history of government and business is any indication, the government is more likely to increase the range and power of antitrust laws rather than relinquish such a useful weapon.

 

Toyota pays $10m to fatal Lexus crash family

 

 

 Toyota has paid $10m (£6.47) to the family of four people killed in a runaway Lexus car in the US in 2009.

The amount, agreed in September but kept confidential, was released by a lawyer for the dealership that lent the Lexus to the family.

Toyota, which did not admit or deny liability in the settlement, said in a statement it was disappointed the amount had been made public.

The crash triggered a series of recalls involving millions of Toyota models.

'Iranian arms smuggler' captured by Nato in Afghanistan

 

 

 

 

A member of the elite al-Quds force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has been captured in southern Afghanistan accused of arms smuggling, Nato says.

He was detained last Saturday in southern Kandahar province, the current focus of Nato offensives.

The man was a "key Taliban weapons facilitator" involved in smuggling arms from Iran to Afghanistan, said a Nato statement.

It is not the first time Iran has been accused of backing Afghan insurgents.

Brazil's Lula bids farewell at end of presidential term

 

 

 

 Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has hailed his eight-year record as leader of South America's biggest country, days before he steps down.

In a traditional Christmas address, President Lula said he had shown it was possible to govern in the interests of all Brazilians, not just the wealthy.

He urged Brazilians to back his successor, Dilma Rousseff, who takes over the presidency on 1 January.

President Lula, 65, is leaving office with approval ratings of over 80%.

Venezuela students protest at university law

 

 

Students are unhappy about the new law tightening the government's control over universities

Venezuelan police have used water cannon and rubber bullets to break up a protest against a law that increases government control over universities.

Dozens of police and national guard troops blocked a march by students outside the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas.

The protesters say the new law will be used to promote President Hugo Chavez's socialist ideology in universities.

The government says it is designed to make them more democratic.

Mother of 17 Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies to be neutered

 

All 17 puppies survived

A Rhodesian Ridgeback bitch which bore 17 puppies in one litter is to be neutered for its own good, its German mistress has announced.

Ramona Wegemann said she did not want to endanger Etana's health with another pregnancy after the 26-hour labour it endured back in September.
With the heavy demand placed on Etana to feed the pups, Ms Wegemann has been bottle-feeding them.
It is a "full-time job", the animal psychiatrist told the Associated Press.

Woman killed in dog attack in south London

 A woman has died after being attacked by a dog at a house in south London, police have said.

The victim, in her 40s, suffered "multiple injuries" during the attack on Thursday evening in Wallington.

Police were called by somebody else in the house and arrived at 2057 GMT to find the woman still grappling with the Belgian Mastiff.

Armed officers shot the dog dead and paramedics treated the victim, but she died an hour later.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Her next of kin have yet to be informed.

One other person was in the property at the time of the attack but was not injured.

Puppy removed

It is not known whether they were a relation of the victim.

Police removed a puppy from the property and forensics officers are now examining the home.

Belgian Mastiffs are not on the dangerous dogs list.

The dogs, which can weigh up to eight stone (50kg), are said to once have been used by the Belgian army to pull equipment.

They are were used in the past to pull carts.

The breed is thought to be almost extinct, but some breeders are trying to reintroduce it.

 

New solar fuel #machine 'mimics plant life' #solar #energy

New solar fuel machine 'mimics plant life'

 

 

 

A prototype solar device has been unveiled which mimics plant life, turning the Sun's energy into fuel.

The machine uses the Sun's rays and a metal oxide called ceria to break down carbon dioxide or water into fuels which can be stored and transported.
Conventional photovoltaic panels must use the electricity they generate in situ, and cannot deliver power at night.
Details are published in the journal Science.
The prototype, which was devised by researchers in the US and Switzerland, uses a quartz window and cavity to concentrate sunlight into a cylinder lined with cerium oxide, also known as ceria.
Ceria has a natural propensity to exhale oxygen as it heats up and inhale it as it cools down.
If as in the prototype, carbon dioxide and/or water are pumped into the vessel, the ceria will rapidly strip the oxygen from them as it cools, creating hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide.

Taliban launch attacks along north Pakistan border

 

 

 At least 11 soldiers and 24 militants have been killed in clashes near the Afghan border in north-west Pakistan, officials have said.

About 150 Taliban launched co-ordinated attacks against five Frontier Corps checkpoints in Mohmand tribal region on Thursday evening, they said.

The Taliban said only two of their fighters had died.

The military have launched offensives in the region in recent months, but insurgent attacks have continued.