The death of Father Neuhaus is a terrible blow. Not for him, who is now united with his Savior and his Redeemer, in whom Father Neuhaus placed all of his trust and all of his hope; but for us, who have lost one of America's leading public intellectuals, a man of profound wisdom and learning, and a great champion for the unborn. It was Father Neuhaus, along with his dear, long-time friend George Weigel and just a handful of others like Michael Novak, who not only championed the pro-life cause for so many years, but who gave the rest of us both the grounding and the vocabulary to speak on this issue. . . .
Father Neuhaus was author of one of the most important, debate-changing books in the history of modern conservatism: The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America (published in 1984). He penned many other books, before and after, and they were unfailingly intelligent, well-argued, elegantly written, and often moving. He was editor in chief of First Things and author of its very popular column "The Public Square," Neuhaus's monthly survey of religion, culture, and public life. And he was a central figure in finding common ground among Catholics and evangelicals. Father Neuhaus's influence was quiet, profound, and virtually without boundaries. A former, very influential member of Congress wrote me just yesterday, saying, "When I first ran for Congress I read everything I could from him to formulate my thinking on social policy."
Although the webserver file for the UAH dataset has not been updated yet, the man who is "in the know" because he's a major part of the process has released the December UAH global lower troposphere temperature anomaly value. It is 0.18°C down from .254°C the previous month the average for 2008 will be about .15C vs about .20C to .25C. for 2007 and 2006
Mr. Watt has a graph at the source. Also, he is in the running for the webawards this year (he is in the science category
#2
DRUDGE > NASA ASTRONAUTS IN DANGER FROM COSMIC RAYS DUE TO LESS ACTIVE SUN; + REDDIT > SCIENTISTS FEAR "SPACE FATRINA" STORM OF SOLAR RADIATION, for that kindler gentler SOLAR EXPANSION that can damage iff not destroy all human techs and civilization.
Seven members of Zimbabwe's main opposition party were the first of dozens of jailed dissidents to be formally charged Wednesday, and they pleaded not guilty in a bombing plot.
The seven are among rights activists and opposition party members detained in recent weeks in what the opposition calls a crackdown on dissent. They were charged with terrorism, banditry and insurgency, and could face the death penalty if convicted.
They include Gandi Mudzingwa, an adviser to Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai; and Chris Dhlamini, head of security for Tsvangirai's party.
Lawyer Alec Muchadehama, who entered the not guilty pleas on behalf of his clients, told the judge the charges were "ridiculous and scandalous."
He also called two doctors who testified the defendants had been beaten while in police custody and had serious injuries. Muchadehama asked the judge to allow the defendants to be further examined outside jail to determine whether they had been tortured.
The prosecutors argued that the two doctors' testimony was not credible. The judge was expected to rule Thursday on the request for further medical examination.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Cohlera? What Cholera? quick look this way at the noise, pay no attention to all those rotting corpses.
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
01/08/2009 17:01 Comments ||
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Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed yesterday said his ministry will take steps to restore the 1972 constitution in order to reestablish the spirits of secularism, the great liberation war, rule of law, human rights and democracy in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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I'd like to see the US restore its constitution.
Chancellor Alistair Darling has denied he is planning to "print money" in an effort to tackle the downturn.
On Wednesday, he told the Financial Times newspaper he was considering a policy of "quantitative easing" to increase money supply to the economy. He has now said he is looking at "a range of measures," but "nobody is talking about printing money".
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said any such move would be "the last resort of a desperate government".
According to the BBC's economics editor Hugh Pym, the Treasury could resort to the use of quantitative easing as falling interest rates become less effective at stimulating the economy. Instead of literally printing money, the Bank of England would write out cheques to banks in exchange for assets such as corporate investments. The hope would be that the banks would then lend this extra money to consumers who would in turn go out and spend it.
The government could also borrow more from the Bank of England and then use this money to invest in the economy via spending or tax cuts.
However boosting money supply like this effectively creates inflation - normally avoided by the government, but in seen as a necessary evil in tough economic times, our correspondent said.
#2
If the banks are sound, there's no need to give them money. Even if they have a zillion dollars in cash on their books, they won't lend it unless there's something to loend it on. and that's where the guvmint comes in.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/08/2009 19:43 Comments ||
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Citgo, the Venezuelan government's U.S.-based oil subsidiary, reversed course today and said it will continue shipments of heating oil to poor families in the United States.
Former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy, head of the Boston-based nonprofit which distributes the fuel, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez intervened directly. I'd love to have been a tap on the line fly on the wall during that call.
Citgo Petroleum CEO Alejandro Granado made the announcement in Boston, saying Houston-based Citgo had found a way to continue paying for oil shipments. So who'd you steal the money from where'd you get the money all of a sudden?
"This is a big effort," Granado said. "This is a sacrifice." "But it ain't coming out of my pocket, so what do I care?"
The announcement came two days after Kennedy said Citgo was suspending fuel assistance, with the company citing falling oil prices and the world economic crisis.
Chavez provides fuel for 200,000 households in 23 states under a program that has come under fire in the U.S. Critics correctly say the program is a ploy by Chavez to undermine the Bush administration. Fear not. If Bambi doesn't sufficiently kiss Oogo's ass, he'll undermine that administration too. With the willing help of Bambi's friends, the Left.
Kennedy said the decision to continue oil shipments was made "with direct involvement of President Chavez." So who'd he steal the money from?
When asked if he'd personally spoken to Chavez, Kennedy, the son of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, said "I promised to continue helping Oogo undermine the U.S. Government, of course. Which I was going to do anyway." "I did what was necessary to keep this program going."
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/08/2009 12:40 ||
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Well, good for Joe. He can keep his 400 grand a year job being a butt boy for Hugo.
The ongoing dispute over transit fees and pricing has halted Russian natural gas exports to Europe. Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the disruption that has curtailed vital gas deliveries to several European countries, including Hungary, Romania, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Amid freezing temperatures and usage restrictions, the Japanese automaker Suzuki says it is halting production at its Hungarian affiliate.
The European Union says it is being held hostage to a bilateral dispute and is demanding an immediate resolution of the matter. On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed displeasure in telephone conversations with Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko. Germany gets some 37 percent of its natural gas from Russia, 80 percent of that through pipelines that transit Ukraine.
Russia claims that Ukraine is $2 billion in arrears in gas payments. It accuses Ukraine of siphoning off gas intended for Central and Western Europe. Gazprom, the Russian gas supplier and the world's biggest energy company, wants Ukraine to pay world market prices - more than double what Ukraine has been paying. Ukraine, in turn, wants Russia to pay more in transit fees.
Three years ago, an almost identical dispute briefly disrupted natural gas trans-shipments.
Thomas Mayer, chief European economist at Deutsche Bank, expects the dispute will be resolved soon. He told Bloomberg Television that neither country wants to damage its commercial ties with Europe. Mayer foresees no significant shortages in Western Europe. "I think there is the possibility for the European Union to share reserves among the European Union countries," said Mayer. "So at the present time, I don't think one needs to be too worried about it. And I think the markets are also not taking a lot of fright from that."
Mayer says that, so far, the shortages are not acute in Germany, which is still obtaining some Russian gas through the pipeline that crosses Belarus.
Several politicians and energy experts say this latest supply disruption reveals that Western Europe has become too dependent on Russia for natural gas and oil. They say that dependence is likely to grow with a planned pipeline from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
Russia, meanwhile, is expanding its pipeline network to allow greater oil and gas exports to fast-growing China and India.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Here it is, finally. We've always talked about this but now it is here in full force. Western Europe is going to blame someone for making the gas stop...will it be Russia, or Ukraine? And if they take the easy way out and blame Ukraine, guess who will pay the $2B? (hint: Ukraine doesn't have $2B)
If once you have paid him the Danegeld, you never get rid of the Dane.
#2
It looks to me like much of western Europe will submit to Russian demands. If I lived in one of those countries, I'd be checking my alternatives. Maybe it's time to leave.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
01/08/2009 8:19 Comments ||
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#3
Anyone care to discuss the effectiveness and virtue of soft power? Anyone? Bueller?
BRUSSELS, Belgium Russia and Ukraine backed off from their energy war Thursday, promising to start resending Russian gas over Ukrainian pipelines to EU customers shivering through a widespread cold snap.
European Union governments have blasted both countries, saying it was unacceptable to see homes unheated and businesses closing due to gas shortages because neither Russia or Ukraine could stick to their supply contracts.
Russia's state-owned Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz were in talks on Thursday for the first time since payment negotiations broke off on New Year's Eve. The companies and officials from the two nations said they were willing to start pumping gas to Europe and would accept having monitors check on the gas flow but they were less confident about solving the root causes of the dispute.
"We don't want war, (a) propaganda gas war," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Hryhoriy Nemyrya told reporters, saying Naftogaz would need around 36 hours to restore supplies.
Gazprom and Naftogaz continued to blame each other during visits Thursday to Brussels. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller suggested that countries that believe they have suffered from the gas cutoff could sue Ukraine. And Naftogaz chief executive Oleh Dubina complained that Gazprom was charging Belarus far less for gas than Ukraine. Other Ukrainian officials alleged Russia was trying to destroy Naftogaz and the Ukrainian economy during the global financial meltdown.
One key issue is still far from resolved: Russian allegations that Ukraine siphoned off Russian gas to Europe for its own needs without paying for it. Dubina said that Naftogaz needed to use this 'technical gas' to maintain pressure in the pipeline to get gas west to Europe.
Annual processions mourning the death of Hussein [Ashura which began Jan 7 2009] became common in the eighth century, but self-mutilation did not become part of the ritual until the 15th century. A piece of apocrypha explains the practice: According to some, Hussein's sister Zainab, overcome with grief at the sight of her brother's severed head, banged her head bloody against her saddle post.
Variations in method and degree of brutality exist. Some older Muslims accept self-flagellation but feel it has become too showy and gruesome: The modern zanjeer blades have two sharp edges rather than one, drawing much more blood than the traditional versions. Some participants shun the blades altogether and use the chains alone. Many South Asian Shiites hold razors between their fingers while slapping their chests. Individual mourners have developed altogether novel practices, including hanging weights from a body piercing.
Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran issued a fatwa against self-mutilation in 1994, and Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most prominent cleric, has issued statements suggesting ambivalence about the practice. Some flagellation enthusiasts rejected the pronouncements entirely or claimed they prohibited only the cutting of the scalp with swords. Others accepted the fatwa and redirected their efforts toward more socially productive acts like Ashura blood drives. Over time, most clerics have muted their criticism, as many Shiites' devotion to the practice has been too strong to break.
#3
Is this mainly a Shiite thing? Or can other Muslems get in on the fun, too?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
01/08/2009 8:25 Comments ||
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#4
It's entirely a Shiite thing - Ashura's about Shiite martyrs. In this little passion play, the Sunnis are Pilate and the Sanhedrin.
including hanging weights from a body piercing.
Sounds like Masochistic Mondays at the fetish club to me.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
01/08/2009 11:07 Comments ||
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#5
If you have ever seen pics of the scalp cutting of children, it would get you to wonder about their so called religion. In this country you would be arrested for child abuse..........well in some places still, I hope.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/08/2009 11:55 Comments ||
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#6
Recalls the monks flagellant of the early middle ages.... as usual, Islam is about 1000 years behind the curve.
Three decades to the day after the fall of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime, the country finally received word of a possible starting date for the trial of one of its key leaders.
International co-prosecutor Robert Petit said that Kaing Khek Iev, who was better known as Duch when he headed the Tuol Sleng torture center in Phnom Penh, will probably go on trial in March. But he said four other defendants, all in their 80s, are unlikely to take the stand until 2010.
The trial process, which has so far cost $50 million, has been marred by delays, controversial defense motions, accusations of corruption and, most recently, a public dispute between Petit and his Cambodian co-prosecutor, Chea Leang, over future prosecutions.
Petit wants to file charges against an additional five or six former Khmer Rouge members, but Chea Leang has objected, saying that the court should concentrate its limited resources on the cases on hand. She has also cited a need to focus on national reconciliation.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
i wouldn't call "$50 million so far" limited resources. I t didn't take them that long too get Milosevich or saddam so why so long with these guys?
The contention in Iranian political circles that the country is immune to the global financial meltdown has been brought under question. The common perception in Iranian political circles is that the country has largely remained unaffected by the recent economic crisis gripping world countries.
The chairman of Iran's Expediency Council, Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, questioned the validity of Iranian immunity on the issue on Thursday, saying that the country will face extreme difficulties due to its reliance on oil exports. "The government has real problems in determining its budget for next year and will have difficulty preparing a budget able to receive a Majlis vote," Hashemi-Rafsanjani said.
The senior Iranian official called on the government to take serious measures to ensure that the global economic crisis does not severely influence the country. His remarks are considered tacit criticism as they come days after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Tehran has enough foreign exchange reserves to last for "three years" and can thus manage its affairs even if oil prices hit zero.
The Iranian government is extremely reliant on oil revenues and is vulnerable to price fluctuations. As a result of the sharp downward spiral in oil prices, some economists have predicted that Tehran will face a considerable budget deficit within months.
In September, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that Iran would face a fiscal deficit if crude oil prices fall below $90 a barrel. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has also warned that the economy will face major problems should oil prices fall below $60 a barrel.
President Ahmadinejad has refuted the claims, saying that falling oil prices will have no serious impact on the country's economy even if they reach "5 dollars" a barrel. "Some arrogant countries say Iran will be hit by falling oil prices, but we tell them that the financial crisis in the West did not affect us, so the fluctuations in the oil market will not gravely affect us either," he told reporters on the sidelines of an international press exhibition in Tehran last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
man... i feel so terribly heartbroken over this troubling news...
NOT
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
01/08/2009 0:35 Comments ||
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#4
Iran hasn't finished paying for the rebuilding of the Hezballoh infrastructure yet (Rockets were paid for but not many offices or residences for Hezb big shots).
I'm also willing to bet a lot of the Mullahs had much of their embezzled wealth in hedge funds, fannie mae, WAMU, Etc.
Tehran has launched a campaign to promote an economic reform plan after parts of the proposal faced public disapproval in October.
In July 2008, the Iranian government announced that a value-added tax (VAT) mechanism would be introduced in the country by autumn, under which businesses would have to pay 3 percent of their sales receipts as tax. As the date for the implementation of the plan approached, merchants from Tehran's Bazaar -- the commercial heart of the country -- went on strike in protest at the VAT plan.
Following 10 days of widespread demonstrations across Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that he would introduce a bill to delay the implementation of the tax mechanism by at least one year. According to Tabnak, economic experts in the country have launched a campaign directed at ending the controversy surrounding the reform proposal; the plan is currently being discussed in various economic circles.
Critics of the plan demand that the Iranian government permanently revoke the program, arguing that the mechanism would contribute to creeping inflation.
Proponents of the plan, however, insist that VAT will help the country shift its dependency from oil revenues to indirect taxation.
The committee responsible for promoting the reform plan is actively organizing meetings and briefings across the country to prepare Iranian commercial circles for the long-anticipated economic changes.
President Ahmadinejad has long promised a populist economic platform that would challenge cronyism and corruption. After 4 years of Ahmadinejad administration, however, the Iranian president has been the recipient of severe criticism. Sixty leading economists from major Iranian universities have recently criticized the president in an open letter, saying he has not taken corrective measures to deal with the economic decline in the country.
President Ahmadinejad responded to the criticism by saying that his economic reform package -- submitted to parliament -- will eventually be able to resolve the economic problems gripping the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
the irainian non economy at its best. central planners challenging cronyism and corruption? Unlikely, in fact all good systems analysts know, that a systems top goal is self preservation. any tinkering at the edges is just sleight of hand. all systems are only as good as thier own sensory organs, what expectation can be extrapolated from this announcement? Clearly only one, the economics of this cabal are non economics, and thus incapable of reforming themselves. Iran and its identity crisis, not unlike russia and its identity crisis. both non economies in service to themselves as elitist identities, with overtly high coeficients of fiction.
Fitch Ratings has warned that Britain's public debt will explode to almost 70pc of GDP by the end of next year, vaulting past Germany to become one of the most heavily-indebted states in the industrial world.
There are fears that the next crisis in the global financial system could prove to be a rebellion by the bond vigilantes, already worried by talk of a bond bubble. This would push up rates used to fixed mortgages and corporate bond deals. Central banks can offset this for a while by purchasing bonds directly -- "printing money" -- but not indefinitely.
The US alone is expected to issue $2 trillion (£1.3 trillion) of debt this year, and the Europeans are not far behind. Italy alone must tap the markets for 200bn as it rolls over its huge stock of public debt and meets the cost or recession. Fitch Ratings said Ireland, Greece, the Netherlands, and France face a heavy calendar of auctions as maturities fall due.
Robert Stheeman, the DMO's chief, says Britain may be nearing the limits of investor tolerance. "I'm not predicting that we will have a failed auction, but I can't rule that out. It's a big amount of debt to be sold. We are in a different world from a year ago," he told Bloomberg News.
As long as Britain keeps its coveted `AAA' rating it should be able to the tap the bond markets at a reasonable price, but this rating is no longer entirely secure. Fitch says the UK will have jumped from 44pc of GDP in 2007 to 68pc by late 2010, a staggering rise for major country. It usually takes a war to do such damage.
Text deleted. This is way, way too long to post in full here, and none of the html and other codes that crept into the text were fixed before posting. I do NOT have time to fix posts here all day. AoS.
#3
As far as I know anyone can buy an annuity (defined benefit plan). I don't know why you'd need the govt. to do it for you. If you don't feel able to manage your own money you should find someone to do it for you. Of course, it will cost you a little, but not near as much as the govt. will take to do 1/5th as good a job.
#4
401(k) plans shift all retirement-planning risks -- not saving enough, making poor investment choices, outliving savings -- to untrained individuals
The third of these risks - outliving savings - will be addressed by a national health care program; after all, that problem can be solved by increasing investment value or not living as long.
And any conventional government plan is guaranteed to be a poor investment choice - better to just throw darts at the WSJ for your picks.
That leaves "not saving enough", but the government says we have to spend, spend, spend to stimulate the economy.
#5
Once again the govt just doesn't get. They do not know the problem they are truly trying to solve. If savings rates are the problem then why cap the savings each year. The cap should be on the total. They want rich people to spend and poor people to save and the middle class to pay for both. Let everyone save up to 1.5 - 2.0 million dollars with great tax advanatges to do so. Then force the money into trusted securites. The govt should be encouraging wealth building not Ponzi schemes.
#6
The problem, airandee, is the government does not want you to create wealth. They want to take it from you and have you be dependent on them. You are much less likely to make a fuss if with one act the government can cut you off from all your sustenance. Communism 101.
#7
I learned many, many years ago that whatever the government pushes is to be avoided like the plague, NO 401K, NO IRA, NO government bonds, etc for them to steal,
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
01/08/2009 16:57 Comments ||
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#8
Sorry, but if you haven't been paying attention, and don't want to grow up and deal with your money, TS.
Sometimes the purpose of your life is to serve as a warning to others, ya know?
But I wouldn't worry (too much) about the guvmint getting into our 401k's or other retirement plan for a while. Wait till the bills for all this "stimulation" come due, and all bets are off on that, though.
(Mojo, forget gold. They can still get their mitts on that. Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Panama....you get the idea. ;) )
#9
WORLD MIL FORUM > IIUC A COMMUNIST AMERIKA MAY EXPERIENCE A BETTER, LARGER "GREAT LEAP FORWARD" THAN CHINA EVER DID UNDER CHAIRMANS MAO OR DENG. SUCH AN AMERICAN "G-L-F" COULD PROVE TO BE A SCORPION FOR CHINA!?
Oil futures tumbled 12 percent, the most in more than seven years, after a U.S. government report showed bigger-than-expected increases in supplies of crude oil, gasoline and distillate fuel as consumption dropped.
Inventories of crude oil rose 6.68 million barrels to 325.4 million barrels last week, the highest since May, the Energy Department said today in a weekly report. Supplies were forecast to increase by 800,000 barrels, according to the median of forecasts by 14 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.
"We have the making of a huge glut here," said Phil Flynn, senior trader at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "Supplies are more than adequate and should continue to rise because demand is so poor."
Crude oil for February delivery fell $5.95 to $42.63 a barrel at 2:46 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since Dec. 30. Today's decline was the biggest since Sept. 24, 2001. Futures on the exchange are down 55 percent from a year ago.
Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, where oil that's traded on Nymex is stored, climbed 14 percent to 32.2 million barrels last week, the highest since at least April 2004, when the department began keeping track of supplies there.
"We're pushing up toward capacity limits," said Lawrence Eagles, global head of commodities research at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. "There's still a bit of space, but not much."
And the oil companies thus will curtail exploration, so that in 2013 when President Palin is inaugurated gas prices will surge and she'll be blamed ...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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...Gas prices blew out the roof here in SC over the last few days - 30 to 35 cents a gallon since the weekend. Hopefully that's gonna change.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/08/2009 5:42 Comments ||
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#2
This all is a good reminder that a significate part of our gas useage is discretionary. Most of us can take a few less trips, ride poll and such to save money when gas costs are up. As consumers, we can all do ourselves a favor by staying away from the pump as much as we can, for awhile. Maybe we can break a few of those bastards we ran the price up so high on us. Maybe, we can continue looking at and developing alternatives. But then maybe we'll just clim back on the same old roller coaster.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
01/08/2009 8:11 Comments ||
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#3
I bought a car that gets 40 MPG Hwy. Started planning and consolidating all my trips/errands, work from home or a closer facility (Network Admin) when I can. Cut my fuel consumption 70%, and I know several other colleagues that have done the same. Americans can adapt when they have too.
#4
Mike, gas prices have risen recently in Virginia, too (and I suspect the rest of the states).
A spokesguy for a Va. gasoline dealers association said it was due to the Israel-Hamas war. He didn't explain why a war between two countries (actually, a country and a bunch of idiots) that produce no oil would affect oil/gas prices. And of course the "reporter" interviewing him didn't ask.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/08/2009 13:55 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The ongoing dispute over transit fees and pricing has halted Russian natural gas exports to Europe. Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the disruption that has curtailed vital gas deliveries to several European countries, including Hungary, Romania, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Amid freezing temperatures and usage restrictions, the Japanese automaker Suzuki says it is halting production at its Hungarian affiliate. 
Three decades to the day after the fall of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime, the country finally received word of a possible starting date for the trial of one of its key leaders. 
Oil futures tumbled 12 percent, the most in more than seven years, after a U.S. government report showed bigger-than-expected increases in supplies of crude oil, gasoline and distillate fuel as consumption dropped. 
