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SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Asia-Pacific climate change agreement was a milestone because it marked the first time the world's biggest polluters had pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Australia's Prime Minister said on Sunday. "This is the first such agreement involving the major polluters -- the United States, China and the Russian Federation," John Howard told a news conference following the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. "And (it) is therefore a very important component, along the hard march of mankind towards reaching a sensible, workable, international agreement to cover the period post-Kyoto, that is 2012 onwards," he said. Pacific Rim...

The pilot behind a security scare in Sydney airspace this afternoon is being questioned by authorities. A small Cessna aircraft had to be escorted by two F/A-18 Defence fighter jets into Sydney's Bankstown Airport, after failing to respond in restricted APEC airspace above Sydney. A witness has told commercial radio the fighter jets fired flares at the plane. He says shortly before 3:00pm AEST he saw the plane enter restricted airspace over the western suburb of Penrith before flares were fired at it by two F/A-18 jets. "This light plane came over in restricted airspace because of APEC and these...

US President George W Bush got out of his motorcade and onto a mountain bike in Sydney's north this afternoon, a US Embassy official says. The president took advantage of a break in his schedule of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of this week's APEC conference to indulge his passion for mountain biking. "I can confirm he went mountain bike riding this afternoon," a US Embassy official told AAP. President Bush got out of his motorcade and onto a mountain bike in Sydney's north this afternoon, a US Embassy official says. The president took advantage of a break in his...

The APEC (Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit officially began today in Sydney Australia. President Bush addressed the Summit this morning, thanking Prime Minister John Howard for his hospitality. (Transcript) The president then had lunch with ASEAN, the Association of South East Asian Nations, which included the presidents of Vietnam, the Philippines and the prime minister of Thailand among other leaders. ASEAN has the fourth largest trading relationship with the United States. (Transcript) President Bush later met individually with Russian President Vladimir Putin (Transcript) and South Korean President Roh Moon-Hyun (Transcript). Apparently there was a “miscommunication” during the meeting with the...

SYDNEY, Australia - President Bush used an address before an audience of Pacific Rim business elite to discuss the war on terror. Chinese President Hu Jintao talked about the business opportunities that China's growth is producing. The messages, and the reviews they received this week, underscore how Washington and Beijing are now being perceived in the Asia-Pacific region, where the U.S. role seems to be slipping, while China is seen as the power of the future. "Politics does not exist in a vacuum, and whenever there is a vacuum, somebody else is going to fill that, whether it is China...

The President contiued with his visit to Australia ahead of Friday's APEC Summit. Today he met with Australia's Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd and other members of his political party.Rudd and Bush map out war plan He also made a visit to the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney And he attended a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the APEC summit, the main sumit commences on Friday (probably about know Australian time). Press Briefing by Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino and Senior Administration Officials Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

Joint Press Conference with the President of the United States, George W. Bush, Intercontinental, Sydney Subject: APEC; Iraq; climate change; Australia-United States relations. E&OE... PRIME MINISTER HOWARD: Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to welcome the media to this news conference. I'll say a couple of words, invite the President to speak briefly, and then we'll take a couple of questions from each of the press groups. It's always a great pleasure, George, to welcome you to Australia. The United States President is always welcome in our country. We have no closer alliance with any country in the world...

A DOZEN zodiac boats packed with heavily armed, black-clad security personnel sped alongside the VIPs in their white luxury yacht. Security men rode jet skis nearby, police helicopters hovered overhead and police snipers took up positions on buildings. It could have been a location shoot for a new James Bond film, but it was part of the blanket of security Australia has thrown over Sydney for the visit of US President George W. Bush. After holding a news conference, Mr Bush and Prime Minister John Howard and their delegations boarded a sleek yacht at Man o' War Wharf and headed...

DEVELOPING REPORT: US President George W Bush's aircraft Air Force One has arrived in Sydney for the APEC summit, amid security arrangements unprecedented in Australia. Sydney Police have cleared a path through Sydney for the president's 30-car motorcade to travel unhindered to the Intercontinental Hotel in the city's CBD. Mr Bush is in Sydney for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit this week. He leaves on Saturday to return home in time for September 11, 2001 terror attack commemorations. He travelled to Sydney from Iraq today, where he made a surprise visit to a US military base with top members...

US President George W. Bush has apologised to the people of Sydney for the widespread inconvenience the APEC summit security lockdown will cause. Speaking to Sky News, Mr Bush said he was not aware of how the city would be affected, but he was sorry if he was putting people out. "I have a lot on my mind," he said, adding that it was the first he had heard of the planned security crackdown that will see much of the northern part of the city fenced off as well as expanded police powers to search people and seize banned items....

IS President George W. Bush going to come to Sydney for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum summit next week?... As The Australian revealed on Monday, Bush's senior advisers unanimously opposed his coming to Sydney. That information is not a whisper. That information is solid... Bill Clinton cancelled out of two APEC leaders meetings: Osaka in 1995 and Kuala Lumpur in 1998. On both occasions he skipped at the last possible minute and sent then vice-president Al Gore in his place. ...Clinton's absence led to a previously unscheduled meeting between Keating and Gore in which Keating gave Gore a fearful bollocking...

SINGAPORE : President George Bush said the United States is fully committed to Asia. Speaking in Singapore on Thursday, he said the US will work to advance trade, tackle the terrorist threat and alleviate poverty in the region. The President also stressed the Asia-Pacific countries' role in reviving the Doha Round of Talks, saying this would be the key to meeting world economic growth goals. And he said an Asia-Pacific Free Trade Agreement deserves serious consideration. ...snip... President Bush reaffirmed his country's involvement in what he called the fastest growing and most dynamic region in the world. Besides the WTO...

In the streets and marketplaces of Little Saigon, the talk is of optimism and new freedoms for a country many fled decades ago. President Bush's visit to Vietnam today is seen in the nation's largest Vietnamese American community as a heartening, profoundly important event. For some, there is even the hope that the president will find a way to champion reform in a country that still evokes bitterness and memories of terrible times. "I've been waiting for this day," said Kimberly Ta, 61, of Anaheim, shopping with her father and friends at the Asian Garden Mall in Westminster. "I am...

Arrival of George Bush in Singapore SINGAPORE - American president George W. Bush arrived Thursday to Singapore, first stage of a voyage one week to Asia intended to promote the democratic reforms, to reinforce the safety of the United States, like his commercial bonds with the countries of the area. The plane One Air Force landed with 07H15 local (Wednesday 23H15 GMT) in Singapore where George W. Bush will remain Thursday, before going Friday to Vietnam where it will take part in the annual top of the forum of economic Co-operation the Asia-Pacific (Apec). It will complete its round...

WASHINGTON (AP) - On his upcoming trip to Asia, President Bush will chat with Japan's new prime minister and stoke his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He'll discuss terrorism, bird flu, trade and other issues with leaders of Vietnam and Indonesia. Bush leaves on the eight-day trip on Tuesday. As a gesture of friendship to Russia, Air Force One will make a refueling stop in Moscow on its way to southeast Asia, where Bush is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Hanoi. "Southeast Asia is a region with an active al-Qaida-linked terrorist presence that we are working with...

WASHINGTON - President Bush will visit Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, the city once known as Saigon that was the capital of U.S.-backed South Vietnam, during a trip to the communist nation next month, the White House said Monday. Bush will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' forum in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, on Nov. 18 and 19. He will also stop in Singapore and Indonesia during his trip, the White House said. Bush will meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and President Nguyen Minh Triet, an economic reformer who has pushed for his country's membership in the...

HANOI (AFP) - The United States urged Asia-Pacific nations meeting in Vietnam to prevent their banking systems from being abused to finance terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, including by North Korea. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he thanked Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for "cooperation in efforts to keep the banking system free of abuse by the North Koreans and other would-be miscreants". Paulson, a former Goldman Sachs executive on his first Asia trip since assuming his post in July, said he discussed the issue widely at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) finance ministers' meeting. "All...

Asia-Pacific passes bird flu pandemic test, Australia says Fri Jun 9, 4:02 PM ET SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian officials praised as creative the responses of Asian and Pacific countries to a hypothetical bird flu pandemic which included discouraging kissing and building a factory to make protective masks. The scenario tested involved a new strain of bird flu, dubbed the 'Malacca Straits Flu', reaching pandemic proportions within the region after several infected fishermen were rescued by a passing cruise ship. "The scenario successfully achieved the goal of testing communication responses during the exercise, which lasted 26 hours across eight time zones,"...

Asia Rising Donald Rumsfeld infamously made a distinction between Old Europe and New Europe. He has been scored ever since for his sweeping and impolitic language, but he wasn't sweeping enough: In geopolitical terms, all of Europe is old, the world's most tourist-friendly museum piece. For the future of high-stakes U.S. diplomacy and of great-power politics, look no further than Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the U.S. It is Asia that should occupy an outsized place in our strategic thinking, and it is Europe that should be the relative afterthought, not the other way around. The media and foreign-policy...

India and China are locked in a bitter struggle for Pan-Asian leadership in South, Southeast and Central Asia. Three regional economic and security organizations—South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)—symbolize their jostling for power. Of these, SAARC is symbolically significant with little political or economic substance. ASEAN combines Southeast Asia’s economic concerns with its security needs, while the SCO primarily remains a security organization dominated by Beijing’s interests in Central Asia. These organizations, however, articulate multilateral concerns, which are greatly shaped by the competing interests of Beijing...

Blow to US as S Korea makes Iraq troops cut By Anna Fifield and Caroline Daniel in Busan, South Korea Published: November 19 2005 02:00 | Last updated: November 19 2005 02:00 South Korea yesterday revealed plans to withdraw about a third of its 3,200 troops from Iraq, an embarrassing diplomatic blow to President George W. Bush only a day after he thanked Roh Moo-hyun, his South Korean counterpart, for helping "democracy flourish" in the Middle East. As the two leaders attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in the South Korean port city of Busan, the South's defence ministry confirmed...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush, as well as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others in the American delegation, continue their trip to Asian nations. Before leaving for Bejing, China, they visited Osan Air Base, Osan, Republic of Korea, where the President spoke to a huge crowd of troops and other American personnel. "Laura and I are so honored to be here," the President said. "We thought we'd stop by and feel the thunder and the fury of the Mustangs. Thanks for greeting us. It's a privilege to stand with the brave men and women of...

BUSAN, South Korea — The leaders of 21 Pacific Rim economies gathered today to develop joint action to fight bird flu and shore up flagging talks on a global free-trade pact, but regional tensions hung over their talks. Security was tight before the opening of the two-day summit in the port city of Busan, where activists promised protests by 100,000 people opposed variously to U.S. forces in South Korea, globalization, North Korea and trade liberalization. Although dismissed by some as toothless, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is determined to make its voice heard on global concerns including corruption,...

Protests turn violent near APEC venue By Jack Kim 36 minutes ago Thousands of farm activists and union workers hurled bottles in a clash with police near a meeting of Pacific Rim leaders on Friday and had to be quelled by water cannon. The clash broke out about two km (1.2 miles) from the convention center where leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies were meeting. About 2,000 farmers and farm activists and 3,000 union workers took to the streets of Pusan to denounce APEC, the World Trade Organization and U.S. President George W. Bush, who was attending the...

President and Mrs. Bush are in Asia; he is participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference. Secretary of State Rice is attending the ancillary APEC Ministerial Conference, after negotiating for the opening of Gaza's borders on her 51st birthday. "How Rice Won a Mideast Deal" (worth reading). Something to watch: New Documents Reveal Saddam Hid WMDs, Was Tied to Al Qaida . Welcome to Sanity Island!

Bush Hails Taiwan As Democratic Model By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 2 minutes ago Piquing China just days before meetings with its leaders, U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday held up the self-governing island of Taiwan that Beijing claims as its own as a model of freedom "at all levels" that the communist giant should emulate. Bush's speech opening a four-country tour of Asia amounted to a road map of the coming discussions he was to have on a potential bird flu outbreak, global trade, North Korea's nuclear ambitions and other issues at a gathering of...

Apec 'to warn EU on trade talks'   Europe appears increasingly isolated on agriculture World trade talks will fail unless the European Union makes fresh concessions, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) nations are expected to warn. Reports say Apec leaders, meeting in South Korea, will issue the warning in a joint statement later this week. Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer has already said the success of the World Trade Organisation talks now rests with Europe. Europe is under pressure to increase cuts on farm subsidies and tariffs. French pressureBoth the US and leading developing nations such as Brazil have...

APEC consumed by WTO deadlock, bird flu fears Sat Nov 12, 8:36 AM ET Asian and Pacific nations worked to ease the deadlock in troubled global trade talks and agreed joint measures to help prevent a possible bird flu pandemic. The 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum began talks in the South Korean city of Busan amid gloomy predictions about the December 13-18 World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong. A US official said the fate of the 2001 Doha round of WTO talks, which has foundered mainly over trade-distorting agricultural subsidies in rich countries, would dominate...

/begin my translation   Seoul Police Agency, "The Profile of Terrorists could be...."    Unveils the features of terrorists, and how to spot them "It is highly likely that terrorists are males, who cover their face with objects like a mask, with excessively bulging belly, and are between 20 and 40 years of age." Seoul Police Agency made public the information on 'Characteristics of Terrorists and How to Spot them,' when they started on Nov. 6 to go into emergency alert mode for (coming) APEC Summit.    According to the announcement, terrorists usually cover their face with masks or beards, wear hats or sunglasses.  In particular, the chances are high that...

Kim rains on 'Sunshine Policy' By Jaewoo Choo SEOUL - North Korea's announcement last week that it possesses nuclear weapons has dealt a devastating blow to South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's government. Ever since entering the Blue House in 2003, Roh has vigorously pursued a lenient, and to an extent benign, policy toward the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, even to the detriment of his own nation's half-century-old alliance with the United States. The South Korean president has on numerous occasions emphasized that his North Korea policy remains in line with that of his predecessor, Kim Dae-jung, known...

One has to go digging into the jobbers' trade press for the stunning statistics about the extent of Vietnam's trade growth with the U.S. About $1.8 billion in apparel exports will be sold by the Vietnamese to the U.S. in 2004, and that's a bit of a decline over last year. But it's not just MADE IN VIETNAM tags on the baby clothes at Target anymore. There's another $2 billion in trade with fish, electronics, cashews, shrimp, furniture, pepper, shoes and other goods from Vietnam coming into the U.S., showing a 28% rise over the previous year. Ten years ago,...

Dr. Jack Wheeler, creator of a unique intelligence website dubbed "the oasis for rational conservatives," features a column describing what could have turned into a deadly scenario in Chile for President Bush. On his website, To the Point, Wheeler tells a little-known story about a conflict between Bush's security detail and Chile's security over the latter's refusal to have a metal-detector at a state dinner for the president. There is speculation, Wheeler points out, that Bush-loathing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a chum of Fidel Castro, is somehow connected to the incident. Wheeler explains that Chilean officials attempted to block Secret...

You can bet President Bush's poll ratings will go up after the Chilean security incident. He reached through a local protective detail and pulled his Secret Service agent to safety. Bush's Chilean clean-and-jerk played on television like someone retrieving luggage at a crowded airport carousel. But this president plunged right in after his man, and he could have been Arnold Schwarzenegger battling goons.

(Nov. 24, 2004) The United States has complained to Chile about an incident this weekend in which U.S. President George W. Bush had to break up a skirmish between his lead Secret Service agent and a Chilean policeman. During a gala dinner in Santiago’s Estación Mapocho cultural center last Saturday night, Chilean police stopped Nick Trotta, second-in-command in Bush’s security detail, from following the president in to the dinner. Bush personally stepped in and pulled the agents apart. Marcelo Romero, a journalist for Chilean tabloid La Cuarta, was quoted by U.S. papers describing Bush’s rescue of his bodyguard as a...

  Taking Charge -- Abandoning the other three, Bush walked over to the agents, reached through the dispute and pulled his agent from the scrum.    Link to great video of Bush rescuing his Secret Service Agent in Chile.  The link is: http://72.9.231.99/videos/takingcharge.WMVPlay the video then do a "Save As" from Media Player.    Another great link:Bush rescuing his Secret Service Agent.Hear Bush speak 'get your hands off him'    PHOTO SEQUENCE - Bush frees Secret Service agent from Chile guards...    James Lileks: What Would John Wayne Do?      CHILEAN WHINES (Agent Trotta, Pres. Bush, and What Really...

Here is a link to great video of Bush rescuing his Secret Service Agent in Chile. You can actually see how the Chilean guards moved in to block the American Secret Service guys. http://www.dailyrecycler.com/blog/2004/11/taking-charge.html

SANTIAGO, Chile (via PLDT) — The 12th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit held here last weekend was not without its lighter moments. And some of the 3,000 journalists from all over the world who covered the summit, including members of the Philippine media, were witnesses to the slip-ups of the leaders of some of the most dynamic economies in the world.

Here is another great link to another video of Bush rescuing his Secret Service Agent in Chile. This is very similar to video link I posted early this morning, however, this video link has no background commentary, and I believe you can hear Bush speaking 'get your hands off him'. Also, as someone else said "notice the guy on the right rather frantically trying to point out to the others that THE MOST LEADER OF THE MOST POWERFUL NATION ON EARTH is trying to break up the fight." http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/3937266/detail.html

White House officials were still shaking their heads in disbelief yesterday that President Bush personally had to rescue a U.S. Secret Service agent from angry Chilean security officials Saturday night.     "This is a pretty big deal," said a senior White House official, who called the incident a "melee."     "I mean, the guy who was supposed to be guarded had to rescue the guy who was supposed to be guarding him."     The official expressed astonishment that Chilean security officials had stopped the No. 2 agent on Mr. Bush's security detail from accompanying the president into a meeting with another world...

The [APEC] summit in ... Chile, was the site of a ... kerfuffle... over the weekend, as the Chileans picked fights with the U.S. Secret Service and lost. The first ... involved Nick Trotta ... in President Bush's security detail. As the president ... entered ..., "Chilean officers, who appeared to be waiting for the moment, stepped in front of Trotta, blocking him from entering," ... U.S. officials said Chilean police had been chafing for a week about a demand by Secret Service agents that they control the president's space... ... amid a flurry of half nelsons, one Secret Service...

Inside Column "A Picture's Worth..." by Ken Fowler It's tough to describe adequately a powerful picture with pedestrian words, but there are some times when it's worth trying. One I saw Saturday night deserves the effort, as it accomplishes what only the great pieces of art do - it tells the story of something seemingly unrelated to the subject matter that is terribly important. On the left, this photo shows Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and first lady Laura Bush smiling at reporters as they enter the ballroom in which an APEC gala dinner is about to commence. To the right,...

SANTIAGO, Chile — The clash between the Secret Service and Chilean security officials stretched into a second day, leading to the cancellation of an official state dinner for President Bush and his Chilean counterpart. [snip]"President Lagos considered it unacceptable that the principal leaders of the nation and distinguished business leaders should be forced to submit to an inspection that approached humiliation," a senior Chilean diplomat told local newspaper El Mercurio. [snip] Mr. Bush, who has worked hard to shake his cowboy persona in a Latin America that has become increasingly anti-Bush in the past four years, also joked about the...

SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 21 -- For President Bush, it must have been like going out without his wallet. He turned around and the presidential shadow -- his Secret Service agent -- was gone. Moments later, Bush single-handedly rescued the agent from a boisterous scuffle between U.S. and Chilean security forces. The role reversal became the talk of an international economic summit that was studded with bizarre incidents in which diplomacy took a beating, in some cases, literally. And in a final summit twist, Chilean authorities canceled an elaborate state dinner for 200 that had been planned for Sunday night as...

Moments later, Bush single-handedly rescued the agent from a boisterous scuffle between U.S. and Chilean security forces. The role reversal became the talk of an international economic summit that was studded with bizarre incidents in which diplomacy took a beating, in some cases, literally. (snip) Then Bush either realized he was missing something, or he heard the commotion. The president, who is rarely alone, even in his own house, turned and walked back to the front door unaccompanied, facing the backs of a sea of dark suits. Bush, with his right hand, reached over the suits and pointed insistently at...

The president went to South America to counter suggestions of arrogance but shambles at dinner leaves his hosts unimpressed. ...snip... The cancellation came after days of mounting disputes between Mr Bush's security detail and the Chilean palace guard, a branch of the Carabineros paramilitary police force. A senior Chilean diplomat told a local newspaper, El Mercurio: "President Lagos considered it unacceptable that the principal leaders of the nation, and distinguished business leaders should be forced to submit to an inspection that approached humiliation." Both sides accused the other of over-zealousness, with Chilean officials mocking US agents for peering and reaching...

Diplomacy Takes a Beating at APEC Summit By Mike Allen Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, November 22, 2004; SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 21 -- For President Bush, it must have been like going out without his wallet. He turned around and the presidential shadow -- his Secret Service agent -- was gone. Moments later, Bush single-handedly rescued the agent from a boisterous scuffle between U.S. and Chilean security forces. The role reversal became the talk of an international economic summit that was studded with bizarre incidents in which diplomacy took a beating, in some cases, literally. And in a final twist,...

Did my best to translate from Spanish. Bush is quoted as saying,"Hey You, let my little gorillas come in."

Bush Pulls Top Bodyguard From Scuffle   (AP) U.S. President George W. Bush, center left, reaches in to the crowd for his Secret Service Agent...Full Image SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - President Bush stepped into the middle of a confrontation and pulled his lead Secret Service agent away from Chilean security officials who barred his bodyguards from entering an elegant dinner for 21 world leaders Saturday night.Several Chilean and American agents got into a pushing and shoving match outside the cultural center where the dinner was held. The incident happened after Bush and his wife, Laura, had just posed for pictures...

SANTIAGO, Chile-It didn't quite rival the weekend brawl at an NBA game in Detroit, but a shoving match broke out here Saturday as Chinese and American journalists jostled for postition to hear statements from leaders of the two nations.

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