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Top nations 'water down' IMF reports, says regulator By Jennifer Hughes in London and Alan Beattie in,Washington Published: February 10 2009 02:00 | Last updated: February 10 2009 02:00 Warnings from the International Monetary Fund about the risks posed by the financial system had often been "watered down", according to the head of the UK's Financial Services Authority. Powerful countries will have to avoid quashing reports they do not like if they are serious about creating a better early warning system for the global economy, said Lord Turner, chairman of the -regulator. "One of the problems the IMF has had...

The anti-illegal movement is growing in strength and political power in the shadow of the Senate amnesty atrocity, translating into election victories as recent primaries evidenced: Herndon, VA, Nebraska, and Brian Bilbray in California all saw winning campaigns against losing candidates running on support for illegals. Francine Busby's defeat at the hands of Brian Bilbray (for Duke Cunningham's CA-50 seat) was especially sweet since Sen McCainiac----prime supporter of the Senate amnesty atrocity----cancelled a fund-raiser for Bilbray b/c of the latter's anti-amnesty postion. We'll need Brian Bilbray out there when McCainiac tries for 2008. I hope Bilbray is vengeful -- and...

The European Union's newly appointed ambassador to China said he believes the EU will continue to work toward ending its arms embargo against China. When China and the EU launched a series of activities for marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations early this year, ambassador Serge Abou told China Daily that the EU had the political willingness on lifting the ban but no timetable yet exists. Premier Wen Jiabao has described the embargo as "discriminatory" and said when he attended the Seventh China-EU Summit last December that its abolition will open the way for a strategic...

So how bad are things in Iraq? Answer: not very. Fallujah is not the new Mogadishu, Muqtaba al-Sadr is not the new Ayatollah Khomeini and, despite what Ted Kennedy says, Iraq is not ''George Bush's Vietnam.'' Or even George Bush's Chappaquiddick...

I humbly propose a new name for Hillary Rodham Clinton. It is to be used on all occassions when she is discussed to demonstrate an understanding of her fundamental evil and the threat she poses for American and world civilization. There was a movie years back called "Escape From New York" starring Kurt Russell. The concept of the movie was that in the next century (ours) New York City had become a federal prison and all who remained there were prisoners. New York City had turned into the kind of place Hillary would like to make our entire country. The...

Arundhati Roy is her name. She is from India. Her first book was called "The God of Small Things." She was sued in India for what one reader considered salacious sexual description, so liberals all over the world fell in love with the work. She made a great deal of money, and will make a great deal more before she's through. Her latest book is called "Power Politics." Discussing it with Bill Moyers, she related her work to what she sees as the worldwide battle going on between capitalist globalization forces (read: tyranny) and the defense of the proletariat by...