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Universal Solar Power - ‘Solar Tres’ and Commercial Solar Thermal Energy

After the success of Solar One - the world’s first large-scale thermal solar power plant - and its update, Solar Two, Europe has now entered into the race for sustained solar power.

Solar Tres, located West of Ejica in the Andalusia district of Spain, has been modeled on the Solar One and Two projects, which were developed and updated in the Marstow Desert, California, in 1981 and 1995. Like its American predecessor, Solar Tres will produce energy through heliostats: large mirror assemblies that track and reflect the sun’s rays throughout the day. From there, it is bounced onto a central column, named the ‘Solar Power Tower’, which absorbs and stores the energy, to be converted into thermal power.

What marks Solar Tres above its prototypes is that it uses molten salt as its conducting fluid, so that the energy can be stored in molten form and converted at any time. It means that the new European Solar Power Tower can be operational 24 hours a day, allowing for greater energy storage and conversion, and it outstrips its US counterparts, which ran on oils, and so had a lower capacity for storage after conversion.

It also looks to expand on the size of Solar One and Two, with a heliostat field that is three times larger than Solar Two at its optimum. It means that Solar Tres has a potential capacity of 15MW, where Solar One and Two could reach a maximum of 10MW. Not only can it run more efficiently, then - working right round the clock - but its output is greater, allowing for sustainable energy that is produced more quickly and in abundance.

By all intents and purposes, it is a larger and more ambitious project. With the backing of the EU Commission, who have provided 5 million Euro through the EU 5th Frame program, it has the potential to move thermal solar power into the competitive energy markets.

After the relative success of the original US Power Tower Plants, the improvements to Solar Tres mean a bold step towards sustainable energy in the world at large. With a project of this scale, it signals a move from personal sustainability initiatives - the efforts made, from individuals to family units - to a potentially full-fledged commercial representation of universal solar power in the community.

It now means that two of the world’s major political powers - The US, and the EU - are committing themselves to the importance of sustainable energy. Whilst Solar One and Two are now closed, they represent important first examples of what Solar Tres can now make possible.

And that is not to say that the US have abandoned the pursuit; upon the closure of the original Solar One and Two site in 2001, they commenced production of Nevada Solar One, which became operational in 2007, and boasts a maximum production capacity of 75MW. With three major Solar Power Tower Plants built since 1995, moves to a genuine production of solar power are being implemented on both sides of the Atlantic. Sustainable energy is a real possibility. Let’s hope other nations follow suit.

Chris Woolfrey is the solar panels expert at www.EcoSwitch.com The environmental social network EcoSwitch

Apollo Astronaut Mitchell Says Aliens Exist and the Government Doesn’t Want You to Know About Them

Edgar Mitchell was one of the twelve Americans to walk on the surface of the moon. During a recent radio interview on the UK-based Kerrang! Broadcast, he told host Nick Margerrison, “I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we’ve been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomena is real.” That statement shocked the host and began an amazing disclosure from a true American hero.

Born in Texas and brought up in New Mexico, he has three earned degrees including a Doctorate of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, as well as at least four honorary Doctorate degrees from prestigious universities. Among his many awards are the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the United States Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

Mitchell began his Navy career in 1952 and completed flight training in 1954. During the 1950s, he flew A3 aircraft as part of the Heavy Attack Squadron Two and served as a Research Project Pilot with the Navy’s Air Development Squadron Five. In the early 1960s he was Chief of the Project Management Division of the Navy Field Office for a Manned Orbiting Laboratory. In 1965 he entered the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School in preparation for astronaut duties.

In 1966, Edgar Mitchell was chosen for the Astronaut Training Program by NASA. After serving as a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 9 and as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 10, Mitchell, he was assigned as a lunar module pilot. In 1971, U.S. Navy Captain Mitchell was a part of the crew of Apollo 14 along with Admiral Alan Shepard and Colonel Stuart Roosa.

After the Apollo 13 disaster, the world had their eyes on the Apollo 14 Moon Mission. Mitchell maneuvered the lunar module Antares to a perfect landing on the hilly Fra Mauro region of the moon. Mitchell and Shepard deployed from the module, performed a number of experiments and collected over 100 pounds of moon rocks and set a record of staying thirty three hours on the lunar surface. They also hold the record for the longest moon walk on record at nine hours and seventeen minutes.

Nine days after his mission began, Edgar Mitchell made a triumphant return to Earth and helped reestablish the American Public and Government’s faith in NASA. He retired from NASA and the U.S. Navy in 1972. Since that time, Mitchell has been active as an author and speaker on many subjects including space exploration, the nature of consciousness and powers of the mind.

Now seventy-seven years old, the sixth man to walk on the surface of the moon told a stunned radio audience that Aliens from other worlds have contacted humans and that governments have purposely covered up what they have learned about these entities. Mitchell describes the beings as “little people who look strange to us.” He says that the traditional description of creatures with a small body frame, large eyes and over-sized head is accurate.

Speaking about the cover-up, Mitchell told radio host Nick Margerrison, “’It’s been well covered up by all our governments for the last 60 years or so, but slowly it’s leaked out and some of us have been privileged to have been briefed on some of it… I’ve been in military and intelligence circles, who know that beneath the surface of what has been public knowledge, yes - we have been visited. Reading the papers recently, it’s been happening quite a bit.”

Responding to a question about disclosure by Margerrison, Mitchell said, “This is really starting to open up. I think we’re headed for real disclosure and some serious organisations are moving in that direction.” Well, all except for NASA. Despite what Mitchell did for them, a spokesperson for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration responded to his comments by saying, “NASA does not track UFOs.

NASA is not involved in any sort of cover up about alien life on this planet or anywhere in the universe. Dr Mitchell is a great American, but we do not share his opinion on this issue.”

It’s came as no surprise that what other government agencies have described as “the most deception organization in the United State Government” should turn on Mitchell as soon as he tried to tell the truth about UFOs and Aliens. They have repeatedly described Astronaut UFO sightings as cases of mistaken identity saying they were pieces of rockets, ice, dust particles and space junk. If the truth is out there, NASA isn’t going o be the government agency that will tell you about it! For more, visit http://newsletter.ufoguy.com

Bill Knell is a popular paranormal author, speaker and consultant. Author’s Website: UFOguy.com Terms To Use Article: Permission is granted to use this article for free online or in print with inclusion of the author

Indiana UFO Invasion

UFOs being chased by military jets has become a common theme in the USA other the past year. In all of these cases the jets almost immediately dropped flairs to cover up what was, obviously, a far more interesting mission. If any comments were forthcoming from the military, they merely stated that any military aircraft seen in the area were on training missions.

When most people think of UFOs being chased by jets, they think of the Stephenville and Erath County, Texas, events that took place in January of 2008. In that case, recently released FAA radar reports show that unidentified objects were tracked along with military jets and that at least one may have violated presidential airspace over the Bush Ranch in Crawford, Texas. However, incidents like that one have taken place on numerous occasions in Indiana as well.

The Indiana incidents began on April 15, 2008, when a number of people living in the northern Indiana towns of Kokomo and Logansport reported seeing strange lights in their skies and the presence of military jets over the next two nights. They also heard what sounded like a huge explosion, followed by the appearance of a giant fireball and debris falling from the sky.

Some said the debris looked like ‘spider webs’ and resembled a phenomenon known as Angel Hair, a sometimes radioactive substance which has appeared after UFO sightings and landings throughout the years. Most of the material melted or vanished later in the day. The sightings and jet chases were reported over two nights. A military spokesperson later told concerned citizens that the jets were on training exercises and attributed the other events to the dropping of flares.

New sightings of UFOs being chased by military jets occurred recently near Lake Shafer and Peru, Indiana. The sightings began on July 23, 2008 in the Indiana beach area near Lake Shafer. One witness named Joe provided this report to me:

“We had seen some strange lights while we were leaving Indiana Beach on Lake Shaffer. It was on Wednesday, July 23,2008, at about 10:15. I taped some of the objects, but the only things you can see is when they would “flare up” and get really bright. When we first seen them, their was 3 of them and they were arranged in a triangle shape. Later 2 others joined them and they lined up in a straight line. Unfortunately, I never got video of them grouped together or of them darting around and zooming from the east to the west of us in a about 2 seconds. I did get some video of one of the objects directly above us and one to the east of us as they flared up.”

“None of these objects made any sounds. The only sound we heard was when a military jet flew over us and headed towards the objects. The objects disappeared and never returned after a short chase by the military jet. As we were driving home my sons mom called him to see if we had seen the strange lights in the sky. She lives in Rochester, Indiana which is about 40 miles from where we were at. She said she was on the lake on her boat and noticed the lights darting around and flaring up.”

The fact that the lights formed into triangles is significant. A number of UFO sightings have recently occurred in the USA, the UK and Canada involving strange lights that have formed into triangles. Some of these cases also involve military intervention by jets and helicopters. The Indiana sightings continued on July 24, 2008, as reported by a witness named Chris:

“It happened Thursday July 24th 2008… I live in Peru Indiana , my wife and a few people were sitting outside last night around 10:30 pm. My wife came in saying they saw a UFO. They said it looked like a ball of fire. Shortly after, I would say 10 or 15 minutes later, about 10 jets started flying around where it was seen. The jets started dropping flares. But the people that saw the ” ball of fire” said it didn’t look the same as what they saw about 10 minutes earlier. The witnesses were all females and kids and they were clearly shaken by what they saw. The jets continued to fly around the area for hours afterwards.”

While all this was going on, another report came in from a person named Diane. She was driving between Lafayette and Monticello, Indiana on July 24, 2008 and sent me this report:

“I heard a lot of noise that sounded like jet engines… They were really low. I stopped at a gas station to take a look and seen jets everywhere. It was between nine and ten at night and they were chasing this big bright light that glowed red and yellow. I guess all this was happening miles away from me in the sky but it looked closer. I was at a gas station and everyone was looking at all this. When I went inside the cashier said that he thought it was a UFO and everyone in there said the same thing… I stopped somewhere between Brookston and Monticello.”

In addition to the previous report which mentioned UFOs seen in the Rochester area, this one came in from Grant:

“I heard you on Coast to Coast and wanted to report a bright light I seen near Main Street and 31 on the 24th (7/24/08) in Rochester… The light looked like a spotlight they use for store openings and I saw jets around it at 11pm. My kid was with me and he got scared… I called my wife and asked if she seen it. We live near Fulton Avenue across town and she said the light was high in the sky above our house… She didn’t see the jets but heard them.”

Thank you to all those that provided reports about these significant events. If you saw something similar, please visit my website and file a report. I made several calls and sent emails to regional military commands to request an explanation or statement on these events, but have received none as of this writing. The Midwest has a long history of UFO sightings and this year seems to be a busy one.

For more including photos, visit http://newsletter.ufoguy.com

Bill Knell is a popular paranormal author, speaker and consultant. Author’s Website: UFOguy.com Terms To Use Article: Permission is granted to use this article for free online or in print with inclusion of the author

Alleviating Poverty Through Incentive Based Aid Programs

Poverty is an issue affecting countries in approximately two thirds of the world we live in, and with increased globalization it is a problem that has ramifications never felt before in the Western world. The question of how to alleviate poverty and suffering in our world is one that has plagued the minds of people for years; the simple answer provided by many is simply to increase money, however does this increase really help alleviate poverty or does it have the potential to make the problem even worse?

An article which appeared August 21, 2007 in the International Herald Tribune entitled Managing Globalization: To reduce poverty, money isn’t everything by Daniel Altman addresses this issue by examining two South American countries Brazil and Venezuela. Incomes in both countries are rising but poverty is only actually being alleviated in Brazil despite Hugo Chavez’s socialist platform and agenda of equality for all. Incomes in Venezuela have been rising due to the high price of oil of which they have an abundant supply whereas Brazil’s economy has been rising due to “relatively firm economic policies” and “confidence in its business prospects among both locals and foreigners” (Managing Globalization by Altman). The poverty rate in Venezuela has been fluctuating since Chavez’s election from 50 percent when elected in 1999 to 60 percent in 2003 back down to 40 percent in 2005. The figures follow the level of economic growth more closely than the level of investment by Chavez’s government. Furthermore many experts (UN Human Development Index) measure poverty not just by purchasing power but by other factors such as literacy, infant mortality, and life expectancy. In these areas Venezuela’s progress stops, their infant mortality rate is below the regional average decreasing 17 percent since Chavez’s election, illiteracy is higher, as well as underweight births. The downfall of Chavez’s program to eliminate poverty is that aid is not given off the basis of need, and is not used as an incentive to better educate people but instead is a response to political loyalty. An effective way of improving the well being of the poor in other countries has been to link economic aid with useful actions such as attending school or going to the doctor. Venezuela rewards those who are loyal to Chavez.

In contrast to Venezuela, Brazil’s success has been wide spread. The country has attracted foreign investment, lowered illiteracy, and increased life expectancy. Brazil has geared its monetary benefits for families and is linked to “actions such as attendance in school, prenatal care, and childhood vaccinations”. Brazil’s incentive based aid system not only help with immediate aid to the poor but is contingent on the poor taking steps to better themselves so they will be better equipped to improve their situation.

By looking at these two countries it becomes apparent that in order for economic aid to be useful it must be geared in such a way that it promotes the betterment of the people it is meant to help. The aid must not only meet the immediate need but should be contingent upon helping the people receiving it improve them selves. Only through well thought out aid programs that encourage people to improve there own conditions can we hope to make a significant dent in the poverty crisis affecting our world.

refernces:

Altman, D. (2007, August 21). Managing Globalization: To reduce poverty, money isn’t everything. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved August 21, 2007, from http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=7191319/

John Schlismann has an interest in International affairs and how they relate to the United States. For more information on world wide poverty goto http://www.poverty.com

The Flushing Meadows Park Zoo Animal Mutilations and UFO Mystery

Flushing Meadows Park has a long and unusual history. It is located ten miles east of Manhattan on Long Island in the Borough of Queens, New York City, between the towns of Flushing and Corona. The park started out as swampy land situated along Flushing Creek. The area skirted ancient Native American trails that were later developed into Rodman Street (today it’s called College Point Boulevard), Roosevelt Avenue and other paved roadways.

Because of its location and inability to be used for much else, the swampy land became a dumping area for ashes. By the 1920’s, it was known as the Corona Ash Dumps. F. Scott Fitzgerald called the place “a valley of ashes” in The Great Gatsby, his famous 1925 novel about Long Island Society. However, the once worthless area was about to be transformed into a marvelous showplace thanks to a grand event known as the World’s Fair.

Because it was one of the few large blocks of land still available for development in the New York City area, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and city planners devised a plan to clear and fill the land for use as the site of the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair. Most of the ashes and refuse were incorporated into the bases of new highways that were being built around and through that area. These later became the Grand Central Parkway, Van Wyck Expressway, Interboro Parkway and Long Island Expressway.

After the 1939-1940 World’s Fair ended in 1940, many of the structures from the fair were leveled and the area became known as Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. A few of the buildings that remained included the New York State Pavilion that was used as the first home to the United Nations from 1946 until 1951 when that organization moved into their permanent location in Manhattan. That building still exists today and has become the Queens Museum of Art.

Flushing Meadows Park again became the home to an international exposition after it was chosen as the location for the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. After the fair closed, the area again was left with a few prominent buildings from the event including the Unisphere, the Heliport (which became a catering establishment) and the Observation Towers (featured in the Men in Black film with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones). The area also became home to Shea Stadium (used by the NY Mets Baseball Team), the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (where the U.S. Open is held), a zoo and other facilities used for swimming, aquatic and boating events.

During the 1964-1965 World’s Fair, there were several UFO sightings that made the news. Most were described as lights in the sky and were explained away as aircraft taking off or landing at nearby LaGuardia Airport. However, it should be noted that people in that area are used to seeing all kinds of aircraft and aircraft lights associated with landings and takeoffs from LaGuardia and JFK Airports. They know when they see something different in the day or night sky.

The sightings of strange lights above the old fairgrounds continued after the World’s Fair ended and in 1966, one of the most startling occurred. Hundreds of motorists driving on the Grand Central Parkway side of Flushing Meadows Park reported seeing a large luminescent blue-green object, which looked “like a glowing dirigible that came into view and then descended into the lake,” at about 7:40 in the evening. A press report from those days stated:

“A number of observers said that the object appeared to correspond to the descriptions of UFOs reported in Michigan the previous week, which Air Force experts had attributed to swamp gas discharged from lake bottoms in springtime. This explanation did not satisfy everyone in Queens. Some thought that “maybe the Martians wanted to visit the World’s Fair, and didn’t know it was over.”

More recently, a number of reports came in about white and green lights in a triangular formation seen moving back and forth over Flushing Meadows Park during July 2-5, 2008. Some of the witnesses said that the lights suddenly appeared, disappeared and reappeared again between 10pm and 3am on those dates. However, strange lights are not the only bizarre phenomena associated with UFOs that has occurred in the park.

In 1968, the Flushing Meadows Zoo opened in Flushing Meadows Park on the grounds of the 1964-1965 World’s Fair. Although small in scale, the zoo had a number of exhibits and plenty of animals including sea lions, black bears, sheep, bison, mountain lions, coyotes, bald eagles, birds and wolves. Since its opening, the Zoo has been associated with several disturbing UFO events. The first may have occurred in 1977.

After several nights of UFO sightings above the park, wolves managed to escape from the zoo on November 30, 1977. Official reports said that twelve wolves clawed their way through a chain link fence surrounding their pen and killed several other animals until they were recaptured by parks department personnel and police. However, a caretaker working there at the time said that while making his rounds he found several animals missing, not just the wolves, and others dead. The dead animals did not look like they had been killed by predators. He also said that none of the animal pens or enclosures had been unlocked, damaged or tampered with.

There have been a number of odd instances where UFO sightings are associated with the sudden appearance or disappearance of animals. Animals found to be missing from zoos turn up elsewhere without explanation. Wild animals not native to an area suddenly appear in that area also without explanation. All this tends to occur during times when UFOs are observed nearby.

The caretaker present during the 1977 event first contacted me in 1989 about another and far more disturbing occurrence at the Zoo. He and several others that worked there met me near the area of the zoo. It was being rebuilt at the time and they claimed that the reason for that was something so disturbing that I still have trouble grasping the enormity of what happened.

After seeing me on a local television news broadcast talking about a major UFO sighting and landing in nearby Kissena Park, several employees of the zoo called my UFO hotline and asked to meet with me. After a phone conversation with one of them, I met them at Flushing Meadows Park and we talked about what happened at the zoo. It began with two nights of UFO sightings in 1987. Green and white balls of light that formed into all sorts of shapes hovered directly above the zoo and caused the animals to become greatly disturbed.

Due to budget cuts and because there were police in the park all night long, caretakers and other zoo employees were no longer present at the zoo all night. The last one would leave around 11pm and show up again around 7:30am to open up the zoo for the other employees. On the morning after the two nights of UFO sightings in 1987, the caretaker and several other employees opened up the zoo and were horrified to find every animal in the zoo dead. Not just dead, but strangely mutilated.

The caretaker and other employees told me that all of the animals were still locked or secured in their pens and exhibits with no sign of forced or keyed entry. Although they were unable to photograph any of the animals, they said all of them looked as though they had been surgically autopsied or examined. Despite the deaths and apparent mutilation, little or no blood was present. Needless to say, the zoo was closed without explanation and “No Trespassing” signs were placed near the entrance and on fences surrounding it.

Parks Department personnel and police were summoned. The zoo was closed and within hours, all of the dead animal carcasses were removed. At that point, plans were made for the zoo to be leveled. Officially, the deaths never happened at that point and the press showed no interest in the matter if it was even reported to them at all. With plans already in the works to refurbish the zoo buildings, it was not that hard to arrange for the entire zoo property to be rebuilt from the ground up with new ground.

All of the old buildings and enclosures were destroyed and several inches of dirt were removed from the area of the zoo. During this time, none of the employees that spoke to me were allowed near the place. Most were assigned to other temporary duties in the park. When it officially reopened in 1988, the zoo had all already undergone a $16 million rebuilding. All new buildings, exhibits and animals were now available to the public.

The zoo employees that spoke to me said that the animal deaths and mutilations were eventually explained away as the work of vandals or ritualistic killers in an internal report. However, they point out that vandals would have made all kinds of noise trying to kill the animals, had to break into most of the pens and exhibits and would have left a significant amount of blood and other evidence behind. None of those things were present, no alarms went off and park police and other employees working in nearby areas on the night in question heard nothing.

The only reason that the caretaker and employees contacted me with their stories was because they felt that the possibility existed that the same thing could happen again and found the previous explanation for the deaths and mutilations to be ridiculous. In fact, UFOs were seen over the zoo again in 1991. At that time there were no deaths or mutilations, but the same employees told me that several animals were found to be missing from the zoo. They were not specific about which animals were missing and, by that time, were in fear of losing their jobs. Again, the zoo was closed without explanation with “No Trespassing” signs were placed near the entrance and all around the area.

During the unannounced and temporarily closure, yet another expensive zoo upgrade took place. This one not only involved some new exhibits and rebuilds, but the installation of sophisticated security devices. A dew local papers noticed the closure and asked questions, but officials merely said that funds had suddenly become available for an upgrade and that it needed to be completely before the money ran out. The zoo reopened to the public in June of 1992. No further incidents have occurred that I am aware of, but all of the employees that first contacted me in 1989 have retired. UFO sightings continue over Flushing Meadow Park.

It’s important to understand that a number of animal disappearances and mutilations associated with UFO sightings have occurred for many years throughout the world. Cows, horses and other farm animals have especially been targets of this type of activity. As with the zoo animals, little blood is found nearby when mutilation occur. Animals are found missing from locked barns and secured pens. Farmers and ranchers have reported these kinds of incidents, while law enforcement officers and veterinary practitioners have been at a loss to explain them.

A few human mutilations associated with UFO events have also been reported. Fortunately, these incidents are rare. After a B-52 crash in Laos during the Vietnam War, a Special Forces team sent in to retrieve the crew found them all dead, still strapped into their seats and strangely mutilated. No blood was present. The photos and information collected at the site were later placed in a secret report known as Blue Book Report 13. That indicates that the U.S. Government somehow associated that incident with UFOs.

There have been a number of unexplained animal deaths, disappearances and mutilations throughout Long Island over the years. These include the discovery of a Saint Bernard dog that was found in another Queens park turned inside out in the 1980s, a number of missing dogs and cats that mysteriously vanished from Suffolk County neighborhoods in the 1990s, wild game missing from a lodge where hunting was permitted in the Montauk area during the 1970s-1980s, and a few cattle mutilations in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties during the 1980s to the present.

For more including photos, visit http://www.ufoguy.com

Author: Bill Knell is a popular paranormal author, speaker and consultant.
Author’s Website: UFOguy.com
Terms To Use Article: Permission is granted to use this article for free online or in print with inclusion of the author

Sarkozy Set For a Constitutional Showdown

Hardly the sexiest headline by any stretch of the imagination. But there again when it comes to institutional reform and changes to the constitution, the subject matter is hardly guaranteed to instill much enthusiasm.

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy is fighting constitutional reform on two fronts. There is of course the debate over how to deal with the Irish “no” vote in June to the Lisbon treaty. He’ll be tackling further that issue on July 21 when he pitches up in Dublin in his role as the EU big cheese while France holds the 27-nation bloc’s six-month rotating presidency.

And this week will see his attempts to update the French constitution receive either final parliamentary approval or a political slap in the face.

The vote is too close to call with some likely splits in the governing Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) party and the opposition Socialist party promising to reject the changes.

The reforms themselves have already been passed separately by both chambers of parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate. But for constitutional changes to be made, both have to meet jointly and vote together at a special session opening in Versailles on Monday. A three-fifths majority of votes cast will be needed for the reforms to be endorsed.

At stake basically is one of Sarkozy’s electoral promises to change the way politics works here in France.

Among the proposals are moves to make the president more accountable to parliament, allowing him (or her) to appear directly before both chambers. Another clause would require the government to seek parliamentary approval for a military operation (abroad) longer than six months. The number of terms a president could serve would also be limited to two (periods of five years) and the process of allowing national votes or referenda on issues would also be possible if the requisite number of signatures were collected and had political backing.

So in a very real sense the changes could be interpreted as at the very least boosting the powers of parliament.

So what exactly are the fears of the opposition to a reform which on the whole has also received fairly widespread popular support in France - if the most recent opinion polls are to be believed?

Basically the main opposition party, the Socialists, fear that allowing the president to address parliament directly will blur the boundaries between the executive and legislative arms of government.

The separation of powers has been an essential of French politics in all its republics since 1873 and the president has been banned from appearing in person before the National Assembly or the Senate.

In trying to reach a compromise, Sarkozy has suggested an annual state address to parliament along the lines of the US president’s state of the nation speech. But even that has met with only lukewarm enthusiasm.

In the past couple of weeks Sarkozy has also made more concessions - proposing for example that opposition parties have equal (television) airtime to address issues raised by the president whenever he appears on the small screen over the course of a year.

But the Socialist party in particular has held firm in maintaining that it will present a united front in Versailles and vote “no”.

While it might be hard to figure out exactly why the Socialist party isn’t supporting the reform - apart perhaps from refusing to accept a centre-right inspired proposal - it must appear even more difficult to understand why some members of the governing UMP party might break ranks.

There again as the reforms have passed through parliament to the final vote, a number of compromises have been struck which leaves the reform package, as far as some of them are concerned, almost a shadow of what was first put forward.

To get the majority needed, the government is counting on - and indeed will need - some defections from the Left, and one such vote could come in the shape of a high profile former Socialist minister, Jack Lang, who has apparently still not made up his mind how he will vote.

Lang calls the changes modest and far from the wide-ranging proposals envisaged by a parliamentary committee of which he is a member, to look at the overall reform of France’s institutions.

Even though the Socialists are calling for a united front in voting “no” in Versailles, which would certainly stop the changes to the constitution being made, there are also some waverers, and they could just tip the balance.

Critics of the Socialist party’s stance have claimed that their opposition to the reforms is based more on principle than conviction and a simple look at the latest opinion polls would tell them that a healthy majority of French voters are in favour of the reforms.

In a weekend survey, almost 70 per cent of those asked said they supported the changes.

Johnny Summerton is a Paris-based broadcaster, writer and journalist specialising in politics, sport and travel. For more on what’s making the headlines here in France, log on to his site at http://www.persiflagefrance.com

How to Beat the World Wide Recession

The recession is really taking its toll in the US and over here in the UK, every day more and more people are getting further and further in debt. The US and the UK housing markets are spiraling ever downward with house prices dropping on a daily level. The numbers of repossessions are increasing daily with more and more people getting behind with their mortgage payments. The cost of fuel and food has gone up in leaps and bounds making the poorer and the elderly more vulnerable. During the last weeks we have seen the unthinkable with national banking institutions in serious trouble laying staff off and downsizing, also major job losses and downsizing in some of the largest building companies in the UK and the US.

However all is not doom and gloom there are still great opportunities out there which are enabling people to earn huge amounts of money and they are unaffected and untouched by the recession and all the downsizing. In fact there is a boom time of huge growth right on almost every person’s door step, and it is available and open to almost anyone who cares to look at it. The problem is that most people do not even realize that it exists, and that it requires no previous knowledge to get started and that they could earn more money in a couple of months than most people earn in a whole year!

Incomes of around $60,000 per month and more are not uncommon, yes per month not per year. Many of these people are just like me and are not always from well off or well educated backgrounds. The age of people involved in these types of businesses go from teenagers to retired senior citizens

So how can it be that people from less well off backgrounds can earn more money than top executives working for major companies. And these same people are doing this by working only a few hours each week. Well it’s just that they have been shown how to copy a ready made system that really does work, it’s that simple.

This is the boom time for people working from home, with more and more people grasping the opportunity to be independent and free from the ties of a job. The ones in the know are achieving a better life style than over 97% of the population could ever expect to see in a lifetime of working in a job. This is because the financial compensation allows them to work fewer hours, and for more money than has ever been possible before when working in a job and being paid by the hour.

You will still see the old school out there whining and complaining about everything and why life is so unfair, but you can bet your bottom dollar that they will be the first to condemn anyone who tries to make a better life for their selves. You all know who I mean, it’s the ones who condemn you and try to batter you into submission by saying things like “that will never work” and “get a real job”. Guess what, these are the first people to say things like “how come he or she is doing so well it must be illegal or some sort of scam & It won’t last mark my words.”

If you are one of the small 3% who really do want to make a difference to your life, do not let these people take the opportunity away from you. They say a good opportunity only comes around once in a lifetime and the timing has to be right for you as well. So if you feel you have had enough of scraping the barrel and not getting your fair share of happiness and freedom, then perhaps it’s your time to have a look at a new way of living your life and making money. Sometimes you just have to take the bull by the horns and say “I am going for it now because tomorrow may never come.”

We know this may not be for everyone, however it will cost you nothing to take a look, and it could change your life for the better and forever.

We wish you well whatever you do.

Robert and Karen Waugh

Karen & I are two ordinary people from good hard working families living in England, UK. We have found a way to help ourselves and others achieve financial freedom from home. We hope you enjoy the Free tour & bonus we have to offer you. Best wishes Rob & Karen. http://www.incomepool.com

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