A test case relating to employment law is working its way through the system in Germany. The case - the Mangold case - concerns a finding against Germany by the ECJ over age discrimination. Should the German court decide the ECJ went too far and reverse the Mangold decision, IT COULD CHANGE THE BALANCE OF POWER BETWEEN THE EU AND MEMBER STATES.

"I'm not sure the implications of this have so far sunk in in Brussels. The German judges are due to pronounce by the end of the year."

The Sun and the Express look at the loss of powers from Britain to the EU as a result of ratification of the Treaty, with the Express quoting Open Europe's Lorraine Mullally saying, "UNELECTED EU JUDGES WILL SEE THEIR POWERS BOLSTERED and more and more decisions affecting our everyday lives will be TAKEN BY BUREAUCRATS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS IN BRUSSELS."

In a speech in Brussels yesterday, Vice-President of the German Constitutional Court Andreas Vosskuhle said that "the European Court of Justice can be considered to be the motor of European integration".

The two-day summit will be held at the Vatican and will include other Catholic politicians from all over the world, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, US vice president Joe Biden, former Spanish PM Jose Maria Aznar, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Church officials have been quietly working on the conference, which will be called 'Witnesses of Christ in the Political Community', for several months.

The former Prime Minister famously converted to Catholicism after he left Downing Street in 2007. He has met current Pope Benedict XVI and he has also set up The Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Two months ago he told the Communion and Liberation Committee in Rimini, Italy, that switching to Catholicism was like 'coming home' and is now 'where my heart is.'

Vatican sources said the timing of the meeting would be pushed forward to early next year given the decision earlier this week by the European Court of Human Rights that Italy should remove crucifixes from classrooms. A senior Vatican official said: 'There is growing alarm within the Vatican and especially the Pope that not enough prominence is being given to basic Christian and family values by governments.'

'This has been further increased by this week's ruling by THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS on the display of crucifixes in Italian classrooms - it is outrageous that such an institution could interfere in the cultural heritage of Italy in such a way.' The landmark decision caused outrage amongst Italian politicians and was also slammed by the Vatican who described it as 'wrong, short sighted and regretful.'

But it turns out that the book money is small potatoes compared to what Gore could earn from his various eco-friendly investments. As a partner at Silicon Valley venture capital heavyweight Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, Gore is poised to reap hundreds of millions from investments in the companies that will benefit from the government's increased emphasis on green technology. According to The New York Times's John Broder, Gore could become the world's first "carbon billionaire."

Gore has been one of the most outspoken critics of global warming and a powerful advocate of carbon-reducing measures. As such, he has become a hero of the left - a man revered for warning Americans to curb their carbon footprint and reduce their impact on the Earth.

"The bottom line is that business and markets cannot operate in isolation from society and the environment - we need 'sustainable capitalism,'" Gore said. AND GORE HAS BEEN PRACTICING A PARTICULARLY PROFITABLE FORM OF CAPITALISM OF LATE.

The Chancellor confirmed that the Government would pump an extra £25.5 billion into Royal Bank of Scotland, and declared that it was the only way to keep the business alive.

Taxpayers have poured a total of £53.5 billion into RBS, including the £20 billion part-nationalisation last year and another £8 billion that was set aside as insurance against further trouble in the future. In total, the Government has put £74 billion of taxpayers' money into the banks, including RBS, Lloyds and HBOS, since the start of the financial crisis last year.

It is likely that the new bail-out will have to be funded by government borrowing, which could only be repaid through swingeing cuts to public services or substantial tax rises over the coming years. However, despite consumers picking up the bill for yet more billions for the banks, experts said that the money would still not be enough to get them to increase lending to struggling home owners and businesses.

The bail-out of RBS, which was driven to the brink of collapse in 2008 after a series of reckless investments, now ranks as the biggest in the world. It means the Government owns 84 per cent of what was, at the peak of the finance bubble, the largest bank in the world.

In total, the British Government's exposure to RBS now stands at more than £250 billion, because in addition to supplying funds to keep it afloat, the Government has also underwritten many of its so-called toxic assets.

Mr Gorbachev is credited in the West for ignoring hardliners who advised him to guarantee the Soviet Union's future by crushing a growing wave of dissent in Eastern Bloc countries which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. When asked by a reporter why he did not use force to halt the demonstrations, HE SAID IT WOULD HAVE SPARKED A CATASTROPHIC SET OF EVENTS AND EVEN A WORLD WAR.

"If the Soviet Union had wished, there would have been nothing of the sort (the fall of the Wall) and no German unification. But what would have happened? A catastrophe or World War Three," said Mr Gorbachev, 78.

"My policy was open and sincere, a policy aimed at using democracy and not spilling blood. But this cost me very dear, I can tell you that," he said. Most Russians revile Mr Gorbachev for his weakness in allowing the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of Moscow's global empire. The fall of the Berlin Wall – a symbol of the Cold War divide of Europe – was one of the nails in the coffin of the Soviet Union, which collapsed at the end of 1991.

The treaty's supporters say it will allow the EU to operate more efficiently and give it greater influence in world affairs. But critics say it will cede too much more of Britain's sovereignty to Brussels. Vaclav Klaus, the President of the Czech Republic, yesterday signed the Lisbon Treaty, ending eight years of resistance to its attempt to give more power to the EU.

The Czechs are the last of the 27 EU states to sign the treaty, and their move forced the Conservatives to abandon their pledge to hold a British referendum on Lisbon. William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said it was "a bad day for British democracy". David Cameron, the Conservative leader, will today set out plans for an alternative Tory pledge to renegotiate several parts of Britain's EU membership, trying to win back control over social and employment laws.

Gordon Brown hailed the Czech signature as "a historic step," and European leaders said it will create a more powerful EU. Despite the scale of the changes the treaty makes, THE BRITISH PEOPLE HAVE NEVER BEEN DIRECTLY CONSULTED ON THE DOCUMENT, which was ratified in a Commons vote and signed by Mr Brown in 2007.

Equally important, Wright is being introduced in the video by Robert W. McChesney, co-founder of Free Press, an organization which has come under scrutiny for its links to the Obama Administration and dedication to the transformation and control of the private media in the US In an article in the socialist Monthly Review, "Journalism, Democracy, and Class Struggle," McChesney declared, "Our job is to make media reform part of our broader struggle for democracy, social justice, AND, DARE WE SAY IT, SOCIALISM."

McChesney co-authored another piece for Monthly Review, "A New New Deal Under Obama?," in which he said, "In the end, THERE IS NO REAL ANSWER BUT TO REMOVE BRICK BY BRICK THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM ITSELF, REBUILDING THE ENTIRE SOCIETY ON SOCIALIST PRINCIPLES."

Last Friday night, I gave an address to the Christian Embassy banquet in northern Virginia. The title of my talk was, "Train Wreck: The Coming Collision of US-Israeli Relations." With deep concern and regret, I noted that just as the Iranian nuclear threat is worsening, WE ARE CURRENTLY WITNESSING THE WORST STRAINS IN US-ISRAEL RELATIONS IN MEMORY.

* Before January, polls showed 88% of Israelis believed President Bush was pro-Israel.

* In May, a Jerusalem Post poll found that only 31% of Israelis believed President Obama was pro-Israel.

* By August, a Jerusalem Post poll found only 4% of Israelis believed President Obama was pro-Israel.

Israel's plummeting confidence that the White House truly understands their security needs and will stand with them as a faithful ally is the result of numerous actions and statements by the President and his senior advisors.

On April 14th of this year, I said on the Glenn Beck show that I believed WE WERE WITNESSING A COMING "TRAIN WRECK" IN US-ISRAELI RELATIONS over the Iran and Palestinian issues. The situation has only worsened since then.

China says it manages the yuan's exchange rate against a basket of currencies, but if there is a basket, THE DOLLAR IS FAR AND AWAY THE HEAVIEST COMPONENT. Since removing the yuan from a formal decade-old dollar peg in July 2005, Beijing has insisted that it is perfecting the exchange rate's "formation mechanism," but the renewed rigidity over the past year has fueled growing anger abroad. US critics, especially business lobbying groups, complain that China has stopped the yuan from appreciating despite the Asian export giant's growing clout in the global economy.

China says that a stable exchange is an important help for its beleaguered exporters and that it also promotes stability in the global economy. The Obama administration feels that Beijing's policy thwarts normal market adjustments that would push up the value of the currency of a rapidly ascending economy like China's, thereby making its products more expensive for foreigners. As a result, CHINA IS AMASSING HUGE TRADE SURPLUSES as well as swelling foreign exchange reserves as money pours in from sales of its products around the world.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF CHINA LET ITS CURRENCY APPRECIATE? Theoretically, the cost of Chinese-made products would rise for consumers around the world. If prices rise sufficiently, other countries' goods might be substituted for those China now makes. Some in the United States hope that domestic firms that now say they cannot compete might decide that they can boost their share of export markets, in turn cranking up production and hiring. If Chinese consumers were empowered with a stronger currency, they might become more aggressive importers, perhaps even swinging China's trade surplus to deficit.

CHINA HAS AMASSED $2.27 TRILLION OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES, the world's largest stockpile. The vast majority (analysts think about two-thirds) is invested in dollar-denominated assets. China is the single biggest holder of US Treasuries, owning at least $776.4 billion of US government debt at the end of June. US commentators fret that gives Beijing an effective tool to fend off US demands for yuan reform by THREATENING TO STOP BUYING MORE DEBT AND POSSIBLY SELLING WHAT IT HOLDS.

China has never actually uttered such threats, though it has for years said it is working to diversify its foreign currency holdings. Beijing, for its part, has expressed worries about Washington's massive and growing fiscal debt, as any resulting dollar weakness erodes the value of its American investments.

Look, here are a few of the things that we know. We know that BARACK OBAMA WAS MENTORED BY A COMMUNIST, FRANK MARSHALL DAVIS. We know that in his own words that HE PREFERRED THE COMPANY OF A MARXIST PROFESSOR in college and Marxist professors in college. We know that he thinks when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everyone. We know that that is one of the main tenets of Marxism. We know that HE HIRED VAN JONES, A REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNIST RADICAL. We know that HE HIRED RON BLOOM, A MANUFACTURING CZAR that kind of agrees with Mao and believes that the free market system is nonsense. We know that HE HIRED ANITA DUNN and that Chairman Mao is one of the two people she turns to most.

We know HE HIRED MARK LLOYD, someone who believes our freedom of speech rights are exaggerated, quote/unquote, and that Hugo Chavez, the revolution of Venezuela was, quote, really incredible, end quote! We know that HE APPOINTED CAROL BROWNER TO THE CABINET, a member of the International Socialist Organization. We know that HE HIRED JOHN HOLDREN who believes in redistribution of America's wealth and we know that this administration is eager TO SIGN A CLIMATE CHANGE TREATY IN COPENHAGEN WITH THE UN THAT WILL REDISTRIBUTE OUR WEALTH TO THIRD WORLD NATIONS.

For two years people looked at the Jeremiah Wright story: "Oh, he's just a crazy preacher." No, he is a Marxist, now an admitted Marxist, now with the audio from a month ago EXTOLLING THE VIRTUES OF A SOCIALIST REVOLUTIONARY MAGAZINE WHO HAS TIES TO THE ADMINISTRATION. I bring this up because I don't expect a single person to change their mind on Jeremiah Wright and think now, oh, he matters. It is jaw droppingly shocking to me every day that THERE ARE THOSE AMONG US THAT JUST CANNOT SEE… THEY CAN'T SEE THE PERFECT STORM THAT IS ABOUT TO UNLEASH ITS FURY ON US. It is time to build an ark because the rain is coming.

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It is high time that Europe declare a new, "POST-AMERICAN" age and do away with old myths about the trans-Atlantic relationship. Myths like the idea that the continent's security is dependent on American protection, is one example they cite. Or the one about American and European interests being the same at heart. Or the myth about European unity being damaging to the trans-Atlantic relationship because, as the authors put it, "ganging up on the US would be improper - indeed counterproductive - given the 'special relationship' that most European states believe they enjoy with Washington."

When Obama merely gave Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown a boxed set of DVDs after his visit to the US, the British press was quick to see it as A SIGN OF THE END OF THE UNITED KINGDOM'S "SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP" WITH WASHINGTON. The French were equally distraught when, during a visit there, Obama preferred to dine with his family in Paris than with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife. And the Germans are fretting because, although Obama came to Berlin as a presidential candidate, he still hasn't made an official state visit as president. The White House has no time for this sort of sentimentality and fuss.

Instead of this favor-mongering, the EUROPEANS SHOULD SET CLEAR GOALS FOR FOREIGN POLICY AMONGST THEMSELVES and communicate these to the Americans consensually, and with the same cool headedness that already exists among those working in trade and economics. Going into combat single handedly or clinging to sentimental memories of past partnerships won't get anyone anywhere.

Mr Cameron said that once the document is endorsed by all 27 EU members and comes into force, it will "NOT BE A TREATY" AND WILL INSTEAD BE PART OF EUROPEAN LAW. The last obstacle to the ratification of the treaty is likely to be removed today when the constitutional court in the Czech Republic rules that the treaty is compatible with the country's laws. Once the Czech court approves the Treaty, all that remains is for Vaclav Klaus, the Czech President, to sign it. Mr Klaus has repeatedly tried to block the treaty, but has now said he is prepared to sign it.

Speaking at a press conference in London today, Mr Cameron gave his signal that the Czech ratification of the treaty would change his policy. Senior Tories say that instead of a referendum on Lisbon, the Tories will now seek to renegotiate several of the changes it implements. A Tory source said: "It is clear that a post-ratification referendum is simply not possible. WE WILL LOOK AT THE PARTS OF THE TREATY THAT ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE AND SEEK TO RENEGOTIATE THEM."

Barry Legg, of the sceptic Bruges Group, said: "David Cameron needs to come clean with the British people: why is he breaking his pledge to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty? How can David Cameron claim he'll fight to repatriate powers from Brussels when he won't even fight to implement his own past words?"

Officials said cuts in water service were to be staggered throughout Caracas through the duration of the current dry season, which is not expected to end until May 2010.

Weather forecasters blame the "El Nino" weather phenomenon, saying the periodic weather system has markedly reduced rainfall and created drought conditions. Others blame the shortage on poor government management of the country's water resources, while President Hugo Chavez faulted the excesses of capitalism.

The government recently created A MINISTRY OF ELECTRICITY TO HELP CONSERVE THE USE OF POWER, WHICH ALSO IS IN SHORT SUPPLY. Officials also urged the public to employ better conservation practices, like shorter showers and the use of less water when brushing teeth.

The estimate comes from an analysis of 30 years of national data, and it bolsters other recent evidence on the pervasiveness of youngsters at economic risk. It suggests that almost everyone knows a family who has received food stamps, or will in the future, said lead author Mark Rank, a sociologist at Washington University in St Louis. "Your neighbor may be using some of these programs but it's not the kind of thing people want to talk about," Rank said.

The analysis was released Monday in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The authors say it's a medical issue pediatricians need to be aware of because children on food stamps are at risk for malnutrition and other ills linked with poverty. "This is a real danger sign that we as a society need to do a lot more to protect children," Rank said.

Food stamps are a Department of Agriculture program for low-income individuals and families, covering most foods although not prepared hot foods or alcohol. For a family of four to be eligible, their annual take-home pay can't exceed about $22,000. According to a USDA report released last month, 28.4 million Americans received food stamps in an average month in 2008, and about half were younger than age 18. The average monthly benefit per household totaled $222.