Is it a matter of wanting the cake and eating it too? If you haven't lived/worked in any particular country, you should not be entitled to any social benefits. This is not a matter of Germany being a fortress; this is a matter of Germany defending its sovereignty. Just picture poor people from all over Europe flooding Germany. Brussels is a bureaucratic dictatorship - more like a straight jacket.

It is always interesting to note the use of the pejorative word ‘populist’ when tempers flare. The writer, and the publication that prints his article, both have strong and similar views on the matter under discussion. They use the loaded term ‘populist’ so that the merits of the view they oppose may be rubbished without too much effort. It may be helpful to remind “Spiegel Staff” that what they scornfully call populism is also known as democracy. This is a form of government that enables general opinion to be taken into account. It is invariably praised by those who seek the vote of the population at large at events known as elections. I believe it is also associated with the concept of accountability.

With the EU accession of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, travel visa restrictions were lifted.

• Citizens of the two countries were still required to obtain work permits to gain employment in Germany. In order to obtain the permit, a Romanian or Bulgarian national had to have a concrete job offer and the ability to prove that no domestic workers could do the same job.
• Romanian and Bulgarian companies were free to offer their services in Germany, meaning they could send workers to the country to fullfil contract work. Exceptions included the construction and industrial cleaning industries.
• Limits were also removed for the self-employed. The outcome of this is that Romanians and Bulgarians often work in excluded sectors like construction or industrial cleaning as freelancers in situations in which German law actually requires that such workers become full-fledged employees. They often earn low wages and in some cases apply for supplementary welfare benefits from the government to help make ends meet. Others work under the table and do not register with the authorities.
• In some economic sectors, the requirement of a work permit was lifted for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals in 2012. Starting that year, college graduates, trainees and seasonal workers in industries like catering and restaurants no longer had to obtain work permits for employment in Germany.

In 2014, all citizens of Bulgaria and Romania were granted full access to Germany's labor market. This means that nationals of these countries can be employed in any industry in Germany. In many cases, however, companies continue to try to hire citizens of these EU countries as pseudo self-employed workers because it is cheaper than bringing them on as staff.

More senior foreign experts will be invited to Beijing this year, and the validity of their residence permits can be extended to five years from the current term of one, according to the municipal human resources and social security authority.

For these invited foreign specialists, Beijing aims to provide more convenience for their work and daily lives, said Chen Bei, deputy head of the capital's human resources and social security bureau, at a news conference on Friday of the Beijing People's Congress.

Those invited under the Recruitment Program of Foreign Experts also will receive more research funding and a bigger settlement allowance, she said.

As for foreign experts who have worked in the city for a long period of time, the bureau will consider giving them more subsidies, including medical insurance and educational assistance for their children, she said.

"Beijing's fast development of high-end industries, such as new energy and biological medicine, needs more international talent, and we must provide more benefits to attract it," she said.

Another change: The number of invited foreign professionals will have no limit, although the total will depend on demand and the experts' qualifications.

Beijing's Exit and Entry Administration confirmed the new policies, saying it will provide services for foreign talent and extend their residential permits in line with the bureau's requirements.

"Foreigners with talent visas can only stay one year in the city at present, which means they have to update their residence permits as the certificates expire annually," said Yang Liu, an officer with the administration.

She added: "We'll relax or prolong a foreigner's residence time only when we receive notice from the bureau. How long it can be extended will depend on the bureau's documentation."

Ada Jen, government affairs director at the International School of Beijing, spoke highly of the new "green channel", saying several parents of her students are certain to benefit from the policy.

"Some parents who are engaged in life sciences and work for colleges or institutions in the city have had problems dealing with the residence permit every year. But after the policy takes effect, they will be free from worry," she said.

China launched the Recruitment Program of Foreign Experts in 2008, aiming to lure about 2,000 high-profile scholars, entrepreneurs and financial workers.

The program looks for non-ethnic Chinese experts who are under 65 years old, have a doctorate granted by overseas educational institutions, and are able to work in China for three consecutive years with at least nine months out of each year spent working.

The European Union's official seal for organic foods features a red strawberry glistening in the sunlight, with a farm in the background. Anyone who buys yoghurt containing the label expects to getting a pot full of natural goodness.

But appearances can be deceptive. An organic strawberry yoghurt doesn't necessarily contain any fruit at all. A gap in the EU rules on organic food allows producers to use artificial aromas.

Many consumers have long had their doubts about how genuine supposedly organic products are. Now the European Commission has delivered proof. "In the long run, standards that are not trustworthy can jeopardize public confidence and lead to market failure," says the draft of a new EU directive seen by SPIEGEL.

EU Farming Commissioner Dacian Ciolos wants to introduce stricter rules for the production and sale of foods bearing an official organic label. He wants to remove the many exceptions that lead to an organic product not consisting 100 percent of organic ingredients. "Organic production rules are watered down by exceptions and unclear provisions" the EU officials wrote in a paper.

Rod McQueen the then editor of "Soldier of Fortune" as far back as 1978. Claimed Israel's Nuclear Arsenal was a threat to life on earth for a number of reasons.

They were all in one location - Mat Zachariah - 20 kms south of Jerusalem.

There were 800 of them.

I've checked my own sources. Mat Zachariah stands-up as the location. Which does surprise me. Given how close it is to the West Bank.

800 warheads - total production over 40 years. This may have been the originally programed number. 80 warheads active? I'll take that with a large pinch of salt.

Israel has to come clean for a number of reasons.

They have since the 82 invasion of Lebanon got themselves steadily off-line with the EU.

The USA is reducing its own nuclear arsenal. The USA subsidises Israel. Sooner or later that subsidy is going to be cut. Reporting from Washington — As U.S. and Israeli officials talk publicly about the prospect of a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, one fact is often overlooked: U.S. intelligence agencies don't believe Iran is actively trying to build an atomic bomb. A highly classified U.S. intelligence assessment circulated to policymakers early last year largely affirms that view, originally made in 2007. Both reports, known as national intelligence estimates, conclude that Tehran halted efforts to develop and build a nuclear warhead in 2003.The most recent report, which represents the consensus of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, indicates that Iran is pursuing research that could put it in a position to build a weapon, but that it has not sought to do so.Although Iran continues to enrich uranium at low levels, U.S. officials say they have not seen evidence that has caused them to significantly revise that judgment. Senior U.S. officials say Israel does not dispute the basic intelligence or analysis. Here is your evidence that makes a mockery of your stance of defending a state with a secret WMD program.

israel should sign the NNPT and allow in inspectors or quit its paranoid warmongering posture towards iran.
i.e. israel should look in the mirror and practice some self reflection, and see the true source of this collective projection.

The large and growing income gap between rich and poor is the biggest risk to the global community in the next decade, the World Economic Forum said on as politicians, business leaders and academics prepared to gather in Davos.

Reflecting mounting concern about the risk to societies from inequality, the WEF said the need to tackle disparities in income and wealth had to be addressed at WEF's annual gathering in the Swiss ski resort of Davos next week.

The WEF said its annual survey of 700 opinion formers had identified the income gap, extreme weather events and unemployment or underemployment as the three threats most likely to cause major cross-border damage in the next 10 years.

It added that a fresh fiscal crisis, climate change and water shortages were the three risks that would have the biggest impact on the global community but these were seen as less likely.

Jennifer Blanke, the WEF's chief economist, said that while incomes gap between countries had been closing, the gulf between rich and poor had been widening within countries. "The message from the Arab spring, and from countries such as Brazil and South Africa is that people are not going to stand for it any more."

The Davos meeting has often been targeted by anti-globalisation campaigners as an exclusive club for a small, powerful elite but Adrian Monck, the WEF's head of communications, said inequality and the wealth gap was on the agenda. "We need to mobilise people around these issues and make people aware of them", he said.

The report also highlighted the problems of "generation lost" and said that the world's increasing reliance on the internet had resulted in a threat of "cybergeddon".

The study, Global Risks 2014, said the generation coming of age in the 2010s faced high unemployment and job insecurity, hindering their efforts to build a future and raising the risk of social unrest.

Noting that many young people faced an uphill battle, David Cole, group chief risk officer of Swiss Re, one of the companies responsible for putting together the report, said: "The members of generation lost are not lost because they have tuned out. They are highly tuned in. They are lost because they are being left out or they are deciding to leave."

He added: "As a result of the financial crisis and globalisation, the younger generation in the mature markets struggle with ever fewer job opportunities and the need to support an ageing population. While in the emerging markets there are more jobs to be had, the workforce does not yet possess the broad-based skill sets necessary to satisfy demand."

The WEF said the massive expansion of the internet made the risk of systemic failure greater than ever, but recent revelations about government surveillance had reduced the global community's willingness to work together to address potential weaknesses. It added that the effect could be a "Balkanisation" of the internet, or so-called cybergeddon, where hackers enjoy overwhelming superiority and massive disruption is commonplace.

Axel Lehman, chief risk officer at Zurich Insurance Group said: "Trust in the internet was decreasing as a result of data misuse, hacking and privacy intrusion. A fragmentation of the internet is the wrong way to solve this issue, as it would destroy the benefits the web provides to all of us. Rather than building walled gardens, it is time to act by setting up security standards and regaining trust."(source guardian.uk)

Deep beneath desert sands, an embattled Middle Eastern state has built a covert nuclear bomb, using technology and materials provided by friendly powers or stolen by a clandestine network of agents. It is the stuff of pulp thrillers and the sort of narrative often used to characterise the worst fears about the Iranian nuclear programme. In reality, though, neither US nor British intelligence believe Tehran has decided to build a bomb, and Iran's atomic projects are under constant international monitoring.

The exotic tale of the bomb hidden in the desert is a true story, though. It's just one that applies to another country. In an extraordinary feat of subterfuge, Israel managed to assemble an entire underground nuclear arsenal – now estimated at 80 warheads, on a par with India and Pakistan – and even tested a bomb nearly half a century ago, with a minimum of international outcry or even much public awareness of what it was doing.

Despite the fact that the Israel's nuclear programme has been an open secret since a disgruntled technician, Mordechai Vanunu, blew the whistle on it in 1986, the official Israeli position is still never to confirm or deny its existence.

When the former speaker of the Knesset, Avraham Burg, broke the taboo last month, declaring Israeli possession of both nuclear and chemical weapons and describing the official non-disclosure policy as "outdated and childish" a rightwing group formally called for a police investigation for treason.

Meanwhile, western governments have played along with the policy of "opacity" by avoiding all mention of the issue. In 2009, when a veteran Washington reporter, Helen Thomas, asked Barack Obama in the first month of his presidency if he knew of any country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons, he dodged the trapdoor by saying only that he did not wish to "speculate".

Shares in European banks rose, edging towards three year highs – after international banking regulators reached agreement on new steps to bolster the industry's financial strength.

Barclays was up nearly 3%, and bailed out banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group up 3% and 1% respectively after the announcement by a gathering of central banks in Basel, Switzerland. Deutsche Bank was up more than 4% and UBS, the Swiss bank, gained 3.2%.

The key announcement in the complex agreement was about the leverage ratio – which attempts to restrict the amount of borrowing by banks – and which has become a new focus since the 2008 banking crisis. As expected the ratio was set at 3% – which allows banks to lend 33 times the amount of their capital – but some changes were made to the way the banks can calculate their assets.

Complying with this rule was one of the reasons Barclays was forced to raise £6bn of new capital last year. Ian Gordon, banks analyst at Investec, said: "The devil is in the detail, but in particular it offers potential relief around counterparty netting and off-balance sheet items. While positive for certain European banks, the benefit for UK banks is less clear given UK 'super-equivalents' (stricter interpretation of the rules)."

The agreement clears the way for the Bank of England to consider the terms of a review of the leverage ratio demanded by Chancellor George Osborne last year.