O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain'd

 With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit

Beneath my shady roof; there thou may'st rest,

 And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,

 And all the daughters of the year shall dance!

Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

 "The narrow bud opens her beauties to

The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;

 Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning,

 and Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,

 Till clust'ring Summer breaks forth into singing,

And feather'd clouds strew flowers round her head.

 "The spirits of the air live in the smells

 Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round

The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.

" Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,

 Then rose, girded himself, and o'er the bleak

Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.

WILLIAM BLAKE

Russia and China Activate Ten Combat Divisions to Counter United States as Caspian Oil War hots up

Russian Intelligence Analysts are reporting today that both President Putin (Russia) and President Hu (China) have ordered the immediate activation of 10 Combat Ready Divisions to counter the increasingly aggressive moves being made by the United States in the Caspian Oil Regions of Central Asia.  Special Forces Army Units of both Russian Spetsnaz and Chinese Immediate Action Units were also ordered to be immediately deployed to both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to surround the large American Military bases in those regions, and that the governments of both of these countries have ordered the Americans to leave. The government of Uzbekistan had called first for these actions, and as we can read as reported by the Indian National Newspaper Hindu News Service in their article titled "Uzbekistan steps up pressure on U.S. to close base" and which says, "Uzbekistan is stepping up pressure on the United States to withdraw its air base set up in the Central Asian country for operations in neighbouring Afghanistan. Uzbekistan also said that the United States had not paid takeoff and landing fees, as well as compensation for security services, new infrastructure, ecological damage and inconvenience to the local population. The statement was issued two days after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation called for the United States and its coalition allies in Afghanistan to set a date for withdrawing their military bases from Central Asia. Last month Uzbekistan introduced severe restrictions on American flights from the Khanabad base forcing the U.S. command to redeploy some aircraft to Afghanistan. Kyrgyzstan has joined Uzbekistan in calling on Washington to shut down its air base near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek."

The government of Kyrgyzstan has also called for the Americans to leave their country, and as we can read as reported by the RIA Novosti News Service in their article titled "Kyrgyz ambassador: U.S. base must go, Russia's should stay" and which says, "The United States' military base near the Manas Airport, in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, must go and Russia's, at Kant, should stay, the Kyrgyz Ambassador to Russia said Monday at a press conference here. Apas Jumagulov recalled the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit explaining the need for the Manas base's withdrawal by the fact that the situation in the neighboring Afghanistan was returning to normal." The actions of the United States Military Leaders though to these demands to leave have been met instead with their increasing their combat capabilities in both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and in total disregard to both Russian and Chinese warnings issued to them, and of which can read as reported by the USA Today News Service in their article titled "China, Russia-led alliance wants date for U.S pullout" and which says; "A regional alliance led by China and Russia called Tuesday for the U.S. and its coalition allies in Afghanistan to set a date for withdrawing from several states in Central Asia, reflecting growing unease at America's military presence in the region. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which groups Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, urged a deadline be set for withdrawal of the foreign forces from its member states in light of what it said was a decline in active fighting in Afghanistan. The alliance's move appeared to be an attempt to push the United States out of a region that Moscow regards as historically part of its sphere of influence and in which China seeks a dominant role because of its extensive energy resources."

Angering President Putin also has been the United States pressuring the European Union to attempt to take away Russia’s vast oil resources, and as we can read as reported by the Moscow Times News Service in their article titled "Putin’s Aide Warns of Finno-Ugric Conspiracy to Seize Russia’s Oil Assets" and which says, "The deputy head of Russia’s presidential administration, Vladislav Surkov, has said that foreigners are accusing Russia of oppressing provinces that are home to Finno-Ugric nations and “strategic resources” of oil..Speaking at a meeting with Russian businessmen, Vladislav Surkov said, “Today, Finland, Estonia and the European Union have become markedly more intense on the topic of Finno-Ugric nations. It turns out that we oppress them somehow. They allegedly have no rights in our country. Regions where those nations are dominant have strategic resources of our oil. I am not a follower of a conspiracy theory. But this is evidently a planned action.” Moscow Officials further report that upon hearing of these latest moves by the United States against Russia President Putin remarked, “Then let’s see how well they are prepared when the UN orders them (the Americans) to return California to Mexico.”

To the Western peoples it still appears that they believe this American War upon the World is based on ‘terrorism’, but to the rest of the World it has long been known what the Military Leaders of the United States were planning, and even to as far back as 1998 were the warnings of these wars being reported, and as exampled by one such warning issued by the World Socialist Web Site News Service in their article titled "New Caspian oil interests fuel US war drive against Iraq" and which had said; "Powerful geo-political interests are fueling the American war drive. In many respects US policy in the Persian Gulf is driven today by the same considerations that led it to invade Iraq nearly eight years ago. As a "senior American official"--most likely Secretary of State James Baker--told the New York Times within days of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in August of 1990: "We are talking about oil. Got it? Oil, vital American interests."

This struggle recalls the protracted conflict between Britain and Russia at the end of the nineteenth century for hegemony in the Middle East and Central Asia that became known as the Great Game. Germany made its own thrust into the region with its decision to build the Berlin to Baghdad railroad. The resulting tensions played a major role in the growth of European militarism that erupted in World War I. This time American imperialism is the major protagonist. Over the past several years, the battle for dominance in the region has come to center on one question: where to build a pipeline to move oil from the Azeri capital of Baku to the West. "The Caspian region has emerged as the world's newest stage for big power politics. It not only offers oil companies the prospect of great wealth, but provides a stage for high-stakes competition among world powers.... Much depends on the outcome, because these pipelines will not simply carry oil but will also define new corridors of trade and power. The nation or alliance that controls pipeline routes could hold sway over the Caspian region for decades to come."

What is perhaps most insane about these Western peoples reactions to these true things is their not caring to know that both Russia and China are not going to lose Central Asia, or the Middle East, by anything other than Military defeat.  The suddenness of this Wars escalation will surprise these Westerners, even as their Military Forces had been the ones who started it, and as we can read as reported by the Washington Post News Service in their article titled "The Undeclared Oil War" and which says; "Asia's undeclared oil war is but the latest reminder that in a global economy dependent largely on a single fuel -- oil -- "energy security" means far more than hardening refineries and pipelines against terrorist attack. At its most basic level, energy security is the ability to keep the global machine humming -- that is, to produce enough fuels and electricity at affordable prices that every nation can keep its economy running, its people fed and its borders defended. A failure of energy security means that the momentum of industrialization and modernity grinds to a halt. And by that measure, we are failing.

In the United States and Europe, new demand for electricity is outpacing the new supply of power and natural gas and raising the specter of more rolling blackouts. In the "emerging" economies, such as Brazil, India and especially China, energy demand is rising so fast it may double by 2020. And this only hints at the energy crisis facing the developing world, where nearly 2 billion people -- a third of the world's population -- have almost no access to electricity or liquid fuels and are thus condemned to a medieval existence that breeds despair, resentment and, ultimately, conflict. In other words, we are on the cusp of a new kind of war -- between those who have enough energy and those who do not but are increasingly willing to go out and get it. While nations have always competed for oil, it seems more and more likely that the race for a piece of the last big reserves of oil and natural gas will be the dominant geopolitical theme of the 21st century." To this ‘New Kind Of War” the Washington Post speaks of we can already see by the actions of these Western Nations how it is to be waged, by the deliberate terrorizing of their own citizens through continued mass attacks designed to keep them in constant fear against enemies that do not exist for the purpose of creating a War Society built upon the model established by the Nazi Germany Regime of the 1930’s, and which led to the last Global War.

For their continued refusal to see the whole truths of the very World they live in, and instead believing only in the repeated lies of propaganda told to them, these Western peoples have now been labeled as the most insane in the world, and as we can read as reported by the Australian News Service in their article titled "People in West suffer more from mental illness" and which says, "People in the West suffer more from mental illness than those in poorer countries, with chances of recovery being higher in places like India than in say New York or London, says an Australian study. Their findings are expected to rewrite international textbooks on the devastating mental illness characterized by symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, disorganized communication, poor planning and reduced motivation, it reported."

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

John Keats

1795-1821)

The September moon is known as... Harvest Moon, Wine Moon, Singing Moon, Sturgeon Moon, Haligmonath (Holy Month), Witumanoth (Wood Month), Moon When Deer Paw the Earth.

HARVEST MOON

We plough the fields and scatter
The good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered
By God's almighty hand:
He sends the snow in winter,
The warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine,
And soft, refreshing rain.


He only is the maker
Of all things near and far;
He paints the wayside flower,
He lights the evening star;
The winds and waves obey him,
By him the birds are fed;
Much more to us, his children,
He gives our daily bread.

We thank thee then, O Father,
For all things bright and good,
The seed time and the harvest,
Our life, our health, our food.
Accept the gifts we offer
For all thy love imparts,
And what thou most desirest,
Our humble, thankful hearts.

Refrain:
All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above;
Then thank the Lord,
O thank the Lord,
For all his love.

Harvest is from the Anglo-Saxon word hærfest, "Autumn". It then came to refer to the season for reaping and gathering grain and other grown products. The full moon nearest the autumnal equinox is called the Harvest Moon. So in ancient traditions Harvest Festivals were traditionally held on or near the Sunday of the Harvest Moon. This moon is the full moon which falls in the month of September

In Britain, thanks have been given for successful harvests since pagan times. The celebrations on this day usually include singing hymns, praying, and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food in the festival known as Harvest Festival or Harvest Home or Harvest Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving. In British churches, chapels, and schools people bring in food from the garden, the allotment or farm. The food is often distributed among the poor and senior citizens of the local community, or used to raise funds for the church, or charity.

Meanwhile in china 2500 years ago:

   Houyi was an immortal, while Chang'e was a beautiful young girl, working in the Jade Emperor's Palace as the attendant to the Queen Mother of the West (wife of the Jade Emperor), just before her marriage. One day, Houyi aroused the jealousy of the other immortals, who then slandered him before the Jade Emperor. Houyi and his wife, Chang'e, were subsequently banished from heaven, and forced to live by hunting on earth. He became a famous archer.

Now at this time, there were 10 suns, in the form of Three-legged birds, residing in a mulberry tree in the eastern sea; each day one of the sun birds would be rostered to travel around the world on a carriage, driven by Xihe (deity) the 'mother' of the suns. One day, all 10 of the suns circled together, causing the earth to burn. Emperor Yao, the Emperor of China, commanded Houyi to shoot down all but one of the suns. Upon the completion of his task, the Emperor rewarded Houyi with a pill that granted eternal life, and advised him: "Make no haste to swallow this pill; first prepare yourself with prayer and fasting for a year"

Houyi took the pill home and hid it under a rafter, while he began healing his spirit. While Houyi was healing his spirit, Houyi was summoned again by the emperor. Chang'e, noticing a white beam of light beckoning from the rafters, discovered the pill, which she swallowed. Immediately, she found that she could fly. At that moment, Houyi returned home, and, realizing what had happened, began to reprimand her. Chang'e flew out the window into the sky.With bow in hand, Houyi sped after her, and the pursuit continued halfway across the heavens. Finally, Houyi had to return to the Earth because of the force of the wind. Chang'e reached the moon, and breathless, she coughed. Part of the pill fell out from her mouth. Now, the hare was already on the moon, and Chang'e commanded the animal to make another pill from it, so that she could return to earth to her husband.

As of today, the hare is still pounding herbs, trying to make the pill. As for Houyi, he built himself a palace in the sun as "Yang" (the male principle), with Chang'e as "Yin" (the female principle). Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Houyi visits his wife. That is why, that night, the moon is full and beautiful.

only a few hundred years ago . . . . According to a widespread folk tale the Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates an uprising in China against the Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty (1280–1368) in the 14th century. As group gatherings were banned, it was impossible to make plans for a rebellion. Noting that the Mongols did not eat mooncakes, Liu Bowen of Zhejiang Province, advisor to the Chinese rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang, came up with the idea of timing the rebellion to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival. He sought permission to distribute thousands of moon cakes to the Chinese residents in the city to bless the longevity of the Mongol emperor. Inside each cake, however, was inserted a piece of paper with the message: "Kill the Mongols on the 15th day of the 8th Moon"  On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), under Zhu. Henceforth, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated with moon cakes on a national level.

               

Preparation:

1. Put adzuki bean in a deep saucepan with 1 litre of water. Bring to a boil on high heat then simmer it on low for about 1.5 hours, or till husk is detached from the bean.
2. Mash the bean with a wooden spoon or blend it with a food processor then run it through a sieve to get rid of remaining husk.
3. Sieve the bean paste through muslin cloth to drain away excessive water.
4. Place the mashed bean back in the saucepan, and add in the sea salt, vegetable oil and brown sugar. Cook on low heat, and stir constantly till the mashed bean is thick and pasty.
5. Remove from heat and place bean paste in a large bowl to cool. Divide paste into 13 to 14 balls.
6. Set the oven on 400ºF/200ºC (180ºC for fan oven).
7. Sift flour and dried yeast into a large mixing bowl.
8. Make a dry well in the middle of the flour, and pour mixture of syrup and vegetable oil into the well.
9. Stir it slowly to mix well then roll lightly with your hands till the dough is smooth and not sticky.
10. Separate the dough into 13 or 14 parts, each weighing roughly 25 grams. Roll each into a round-shaped thin pastry dough, fill it with the adzuki bean paste ball, and wrap it up carefully.
11. Sprinkle a thin layer of flour into the moon cake mould, press the filled dough firmly into the mould to get the shape of the moon cake then remove from the mould.
12. Repeat with the rest of the dough and adzuki bean paste.
13. Place the ready-to-bake moon cakes in a baking tray, brush a layer of egg yolk to coat the surface of each cake and place the tray on the middle deck of the oven.
14. Bake for about 30 minutes, till the surface turns golden brown.

receipe from www.knowingfood.com

The US government has taken  control  of  American mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about five trillion dollars in home loans, over half America's total mortgage market. [IE MONOPOLY]. in the largest state bailout in history. [IE NATIONALISATION]. The firms have lost billions of dollars because of the US sub-prime crisis [WHICH CAUSED THE]  global credit crunch, and their share prices have fallen by 90% in the past year.[ CAPATALIST RISK: SHARES GO DOWN AS WELL AS UP]. President Bush said the giants posed an "unacceptable risk" to the financial system.[IE THE REPUBLICAN CHANCES OF WINNING IN THE NATIONAL ELECTION IN NOVEMBER]. The companies are being placed in a government "conservatorship" [IE NATIONALISEDSHIP] to help the financial system recover from massive housing losses, officials said. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee The past year has seen market confidence wane as property prices have plummeted in the worst US housing slump in decades. [LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND]. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not lend directly to homebuyers, but buy mortgages and sell them on. [CAPITALISM ]. This means they have to pay out when homeowners cannot meet their payments. The rise in defaults and repossessions has seen losses of $14bn (£7bn) (84.5BN Yuan). [SOME YOU WIN SOME YOU LOSE]

The latest announcement could cost the US taxpayer $25bn (£12.5bn) [AND FORCE EUROPE INTO RECESSION] - but the US government thinks it is a price worth paying.

[HALF OF THAT WOULD PAY WELFARE FOR THE NOT SO WELL OF POOR OF AMERICA] 

 The markets are likely to react well to this. [NATIONALISATION IS AS GOOD AS A GOVERNMENT BOND]. The implication of allowing these institutions to fail would be terrible both for the banks, who would be left carrying the can for people defaulting on their mortgages.[IE CAPITALISM]

But also it would make mortgages in the US that much more expensive and that could have a terrible effect on the US housing market and therefore on the US economy." [IE LAW FO SUPPLY AND DEMAND] The US Treasury said it was prepared to invest $100bn (£50bn) each to shore up [IE NATIONALISE] Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said it was because "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so large and so interwoven in our financial system that a failure of either of them would cause great turmoil in our financial markets here at home and around the globe." Both companies will be temporarily run by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the new [NATIONALISED] agency created by Congress this summer to regulate the mortgage giants. Also, the executives of both institutions have been replaced. US financial analyst Peter Kenny said: "It's probably a good move for the markets in the short term.[ [STOCKBROKERS WILL MAKE UP THERE RECENT LOSSES]. "This is a stop gap measure that I think was widely seen as something that was going to have to happen, it's nothing shocking. [ITS NATIONALISATION] It's not going to address declining house prices.

"How much confidence do people really have at this stage in the Treasury? That rug has been run a bit thin. [THIN ? ITS IN THE PAWNSHOP!].They're doing what they have to do. It's not the most creative plan. Their hands are somewhat tied. "This is an enormous announcement but it was kind of assumed that at some point this was going to be tacked together on the part of the Treasury."

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF SOCIALISM

On the subject of socialism and the brand of socialism with chinese charecteristics in particular, why is there a debate in Beijing about selling a national treasure to Coca-Cola? What's next the - the chinese car industry maybe steel? No, its mobile phone companies ...! Maybe !!

China's commerce ministry has said it will make an anti-monopoly review of Coca-Cola's proposed  multi-billion-dollar takeover of Chinese juice producer Huiyuan, state media reported. The US soft drink giant's application for the bid will be reviewed under the anti-monopoly law once the  ministry receives it, spokesman Yao Shenhong was quoted as saying by state-run China Central  Television over the weekend. Yao said a review was necessary because of the large sum of money involved, according to the television station. Coca-Cola announced last week plans to buy Hong Kong-listed Huiyuan Juice Group for 2.4 billion  dollars,[15 billion Yuan] , the US soft drink maker's largest acquisition in china.

Analysts have said the takeover, if approved, would be the largest by a foreign firm of a Chinese company, but added the deal had to be reviewed under an anti-monopoly law that took effect last month. The review is required as the combined global turnover of the two firms was more than 10 billion yuan (1.5 billion dollars) in 2007, and as they each made over 400 million yuan in China. The two companies would control 37 percent of China's juice drink market, according to a Merrill Lynch report. It is unclear how long it will take for the government to approve the purchase, as few details about how the anti-monopoly law should be applied in practice have been clarified. The process could become even more complicated amid rising nationalist opposition to the deal, with some Chinese juice companies reportedly planning to send a letter to the commerce ministry to block the bid.

They argued the acquisition threatened to force them out of business because Coca-Cola would control a large share of the product distribution network after the deal, Monday's Beijing Morning Post said. Coca-Cola was not immediately available to comment when contacted by AFP on Monday.

Chinese regulators have been reluctant to approve some recent foreign acquisitions. Officials in the past have used delaying tactics to stop deals without formally rejecting them. In July, US private equity firm Carlyle Group abandoned an attempt to buy a stake in Chinese construction machinery maker Xugong Group after waiting three years for regulatory approval.

 Great Britain has no british car industry,no electrical industry and the majority of national utilities are in the hands of foreigners !! 

 While the manderins chat , they should take into account India's experience of having coke plants in the country:

Waste product from a Coca-Cola plant in India which the company provides as fertiliser for local farmers contains toxic chemicals, a BBC study has found. Dangerous levels of the known carcinogen cadmium have been found in the sludge produced from the plant in the southern state of Kerala.

The chemicals were traced in an investigation by BBC Radio 4's Face The Facts programme and prompted scientists to call for the practice to be halted immediately. Face The Facts presenter John Waite visited the plant following complaints from villagers that water supplies were drying up because of the massive quantities of water required by Coca-Cola. Villagers, politicians, environmentalists and scientists have accused the firm of robbing the community of the area's most precious resource. They say the area's farming industry has been devastated and jobs, as well as the health of local people, have been put at risk. .

Face The Facts sent sludge samples to the UK for examination at the University of Exeter. Tests revealed the material was useless as a fertiliser and contained a number of toxic metals, including cadmium and lead. The lab's senior scientist, said: "What is particularly disturbing is that the contamination has spread to the water supply - with levels of lead in a nearby well at levels well above those set by the World Health Organisation."

According to Britain's leading poisons expert consultant at St Mary's Hospital in London,said"Immediate steps should be taken by the authorities in India to ban the practice immediately. The levels of toxins found in the samples would, he said, cause serious problems - polluting the land, local water supplies and the food chain. "The results have devastating consequences for those living near the areas where this waste has been dumped and for the thousands who depend on crops produced in these fields. "

Cadmium is a carcinogen and can accumulate in the kidneys, with repeated exposure possibly causing kidney failure. Lead is particularly dangerous to children and the results of exposure can be fatal. Even at low levels it can cause mental retardation and severe anaemia. Professor Henry said: "What most worries me about the levels found is how this might be affecting pregnant women in the area. You would expect to see an increase in miscarriages, still births and premature deliveries."

However, Vice-President of Coca-Cola in India, Sunil Gupta, denied the fertiliser posed any risk. "It's good for crops," he said. "It's good for the farmers because most of them are poor and they have been using this for the past three years." Coca-Cola say they will continue to supply the sludge to farmers.

But then they would, would nt they ?