Satellites confirm reports of Myanmar violence
 
They also found evidence of "forest relocation -- where a lot of people are taken from more remote areas and forced to build homes in areas under control of the military government," Bromley said.
 
"That is either an incredible baby boom or some sort of targeted development program or, because we have no information on either of those, the forest relocation would be a logical candidate."

Twice the text quotes Lars Bromley referring to ‘forest relocation'. It is not clear if he was communicating orally or in writing; but I would assume he was actually saying ‘forced relocation'. Wouldn't you agree?

O.T. F.

Yes. Several readers noticed this one. We corrected: GBU Editor

United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari has flown into Myanmar in an attempt to persuade its ruling generals to use negotiations instead of guns to end mass protests.

The arrival follows days of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations led by the country's monks which have been met by a crackdown by troops. At least 10 people have died.

Countries across the world, as well as Pope Benedict, have called for a peaceful end to the situation, while U.S. President George W. Bush urged for a tightening of sanctions against the ruling junta.

He also called on neighbouring China, the closest the junta has to an ally, and key trading partner, to use its influence.

The military regime said its security forces had handled the protests "with care, using the least possible force".

Do you you think sanctions are the answer, or should Myanmar's leaders be encouraged to bring about change through negotiations?

Should the UN have acted sooner, or is it an internal matter for the Myanmar regime?

How do you see the situation ending?

Send us your comments.

Labor of love - covering what you truly enjoy.

There are some photographers who would endure almost anything rather than cover a tennis match.....let alone a two-week tournament. Fortunately for me, I had always dreamed of covering professional tennis and for the past 18 years my wish has come true a few times each year when I am sent to cover Wimbledon, the U.S. Open or other tennis events for Reuters.

I play a lot of tennis (mildly obsessed would be more accurate) and my circle of tennis friends are green with envy that I am sent to "work" at these events.  My tennis partners would kill for a seat in the courtside photographers pit where I spend a great deal of time. What they don't realize is that covering a match is not quite the same as watching it while sipping a cold beer or enjoying a dish of strawberries and cream. Paying close attention to the flow of the match is crucial to getting the right images.  The reality is that you are watching the match through a lens trained on only one player at a time. You are not actually seeing the back and forth of the game like the folks in the audience.  In addition, you must spend a lot of time lugging your big lenses around the stadium to get different angles and different moods as the light changes throughout the day. Ah yes, and then there are the rain delays. Work, yes, but......

Through the years I have documented some of the great moments in the modern game. From McEnroe's famous tirades, Jimmy Connors' late career surge, the Navratilova vs. Graf rivalry, the reign of Sampras, Agassi's tearful retirement and Federer's attempt to be the greatest of all time. I've also met some great people in my travels and had a lot of laughs with colleagues along the way. Covering what you truly enjoy certainly blurs the lines of work and play. And yes, it also makes a nice break from my usual beat at the White House!

Top  picture:Fabrice Santoro of France sits with an ice bag on his head during a changeover during his match against James Blake of the U.S at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, August 30, 2007.   Kevin Lamarque

2: A ball boy holds tennis balls during a match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, August 29, 2007. Kevin Lamarque

3: Nadia Petrova of Russia serves to Agnes Szavay of Hungary at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, September 1, 2007. Kevin Lamarque

4 and 5: Roger Federer of Switzerland leaps to make a return to Nikolay Davydenko of Russia during their semi-final match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, September 8, 2007. Kevin Lamarque

6: Reuters photographers Mike Segar and Kevin Lamarque take advantage of an open court for their annual tennis match at the 2007 U.S.Open.

In a history-making race this autumn between wheat and soybeans to reach $10 a bushel, the traders who bet on beans won in the week ended September 28. But by Friday's close, wheat was getting a second wind.
The spot, or front-month, Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans rose as high as $10.17-3/4, the highest price for a spot futures contract in three years, before ending the week at $9.91-1/4 on profit-taking on Friday after USDA data.
Soybeans bounced on the strength in all commodities, including wheat. Worries about grain supplies, strong export demand for all U.S. grains amid the record lows in the dollar and China easing grain import rules, and rising domestic prices sent all CBOT grain commodities flying.
Meanwhile, CBOT spot wheat -- the grains leader most of the summer -- resumed its march toward $10 with a series of all-time highs, peaking on Friday when it reached $9.61-3/4. It closed at $9.39, up 6 cents on the day.
Before this summer, the CBOT record wheat price in more than a century of trading was $7.50 a bushel.
Wheat was firm all week but got a finishing boost on Friday from the the U.S. Agriculture Department.
In its annual report on small grains production issued early on Friday morning, USDA shaved another 47 million bushels from its U.S. 2007 wheat production estimate, putting it at 2.067 billion bushels.
At the same time, wheat stocks are shrinking. USDA said in its quarterly grain stocks report that U.S. wheat stocks fell 806 million bushels since June 1, more than 25 percent faster usage than in the same period a year earlier.
Wheat eked out a gain but corn and beans weren't so lucky in the face of active end-week and end-quarter profit-taking by hedge funds and other hot money. USDA stocks data for corn and soy was also bigger than expected, triggering the selling.
But next week volatility should continue with wheat the focus and once again the expected market leader, traders said.
The biggest factor wheat traders will be watching is Australian crop weather. Australia -- usually number 2 behind the U.S. in wheat exports -- has seen its crop once more shrink with drought and little rain in sight. CBOT traders are now talking a 10-12 million tonne crop, down from the Australian government's last number of 15.5 million tonnes of Sept. 18 -- and from the 22.5 million tonnes once predicted.
In the soybean pit, the area of concern is Mato Grosso, Brazil, the top soy state in that huge producer.
Hot, dry conditions have been delaying early soybean planting with no significant rainfall expected until Oct. 7.
Any fresh export demand will likely spur additional buying in the Chicago markets. Supply worries, and the weak dollar, have fed voracious foreign buying of U.S. grain stocks.
There does not yet appear to be any sign of rationing as the world's biggest importers of food and feed continue to book huge amounts of corn and wheat even at historically high prices. Week after week export sales have been at well over 1.0 million tonnes in both.
The U.S. corn harvest is advancing rapidly with the Midwest weekend expected to be active given clear, warm conditions. Truck dumps will be open at hundreds of elevators.
That added to some commercial prehedging on Friday. But the hot fund speculative money in corn and soybeans was a ready absorber of such selling pressure most of the week.
Traders have also been especially interested in hearing the latest on soybean yields. Early yields were disappointing and later reports have been mixed.
Soybeans are usually harvested before corn to prevent crop losses and allow corn to bring moisture levels down "on the husk." Stronger stalks allow wind-drying in fields, saving farmers money on drying or on paying penalties to merchandisers for delivering corn above 15.5 percent moisture.
But this year the push has been to harvest corn first, especially in the drought-plagued South and mid-South.
A last weather factor will be the interest in U.S. winter wheat planting progress. Concern is already there because seeding lags on dryness in the central Plains -- Kansas is the top wheat state. But concerns were also cited about the southern Midwest and northern Delta where soils are parched.
The assumption has been that farmers will chase $10 wheat prices and create an orgy of wheat planting that could cost both corn and soybeans acreage next spring, notably in regions where winter wheat cannot be harvested by June, preventing any "double-cropping" of soybeans.
USDA will issue its next crop progress update on Monday afternoon after 1600 ET/2000 GMT.

rtr chi cds

Hey, Blog Guy! It's the end of another month. I recall that at the end of August, you listed the most popular items for that month - any way that can become a regular feature?

All my friends and neighbors would love it!

You know, buddy, writing in italics doesn't make you any more believeable. Anybody can do that.  But yes, that best-of-August posting was very popular, so I'm doing it again, this time with the TEN most-read posts of September. Tell your friends and neighbors, if you really have any.

Flying cars not a total success

Wait boss, I'm not done contradicting you!

"I (your name here) lost my bearings..."

You! In the bikini! Move to the left!

Good luck on your autopsy, get well soon

When gravity becomes the bad news

Now, even better than casual Friday...

Let me guess - he's sitting behind ME?

Introducing the waist-necklace?

Me? I thought YOU told her about bracelets!

More Oddly Enough Blog

Or: All the news that's fit to brand.

The New York Times said on Friday that it is launching a branding campaign this Sunday. It wants "to increase awareness of the tremendous depth and breadth" of its Web site . Why would it want to do that when it's already the No. 1 U.S. newspaper site, according to Nielsen//NetRatings ?

Maybe it's a little rocket fuel to boost readership after it canned TimesSelect , the part of the site that for the past two years required paid subscriptions to look at some of its commentary and columns. Most experts think making the entire site free will do that anyway, but what good is free without a little publicity?

Here's another reason: Anyone who uses the Internet these days knows that there are many ways to get news and information, but maybe not everyone thinks "futuristic digital powerhouse" at the first mention of "The Gray Lady ."

To bring those concepts closer together, the campaign morphs the old Times slogan "All the News That's Fit to Print" to "All the News That's Fit to Click -- or Blog, Stream, Archive, Digitize, E-Mail, Personalize, etc."

The campaign also will promote a profusion of blogs , online video, features available on mobile phones such as movie times and stock quotes, podcasts and e-mailed newsletters.

This campaign is paper-free.

Democratic presidential hopefuls have found a way to return fire on Republicans after they endured attacks for the anti-war liberal group MoveOn.org's advertisement criticizing the U.S. commander in Iraq -- jump on conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.
 
They said the popular radio personality on Wednesday referred to troops who supported withdrawing from Iraq as "phony soldiers," prompting their harsh criticism as well as some less than kind words from the White House.

Democratic contender John Edwards (third in national polls) said "there's nothing phony about the sacrifices being made by any of our troops in Iraq."
 
A spokesman for second-tier Democratic hopeful Sen. Chris Dodd said Limbaugh "has no idea what the brave men and women of our armed forces are ostensibly fighting for."
 
The White House also distanced itself from Limbaugh, with White House spokeswoman Dana Perino saying during her daily briefing on Friday that while she had not read his comments,  "the president believes that if you are serving in the military that you have the right that every American has, which is you are free to express yourself in any way that you want to.  And there are some that oppose the war, and that's okay."

The term was "not one that the president would have used," she said.
 
During his show on Friday, Limbaugh said he was referring to situations like one individual who had falsely claimed to be a soldier, had served in Iraq and was embraced by anti-war groups.

"When I mentioned the term 'phony soldier' -- and they all know this -- I was referring to a genuine phony soldier about whom I had informed this audience the previous day and did so again the following day," Limbaugh said.

Here's the full transcript of the Wednesday show, the controversial bit is at the end. 

U.S. stock investors no doubt breathed a big sigh of relief to have come through the highly turbulent third quarter relatively intact. After all, just six weeks ago the S&P 500 was 10 percent off the all-time high it reached in July as investors sweat bullets over a spreading crisis in credit markets. But thanks to a hefty interest rate cut by the Fed, the U.S. benchmark staged an impressive rebound. By Friday it had clawed back to within 2 percent of its all-time high and was poised to finish the the quarter about 1.6 percent higher than where it was on June 29, the last trading day of the second quarter.

Party time, right? Not if you're a European investor dabbling in U.S. stocks.

The flipside of the Fed's rate cut has been a rapidfire devaluing of the dollar, particularly against the euro, which finished the quarter with a streak of seven straight days setting record highs against the greenback. That means U.S. assets like stocks are worth less each day to eurozone investors. Ouch!

In the chart above, the solid blue line shows the S&P 500 index priced in dollars, and you can see that it is finishing the quarter above the blue dotted line showing the level at which it started the quarter. The two red lines show the S&P 500 denominated in euros, and how it is ending the period about 3.5 percent below where it started. The black line shows the rising value of the euro against the dollar. The euro appreciated by more than 5 percent during the third quarter.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich -- a possible 2008 White House candidate -- dipped a toe into the online world of Second Life on Thursday for an hour-long question and answer session, protected by a squad of virtual female bodyguards.

The event, which took place in a replica of the U.S. Capitol, was carefully managed like many real-world political rallies. Along with a crowd of about 50 invited attendees, five protesters were confined to an designated area, waving "Conservatism Kills" banners and typing a steady stream of anti-Republican slogans.

Second Life, the virtual world where users from around the world create characters known as avatars, has been a desitination for politicians since last year, when former Virginia Governor Mark Warner -- then still a prospective presidential candidate -- made an appearance. It also was a battleground in the recent French elections, and volunteers have created Second Life headquarters for their favorite U.S. presidential candidates.

Gingrich has been flirting with a White House run but said earlier this month that "the odds are very high that I won't run." His avatar -- also named Newt Gingrich -- can be seen in the picture above, courtesy of Clear Ink, the consulting firm that organized the Second Life event. It was part of "Solutions Day," a series of multimedia workshops to commemorate the anniversary of the "Contract With America."

The former speaker told Reuters ahead of the event that Democrats have taken the lead in using the Internet for political organization.

"But my hunch is that won't last very long, and you'll see relative parity in the next three or four years," he said.

Click here to read more about Second Life, where Reuters opened a bureau last year.

(Reporting by Eric Krangel)

Much of the attention will be on the London derbies involving Chelsea and Arsenal this weekend, but by Sunday morning it may be Alex Ferguson smiling, with Manchester United in with a chance of taking the league leadership.

It's been over a week since the departure of the self-confessed ‘special one' from Chelsea and the pressure on Avram Grant to produce style as well as substance reignites on Saturday with the visit of West London neighbours Fulham.

Like it or not, the mission for Grant is to emulate Arsenal, who have confidently moved top while thrilling fans and neutrals alike. Here's what Martin Lipton wrote in the Mirror after the 3-0 win over Sevilla in the Champions League:

"Thrilling football, fantastic entertainment, goals and a win to set Europe talking. Maybe you should sell Chelsea and buy this lot, Mr Abramovich."

A trip to seventh place West Ham will provide a decent test for Arsene Wenger's side. If they fail, champions United could replace them at the top by winning away to Birmingham City, managed by Old Trafford old boy Steve Bruce.

Two other Premier League managers will be under the spotlight. As Dave Thompson asked in his blog, can Rafa Benitez continue to leave Fernando Torres out of his starting line-up when they play away to Wigan? (No, according to a Reuters poll). And can Martin Jol inspire a Tottenham revival at home to Aston Villa on Monday night?

Patrick Johnston, London

Photo: Sir Alex Ferguson watches during Manchester United's League Cup defeat by Coventry City, September 26, 2007. Darren Staples / Reuters