0813
Les Hautes de Chaumes (63)
Ce plateau, appelé les Hautes de Chaumes, est en partie classé Site Natura 2000.
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
La fourme est un fromage de vache au lait cru, dont la pâte fondante est finement persillée. Sa croûte est épaisse et longuement travaillée par le temps. De forme cylindrique, la fourme mesure 22 cm de hauteur et 13 cm de diamètre.
Nos fourmes sont d’une étonnante richesse aromatique de part nos pratiques agricoles et fromagères. Par ailleurs, selon les saisons, les pâturages, et les aléas d’une fabrication fermière, nous disposons au sein de notre production, de fourmes plus ou moins bleues, fondante, acides, piquantes.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/accueil/
La fourme est un fromage de vache au lait cru, dont la pâte fondante est finement persillée. Sa croûte est épaisse et longuement travaillée par le temps. De forme cylindrique, la fourme mesure 22 cm de hauteur et 13 cm de diamètre.
Nos fourmes sont d’une étonnante richesse aromatique de part nos pratiques agricoles et fromagères. Par ailleurs, selon les saisons, les pâturages, et les aléas d’une fabrication fermière, nous disposons au sein de notre production, de fourmes plus ou moins bleues, fondante, acides, piquantes.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/accueil/
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Traditionnellement...
...dans le Forez, les paysans partageaient leur vie entre deux habitats : en hiver, ils vivaient dans la vallée et en période estivale, montaient sur le plateau des Hautes Chaumes.
L’été, chaque membre de la famille a son rôle à jouer dans la bonne marche de la ferme :les femmes, les enfants et les vieillards des différentes familles se retrouvent en estive afin de s’occuper des bêtes, de la traite, et de la fabrication du fromage ; tandis que les hommes restent dans la vallée pour se consacrer aux travaux des champs.
En été la production de lait étant plus abondante, il est alors nécessaire de trouver un moyen de conservation adéquat. La fourme, fromage au lait de vache est née de cette transformation du lait en estive. Cette technique a tout d’abord permis de constituer des réserves pour l’hiver puis très vite, devient une activité commerciale à part entière.
Aujourd’hui, seuls quelques paysans comme ceux de la Ferme des Hautes Chaumes, continuent de pratiquer l’estive et la fabrication de la fourme en montagne.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/accueil/
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Cahier des charges
La fabrication de notre fourme respecte un cahier des charges rigoureux garantissant un fromage de qualité :
Un troupeau de race rustique « abondance » avec : un niveau de production adapté à la montagne (faible mais de qualité) ; une bonne résistance aux aléas climatiques ; une bonne aptitude à la marche (bon aplomb).
Des vaches nourries sans ensilage (foin de montagne en hiver), et qui pâturent en estive pendant les mois d’été.
Un fromage à base de lait cru et entier.
Une sélection de ferments fermiers issus de l’exploitation (qualité et particularités gustatives propres).
Un brassage et un moulage à la main.
Un salage en croûte à 24h : 24h après fabrication, les fromages sont frottés au sel ; il n’y a pas de salage dans la masse. Cette technique permet d’obtenir un taux de sel très faible (2%).
Un ensemencement du fromage en Pénicillium Roqueforti s’effectue naturellement par sa présence dans les locaux.
Un affinage en cave de 6 mois. Celui-ci permet : une bonne maturité de la pâte, un développement optimum des arômes, et une croûte travaillée (épaisse et marquée par le temps).
Un développement du bleu par simple piquage quinze jours ou trois semaines avant la fin de l’affinage (le Pénicillium Roqueforti a besoin d’oxygène pour apparaître et se développer). Ce procédé permet d’obtenir un produit dans lequel le goût du bleu ne cache pas les arômes du lait.
- Notre cahier des charges étant plus contraignant que celui de l'AOC, nous n'avons pas souhaité entrer dans cette démarche.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-fourme/le-troupeau-la-ferme-et-la-fabrication-de-la-fourme
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Les différentes étapes de fabrication de la fourme
Le lait
La traite a lieu deux fois par jour (matin et soir à heures fixes). Le soir, le lait est refroidit en cuve à 10°C, et ensemencé en ferments (bactéries lactiques). Pendant la traite du matin, le lait de la veille est réchauffé et simultanément mélangé au lait frais.
Le mélange obtenu, légèrement acide, alors à 30°C, est prêt pour l’emprésurage.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-fourme/le-troupeau-la-ferme-et-la-fabrication-de-la-fourme
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Les différentes étapes de fabrication de la fourme
Les différentes étapes de fabrication de la fourme
Le caillé
Environ 1h après, le résultat de l’emprésurage : le caillé, est prêt. Le caillé est l’état obtenu après coagulation du lait par l’action de la présure.
Découpé en cubes d’environ 1 cm de côtés, du caillé sort du petit lait.Intervient alors une alternance de brassage de l’ensemble, et de séparation de petit-lait par siphonage. L’objectif de ces opérations étant d’obtenir des grains de caillé relativement secs et indépendants les uns des autres (non agglomérés). Ces derniers permettront, au moment du moulage, de maintenir des espaces entre les grains de caillés dans lesquels se développera le bleu en fin d’affinage.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-fourme/le-troupeau-la-ferme-et-la-fabrication-de-la-fourme
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Les différentes étapes de fabrication de la fourme
Le moulage
Après environ une 1h de travail, le caillé est mis en moules de 30 cm de haut et 14 cm de diamètre. Cette opération est réalisée manuellement et nécessite une attention toute particulière afin d’obtenir un produit homogène.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-fourme/le-troupeau-la-ferme-et-la-fabrication-de-la-fourme
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Les différentes étapes de fabrication de la fourme
Les retournements
Les fromages sont retournés cinq fois dans les huit premières heures afin de favoriser un égouttage régulier.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-fourme/le-troupeau-la-ferme-et-la-fabrication-de-la-fourme
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Les différentes étapes de fabrication de la fourme
Le salage
24h après la mise en moule, les fourmes sont salées par un frottage en surface au gros sel. Grâce au phénomène d’osmose, le sel pénètre dans le fromage et l’eau en ressort. Cette méthode permet d’obtenir des fromages peu salés. En effet, ceux-ci contiennent 2% de sel contre 4% pour des fromages fabriqués selon d’autres procédés.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-fourme/le-troupeau-la-ferme-et-la-fabrication-de-la-fourme
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Les différentes étapes de fabrication de la fourme
Le séchage
Il a pour objectif de créer une croûte qui protège les fromages avant leur entrée en cave. Cette étape dure de 4 à 7 jours à raison d’un retournement par jour.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-fourme/le-troupeau-la-ferme-et-la-fabrication-de-la-fourme
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Les différentes étapes de fabrication de la fourme
Les différentes étapes de fabrication de la fourme
L’affinage
Après leur entrée en cave, les fromages seront tout d’abord retournés une fois par semaine pendant 5 mois ½ , puis interviendra alors le piquage. Celui-ci s’opère avec des aiguilles en inox et vise à permettre l’oxygénation du fromage et donc le développement du Pénicillium. A partir de là les fourmes sont régulièrement sondées afin de contrôler l’évolution du bleu dans le fromage et, en fonction en celle-ci, les mettre en vente.
Pour cette étape, nous avons construit une cave en pierres bâties à la chaux. Afin qu’elle soit protégée des variations de température extérieure et ait un maximum d’humidité, celle-ci est enterrée sous 2,5m de terre et dispose d’une source. Deux paramètres sont nécessaires à la bonne évolution des fourmes et restent donc constants : la température qui est de 10°C, et l’humidité qui s’élève à 95%.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-fourme/le-troupeau-la-ferme-et-la-fabrication-de-la-fourme
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Le troupeau
Notre troupeau est composé de 30 vaches laitières de race abondance (race rustique des Alpes) et de 20 génisses de zéro à trois ans, pour assurer le renouvellement. Ce cheptel nous permet la production de 120 000 litres de lait par an, transformés en totalité en fourmes ; soit environ 10 tonnes de fromages.
Nos bêtes sont majoritairement nourries à l’herbe. En fonction du niveau de production (plus de 15 litres de lait par jour et par vache), chaque vache sera susceptible de recevoir un complément de céréales et de colza pour assurer un bon équilibre alimentaire (glucides/protéines).
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-ferme/l-organisation-du-gaec
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
La ferme
Notre ferme s’anime autour : d’une étable avec un stockage de foin, de céréales, et de paille ; d’une fromagerie ; d’une cave pour l’affinage et le stockage des fourmes.
Autour de ce bâtiment, nous disposons d’une quinzaine d’hectares pour les pâturages d’automne et de printemps.
En période d’estive (de juin à octobre), les vaches pâturent sur les Hauts de Chaumes. Pour la traite, nous disposons d’un chariot de traite et d’une fromagerie mobiles. Ces installations nous permettent de déplacer le troupeau en fonction de la qualité de l’herbe et des pâturages.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-ferme/l-organisation-du-gaec
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
La traite en estive
La traite en estive
Sur ces pâturages d’altitude, et en alternance chaque années, nous faisons les foins. Nous avons fait ce choix pour deux raisons : d’une part, les terrains de Valcivières ne sont pas mécanisables car trop accidentés ; d’autre part, la diversité et la richesse floristique des parcelles des Hautes Chaumes concourent à la qualité du lait pendant l’hiver.
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/notre-ferme/l-organisation-du-gaec
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Lieux de vente et partenaires
Lieux de vente et partenaires
Nos marchés : Ambert (63) le jeudi, St. Bonnet-le-Chateau (42) le vendredi, Le Puy en Velay (43) le samedi, Montbrison (42) le samedi, Aubiere (63) le dimanche
Nos revendeurs sur les marchés : P. Amerio marché de Fraisses (42) le mardi ; marché de Sury le Comtal (42) le mercredi ; marché de St Rambert (42) le jeudi ; marché de Veauche (42) le samedi ; St Marcellin en Forez (42) le dimanche. P. Gibert marché d'Albert Thomas à St Etienne (42) le samedi. F. Montel Besse (63) le lundi, Aubière (63) le dimanche.
Fromageries : Nivesse (Clermont-Fd, 63), SOFROSE (Severac le Chateau, 12), Houdot (Rungis, 94), Blanc (Vichy, 03), Meunier (Vichy, 03), laiterie Bourbonnaise (Moulin, 03), Fromagerie Ris (Ris, 03)
Les foires annuelles : Basse en Basset 43 (11 novembre), St Galmier 42 (25 Novembre), Foire aux champignons de St Bonnet le Froid 43 (fin Novembre), Fête de l'estive 12 (Début mai)
Nos partenaires gastronomiques : Regis Marcon (St. Bonnet-le-Froid, 43) Hotel des voyageurs (Vertolaye, 63), Restaurant M. Bras (Laguiole, 12), Restaurant Vidal (St Julien Chapteuil, 43), Restaurant Tournayre (Le Puy en Velay, 43), restaurant la Terrasse (Saugues, 43), Le Coq Noir (col des Supeyres, 63), restaurant le 9ième art (St Just-St Rambert, 42)
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/acheter-notre-fourme/ou-trouver-notre-fourme
GAEC DES HAUTES CHAUMES
Une fourme dans votre boite au lettre
Tarif des fourmes
Nombre de fourmes
1 30€
2 60€
3 85€
4 110€
Pour une quantité plus importante nous contacter. Fourmes d'environ deux kilos. Les prix comprennent le port.
Bon de commande a télécharger : bon_de_commande_fourme.pdf (pdf - 74 ko)
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/acheter-notre-fourme/ou-trouver-notre-fourme
Une fourme dans votre boite au lettre
Tarif des fourmes
Nombre de fourmes
1 30€
2 60€
3 85€
4 110€
Pour une quantité plus importante nous contacter. Fourmes d'environ deux kilos. Les prix comprennent le port.
Bon de commande a télécharger : bon_de_commande_fourme.pdf (pdf - 74 ko)
http://hautes.chaumes.free.fr/site.php/acheter-notre-fourme/ou-trouver-notre-fourme
COMING DOWN FROM LES HAUTES DE CHAUMES
HOME
Trade talks broke down after Chinese shift on food
HONG KONG: China and India have seldom shared the same views on free trade in recent years, but they ended up on the same side at the collapse of world trade talks in Geneva on Tuesday because China made an abrupt about-face.
Growing worries in China about food security now appear to have overridden the country's previous commitment to free trade — a commitment that has served it well until now as the country with the world's second-largest trade surplus after Germany.
Since joining the World Trade Organization in November 2001, China has been a strong and outspoken defender of free-trade principles. It has been especially critical of the United States, for example, for invoking so-called "safeguard" rules to prevent an increase of Chinese textile imports that threatened to put American manufacturers out of business.
But this week, China allied itself with Indian negotiators in insisting on safeguard rules for agriculture. China and India insisted that developing countries be allowed to impose prohibitively high tariffs on food imports from affluent countries to halt increases in imports that might put farmers in poor countries out of business.
The United States and other food exporters refused to accept the Chinese and Indian position on food safeguards, and talks broke down.
Growing worries in China about food security now appear to have overridden the country's previous commitment to free trade — a commitment that has served it well until now as the country with the world's second-largest trade surplus after Germany.
Since joining the World Trade Organization in November 2001, China has been a strong and outspoken defender of free-trade principles. It has been especially critical of the United States, for example, for invoking so-called "safeguard" rules to prevent an increase of Chinese textile imports that threatened to put American manufacturers out of business.
But this week, China allied itself with Indian negotiators in insisting on safeguard rules for agriculture. China and India insisted that developing countries be allowed to impose prohibitively high tariffs on food imports from affluent countries to halt increases in imports that might put farmers in poor countries out of business.
The United States and other food exporters refused to accept the Chinese and Indian position on food safeguards, and talks broke down.
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WTO talks collapse said to be victory for workers
GENEVA: Anti-globalisation groups on Wednesday hailed the collapse of talks on a new world trade treaty as a triumph for farmers, workers and the poor around the globe and a blow against "big business."
And even mainstream labour and farm groupings argued that the deal on the table at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha round negotiations over the past few days was so bad that it was just as well that it had been abandoned.
"Victory for small farmers, workers, civil society and developing nations," declared the U.S.-based Public Citizen group, which for over a decade has campaigned against the WTO and its drive to liberalise international trade.
"The mouldering corpse" of the round "should have been buried years ago," said its trade specialist Lori Wallach.
The failure of the Geneva negotiations "is a welcome respite for poor countries" in the face of an aggressive push by the rich powers for more free trade despite the global food and fuel crisis, said the Manila-based Focus on the Global South.
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/07/30/business/OUKBS-UK-TRADE-WTO-VICTORY.php
And even mainstream labour and farm groupings argued that the deal on the table at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha round negotiations over the past few days was so bad that it was just as well that it had been abandoned.
"Victory for small farmers, workers, civil society and developing nations," declared the U.S.-based Public Citizen group, which for over a decade has campaigned against the WTO and its drive to liberalise international trade.
"The mouldering corpse" of the round "should have been buried years ago," said its trade specialist Lori Wallach.
The failure of the Geneva negotiations "is a welcome respite for poor countries" in the face of an aggressive push by the rich powers for more free trade despite the global food and fuel crisis, said the Manila-based Focus on the Global South.
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/07/30/business/OUKBS-UK-TRADE-WTO-VICTORY.php
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COLUMNIST:
Philip Bowring: Self-inflicted trade wounds
HONG KONG: The developing world has been ill-served by the three big countries - India, Brazil and China - that in effect represented them in the World Trade Organization's Doha Round negotiations that collapsed Tuesday. Just as the Geneva talks seemed on the brink of success a mix of national interests and "food security" illusions trumped concern for world trade and the interests of the majority of developing nations.
High food prices should have been a catalyst for overcoming the farm trade issues that had long deadlocked Doha. But rather than demonstrate the need for fewer market distortions if output and trade is to meet global demand, the talks saw India and China reverting to the very food security arguments used in the past to justify European subsidies.
In the process, Beijing and New Delhi have blocked the hopes of countries like Thailand and Malaysia and impoverished African cotton producers that the tariffs and subsidies that hurt their economies would be cut. By discouraging efficient producers from increasing output, these market distortions also raise long-term prices for developing countries that import food.
High food prices should have been a catalyst for overcoming the farm trade issues that had long deadlocked Doha. But rather than demonstrate the need for fewer market distortions if output and trade is to meet global demand, the talks saw India and China reverting to the very food security arguments used in the past to justify European subsidies.
In the process, Beijing and New Delhi have blocked the hopes of countries like Thailand and Malaysia and impoverished African cotton producers that the tariffs and subsidies that hurt their economies would be cut. By discouraging efficient producers from increasing output, these market distortions also raise long-term prices for developing countries that import food.
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UN says North Korea facing worst food crisis since 1990s
BEIJING: Flooding and poor harvests have caused North Korea's worst food crisis since the late 1990s and have put millions at risk, the United Nations's food agency said Wednesday.
The food shortage threatens widespread malnutrition, the World Food Program said.
"Millions of vulnerable North Koreans are at risk of slipping toward precarious hunger levels," Jean-Pierre de Margerie, the WFP's country director for North Korea, told a news conference.
The food shortage threatens widespread malnutrition, the World Food Program said.
"Millions of vulnerable North Koreans are at risk of slipping toward precarious hunger levels," Jean-Pierre de Margerie, the WFP's country director for North Korea, told a news conference.
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U.S. authorities find salmonella at farm in Mexico and cite 'key breakthrough'
WASHINGTON: The salmonella strain linked to a nationwide U.S. outbreak has been found in irrigation water and a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm, federal health officials said Wednesday.
Russia further cuts its oil deliveries to Czech Republic
BERLIN: Russia has further reduced its oil deliveries to the Czech Republic, bringing total July cutbacks to 50 percent, senior Czech officials said Wednesday, a disruption that is again calling into question Russia's reliability as an energy supplier to Central and Eastern Europe.
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TNK-BP managers may face Russia labour court
MOSCOW: The chief executive of BP's Russian oil venture TNK-BP may face a court case over labour violations that could ultimately see him barred from running a Russian company for three years, a labour official said.
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COLUMNIST
Thomas L. Friedman: Drilling in Afghanistan
Anyone who looks at the growth of middle classes around the world and their rising demands for natural resources, plus the dangers of climate change driven by our addiction to fossil fuels, can see that clean renewable energy - wind, solar, nuclear and stuff we haven't yet invented - is going to be the next great global industry. It has to be if we are going to grow in a stable way.
Therefore, the country that most owns the clean power industry is going to most own the next great technology breakthrough - the E.T. revolution, the energy technology revolution - and create millions of jobs and thousands of new businesses, just like the I.T. revolution did.
Therefore, the country that most owns the clean power industry is going to most own the next great technology breakthrough - the E.T. revolution, the energy technology revolution - and create millions of jobs and thousands of new businesses, just like the I.T. revolution did.
The truth is that Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Pakistan are just different fronts in the same war. The core problem is that the Arab-Muslim world in too many places has been failing at modernity, and were it not for $120-a-barrel oil, that failure would be even more obvious. For far too long, the region has been dominated by authoritarian politics, massive youth unemployment, outdated education systems, a religious establishment resisting reform and now a death cult that glorifies young people committing suicide.
COLUMNIST
Roger Cohen: The slow train to Champagne
ÉPERNAY, France: Uniformity of style is one of the depressing aspects of globalization, and nowhere more so than in the wine business. The global craving for big, fruity, caramel-laced reds, heavy on berry-filled taste but short on structure, has caused winemakers the world over to jump on the easy-drinking bandwagon.
I drink Chiantis these days that have nothing to do with the wonderful, rough, tannic wine I consumed by the fiasco when a student in Florence in the 1970s. They've gone all soft and facile, their distinguishing tannins and acidity smoothed away for the global palate. A peasant wine has been smartened up and undermined. Many Spanish Riojas have undergone similar taming.
The result is wines well adapted to our instant-gratification world, offering a blast of flavor followed by a great void. Because the new wines yield so easily, they have nothing left to give.
The years cannot soften nonexistent tannins; fruit cannot be offset by nonexistent acidity. Aging is pointless. The Californization of Chianti is globalization at its banalizing worst.
France has not been immune to this rush for a global taste; some winegrowing areas have had trouble competing with aggressively marketed New World wines. But this is a conservative country that knows that ease and good wine are rarely bedfellows, and a visit to Champagne remains a comforting experience.
I drink Chiantis these days that have nothing to do with the wonderful, rough, tannic wine I consumed by the fiasco when a student in Florence in the 1970s. They've gone all soft and facile, their distinguishing tannins and acidity smoothed away for the global palate. A peasant wine has been smartened up and undermined. Many Spanish Riojas have undergone similar taming.
The result is wines well adapted to our instant-gratification world, offering a blast of flavor followed by a great void. Because the new wines yield so easily, they have nothing left to give.
The years cannot soften nonexistent tannins; fruit cannot be offset by nonexistent acidity. Aging is pointless. The Californization of Chianti is globalization at its banalizing worst.
France has not been immune to this rush for a global taste; some winegrowing areas have had trouble competing with aggressively marketed New World wines. But this is a conservative country that knows that ease and good wine are rarely bedfellows, and a visit to Champagne remains a comforting experience.
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Make way for the white Bordeaux
LEOGNAN, France: Here in the sleek, modern cellar at Domaine de Chevalier, a historic estate concealed by a forest just west of town, the custom for tasting is reversed. In most wine regions, the whites serve primarily as palate-fresheners before the serious business of evaluating the reds. But the reds are the prelude here and elsewhere in Pessac-Léognan, in the heart of the historic Bordeaux region once known simply and evocatively as Graves.
First come barrel samples of the fresh and lively 2007 red and the smoother, more polished 2006. Then, from bottles, the dense, powerful 2005 and the elegant 2004.
Only now is it time for the whites. The Domaine de Chevalier 2007, still in oak barrels, trumpets its presence with an explosive burst of pure sauvignon blanc fruit and a beautifully opaque texture that invites repeated sips in an effort to penetrate the wine's mystery.
The 2006, not yet bottled, is rounder and less flamboyant, showing evidence of the wine's other key component, the semillon grape, and the beginnings of a nutlike complexity that will emerge over a decade or so.
These are serious, potentially profound dry whites, from Bordeaux of all places, which takes almost literally the jocular maxim that the first duty of wine is to be red. Pessac-Léognan is the home of renowned estates like Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, not to mention other fine red wine producers like Haut-Bailly and Pape Clément. Indeed, around 85 percent of the wine made in Pessac-Léognan is red.
First come barrel samples of the fresh and lively 2007 red and the smoother, more polished 2006. Then, from bottles, the dense, powerful 2005 and the elegant 2004.
Only now is it time for the whites. The Domaine de Chevalier 2007, still in oak barrels, trumpets its presence with an explosive burst of pure sauvignon blanc fruit and a beautifully opaque texture that invites repeated sips in an effort to penetrate the wine's mystery.
The 2006, not yet bottled, is rounder and less flamboyant, showing evidence of the wine's other key component, the semillon grape, and the beginnings of a nutlike complexity that will emerge over a decade or so.
These are serious, potentially profound dry whites, from Bordeaux of all places, which takes almost literally the jocular maxim that the first duty of wine is to be red. Pessac-Léognan is the home of renowned estates like Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, not to mention other fine red wine producers like Haut-Bailly and Pape Clément. Indeed, around 85 percent of the wine made in Pessac-Léognan is red.
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U.S. law firm seeks publicity - and clients - in France for lawsuit against Société Générale
PARIS: U.S. lawyers seeking to bring a class-action lawsuit against the French bank Société Générale over its billions of euros of unexpected losses this year came to France on Wednesday looking for publicity, in the latest example of American law firms seeking to drum up business overseas.
Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, one of the most prominent U.S. law firms specializing in class actions, hopes that a U.S. District Court in Manhattan will decide to certify that French shareholders of Société Générale are part of the class alongside their American counterparts.
Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, one of the most prominent U.S. law firms specializing in class actions, hopes that a U.S. District Court in Manhattan will decide to certify that French shareholders of Société Générale are part of the class alongside their American counterparts.
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A 'mistake,' Riccardo Riccò says of doping during Tour de France
"What I did during the Tour is done. I made a mistake and the mistake is only mine," Riccò said after the hearing behind closed doors in Rome.
"I have always won with my own legs. Unfortunately I've made a mistake and I will pay for it," Riccò added. "For now, I'm not even thinking of going back on a bike.
"I'm here because I had a huge burden and I wanted to get rid of it."
"I have always won with my own legs. Unfortunately I've made a mistake and I will pay for it," Riccò added. "For now, I'm not even thinking of going back on a bike.
"I'm here because I had a huge burden and I wanted to get rid of it."
IOC agrees to Internet blocking at the Games
BEIJING: The Chinese government has confirmed what journalists arriving at the lavishly outfitted media center here have suspected: Contrary to previous assurances by Olympic and government officials, the Internet will be censored during the upcoming Games.
The International Olympic Committee quietly agreed to some of the limitations, according to a press official, Kevin Gosper, the Reuters news agency reported.
Gosper told Reuters on Wednesday that he had only just learned of the agreement. Sandrine Tonge, the IOC media relations coordinator, said the organization would press the Chinese authorities to reconsider the limits.
The International Olympic Committee quietly agreed to some of the limitations, according to a press official, Kevin Gosper, the Reuters news agency reported.
Gosper told Reuters on Wednesday that he had only just learned of the agreement. Sandrine Tonge, the IOC media relations coordinator, said the organization would press the Chinese authorities to reconsider the limits.
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Teacher who posted quake photos sent to labor camp
BEIJING: A Chinese schoolteacher who posted his photographs of quake-damaged schools on the Internet has been ordered to a labor camp for a year, a human rights group said Wednesday.
The group, Human Rights in China, identified the teacher as Liu Shaokun and said he worked at Guanghan Middle School in Deyang City in Sichuan Province, which was ravaged by the powerful earthquake on May 12.
The group, Human Rights in China, identified the teacher as Liu Shaokun and said he worked at Guanghan Middle School in Deyang City in Sichuan Province, which was ravaged by the powerful earthquake on May 12.
CIA official confronts Pakistan over ties to border militants
WASHINGTON: A top Central Intelligence Agency official traveled secretly to Islamabad this month to confront Pakistan's most senior officials with new information about ties between the country's powerful spy service and militants operating in Pakistan's tribal areas, according to American military and intelligence officials.
The CIA emissary presented evidence showing that members of the spy service had deepened their ties with some militant groups who were responsible for a surge of violence in Afghanistan, possibly including the suicide bombing this month of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, the officials said.
The decision to confront Pakistan with what the officials described as a new CIA assessment of the spy service's activities seemed to be the bluntest American warning to Pakistan about the ties between the spy service and Islamic militants since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The CIA assessment specifically points to links between members of the spy service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, and the militant network led by Maulavi Jalaluddin Haqqani, which American officials believe maintains close ties to senior figures of Al Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal areas.
The CIA emissary presented evidence showing that members of the spy service had deepened their ties with some militant groups who were responsible for a surge of violence in Afghanistan, possibly including the suicide bombing this month of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, the officials said.
The decision to confront Pakistan with what the officials described as a new CIA assessment of the spy service's activities seemed to be the bluntest American warning to Pakistan about the ties between the spy service and Islamic militants since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The CIA assessment specifically points to links between members of the spy service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, and the militant network led by Maulavi Jalaluddin Haqqani, which American officials believe maintains close ties to senior figures of Al Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal areas.
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Pakistan clash kills 25 Taliban and 5 soldiers
MINGORA, Pakistan: Twenty-five Taliban militants and five Pakistani soldiers were killed in a fierce clash in the troubled Swat valley in Pakistan's northwest on Wednesday, the military said.
The fighting broke out after about 70 militants attacked a security post in the Ucharai Sar area near Matta, a known stronghold of militants in the region.
The fighting broke out after about 70 militants attacked a security post in the Ucharai Sar area near Matta, a known stronghold of militants in the region.
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More foreign fighters join Taliban in Afghanistan
KABUL: More foreign fighters are joining the ranks of Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan as militants increasingly cross the border from Pakistan to attack Afghan and Western troops, the Afghan Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
Afghanistan has kept up a barrage of criticism against neighbour Pakistan in the last three months, accusing Pakistani agents of being behind a string of high-profile attacks and allowing militants sanctuary along the long and porous border.
"The presence of foreign fighters is increasing, and increasingly the operations of the terrorists are led by foreigners," Defence Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zaher Azimi told a news conference.
Afghanistan has kept up a barrage of criticism against neighbour Pakistan in the last three months, accusing Pakistani agents of being behind a string of high-profile attacks and allowing militants sanctuary along the long and porous border.
"The presence of foreign fighters is increasing, and increasingly the operations of the terrorists are led by foreigners," Defence Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zaher Azimi told a news conference.
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Militants kill woman "U.S. spy" in NW Pakistan
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan: Militants shot and killed an Afghan woman accused of being a U.S spy in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, and dumped her body in a sewer, a witness and intelligence officials said on Wednesday.
The pro-Taliban militants in North and South Waziristan have killed dozens of people they accused of being Pakistani government supporters or spies for U.S. forces based in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The killing of women, however, has been rare.
The body of Gulzada Bibi, a woman in her mid-thirties, was found with three bullet wounds in her chest near Degan village, some 35 km (22 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, the officials said.
"A note pinned to her body said she belonged to Afghanistan's Paktia province and was caught with a satellite phone she had been using to spy for the U.S.," said, Abdullah, a resident of the village.
The pro-Taliban militants in North and South Waziristan have killed dozens of people they accused of being Pakistani government supporters or spies for U.S. forces based in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The killing of women, however, has been rare.
The body of Gulzada Bibi, a woman in her mid-thirties, was found with three bullet wounds in her chest near Degan village, some 35 km (22 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, the officials said.
"A note pinned to her body said she belonged to Afghanistan's Paktia province and was caught with a satellite phone she had been using to spy for the U.S.," said, Abdullah, a resident of the village.
The killing came two days after a suspected U.S. missile attack killed six people in neighbouring South Waziristan, that Pakistani intelligence officials said had killed an al Qaeda chemical and biological weapons expert named Abu Khabab-al-Masri.
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LETTERS
Female suicide bombers
Regarding the article "Female suicide bombers kill 48 in Iraq" (July 28): Why are we still shocked by female suicide bombers? We express shock that women could engage in that much violence, but history shows us that women are as capable of indiscriminate violence as men.Female suicide bombers have been with us since the 1980s and have shown how effective female human bombs can be in Sri Lanka, Chechnya and the Middle East.If women can go into combat for the United States military why is it so difficult to understand that they can also be on the front lines of a radical cause?
Julie Shedd Arlington, Virginia
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Another bomb defused in western India
AHMADABAD, India: Police defused another explosive device Wednesday in western India, bringing the total number of unexploded bombs found there in the last two days to 19.
Radovan Karadzic arrives in The Hague for trial at UN war crimes tribunal
THE HAGUE: Less than two weeks after the police pulled him off a bus in downtown Belgrade, Radovan Karadzic, the onetime psychiatrist turned warmonger who hid from the law as a peddler of New Age medicine, has now taken on a fresh persona, that of prisoner of the United Nations war crimes tribunal.
He will have a cell to himself, equipped with a cable television on which he can undoubtedly follow broadcasts about this new stage of his notorious life.
Reportedly shorn of his long hair and large beard that was part of his disguise for almost a decade, Karadzic is to appear in court for the first time on Thursday to answer for the brutalities he inflicted as the wartime leader of Bosnian Serbs.
He will have a cell to himself, equipped with a cable television on which he can undoubtedly follow broadcasts about this new stage of his notorious life.
Reportedly shorn of his long hair and large beard that was part of his disguise for almost a decade, Karadzic is to appear in court for the first time on Thursday to answer for the brutalities he inflicted as the wartime leader of Bosnian Serbs.
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LETTERS
Karadzic at the Hague
Karadzic at the Hague
Regarding the article "Karadzic backers' plan makes Belgrade uneasy" (July 29): The Hague tribunal has consistently demonstrated its anti-Serbian bias as it has mostly refused to prosecute and punish crimes committed against Serbian civilians. The release of the Bosnian Muslim Naser Oric and the Kosovo Albanian Ramush Haradinaj, despite overwhelming evidence of their crimes, are two of the most recent examples. Demanding the extradition of Radovan Karadzic to the Hague instead of trying him in Serbia may likely bring down Serbia's government and provoke a wave of violence that will further distance Serbia from Europe and contribute to further destabilizing the unstable Balkans. Is this really what European leaders want? Michael Pravica Henderson, Nevada
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/30/opinion/edlet.php
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/30/opinion/edlet.php
U.S. blacks, if a nation, would rank high on AIDS
If black America were a country, it would rank 16th in the world in the number of people living with the AIDS virus, the Black AIDS Institute, an advocacy group, reported Tuesday.
The report, financed in part by the Ford Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, provides a startling new perspective on an epidemic that was first recognized in 1981.
Nearly 600,000 African-Americans are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and up to 30,000 are becoming infected each year. When adjusted for age, their death rate is two and a half times that of infected whites, the report said. Partly as a result, the hypothetical nation of black America would rank below 104 other countries in life expectancy.
The report, financed in part by the Ford Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, provides a startling new perspective on an epidemic that was first recognized in 1981.
Nearly 600,000 African-Americans are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and up to 30,000 are becoming infected each year. When adjusted for age, their death rate is two and a half times that of infected whites, the report said. Partly as a result, the hypothetical nation of black America would rank below 104 other countries in life expectancy.
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OPINION
A DANGEROUS SHIFT
The wrong way to fight AIDS
Laurie Garrett is a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations
In a few days some 20,000 people who work in various capacities on the AIDS pandemic will gather in Mexico City for the International AIDS Conference. I will not be there: This will mark the first AIDS Conference I have deliberately missed since 1985, when a cluster of scientists convened the first such gathering in Atlanta.
Many of the leading lights in the battle against AIDS from all over the world are similarly disinclined to attend, saying they are not able to join in celebrating the creation of a vast, multibillion dollar AIDS treatment industry, employing hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide that serve as a vested lobby on behalf of a prolonged medical approach to a virus that ought to be eliminated entirely from the pantheon of threats to Humanity.
Do not misunderstand - there is genuine joy among us every day that millions of people are kept alive because of the 1996 invention of combination drug treatment for HIV. All HIV-positive people the world over should be able to share in the benefits of those treatments, and the U.S. Congress is to be congratulated for recently passing a $48 billion reauthorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or Pepfar.
But it is troubling that formerly militant activists, United Nations agency leaders, government health officials, the American foreign policy establishment, religious leaders, scientists and physicians fail to see AIDS treatment for what it is: A stop-gap measure to tide humanity over until we can collectively reach what ought to be our real goal - stopping HIV's spread, entirely. On an individual basis living with AIDS is a proper goal; on a population basis it is catastrophic.
Many of the leading lights in the battle against AIDS from all over the world are similarly disinclined to attend, saying they are not able to join in celebrating the creation of a vast, multibillion dollar AIDS treatment industry, employing hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide that serve as a vested lobby on behalf of a prolonged medical approach to a virus that ought to be eliminated entirely from the pantheon of threats to Humanity.
Do not misunderstand - there is genuine joy among us every day that millions of people are kept alive because of the 1996 invention of combination drug treatment for HIV. All HIV-positive people the world over should be able to share in the benefits of those treatments, and the U.S. Congress is to be congratulated for recently passing a $48 billion reauthorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or Pepfar.
But it is troubling that formerly militant activists, United Nations agency leaders, government health officials, the American foreign policy establishment, religious leaders, scientists and physicians fail to see AIDS treatment for what it is: A stop-gap measure to tide humanity over until we can collectively reach what ought to be our real goal - stopping HIV's spread, entirely. On an individual basis living with AIDS is a proper goal; on a population basis it is catastrophic.
.
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LA blocks new fast-food outlets from poor areas
UN to end peace mission to Horn of Africa
UNITED NATIONS, New York: The Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to end its eight-year peacekeeping mission between Eritrea and Ethiopia, a failure that Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has warned could lead to war between the two neighbors in the Horn of Africa.
Council members and other diplomats said the United Nations had little choice but to withdraw its 1,700-member force, which has been monitoring a buffer zone 25 kilometers, or 15 miles, wide and 1,000 kilometers long between the two nations.
Council members and other diplomats said the United Nations had little choice but to withdraw its 1,700-member force, which has been monitoring a buffer zone 25 kilometers, or 15 miles, wide and 1,000 kilometers long between the two nations.
Racism in Italy? Roma crackdown draws critics
ROME: A curious thing happened when Italian sunbathers near Naples found themselves steps away from the bodies of two Roma girls who drowned in the sea -- absolutely nothing.
The girls had gone swimming, got into difficulty and drowned, despite a rescue attempt.
Once their corpses were dragged ashore and covered with towels, many beachgoers went back to the task in hand, sunning themselves for an hour until police took the bodies of Cristina, 11, and her sister Violetta, 12, away.
The reaction, or lack of it, was captured in a widely published photograph that has resonated in Italy and abroad. It has raised questions about attitudes towards Roma as Italy pursues a "census" of minorities as a way of tackling crime.
The girls had gone swimming, got into difficulty and drowned, despite a rescue attempt.
Once their corpses were dragged ashore and covered with towels, many beachgoers went back to the task in hand, sunning themselves for an hour until police took the bodies of Cristina, 11, and her sister Violetta, 12, away.
The reaction, or lack of it, was captured in a widely published photograph that has resonated in Italy and abroad. It has raised questions about attitudes towards Roma as Italy pursues a "census" of minorities as a way of tackling crime.
"Indifference isn't an emotion for human beings," said Naples Cardinal Crescenzo Sepe. "And it is much less one that can and should be directed at Violetta and Cristina, already marked by a life of hardship and perhaps weakened by prejudice."
Spain warns of big attack by separatists ETA soon
MADRID: Authorities in Spain's Basque Country fear separatist guerrilla group ETA will attempt a big attack soon and have ordered police to increase security measures, police said on Wednesday.
The rare warning, contained in an internal police memorandum later published on the police website, follows a spate of small bombings blamed on ETA at seaside resorts that are timed to hurt Spain's tourism sector during its high season.
The rare warning, contained in an internal police memorandum later published on the police website, follows a spate of small bombings blamed on ETA at seaside resorts that are timed to hurt Spain's tourism sector during its high season.
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Car bomb in Russian republic kills 2 police officers
NAZRAN, Russia: A car bomb exploded outside the regional police headquarters in the troubled Russian republic of Ingushetia on Wednesday morning, killing at least two police, officials said.
The blast took place in the parking lot of Ingushetia's Interior Ministry in Nazran, the republic's principal city. Ministry and emergency officials variously gave the death toll at two or three officers, with at least three others seriously wounded.
The blast took place in the parking lot of Ingushetia's Interior Ministry in Nazran, the republic's principal city. Ministry and emergency officials variously gave the death toll at two or three officers, with at least three others seriously wounded.
Irish unemployment hits 9-year high
DUBLIN: Ireland's unemployment rate has hit a 9-year high of 5.9 percent, government statisticians reported Wednesday, as economists warned that layoffs were spreading quickly from construction to most parts of the economy.
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U.S. mortgage applications fall to 2000 levels
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Report shows confidence plunging in euro area
BRUSSELS: Business and consumer confidence plunged in the euro zone in July to the lowest level in more than five years, the European Commission said Wednesday.
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Risk of negative equity is rising
LONDON: Some 70,000 homeowners are currently in negative equity and that figure could rise to 1.7 million if house prices decline by a further 17 percent, according to Standard & Poors.
The rating agency calculates that for every further percentage point decline in house prices, a further 0.5-1.5 percent of borrowers -- the equivalent of 60,000 to 180,000 homeowners -- could enter negative equity.
The rating agency calculates that for every further percentage point decline in house prices, a further 0.5-1.5 percent of borrowers -- the equivalent of 60,000 to 180,000 homeowners -- could enter negative equity.
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U.S. stimulus effective in lifting spending-study
WASHINGTON: Tight-fisted U.S. consumers wary of anaemic economic growth opened their wallets between May and July and spent their economic stimulus checks, a recent study has found.
"Our findings underscore the potency of the economic stimulus payments in stabilizing consumer spending during recessions," said authors Christian Broda of the University of Chicago and Jonathan Parker of Northwestern University.
The typical family increased their spending on food, mass-merchandise and drug products by 3.5 percent when their government stimulus checks arrived, the study found.
"Our findings underscore the potency of the economic stimulus payments in stabilizing consumer spending during recessions," said authors Christian Broda of the University of Chicago and Jonathan Parker of Northwestern University.
The typical family increased their spending on food, mass-merchandise and drug products by 3.5 percent when their government stimulus checks arrived, the study found.
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U.S. firms surprise by adding jobs in July
Companies in the U.S. unexpectedly added an estimated 9,000 jobs in July, a private report based on payroll data showed today.
The increase followed a revised drop of 77,000 for the prior month that was smaller than previously estimated, ADP Employer Services said.
The increase followed a revised drop of 77,000 for the prior month that was smaller than previously estimated, ADP Employer Services said.
Foreign secretary increases pressure on Brown
LONDON: Foreign Secretary David Miliband turned up the pressure Wednesday on Prime Minister Gordon Brown, publishing an article saying that their Labour Party must change and defy the odds to win the next election
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House of Lords overturns ruling in BAE inquiry
LONDON: A senior British prosecutor's decision to drop a bribery investigation into BAE Systems Plc weapons contracts with Saudi Arabia doesn't need to be reconsidered, the highest court in Britain ruled.
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Eton schoolboy rides for China
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COLUMNIST
Maureen Dowd: Cyclops and cunning
The British opposition leader David Cameron gave Obama a copy of Winston Churchill's "A History of the English-Speaking Peoples" and a box of CDs by British bands, including the Smiths, Radiohead and the Gorillaz.
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS COPYRIGHT IAN WALTHEW 2008
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