Crowds gathered near public buildings in small communities and major cities including New York, San Francisco and Chicago to vent their frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for change. "Civil marriages are a civil right, and we're going to keep fighting until we get the rights we deserve as American citizens," Karen Amico said in Philadelphia, holding up a sign reading "Don't Spread H8".

"We are the American family, WE LIVE NEXT DOOR TO YOU, WE TEACH YOUR CHILDREN, WE TAKE CARE OF YOUR ELDERLY," said Heather Baker a special education teacher from Boston who addressed the crowd at Boston's City Hall Plaza. "We need equal right across the country."

But anger over the ban and its backers was evident at the protests. One sign in Chicago read: 'Catholic Fascists Stay Out of Politics'. "I just found out that my state doesn't really think I'm a person," said Rose Aplustill, 21, a Boston University student from Los Osos, Calif., who was one of thousands at the Boston rally. The idea rapidly spread online and Join the Impact predicted that Saturday's protests would involve tens of thousands of people in hundreds of communities.

This was startling. Across the world there were reports of UNSEASONAL SNOW AND PLUMMETING TEMPERATURES last month, from the American Great Plains to China, and from the Alps to New Zealand. China's official news agency reported that Tibet had suffered its "WORST SNOWSTORM EVER". In the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration registered 63 LOCAL SNOWFALL RECORDS AND 115 LOWEST-EVER TEMPERATURES FOR THE MONTH, and ranked it as only the 70th-warmest October in 114 years.

So what explained the anomaly? GISS's computerised temperature maps seemed to show readings across a large part of Russia had been up to 10 degrees higher than normal. The reason for the freak figures was that scores of temperature records from Russia and elsewhere were not based on October readings at all. FIGURES FROM THE PREVIOUS MONTH HAD SIMPLY BEEN CARRIED OVER and repeated two months running.

GISS claimed to have discovered a new "hotspot" in the Arctic - in a month when satellite images were showing Arctic sea-ice recovering so fast from its summer melt that three weeks ago it was 30 per cent more extensive than at the same time last year. A GISS SPOKESMAN LAMELY EXPLAINED THAT GISS DID NOT HAVE RESOURCES TO EXERCISE PROPER QUALITY CONTROL OVER THE DATA IT WAS SUPPLIED WITH. This is an astonishing admission: the figures published by Dr Hansen's institute are not only one of the four data sets that the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) relies on to promote its case for global warming, but they are the most widely quoted, since they consistently show higher temperatures than the others.

Yet last week's latest episode is far from the first time DR HANSEN'S METHODOLOGY HAS BEEN CALLED IN QUESTION. In 2007 he was forced by Mr Watts and Mr McIntyre to revise his published figures for US surface temperatures, to show that the hottest decade of the 20th century was not the 1990s, as he had claimed, but the 1930s. Another of his close allies is Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC, who recently startled a university audience in Australia by claiming that global temperatures have recently been rising "very much faster".

In fact, as many of his audience were aware, they have not been rising in recent years and since 2007 have dropped. DR PACHAURI, A FORMER RAILWAY ENGINEER WITH NO QUALIFICATIONS IN CLIMATE SCIENCE, may believe what Dr Hansen tells him. But whether, on the basis of such evidence, it is wise for the world's governments to embark on some of the most costly economic measures ever proposed, TO REMEDY A PROBLEM WHICH MAY ACTUALLY NOT EXIST, is a question which should give us all pause for thought.

The exchange invited Grandma the Clown and Master of Ceremonies Carrie Harvey to both honor the circus' 31st season of entertainment and perhaps bring a bit of Main Street levity to traders battered by a collapsing market. After ringing the bell, Harvey and Grandma wandered the floor trying to spread joy and merriment, placing funny red noses on exchange officials to touch the funny bones of even the most shaken traders.

But by the end of a roller-coaster day of trading that saw the Dow Jones industrial average whipsaw from 300 points down to just above even and then right back down to finish off 337 points, good humor was in short supply. "What can I say? THE MARKET ENDED DOWN NEARLY 350 POINTS. EVEN THE BIG APPLE CIRCUS CLOWNS COULDN'T HELP," said Eckhart & Co. trader Peter Costa as he trudged off the floor.

Some analysts said the attempt by the NYSE to send in clowns to brighten the grim mood was childish. "IT'S LIKE THEY'RE TRYING TO BE THE MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION, CHEERING UP A TERMINALLY ILL CHILD," said Bill King, chief market strategist of M. Ramsey King Securities in Chicago. "IT'S A GREAT METAPHOR FOR A FINANCIAL SYSTEM THAT HAS BECOME A JOKE. It's great to try to create some levity, but there is DEFINITELY SOME UNINTENDED SYMBOLISM HERE."

It was a rich-country affair with Russia invited in during in the 1990s - but that was to tackle international political issues, not for the sake of a contribution to the economic discussions. How times have changed. A GLOBAL ECONOMIC PROBLEM needed a presence from developing country leaders.

There is without doubt going to be an economic downturn - a recession in many countries and period of slower economic growth for most, perhaps all others. A co-ordinated response is likely to be more effective in limiting its severity and duration. There has already been co-ordination between central banks. If this summit means more co-operation, it might help.

The G20 was already up and running as a forum for finance ministers with the big developing economies as members - China, India, Russia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and others. And so they came to Washington, as countries hit by the developed world's financial crisis and, in some cases, as countries that might be able to help fix it. It has certainly changed the cast of characters we are going to have to look to in the future to address the world's economic problems.

US President George W Bush said that finance ministers would now work on detailed reform proposals, and then report back. Leaders of emerging economies said THE SUMMIT MARKED A HISTORIC SHIFT OF POWER AWAY FROM THE RICHER COUNTRIES. Mr Bush's successor in the White House, Barack Obama, said in a statement that he was ready to work "together on these challenges" with the G20 when he takes office in January.

"The president-elect believes that the G20 summit… is an important opportunity to seek a coordinated response to the global financial crisis," said a statement issued in his name. The meeting brought together leading industrial powers, such as the US, Japan and Germany, and also emerging market countries such as China, India, Argentina, Brazil and others - representing 85% of the world economy. Brazil's President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said: "WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE G20 BECAUSE THE G8 DOESN'T HAVE ANY MORE REASON TO EXIST."

The G20 group of countries consists of 19 LEADING INDUSTRIALISED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, AS WELL AS THE EUROPEAN UNION. G20 leaders say they will meet again by 30 April, 2009, to review progress. Although no formal decision has been announced, France's President, Nicholas Sarkozy, made it clear that he expects London to be chosen as the venue.

The interview is arguably the most convincing Israeli statement of intent to date regarding the military option against Iran's nuclear arms project. When asked about the complexities of an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, which have been built to withstand a repeat of the IAF's raid against Osirak, Gilad told the Post that domestic critics 27 years ago said the Osirak raid "couldn't be done. And the fact is, it succeeded."

Gilad dismissed the idea that Israel might have to come to terms with the existence of a nuclear Iran and made it clear that a nuclear-armed Iran would constitute an existential threat, even if it did not proceed immediately to use the weapons against Israel. "The Iranians are determined to obtain nuclear weaponry," he said. "IRAN IS CONTROLLED BY AN IDEOLOGY AND A REGIME THAT HAS SET ITSELF THE GOAL TO BE RID OF ISRAEL."

For Israel, he said, "this is indeed a situation that we can't tolerate. What can be done about it? First of all, we still stick with the diplomatic option, and all the options are on the table, as President [George W.] Bush said." Beyond that, he said, "I can't go into details. Elaborating directly assists the enemy in its war against Israel. The test will be in the result - whether we are able or not to prevent this grave threat. The more we talk about it - however seductive that may be - the more we brag, the more we weaken our capacity to achieve. WE CANNOT ACCEPT A NUCLEAR IRAN. WE CANNOT BE RECONCILED TO IT."

DIFFERING AGENDAS

UNITED STATES - The US is scared of new, ONEROUS REGULATION and is urging European countries to respect free-market principles on the basis that long-term state intervention will damage economic growth. But US policy on bailing out troubled industries is split: Barack Obama, the President-elect, wants to use federal funds to rescue American car companies; many Republicans do not.

BRITAIN - Gordon Brown has a long list. To start with, he wants "co-ordinated fiscal stimulus packages" — which means getting countries to increase public spending to create new jobs and offer tax rebates to families. He wants the IMF to create a council of experts to monitor the markets for danger signs — his much-vaunted early-warning system — and the IMF's coffers to be boosted by cash-rich states such as Saudi Arabia and China. He is also calling for A CLEAN-UP OF THE BANKING SYSTEM, including a network of regulators to scrutinise the world's biggest banks.

FRANCE - President Sarkozy is also pushing for cross-border regulation, meaning he wants to control French banks even when they are operating outside French borders. HE SEES THE CRISIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEPOSE THE US DOLLAR AS THE KING OF CURRENCIES, AND REPLACE IT WITH THE EURO. Mr Sarkozy would also like an overhaul of the world financial architecture, including making rating agencies more regulated and forcing accounting standards to be the same worldwide.

GERMANY - The Germans are deeply suspicious of SECRETIVE HEDGE FUNDS, which control about $2.5 trillion worth of assets and whose activities are not regulated. They blame the hedge funds for market volatility and driving down shares by short-selling. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor, also backs greater powers for the IMF to oversee international companies, revised rules for rating agencies and making it harder to hide risks off company balance sheets.

RUSSIA - PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV wants more say in the IMF, so he IS TEAMING UP WITH MR SARKOZY to back President Bush into a corner. He wants alternatives to the IMF as lenders of last resort and is willing to contribute to the cost of the new agencies. Russia has also pressed for international budgetary and economic rules to prevent any further crises

CHINA - China wants to press the West for a bigger role in global financial bodies such as the IMF but at the same time it has been trying to LOWER WESTERN EXPECTATIONS THAT IT WILL JOIN IN GLOBAL ACTIONS. It cites as reasons its own economic problems and limited resources as a developing country.

BRAZIL - and other developing nations want changes to the voting structure at the IMF and the World Bank's to give them more of a voice.

Even before the passage of Proposition 8, Californians Against Hate compiled and published a "dishonor roll" of those individuals, along with their company affiliations, who gave $5,000 or more towards supporting the measure. Telephone numbers and Web sites were added along with commentary about some of the larger donors to public information obtained through the California Secretary of State's Office.

"My goal was to make it socially unacceptable to give huge amounts of money to take away the rights of one particular group, a minority group," says Fred Karger, a retired political consultant and founder of Californians Against Hate. "I wanted to make the public aware of who these people are and how much they're giving and then they could make a decision as to whether or not they want to patronize their businesses."

Karger says a "soft boycott" they started against Bolthouse Farms, which gave $100,000 to Proposition 8, was dropped after he reached a settlement with the company. BOLTHOUSE FARMS WAS TO GIVE AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY TO GAY POLITICAL CAUSES. The amount ultimately equaled $110,000.

Jacques Polak, the last known surviving delegate to the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, said INADEQUATE SUPERVISION OF BANKS - not the financial system itself - CAUSED THE GLOBAL CREDIT CRISIS THAT IS DRIVING THE WORLD TO RECESSION. "The task now is not to make a completely new system, which is appealing politically, but it isn't what the doctor ordered," said Polak, 94, who attended Bretton Woods as a member of the Dutch delegation.

That is one similarity between the situation in 1944 and today, according to IMF historian James Boughton, who noted that a gathering of 20 world leaders at a few weeks notice showed they were taking the crisis seriously. "As was true at Bretton Woods, the fact that EVERYBODY KNEW THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE were enormous creates the political will in which major changes can take place," he said. "And we're at that point now," Boughton said. "It's an opportunity and we need to seize the day and take advantage of it."

THE BRETTON WOODS SYSTEM, BASED ON FIXED EXCHANGE RATES TIED TO GOLD RESERVES and the U.S. dollar, broke down as industrialized countries moved to floating currencies and the influence of capital markets grew. "The general attitude of the current U.S. administration was of the belief that these things took care of themselves and government should stay out of it, and that turned out to be fatal," Polak said.

Through war and recession, Americans have turned to the glistening canned product from Hormel as a way to save money while still putting something that resembles meat on the table. Now, in a sign of the times, it is happening again, and Hormel is cranking out as much SPAM AS ITS WORKERS CAN PRODUCE. SPAM "SEEMS TO DO WELL WHEN HARD TIMES HIT," said Dan Bartel, business agent for the union local. "We'll probably see Spam lines instead of soup lines." Even as consumers are cutting back on all sorts of goods, Spam is among a select group of thrifty grocery items that are selling steadily.

Pancake mixes and instant potatoes are booming. So are vitamins, fruit and vegetable preservatives and beer, according to data from October compiled by Information Resources, a market research firm. "We've seen a double-digit increase in the sale of rice and beans," said Teena Massingill, spokeswoman for the Safeway grocery chain, in an e-mail message. "They're real belly fillers."

Spam holds a special place in America's culinary history, both as a source of humor and of cheap protein during hard times. Invented during the Great Depression by Jay Hormel, the son of the company's founder, SPAM IS A COMBINATION OF HAM, PORK, SUGAR, SALT, WATER, POTATO STARCH AND A "HINT" OF SODIUM NITRATE "TO HELP SPAM KEEP ITS GORGEOUS PINK COLOR," according to Hormel's Web site for the product. Because it is vacuum-sealed in a can and does not require refrigeration, Spam can last for years. Hormel says "it's like meat with a pause button."

Here in Austin, local officials have tried to capitalize on Spam's kitschy cultural status, even if a DECIDEDLY UNPLEASANT ODOR hangs over the town (A SLAUGHTERHOUSE NEXT TO THE HORMEL PLANT BUTCHERS 19,000 HOGS A DAY). Austin advertises itself as "Spamtown," and it boasts 13 restaurants with Spam on the menu.

The meeting may bring Hu's first chance to meet the new U.S. President-elect, but he will also face pressure for China to play a larger role in efforts to soften the impact of the worsening financial storm, particularly on the most vulnerable economies. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and others have called for countries with "substantial reserves," such as China, to contribute more to the International Monetary Fund.

BEIJING HAS KEPT THE DOOR OPEN TO GREATER PARTICIPATION, with a vague yet positive offer last week to consider pitching in, BUT HAS NOT SPELLED OUT WHAT IT MIGHT EXPECT IN RETURN.

After the Washington Summit Hu will head south to Peru for the meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news conference Tuesday. He will also pay state visits to Greece, Costa Rica and Cuba, where he will meet fellow Communist leader Raul Castro. Castro may be hoping for Chinese help to weather the global financial crisis, which has come as a painful blow to the small island nation, already reeling from two powerful hurricanes and soaring import prices.

The U.S. has objected to Russia's greater links with the two countries that have antagonistic relations with Washington. Medvedev will visit Cuba on Nov. 27, the Kremlin press service said. He will also visit Brazil during the trip.

The Soviet Union was a stalwart supporter of Cuban leader Fidel Castro during the Cold War. Under Hugo Chavez, Venezuela has moved to buy millions of dollars in Russian weaponry and invited Russian energy giants to drill in the country's oil fields. A Russian naval flotilla is on its way to the Caribbean to hold joint military exercises with Venezuelan forces.

The fire near the community of Sylmar has so far burnt through 8,000 acres (3,237 hectares) and destroyed hundreds of homes in the San Fernando Valley. Further west, another fire continues to burn in the wealthy town of Montecito. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proclaimed a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara County. "When you walk around the areas that were devastated, it looked like hell today," he told a news conference on Saturday.

The mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, has meanwhile warned that the fire has brought down power lines and could cause rolling blackouts. "We're at the mercy of the wind. Mother Nature's not been too good to us for the last 15 hours," he said. Mr Villaraigosa urged people living near the fire zone not to wait for the flames to approach before leaving. "IF YOU WAIT FOR THE FIRE TO GET THERE, YOU WAITED TOO LONG," he said.

No deaths have so far been reported, although Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton said he feared bodies might be found at the Oakridge Mobile Home Park, where some 500 mobile homes were burnt to the ground overnight. Mr Bratton said rescue crews would have to wait for the ground to cool before bringing in search dogs to find any victims. "IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE FIRESTORM," said Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Steve Ruda of the Oakridge blaze. "FIREFIGHTERS WERE BRAVING 50FT FLAME lengths as they swept across the mobile homes," he told the Reuters news agency, adding that HEAT FROM THE FLAMES HAD MELTED HIS FIREFIGHTERS' HOSES TO THE ROAD.

The Charter for Compassion project on the Internet at www.charterforcompassion.org springs from a "wish" granted this year to religious scholar Karen Armstrong at a premier Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference in California. "Tedizens" include Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin along with other Internet icons as well as celebrities such as Forest Whittaker and Cameron Diaz.

Armstrong's wish is to combine universal principles of respect and compassion into a charter based on a "golden rule" she believes is at the core of every major religion. The Golden Rule essentially calls on people to do unto others as they would have done unto them. "THE CHIEF TASK OF OUR TIME IS TO BUILD A GLOBAL SOCIETY WHERE PEOPLE OF ALL PERSUASIONS CAN LIVE TOGETHER IN PEACE AND HARMONY," Armstrong said.

"IF WE DO NOT ACHIEVE THIS, IT SEEMS UNLIKELY THAT WE WILL HAVE A VIABLE WORLD TO HAND ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION." Charter for Compassion invites people from "all faiths, nationalities, languages and backgrounds" to help draft statements of principles and actions that should be taken.

Sterling has fallen sharply in recent weeks amid fears about a UK recession. A Labour spokesman said Mr Osborne was being "irresponsible" by talking down the economy.

On Friday, the pound slipped to a 13-year low against a basket of other currencies. It hovered near a six-and-a half year low of $1.4555 and traded at 85.40 pence against the euro, also close to a record low of 86.62 pence. MR OSBORNE CLAIMS THE MORE THE PRIME MINISTER BORROWS, THE LESS ATTRACTIVE THE CURRENCY WILL BECOME.

He said: "We are in danger, if the government is not careful, of having a proper sterling collapse, a run on the pound. The danger of a run on the pound... is that it pushes up long-term interest rates, which is a huge burden on the economy. THE MORE YOU BORROW AS A GOVERNMENT THE MORE YOU HAVE TO SELL THAT DEBT AND THE LESS ATTRACTIVE YOUR CURRENCY SEEMS."