“Wall Street financier Bernard L. Madoff’s alleged 50-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme appears to have extended deeply into Southern California’s Jewish community, with millions of dollars in losses tallied Monday by charitable organizations, Hollywood executive Jeffrey Katzenberg and a foundation bankrolled by director Steven Spielberg,” the Los Angeles Times said.

The JFGLA said it lost 6.4 million dollars, about 11 percent of its endowment as a result of Madoff’s alleged fraud, according to the paper.

The Chais Family Foundation, dedicated to Jewish causes in the region, have shut down after losing money invested with Madoff, said the paper.

Madoff, who ran a years-long Ponzi scheme, was arrested last week on suspicion of masterminding a fraud in which early investors are paid artificially high returns using money put up by later investors.

So far, more than 30 organizations and individuals around the world have been identified as victims of the alleged deception.

But the disclosures by Jewish organizations in California “suggest a so-called affinity scam, in which members of a perpetrator’s ethnic or religious group are targeted,” the paper noted.

The losses at the charitable organizations came to light as they began notifying their boards of directors, donors and recipients, the paper said.

“In a word, it’s a catastrophe — by far the biggest Jewish story of the year,” Rob Eshman, editor in chief of the Los Angeles-based Jewish Journal, was quoted as saying.

Chai Chidchob said he had no plans to relocate or postpone the session because he believed MPs from different provinces will be able to coordinate with the DAAD core members, urging them not to incite unrest during the policy delivery.

Chai Chidchob believed the DAAD demonstrators also care for the country and want to see the country progress.

However, he said the parliament and security officials had set up a war room to monitor and assess the situation.

Supporters of the DAAD on Sunday morning started to gather at Sanam Luang (Royal Field) in central Bangkok and in front of the parliament, in an attempt to prevent the coalition government led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to delivery its policy statement on Monday and Tuesday as required by law.

The DAAD leaders said on Sunday the protests were aimed to pressure Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve the House to return the mandate to the people because the current government was established with a coup in disguise.

Hibiscus Christmas trees decorated with grevillea flowers, and pine cones topped with peanut butter and grapes on Wednesday’s breakfast menu, the Australian Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

Jumilah, a six-year-old female Sumatran tiger, ripped apart a small cardboard box to find her present — a large chunk of red meat.

Zoo keepers also left a small edible Christmas tree coated with frozen milk which they dyed green for her.

Meanwhile, the zoo’s elephants, including five-month-old Luk Chai, demolished giant ice pops filled with fruit. Luk Chai is putting on about one kilogram a day and remains keen to be the center of attention in all activities.

The mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), which handle cross-Strait issues on behalf of their respective authorities, held talks in the central Taiwan city of Taichung.

The topics included labor cooperation in the fishing industry, cooperation in inspection and quarantine of farm produce, and cooperation in standard measuring, inspection and certification.

“All the topics we choose to discuss are closely related to the interests of people,” said Chen Yunlin, ARATS president, at the opening of the talks. “The only way to measure our efforts is whether the agreements really benefit people across the Taiwan Strait.”

In the previous three rounds of talks since June 2008, the two sides reached nine agreements concerning transport, trade, tourism, cooperation in finance and fighting crime among other issues.

“We have done many things in the past one and half years that should have been done long before. We will work with our Taiwan counterparts to make sure the agreements are implemented and to close loopholes in them.” Chen said.

SEF chairman Chiang Pin-kun said Taiwan and mainland must jointly tackle economic challenges, and the establishment of a cross-Strait economic framework should not be delayed.

He called on both sides to contribute to economic prosperity and development as well as long-term peace and stability.

The agreements reached at previous meetings between SEF and ARATS had brought substantial benefits for the normalization of cross-Strait communication and benefited people on both sides, he said.

However, there was room for improvement and both sides needed to carry out further negotiations, he said.

He called for both sides across the Taiwan Strait to continue efforts to push for the development of systematic talks and promote cross-Strait communication and cooperation.

The ARATS and SEF are expected to discuss future negotiations on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), although talks on the agreement were not on the agenda of this meeting.

The two sides reached a basic consensus on avoiding double taxation and strengthening taxation cooperation in a preparatory meeting Monday afternoon.

At the symposium, Chen Yunlin, president of the mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), suggested Taiwan should not be “afraid” of competitors.

When the mainland began to open up, the enterprises and industries also worried that they would be beaten by overseas competitors, but 30 years after, they not only survived but also became stronger, Chen said.

“High liquidity of capital, people, resources and knowledge across the Taiwan Strait will bring prosperity to both sides,” he said. “The mainland’s advantage in manufacturing and Taiwan’s leading marketing will supplement each other. Thus, the two can form a bigger economic entity in face of global competition.”

Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kun echoed Chen’s remarks.

Chen Yunlin, president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), arrived for high-level trade talks scheduled to start today and was greeted by tens of thousands of anti-mainland demonstrators and mainland-friendly sympathizers.

The mixed reaction in the west-central city of Taichung indicates that views are split among the island’s population of 23 million toward its push for better ties with the mainland.

Security for Chen was tight yesterday as he was driven into the city from the heavily guarded Taichung Airport. About 5,000 officers have been deployed during his visit.

He is due to hold talks today with his Taiwan counterpart, Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). It is their fourth meeting since island leader Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang took power in May last year.

Most of the demonstrators were organized by the opposition pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.

Outside the Windsor Hotel where Chen is staying, crowds of demonstrators stood beyond a line of barbed wire, chanting pro-independence slogans, waving anti-mainland banners and blasting air horns. But hundreds of demonstrators, mostly elderly people, also shouted slogans to support Chen’s visit for “peace and development” in cross-Straits relations.

“On my way (to the hotel), I saw many compatriots who oppose my visit and others who welcome me here to engage in talks for a mutual win-win. I definitely respect the expression of different opinions and thank those who welcome us,” said Chen, who was smiling broadly after being whisked inside the hotel.

Despite the protests, Chen told his hosts that Beijing wants to “move down the road of peace.”

“History has proved and will prove that the two sides are marching ahead on the right path,” he told reporters. “We want to move down the road of peace.”

Both sides across the Straits will officially begin discussions on the long-expected economic co-operation framework agreement after Chen and Chiang hold initial talks on the deal today.

Chen is expected to sign three agreements on fishing cooperation, agricultural quarantine inspection and industrial product standards today. He will attend a business conference on Wednesday and tour the island on Thursday before leaving on Friday.

Negotiators from both sides decided yesterday not to sign a deal rejecting double taxation across the Taiwan Straits due to “technical reasons.”

The display is sponsored by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and coordinated by the Home Affairs Bureau.

Divided into 10 spectacular scenes, the fireworks will, for thefirst time, be discharged from four barges, making the display more panoramic.

Highlights of the display are the fourth, sixth and ninth scenes. The fourth scene featuring smiling-face patterns, coupled with colorful comets at low level, reminds Hong Kong people to keep smiling in all situations.

The sixth scene with fireworks shells bursting from water, changing color from gold to red patterns, will create appealing visual effects.

More than 1,000 palm shells will fill up the sky in the ninth scene enhanced with red heart and golden moon patterns.

The fireworks will reach the climax at the last scene with fast and rhythmic display of colorful patterns at different heights to create a stunning impact.

The display can be seen from many vantage points on both sides of the harbor, including Mid-levels, Central District, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and Hung Hom Bypass. However, part of Tsim Sha Tsui East will be closed due to construction work.

“The exhibition took me back to the unforgettable splendid and glorious years,” said visitor Chen Lianzhang, a retired engineer who moved to the city from Hunan Province in 1984.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Chinese painters began to make innovations in socialist landscape painting in a reply to the requirement that art must serve both people and politics.

In the following 30 years, a large number of new landscape paintings were produced, in which bustling cities and countryside scenes were combined with natural scenery.

“Representing a special period of socialist revolution and construction, these works are unique in China’s art history because they are different from both traditional Chinese landscape paintings, which lasted from the Tang Dynasty(618-907), to the Republic of China(1911-1949), and those avant-garde Chinese landscape paintings, which emerged in the 1980s,” said Chai Fengchun, curator of Guan Shanyue Art Gallery.

The works on display are the best examples of how Chinese landscape painters used the medium of traditional Chinese painting to depict China’s new life and landscape, Chai said.

The exhibition is on until Nov. 12.

This celebrated magazine saysˉMemoirs of a Geisha’ is an epic project, predicting it will be a strong competitor for next year’s Oscar.

It said that the two distributor tycoons Columbia Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures would guarantee this international corporation project’s success.

Taiwan director Chai Mingliang’s latest filmˉGoodbye Dragon Inn’ has also been included in the list of the ten most anticipated films for this year.

Zhou Baomai, a Luwan District special school teacher, was honored at a ceremony at Shanghai TV Station along with winners in other promotional categories. Zhou’s design features a green eye that holds two abstract figures striking athletic poses.

It was chosen from among 1,477 submissions from some 10 countries.

“It’s the eye of those who are mentally challenged, expressing their hope to be respected by society. It’s the eye of the rest of us, delivering to the disabled our deepest care and love,” said Chai Junyong, secretary-general of the event’s organizing committee.

The theme for the games will be”I know I can,” submitted by Lou Ruzhen from Zhejiang Province.

A video based on baizitu, a traditional painting theme featuring the images of 100 children, was chosen as the event’s TV public service announcement.

It was developed by two Americans, one Chinese and the Lifang Danyuan Design Workshop.

The winning theme was awarded 200,000 yuan and the video producers were given 300,000 yuan.

The Special Olympics will bring more than 10,000 athletes from some 150 countries and regions to Shanghai when it opens in October 2007.