Blair and Brown listen as Archbishop of Canterbury condemns Iraq war decisions

Solemnity and ritual, ancient words and a mother whose grief at the loss of her son was “the worst pain ever”. As St Paul’s Cathedral filled with the sound of the choir as it sang the anthem — Bible verses honouring the dead; another age, another war — Tracey Hazel stepped forward to light the candle of remembrance, the candle that stood for her son, Ben Leaning, and all the other servicemen and women who lost their lives in the conflict in Iraq.It was a symbolic moment, but in more ways than the organisers of the service of commemoration ever intended. The congregation may have been led by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, the front rows of the cathedral may have been dominated by the military top brass with their medals and braid, but for the bereaved families themselves, the ones who really pay the price of war, there is a respect and sympathy that was unheard of a generation ago.“I wanted to be here for Ben and all the fallen. I feel so privileged,” said Ms Hazel, whose son was killed in 2007 when his Scimitar was blown up by a roadside bomb. “It was so nice they chose one of the parents to do it, as it’s them that are left suffering when a loved one dies.”Next to the candle stood a marble plaque that had once been the centrepiece of the Memorial Wall in Basra and bears the biblical inscription: “Honourable age does not depend on length of days, nor is the true number of years a measure of life.”Lance Corporal Carl Stevens, 23, one of the bricklayers who constructed the wall, told the congregation how they built it, how they took it down again when the Army left Iraq, and how it is being constructed once more at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. He spoke in halting, unsure tones, the authentic voice of an ordinary soldier amid the grandeur and ceremony of St Paul’s.He may not have been used to speaking amid such exalted surroundings, but the Archbishop of Canterbury is, and he chose to use the occasion to deliver a message that, for all that it was delivered in moderate and well-tempered language, carried a sharp critique of the way in which Britain went to war with Iraq.On no fewer than three occasions in his address the Archbishop, who has previously described the decisions that led to the war as flawed, questioned the decision-making process that led to a conflict in which 179 Britons lost their lives.And there, in the second row, was Tony Blair, who was reponsible for that decision, and his expression — gaunt, solemn, unchanging — gave no indication of what he felt.If the Archbishop devoted most of his energy to questioning how Britain ended up at war in Iraq, he also praised the troops on the ground for their patient and consistent efforts, and thanked “those who have taught us through their sacrifice the sheer worth of justice and who have shouldered some of the responsibility”.While the Archbishop chose to question the war, the rest of the congregation by their very presence emphasised the sense of national unity. As well as former heads of the Army, Sir Mike Jackson and Sir Richard Dannatt; the former Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon; and President Talalbani of Iraq, no fewer than 12 members of the Royal Family attended the service, including the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William.But honouring the dead, and commemorating the efforts of the more than 100,000 members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel who served in Iraq, does not mean refusing to admit that mistakes were made. After the service Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said: “I think it is fair to say a lot of mistakes were made throughout the campaign by the coalition.”

Gold slips, taking breather as dollar rebounds

By Frank Tang and Jan HarveyNEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Friday as the market took a breather on the dollar's rebound the day after this week's sharp rally pushed gold to a record high above $1,060 an ounce.On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank must keep propping up the economy but cannot do so indefinitely for fear of triggering inflation. His comments dampened gold's appeal as an inflation hedge.Peter Buchanan, commodities analyst at CIBC, said policy makers would not allow the dollar to keep falling."We believe that the dollar has overshot to the downside, with a relief rally expected in the next two to three quarters," he said.Most-active December gold futures settled down $7.70 at $1,048.60 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.Spot gold was at $1,045.60 an ounce at 2:10 p.m. EDT (1810 GMT), against $1,054.00 late in New York on Thursday, a session that saw bullion hit a record $1,061.20.Gold ended 5 percent higher for the week as dollar weakness pushed gold to a series of record highs. Investors bought the metal as an alternative to paper currencies, and a weaker dollar also makes gold cheaper for non-U.S. investors.The Bernanke statement lifted the dollar index .DXY, off 14-month lows. The index measures the greenback's performance against a basket of six major currencies. "Everybody is watching the dollar. It was weak in the last few days but it has clawed back a few losses today after Bernanke spoke yesterday, so that has capped gold for the moment," said Calyon metals analyst Robin Bhar.Many expect persistent fears over currency market instability will push gold to further records this year as funds buy the metal as an alternative asset."It seems people are beginning to realize the real effect of quantitative easing -- not only the threat to inflation, but the threat to fiat currencies," said Nick Bullman, managing partner of hedge fund Bullman Investment Management."If you carry on just printing money, eventually people will start to look for another store of value."WEAK PHYSICAL DEMANDPhysical demand for gold remained weak as high prices deterred jewelers, traditionally the main buyers of gold. Buying in India, the world's largest bullion market last year, has been lackluster despite the onset of the festival season.Among other precious metals, silver also retreated from the 14-month high at $17.92 an ounce it hit on Thursday. Spot silver was at $17.70 an ounce against $17.72.

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski launched a new proceeding designed to fetter Internet service providers' ability to restrict content. And they would apply equally to wired and wireless connections. FCC chairman Julius Genachowski made his pitch this morning for network neutrality, and he did it in the most business-friendly language he could muster. But that didn't stop him from arguing that an open Internet must be the rule no matter how one gets on it—wired and wireless connections should both be nondiscriminatory towards content and applications.Genachowski delivered a major address this morning at the Brookings Institution in Washington, laying out his vision of an open Internet and rehashing the many ways that an open Internet is a spur to innovation of all kinds.Today, Internet access suffers from three problems, he said. First is the limited competition among Internet service providers, which is "simply a fact about today's marketplace." Second is the perverse economic incentives faced by the major U.S. ISPs, which also sell separate phone and TV service to the same customers who buy Internet access (and can increasingly access such services over the Web). Finally, the growth of Internet traffic can put pressure on ISPs.The resulting situation isn't about "bad guys" versus "good guys," but about the "inevitable tensions built into our system." That system has already led to ISP blocking of VoIP, degradation of P2P connections, and even a denial of access to certain political content (all examples cited by Genachoswki).To preserve the Internet's unique innovation engine, where the intelligence exists at the edges and where entrepreneurs don't need permission to build the next Skype or Google, Genachowski promises a fair proceeding that is driven by data and that listens to everyone. But when it's over, he wants the FCC to add two new principles to its existing "four freedoms": nondiscrimination and transparency.The nondiscrimination principle says that ISPs can't "discriminate against particular Internet content or applications," which means that traffic-throttling of particular apps and protocols would be forbidden, even in cases where an ISP does not block access entirely.The transparency principle states that ISPs must inform subscribers about their network-management practices. "Why does the FCC need to adopt this principle?" Genachowski asked. "The Internet evolved through open standards. It was conceived as a tool whose user manual would be free and available to all. But new network-management practices and technologies challenge this original understanding. Today, broadband providers have the technical ability to change how the Internet works for millions of users—with profound consequences for those users and content, application, and service providers around the world."The canonical example, of course, was Comcast's degradation of BitTorrent, which came to light in 2008. The cable ISP used TCP reset packets to disrupt certain P2P connections, changing the purpose and use of reset packets unilaterally.But when that Comcast case was finally ruled on by the FCC and the company was told to stop its practice, a dispute erupted: Did the FCC even have the authority to act on its "four freedoms"? Those Internet freedoms were explicitly not rules, and Comcast has since gone to court over the issue. Genachowski wants to make all six of his proposed Internet principles into official agency rules to make clear to ISPs exactly what's required of them, and to make sure the FCC has the authority to act if problems arise.As his speech neared its end, Genachowski turned to the most common criticisms of the plan—that it amounts to "government regulation of the Internet," that it's largely based on overheated conspiracy theories that exist only in the minds of groups like Free Press, and that it's antibusiness and therefore (in the long run) anticonsumer as well.“This is not about government regulation of the Internet. It’s about fair rules of the road for companies that control access to the Internet. We will do as much as we need to do, and no more, to ensure that the Internet remains an unfettered platform for competition, creativity, and entrepreneurial activity.“This is not about protecting the Internet against imaginary dangers. We’re seeing the breaks and cracks emerge, and they threaten to change the Internet’s fundamental architecture of openness. This would shrink opportunities for innovators, content creators, and small businesses around the country, and limit the full and free expression the Internet promises. This is about preserving and maintaining something profoundly successful and ensuring that it’s not distorted or undermined. If we wait too long to preserve a free and open Internet, it will be too late.Defining MomentsGenachowski has picked his battle. The network neutrality fight will consume much of his energy as chairman and won't be resolved anytime soon, but if Genachowski gets his six broad rules and applies them to all forms of Internet access, he will leave a pretty serious stamp on the direction of the Internet in the U.S.Google has come out in support of the idea, as have groups like Free Press. But Genachowski can't wave his magic "I was in business too!" wand and make resistance disappear. Wireless carriers, especially, despite a new commitment to openness on the part of Verizon Wireless and others, are worried.Chris Guttman-McCabe, vice president of regulatory affairs for CTIA - The Wireless Association, expressed his concern "about the unintended consequences that Internet neutrality regulation would have on investments from the very industry that's helping to drive the U.S. economy. We believe that this kind of regulation is unnecessary in the competitive wireless space as it would prevent carriers from managing their networks—such as curtailing viruses and other harmful content—to the benefit of their consumers."The Progress & Freedom Foundation upped the rhetorical ante with this pithy nugget from president Ken Ferree: "I find myself at a loss to understand why the administration wants to start meddling with a sector of the economy that, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, is performing pretty well by any rational standard. What exactly is the problem they are trying to remedy? It's almost as if they are trying to turn a story of success into one of failure."But, to Genachowski, the openness of the Internet has been the most crucial factor in its tremendous success, and he's ready to take on all comers in the battle that may define his time as head of the FCC.

Bernanke boosts dollar, commodities down

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated U.S. monetary policy could be tightened as a recovery takes hold, sending crude and metal prices lower.World stocks <.MIWD00000PUS> were steady as retreating commodity prices hurt heavyweight miners, offsetting gains in Asia <.MIASJ0000PUS> and emerging markets.Shares in emerging markets <.MSCIEF> advanced 0.4 percent, hitting a more than 13-month high for the fourth straight day, after better-than-expected U.S. corporate earnings and economic data soothed fears about the strength of the economic recovery.In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index was up 0.3 percent.Bernanke said on Thursday that the Fed must continue to prop up the economy for an extended period but can't do so indefinitely for fear of triggering an inflationary surge.His comments lifted the dollar <.DXY> off 14-month lows against a basket of currencies. The greenback was up 1.1 percent at 89.29 yen, while the euro fell 0.5 percent to $1.4723."Explanations by Fed officials have been helpful in clearing the air on what strategy will be taken as the economy recovers," said Ulrich Leuchtmann, currency strategist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.But Leuchtmann said that dollar gains on Bernanke's comments would be limited, as Fed was unlikely to raise rates until the second half of 2010."The market is not yet ready to jump on the rate rise outlook to aggressively buy the dollar," he said.Gold prices pulled back to below $1,050 an ounce, snapping a rally that took prices of the precious metal to all-time highs for three days in a row, while oil fell to $71 a barrel.Governments and central banks around the globe have injected trillions of dollars in the past year or so to pull the world out of a most severe recession since the 1930s Great Depression.The flood of liquidity has helped boost all investment asset classes from equities to government bonds."The longer that the rally lasts -- and the higher that equity prices go -- the greater the likelihood that, in this new world, policymakers will see their new job description as being to take away the punch bowl before the party gets going, not just in the usual sense of the word ... but before asset price pick-ups can become booms," said Michael Dicks, head of research and investment strategy at Barclays Wealth, in a report"For this reason, we remain circumspect concerning the longevity of any equities rally persisting through 2010."In another sign that the economy is on the mend, Europe's largest telecom Telefonica offered bigger-than-expected dividends. The Spanish company said it would hike its dividend per share by nearly 22 percent to 1.40 euros ($2.07) per share, far outstepping analyst expectations for 1.27 euros per share.Yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries were up 5 basis points at 3.301 percent, while the 10-year German bund yield, the euro zone's benchmark, was up 3 basis points at 3.171 percent.(Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu in London; Editing by Toby Chopra)© 2009 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. "Reuters" and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies. For additional information on other Reuters media services please visit