SaLuSa July 4.Wed.2012
Angelo: Good day SaLuSa, would you kindly give us an update today please or if you have something to talk about.
Good day Angelo, Good day SaLuSa, thank you and you too. I would like to talk about ascension and coming events, also dark ones. You can expect the effect of the new energy coming to the planet Earth to change the dark one’s negative energy, because they are in an Energy Container which will amplify the negative thought process boomerang back to them, this will not be (LaughterAngelo) a pleasant vibration hitting them! I said in 2011, getting close to the end the effects would be harsh on the unawakened this is the Time! Their influence will fade away in a short period of time! Their attitude has to change, just by their own negative thoughts they will feel pain by the level of their negative thoughts! Lydia, he might bring you up to the spaceship!!
I ’m SaLuSa of Sirius, wishing all Love and Light, SaLuSa.
Thank you
SaLuSa
Angelo
Telepathic Transmission concluded
YouTube
*The UFO Is Still There By The Sun!
*Where the understanding of what is happening in the world is concerned there are virtually two camps, those who do not know or do not care, and those who do know but account for them by various explanations. It takes someone with a very open belief system to accept changes that alter their whole concept of what life is about.
The hardest part is acceptance that many of those you looked up to were puppets of the Illuminati, perpetuating the lies that held you in bondage to them. Fortunately the rising vibrations are lifting people up out of the darkness, and as their consciousness levels increase they are beginning to question their beliefs.
Much true information now exists and by following your intuition you will surely begin to understand the truth. Seeking for yourself will prepare you for an even greater understanding as with our coming, along with many other advanced beings, the truth will be staring you in the face.
Discerning the truth has nothing to do with intelligence and in fact it can often get in the way, and for many people it is simply a matter of discernment. Neither can you be guaranteed the truth by turning to religious movements, as what was started as a truthful attempt to enlighten people has been corrupted.
You will find that those who teach the truth do not impose it upon you, but simply present it as a helpful tool for your own development and seeking. The imposition of control through the fearful consequences of not following certain beliefs is nothing more than a terrible distortion of the truth.
Everything you need to know is held deep in your subconsciousness. That is how you can become your own person and you will intuitively know what is acceptable and has the ring of truth. However, always be open to an expansion of your understanding, because as you become lifted up it will go forward in leaps and bounds.
Take it bit by bit until you feel comfortable with what you have accepted, and you will find that your level of consciousness will expand quite quickly. Remember that if what you are given does not resonate with you, or carry the higher energies of Love and Light, it is unlikely to be of the truth.
When we can openly meet with you by all means question what we give you, as we are not Gods but may appear so as we are much further down the road of understanding. We cannot carry out miracles and our advanced technologies are the result of our greater understanding and use of the natural energies that fill the Universe.
Your scientists are often aware of the potential advancements but lack the knowhow to put them into being. However, some have been helped by other extraterrestrials for many years, along with knowledge obtained by back-engineering advanced technologies from crashed craft.
Instead of sharing such advancements they have been largely kept secret for reasons of power and control over the world. With our coming all of that will change and such secrets will be released for the benefit of all, along with free access to our technologies.
You have every right to be excited at the prospect of a wonderful future, free from unnecessary controls or limitations upon your freedom. With it will come levels of happiness you have not felt for a very long time. To that end the dark Ones have been identified and are already being removed to rid you of the cancer that has nearly destroyed your civilization.
With it will follow a cleansing that will remove all vestiges of their negative energies and their ability to impose themselves upon you. Peace is near, and all of the trouble spots will be attended to and cleared to allow removal of all evidence of the wars and military forces. Peace is not an option, it is your right to live free from interference to practice your own ways and live according to your cultures.
When the nature of the dark Cabal’s crimes is released it is understandable that there will be immense anger, and it will be a testing time to remain calm and not lose control of yourselves. Bear in mind that our abilities and technologies are such that not one single criminal will escape from having to answer for their crimes.
There is no need for you to try and take justice into your own hands, but simply allow for matters to take their course. Your time will be far better spent helping to bring stability to your locality and spreading calmness where it is needed. You do not however have to do everything yourselves, as our allies will take prominent roles and eventually we shall also be with you.
You are on the verge of a historic victory over the dark Ones, and very soon we shall bring their actions to a halt. They had every intention of leaving in a blaze of glory, but we will curtail their activities as far as possible. Some circumstances are allowed to develop, and in so doing we hope to catch the dark Ones in their acts.
They know their time is limited and that they have little left before they are removed from circulation and put away. Life will become hectic for a time for most people and some inconvenience is inevitable due to the extent of the changes. Do not worry about it as in a relatively short time you will be more than compensated. Those of you that are less affected should seek to help anyone who requires it, sharing whatever you can.
What a great adventure lies ahead of you, and you already know that your Ascension is assured. To think that after millennia of time you have come to the end of duality, having gone through one of the darkest periods you have ever experienced.
At the same time it has also been one that has been very important for your level of evolution. It has given you the opportunity to evolve at a rate that has previously been unprecedented during your time in the lower vibrations. Fortunately you can if so desired set aside memories of it, rather than recall many lives that may not be of the highest order.
I am SaLuSa from Sirius, and greet you on behalf of the Galactic Federation of Light. We are just one group of many that are assembled around your Earth to witness an event that will be unique where Ascension is concerned, and for your future delight and interest the whole event is being recorded.
Representatives of civilizations from even other Universes are present, as they have an interest in what happens in your Universe. You are stars of a great Universal show that will literally light up your world.
SaLuSa July 6.Fri.2012
Angelo: Good day SaLuSa, would you kindly give us
an update today please or if you have something to talk about.
Good day Angelo, Good day SaLuSa, thank you and you too. I would like to talk about ascension in
coming events, also the dark ones! You
can expect things to pick up within two weeks time! The Energies that are affecting people now,
this starting to be noticed by the general public. This awareness will escalate even more by the
end of September 2012. The arrests are
being made bit by bit; this will lead to the population not being aware of
these happenings unless they read this kind of material! Lydia, he is thinking you cannot
conduct yourself without proper supervision, so there will be a brunette
on this trip if it should happen, she does not know yet, until Angelo makes
contact with her. Angelo
wear a pair of blue jeans and comfortable pair of shoes, this way nobody will
be able to take a picture of your panties as you’re going up in the air, I
don’t think you want to make the front page worldwide?!. So if you see a beam, coming out of the sky,
just walk into the beam that will mean you want to go on the mothership! This will be about an hour or two, even if
you had a day you would not see it all. There will be a number of trips like this, Angelo.
I ’m SaLuSa
of Sirius, wishing all Love and Light and the New beginnings soon, SaLuSa.
Thank you
SaLuSa
Angelo
Telepathic
Transmission concluded
*It
will be first names, Friendship Gathering, Angelo!
YouTube
*The UFO Is Still There By The Sun!
*Do not let your guard down after such a long time lifting yourself up into the Light. At present there is much disinformation being spread, but not always deliberate and sometimes by people of good intent that are simply uninformed. Also strong beliefs are difficult to change when often they are planted in your mind at a very young age.
Those that have sought to mislead you have been very clever and even altered your history to persuade you their teachings are correct. We will therefore have quite a task on our hands to put right much that is given to you as factual when it is false.
This also applies to the sciences that have made their proclamations without understanding the more spiritual aspects of life and how they fit in. Your intuition is, and always will be your best guide, but by all means consider any source of information that you are comfortable with as a means of verification.
When we give you our accounts of your history, what will be decisive is the fact that we can back it up with absolute proof by way of introducing you to people who can relate events first hand. We can even go back in time and show you an actual replay so that there can be no argument as to the facts.
Some of you will be allowed to go back in time into any period of your history and see with your own eyes what happened. Not only that but you will also understand what is being spoken. Be assured that in time only the truth will remain, and of course you will have made great advancements in your knowledge.
Our coming is to bring you the truth and that will help create Oneness between you, whereas at present you are very much divided. A most important area is concerning the many religions and their attempts to place you under the One God, but lack the true understanding or facts to be able to do so.
The truth will be given by the Masters who will speak to their own, but it will show that each set of beliefs will have to be greatly amended if they are to bear some semblance to the truth. If some souls cannot make those changes to a more enlightened state, they will naturally be allowed to continue to pursue their old beliefs. We know that in time they will realise that if they are to move on, they will have to look beyond them.
There are souls who have been taught that extraterrestrials are devils in disguise, and are out to get them. Whilst Galactic history shows that there were wars started by evil entities that invaded or destroyed planets, you are in no danger of that happening now. You have been protected by us for eons of time, and we have been given the authority to control who is allowed to visit Earth.
We are of service to the Universe in God’s name and are called the Galactic Federation of Light for good reasons. As we have informed you previously, there are exceptions when for karmic reasons contact has been allowed with the Greys, but even so they have never been a real threat to your world.
When we introduce you to members of our Federation you will find no reason to question their purpose for being here. Our whole demeanour has been one of approaching you in peace, and in no way will our conversations or manner pose the slightest threat.
As has often been pointed out, any advanced civilization with the intent to take you over could have easily done so. That is right up to quite recently, as you are now more able to protect yourselves. In fact recently we repelled an invasion that was a last ditch attempt to take you over.
The Light on Earth attracts a lot of attention and certain dark groups have tried their hardest to prevent your Ascension, without success. We will say again that Ascension is by Divine Decree and absolutely no one can prevent it from taking place. Our presence is also intended to ensure that only the minimum interference takes place.
So Dear Ones, your Ascension is not dependent on the many changes that you are aware of that are beginning to happen. They are to advance you very quickly so that you are prepared for a new life that is befitting of souls that have risen into the Light.
You are required to make good the damage and destruction of Earth so that Mother Earth is also ready to ascend. In that task we are already prepared to make short work of the extensive cleansing that is required. It presents no problem at all bearing in mind our advanced technologies.
We know of your frustration at the delays in getting everything going, but it has already commenced if only in a small way. The preparations are complete and as always it is the timing that is critical, but as you know, there is a final date by which it must start at full speed.
So do not worry as you have yet to experience the ways in which we work, and they will astonish you when you realise how fast we move. You obviously tend to see the challenges based on your own abilities, but remember that the Galactic Federation are thousands of years ahead of you. We are in control of your future and promise you a glorious victory over the dark Ones.
We might give hints at when a major event is about to occur, but we have learnt that Humans are prone to take them as certainties, hence the uproar when they do not happen. Plus we cannot always tell you the reasons for delays, and we do have to be prepared to change course at short notice as circumstances necessitate.
All that you really need to know is that come what may, we will keep our promises to you. We realise that your patience has worn thin, and we can understand it as you have quite rightly expected action by now based on what you were told some time ago. However, we reiterate that all proceeds well and in the end we do not anticipate any lasting problems. In any event we are ready for all possible permutations of what is needed to bring you safely through the remaining period to Ascension.
I am SaLuSa from Sirius, and can tell you that the mere mention of arresting top members of the cabal brought about a new feeling of hope. After all, conditions on the Earth were deteriorating quickly and heading for a complete collapse of your civilization. You reacted positively to the good news and it gave you a lift knowing that those responsible for your circumstances were going to be removed – and so it is.
Banking Regulators Drop Libor … Adopt New Standard
New “Limor”
Standard More Accurately Reflects Banking Practices
Given
the loss
of confidence in the
big banks in the wake of revelations that they have been manipulating the world’s most important economic
benchmark – Libor –
regulators in the U.S. and UK have announced that they will abandon Libor and
adopt a new standard. In the run up to the change in standards, Bank of England
chief Mervyn King had called for a benchmark based on actual transaction prices. King’s
theory was that Libor – which stands for London Inter Bank Offered Rate – is supposed
to measure that interest rates which banks actually offer to
loan each other money. But regulators on both sides of the Atlantic considered
such a scheme too cumbersome and “lead-footed”. Disgraced former Barclay’s
chairman Agius (who until 2 days ago was also head
of the British Banker’s Association), JP Morgan boss Dimon (a class A director of the Federal Reserve) and others who
can easily wear conflicting
hats as regulators and bankers – while holding pristine moral standards and doing God’s Work – have all suggested a more realistic
standard. The new standard – announced today – would promote growth, reduce
bookkeeping costs, and free regulators from having to whisper from
the sidelines. It also
more accurately reflects current banking practices. They call it Limor (pronouced “LieMore”). Unlike
it’s predecessor, Limor – Let’s Immaculately Makeup Official-sounding Rates –
reflects the prevailing view of the political class and top mainstream
economists that bankers are saints who can do no wrong, whose every movement
and release of gas creates jobs and stimulates the economy … in the same way
that flowers spontaneously grow wherever a holy man walks. Since these great
men have only the best interests of the little people in their heart, letting
them make up the appropriate Limor rate will benefit the world, as the great
Invisible Hand guides the markets to their divine destiny. Indeed, anyone
calling for “objective” benchmarks or talking about so-called “justice” – like these heretics or these – are so lacking in faith that they
should be excommunicated from the land of milk and
honey.
Ex-Argentine
Dictators Convicted of Stealing Babies From Slain Dissidents
Former
dictators Jorge Rafael Videla, second from right, and Reynaldo Bignone, right,
wait to listen the verdict of Argentina’s historic stolen babies trial in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Ex-Argentine
Dictators Convicted of Stealing Babies From Slain Dissidents
We have been told the dark ones will be held accountable for what they have done, as long as it is a peaceful and loving process with no violence or attack. This seems to be the case in Argentina today…
Ex-Argentine
Dictators Videla, Bignone Convicted of Having Babies Stolen from Slain
Dissidents
Debora Rey, Associated Press – July 5, 2012
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla was convicted and sentenced to 50 years Thursday for executing a systematic plan to steal babies from prisoners who were kidnapped, tortured and killed during the military junta’s war on leftist dissenters three decades ago.
Argentina’s last dictator, Reynaldo Bignone, also was convicted and received a 15-year sentence.
The baby thefts set Argentina’s 1976-1983 regime apart from all the other juntas that ruled in Latin America at the time. Videla and the rest of the junta were determined to remove any trace of the armed leftist guerrilla movement that they said threatened the country’s future.
The “dirty war” eventually claimed 13,000 victims according to official records. Many of them were pregnant women who gave birth in clandestine maternity wards.
Videla testified that there was no systematic plan to remove babies, and accused jailed women of using their unborn children as “human shields” in their fight against the state.
Nine others, mostly former military and police officials, also were accused in the trial, which focused on 34 baby thefts. Seven were convicted and two were found not guilty.
Witnesses included former U.S. diplomat Elliot Abrams, who was called to testify after his long-classified memo describing a secret meeting with Argentina’s ambassador was made public at the request of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a human rights group whose evidence-gathering efforts were key to the trial.
Abrams testified from Washington that he secretly urged Bignone to reveal the stolen babies’ identities as a way to smooth Argentina’s return to democracy.
“We knew that it wasn’t just one or two children,” Abrams testified, suggesting in his testimony that there must have been some sort of directive from a high level official — “a plan, because there were many people who were being murdered or jailed.”
No such effort at reconciliation was made. Instead, Bignone ordered the military to destroy evidence of “dirty war” activities. The junta denied any knowledge of baby thefts, let alone responsibility for the disappearances of political prisoners. The U.S. government also revealed little of what it knew as the junta’s death squads eliminated opponents.
The Grandmothers group has since used DNA evidence to help 106 people who were stolen from prisoners as babies recover their true identities. Many of them were raised by military officials or their allies, who falsified their birth names in an effort to remove any hint of their leftist origins.
The group estimates as many as 500 babies could have been stolen in all, but the destruction of documents and passage of time make it impossible to know for sure.
Videla, 86, received the maximum sentence as the man criminally responsible for 20 of the thefts.
He and Bignone, 84, already are serving life sentences for other crimes against humanity. They are being kept behind bars despite an Argentine law that usually permits criminals over 70 to serve sentences at home.
Others convicted and their sentences included former Adm. Antonio Vanek, 40 years; former marine Jorge “Tigre” Acosta, 30; former Gen. Santiago Omar Riveros, 20; former navy prefect Juan Antonio Azic, 14; and Dr. Jorge Magnacco, who witnesses said handled some of the births, 10.
A couple who adopted one of the babies, former Capt. Victor Gallo and his ex-wife Susana Colombo, were sentenced to 15 and five years in jail, respectively. Their adopted son, Francisco Madariaga, testified against them and said he hoped their sentences would set an example.
Retired Adm. Ruben Omar Franco and a former intelligence agent, Eduardo Ruffo, were absolved.
According to Argentine judicial procedure, the basis for the convictions and sentences won’t be revealed until Sept. 17, said the president of the judicial tribunal, Maria del Carmen Roqueta.
Disclosure
on CBS TV?: “Preponderance of UFO Evidence”
2012 July 5 5:15 am
“Preponderance of evidence” UFOs Exist: Expert
* http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7413402n&tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.10
Eighty million Americans believe in UFOs and one-in-10 claims to have seen a UFO.
This Morning’s Rebecca Jarvis and Terrell Brown spoke with James Fox and Erin Ryder of the new National Geographic Channel show “Chasing UFOs” about their findings.
James Fox admits – with a slight element of gentle humour to disarm the naysayers – that UFOs are either: ” inter-planetary, inter-dimensional or… space and future travellers – because apparently time is malleable. Or, it could be all of the above.” Yes indeed!
*Angelo, Maybe you Lady’s can beam down and make the News somewhere? I’ll be with you down on the planet!
NASA Unveils
Orion Space Capsule for 2014 Test Launch
By Robert Z. Pearlman | SPACE.com – 4 hrs ago, 7-2-12
The Orion's spacecraft olive-green aluminum-lithium
metal panels are still to be …
·
NASA's first space-bound Orion …
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Without a heat shield or wiring, and with
only welded metal panels to see, NASA's new spacecraft designed to take
astronauts out beyond Earth and into the solar system doesn't look like much
yet.
But to NASA, congressional and space industry leaders, the capsule's olive-green pressure shell is an exciting sight to behold. The capsule, NASA's first space-bound Orion crew module, was unveiled today (July 2) to mark its arrival at NASA's Kennedy Space Center here, the site of the spacecraft's planned 2014 launch on an unmanned test flight.
"Isn't this beautiful," Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) told an audience of more than 450 Orion team members looking at the spacecraft behind him. "I know there is a lot of people here who can't wait to get their hands and fingers on this hardware.”
"We are really proud of it," NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver told SPACE.com. "It is going to start looking more like the shape of capsule soon. But to me, it looks like the future."
The Orion capsule, which arrived in Florida from the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana last week, now sits inside Kennedy's Operations and Checkout (O&C) building. It is in here, the same high bay where more than 40 years ago NASA readied similarly-shaped capsules for launches to the moon, that Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians will conduct the final preparations to launch this Orion higher and faster than any capsule since the Apollo moon missions.
"The future is here, now," Kennedy Space Center's director Robert Cabana said. "The vehicle we see here today is not a Powerpoint chart. It is a real spacecraft moving toward a test flight in 2014." [Gallery: Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 Capsule]
Cabana said the Orion's unveiling was aptly timed since it came one day after the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Space Center, which has been NASA's home port for manned space launches for decades.
"This is a milestone moment for the Space Coast, NASA and America's space program," Garver said. "It is a new and exciting chapter in America's great space exploration story, one that will see more discoveries, more scientific return and more people and Americans going into space and going places that have never before been visited."
The first manned launch of an Orion space capsule atop its main rocket, the Space Launch System, is targeted for 2021. NASA retired its storied space shuttle fleet last year after 30 years of service.
To space and back
The uncrewed Orion test flight, which NASA calls the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), is slated to launch in spring 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After reaching orbit, the capsule will circle Earth twice, rising to more than 3,600 miles (5,800 kilometers) from the planet — 15 times higher than the International Space Station. The Orion spacecraft will then turn around and come home, re-entering the atmosphere at a blazing speed of more than 20,000 mph (32,000 kph) in an attempt to prove that its heat shield is capable of protecting the capsule — and its future crews — after missions to an asteroid, the moon, and ultimately Mars. *Angelo; I was thinking about going to Pluto within a second!!!!
"We are going to get about 84 percent of a lunar entry velocity, which is really going to stress the heat shield, which is exactly what we're trying to do," said Mark Geyer, NASA's Orion program manager.
The EFT-1 mission will end with the Orion splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of the United States.
Before all of that can occur however, the bare pressure vehicle now at Kennedy Space Center needs to be outfitted for flight. [Wanted: Rocket Adapter for Orion Spaceship (Video)]
Building the future
By the fall of 2013, Lockheed Martin, NASA's lead contractor for Orion, plans to have the 16-foot wide (5-meter) capsule completed and looking more like a typical spacecraft. Its metal panels will be covered by an advanced version of the thermal protection tiles used on the space shuttle, and the capsule's belly will be covered with a modern variant of the ablative heat shield used on NASA's Apollo spacecraft.
"There are people ready with drill bits, and tubes, and pipes to start assembly of this vehicle as soon as we're out of here and out of their way," said John Karas, Lockheed Martin's vice president for human space flight.
The Orion will also be equipped with avionics systems and other instrumentation to fly and record the data from the flight test.
What the EFT-1 capsule will not have is the digital glass cockpit, crew seats, life support systems (including a planned toilet), or the solar panel wings that future, manned Orion capsules will require. These systems will be included on later test vehicles set to launch on NASA's next heavy-lift booster, a giant rocket called the Space Launch System.
The Space Launch System, which was authorized by Congress last year and is under development now, is being designed to support both crew and cargo launches to destinations beyond low Earth orbit. NASA is targeting its first unmanned Space Launch System flight for 2017, with the first manned Orion flight to follow four years later.
Asket July 5.Thurs.2012
Angelo: Good day Asket, this is an open discussion
today or if you have something to talk about.
Good day Asket, Good day
Angelo. I am from another universe
called D.A.L.; it is a twin universe of yours which coincide together. We are a human race called the Timers (pronounce tim-mers) Timmer’s. We’re highly advanced
beings, one of our capabilities we remember everything that is said. So Angelo
will have fun with me (laughter Angelo), I am one of Angelo’s
companions. I will be meeting Angelo
when he becomes fully conscious, then the fun will start, he will question me
to see how advance I’m to him, in many departments of human evolution
categories! So as you can see I will be
spending many, many days with Asket, testing my knowledge with Her’s!!
I ’m Asket
from the D.A.L. Universe, wishing humanity of overcoming duality with Great Joy
and Love, Asket.
Thank you
Asket
Angelo
Telepathic
Transmission concluded
Timers (pronounce
tim-mers).
SaLuSa July 9.Mon.2012
Angelo: Good day SaLuSa, would you kindly give us
an update today please or if you have something to talk about.
Good day SaLuSa, Good day Angelo, thank you and you too. I would like to talk about ascension in coming
events, also the dark ones! Things are starting to pick up worldwide in many
categories and it will not stop for any reason!
Some of you are wondering why in some countries things are taken longer
than others, it is because of the dark one’s are trying to delay the process,
but it will not work any longer because of Heavens Decree! Every day the dark ones are being arrested
bit by bit, so not to raise havoc! The Angelo question
who is the brunette that will be
picked up if this should come about the trip, Angelo
I cannot say because she’s a married woman and this will give her sister some
protection in being supervised secretly.
I ’m SaLuSa
of Sirius,
Thank you
SaLuSa
Angelo
Telepathic
Transmission concluded
YouTube
*UFOs and
anomalies near the Sun – Review for July 5, 2012. – YouTube
*The UFO Is Still There By The Sun!
Hillary
Clinton issues stern warning to Assad as war of words escalates
Syrian president accuses Washington of fuelling
bloodshed by arming rebel forces as country risks reaching point of collapse
- Matt Williams in New York
- guardian.co.uk, Sunday 8 July 2012 18.06 BST
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton speaks during the
Afghan Civil Society event in Tokyo.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton warned
hardline Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad that
his days were numbered as both countries intensified the rhetoric in a war of
words on Sunday.Speaking in Tokyo, Clinton said an admission by UN mediator Kofi Annan that his peace plan was failing should serve as a "wake-up call for everyone". As to the future of Assad, the state secretary said it should be clear that "the sand is running out of the hourglass".
Meanwhile the Syrian president accused Washington on Sunday of fuelling the bloody uprising in his country by partnering with "terrorists".
In an interview with German public broadcaster ARD, Assad said the US had aided rebels "with weapons, money or public and political support at the United Nations".
He also vowed that he would not step down "in the face of national challenges".
The comments came a day after Annan told French daily Le Monde that divisions between regional and world powers over how to resolve the conflict had complicated attempts to forge a settlement.
"The evidence shows that we have not succeeded," he said in reference to his peace plan.
In Tokyo, Clinton said that the worsening situation in Syria risked pushing the country to the point of collapse.
The state secretary noted that last months was the bloodiest of the conflict so far.
But she added that there was "still a chance to save the Syrian state from a catastrophic assault that would be very dangerous not only to Syria, but to the region".
Escalating violence in Syria has so far claimed in the region of 15,000 lives as rebels seek to topple the repressive Assad regime.
Clinton has accused China and Russia of hampering international efforts for a solution, calling on both countries to "get off the sidelines" and back Assad's ouster.
Meanwhile, Annan arrived in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Sunday for talks with the Syrian leader.
His six-point peace plan was due to begin with a ceasefire in mid-April. But it never took hold, with government forces continuing their assault on rebel strongholds.
In her comment Sunday, Clinton noted that the opposition was "getting more effective in defence of themselves and going on the offensive against the Syrian military".
Throughout the weekend, Assad's army were engaged in large-scale exercises, simulating defence manoeuvres against outside "aggression", state media said in an apparent warning to Washington.
*Whatever
you see going on outwardly or hear is happening, know that far more is taking
place than what you are aware of. We are constantly helping our allies achieve
their goals, and until the timing becomes urgent we avoid directly intervening.
We will certainly be on watch to ensure our allies are safe, as although we
know that the dark Ones are aware that their time is up they continue to
represent a threat. Whatever delays have been experienced be assured that we
make no change to our plans, and all intended actions will be completed. For us
time does not have the same importance and using linear time is not how we
operate, but so necessary for you to lead your lives.
For a start we see your victory as already having been achieved, so we know that regardless of what happens your future is assured. Corporations are floundering and businesses that are based on corrupt practices are being revealed for what they are. They are unable to withstand the heightened energies being beamed to Earth that are transmuting the lower energies that they thrive on. The truth is coming out every day, and people's eyes are being opened to the way in which they have been taken in by the plans of the Illuminati to enslave you. It is no longer possible and your civilization is taking part in a worldwide demand for extensive changes that will release you from the shackles placed on you. The US is the main focus for what is happening and by example will lead the world back to freedom and prosperity. It will not happen overnight, but nevertheless will be speeded up because of our presence.
The eyes of the Universe are upon you which is amazing for such a small planet to hold such interest, but what happens to you and Earth will have a resounding effect on it. You are so to say the last brick in the wall of change and the resultant Ascension that everyone is waiting for. When you entered the lower dimensions you knew that your role was extremely important to others, and you are greatly loved for the sacrifices you have made for them. Originally you were fully fledged souls of Light who knew you could experience the darkness and eventually still find your way back. So when you look at your fellow travelers please remember that in essence they are exactly the same as you. In Gods eyes no one soul is better than another, but simply at a different stage of experience.
Dear Ones keep your sight focused on your future, and where possible do not waste your time and energy on matters that belong to the old regime that is on its way out. Their fate is sealed and they will be removed if they attempt to prevent our plans going ahead. At present they still plot to delay us but it will not prove to be successful as we are fully aware of what they are up to. The leading players of the dark Ones are still being offered a means of surrender, and in one way or another they shall be removed. Once their influence and power is stopped, the whole cabal will fall apart and no longer be the threat that it still represents.
The Light that is permeating your world is lifting up more and more souls who have been completely held back by the lower vibrations, and they are slowly realising the truth about their lives. They now realise how they have been prevented from a true understanding of the purpose of life, and are open to the truth that is being revealed. We shall certainly do our best to convey information to you all that will uplift your lives, and set you upon a path that opens the Light to you. At first you will find it confusing because of so many different opinions that are claimed to be the truth. As always we would suggest following your intuition, but teachers will arise upon the Earth who will be respected and followed because of their ability to convey the truth.
Let go of any distraction because of what is happening around you, and look to Ascension and beyond as it will be a magnificent period in your lives. From experiences of hardship. poverty and lack you will at last quickly find yourselves enjoying all of the advantages of being in a higher dimension. The cleanliness and purity of the air, land and seas will unreal after what you have already experienced. The brilliant colours and beauty of everything about you will clearly indicate that you are where all creation is expressed in its highest form. Harmony and balance will be found wherever you look and peace and joy a natural part of life. Perhaps a most astonishing discovery will be that other life forms talk not just with each other, but also with you. It will all be far removed from what you have been used to, and a great joy to discover all you can about the higher realms.
Why concern yourselves about your present conditions when so much is about to change for the better in such a short time. Take it as it comes, because you have the ability to cope quite well after what you have already experienced. The uncertainty about your future has been removed so you can ignore any attempts to cause you a distraction. Sometimes it may come from within, from people who are as yet unaware of the truth. As you know already there are some with fixed beliefs, who still expect catastrophic events to occur in the last few months as a means of releasing them from the Earth as the Chosen Ones. Like any other soul they will experience what they have created for themselves, so you can allow them and others to speak their truth without being affected by it. It is not your place or indeed your responsibility, to change the beliefs of others, unless of course you are invited to do so.
As you learn the truth about life and how it functions you will understand that you must not interfere with another souls intent. Hence we often have to stand back and allow you to make your own way forward. It is your choice what you experience, and even in these end times you will have made your plans already. You may not know what they are in advance, but be sure that you’re Guides and other helpers are ensuring that it works out for you, so that you have the right experiences needed for your evolution. These may be chaotic times but they are still the outworking of the plan for your civilization.
I am SaLuSa from Sirius, and will tell you that we of the Galactic Federation of Light will be with you all the way to Ascension, and beyond. It is our duty and desire to see you home safe and sound.
Thank you SaLuSa.
For a start we see your victory as already having been achieved, so we know that regardless of what happens your future is assured. Corporations are floundering and businesses that are based on corrupt practices are being revealed for what they are. They are unable to withstand the heightened energies being beamed to Earth that are transmuting the lower energies that they thrive on. The truth is coming out every day, and people's eyes are being opened to the way in which they have been taken in by the plans of the Illuminati to enslave you. It is no longer possible and your civilization is taking part in a worldwide demand for extensive changes that will release you from the shackles placed on you. The US is the main focus for what is happening and by example will lead the world back to freedom and prosperity. It will not happen overnight, but nevertheless will be speeded up because of our presence.
The eyes of the Universe are upon you which is amazing for such a small planet to hold such interest, but what happens to you and Earth will have a resounding effect on it. You are so to say the last brick in the wall of change and the resultant Ascension that everyone is waiting for. When you entered the lower dimensions you knew that your role was extremely important to others, and you are greatly loved for the sacrifices you have made for them. Originally you were fully fledged souls of Light who knew you could experience the darkness and eventually still find your way back. So when you look at your fellow travelers please remember that in essence they are exactly the same as you. In Gods eyes no one soul is better than another, but simply at a different stage of experience.
Dear Ones keep your sight focused on your future, and where possible do not waste your time and energy on matters that belong to the old regime that is on its way out. Their fate is sealed and they will be removed if they attempt to prevent our plans going ahead. At present they still plot to delay us but it will not prove to be successful as we are fully aware of what they are up to. The leading players of the dark Ones are still being offered a means of surrender, and in one way or another they shall be removed. Once their influence and power is stopped, the whole cabal will fall apart and no longer be the threat that it still represents.
The Light that is permeating your world is lifting up more and more souls who have been completely held back by the lower vibrations, and they are slowly realising the truth about their lives. They now realise how they have been prevented from a true understanding of the purpose of life, and are open to the truth that is being revealed. We shall certainly do our best to convey information to you all that will uplift your lives, and set you upon a path that opens the Light to you. At first you will find it confusing because of so many different opinions that are claimed to be the truth. As always we would suggest following your intuition, but teachers will arise upon the Earth who will be respected and followed because of their ability to convey the truth.
Let go of any distraction because of what is happening around you, and look to Ascension and beyond as it will be a magnificent period in your lives. From experiences of hardship. poverty and lack you will at last quickly find yourselves enjoying all of the advantages of being in a higher dimension. The cleanliness and purity of the air, land and seas will unreal after what you have already experienced. The brilliant colours and beauty of everything about you will clearly indicate that you are where all creation is expressed in its highest form. Harmony and balance will be found wherever you look and peace and joy a natural part of life. Perhaps a most astonishing discovery will be that other life forms talk not just with each other, but also with you. It will all be far removed from what you have been used to, and a great joy to discover all you can about the higher realms.
Why concern yourselves about your present conditions when so much is about to change for the better in such a short time. Take it as it comes, because you have the ability to cope quite well after what you have already experienced. The uncertainty about your future has been removed so you can ignore any attempts to cause you a distraction. Sometimes it may come from within, from people who are as yet unaware of the truth. As you know already there are some with fixed beliefs, who still expect catastrophic events to occur in the last few months as a means of releasing them from the Earth as the Chosen Ones. Like any other soul they will experience what they have created for themselves, so you can allow them and others to speak their truth without being affected by it. It is not your place or indeed your responsibility, to change the beliefs of others, unless of course you are invited to do so.
As you learn the truth about life and how it functions you will understand that you must not interfere with another souls intent. Hence we often have to stand back and allow you to make your own way forward. It is your choice what you experience, and even in these end times you will have made your plans already. You may not know what they are in advance, but be sure that you’re Guides and other helpers are ensuring that it works out for you, so that you have the right experiences needed for your evolution. These may be chaotic times but they are still the outworking of the plan for your civilization.
I am SaLuSa from Sirius, and will tell you that we of the Galactic Federation of Light will be with you all the way to Ascension, and beyond. It is our duty and desire to see you home safe and sound.
Thank you SaLuSa.
*There is much seeming chaos taking place across the World as those who are awakening begin to ask questions and take responsibility for their own actions and deeds. It is a time of disillusionment for many and many are seeking answers for a better way. Tempers flare as each person goes through their own cleansing process, not understanding what is occurring on their Planet and in the Cosmos. It behooves those who stand as Light Beacons to maintain peace and calm no matter how intense the reactions in those around you.
Continue to practice your spiritual disciplines which uplift and inspire you to move forward in the attainment of your spiritual goals. Practice random acts of kindness and showing compassion to all. It is a most trying time for the masses of Humanity who are beginning to look around them and wonder what is really going on. The frequent weather changes and anomalies which leave no one untouched are not the usual expectation for so many and so the seeking for answers begins. You who are awake and aware must remember how it was for you in the beginning of your quest for clarity and answers to the enigmas of life.
Keep your sights set on your ascension and create the life you choose. There are endless possibilities and probabilities for each one of you. Choose that which aligns you with your Higher Self and your own Divine Plan and this will always keep you on the path most appropriate and right for you. If you are not feeling joy often, then what you are doing needs adjustment and the leaving behind of all that no longer serves your emerging Self and sometimes this deeper look within is not pleasant to endure. Keep in mind that you are not alone in this, Dear Ones, and this can bring more tolerance in all situations.
We take heart with joy at the great strides being made now by many of you. You are closer to your goal than you might think and so we counsel to keep moving forward one step at a time. Analyze your needs in each now moment and focus on the small details so that the way forward does not seem so long and overwhelming. You are, in fact, noticing acceleration in the passage of time in the linear sense and this will continue to become pronounced and apparent. Your spaceship Earth is moving steadily into alignment with Galactic Centre and this was predestined many great ages ago. These changes can be an exciting new and fresh start for so many.
Treat each other with respect, honor and integrity and all will be well. Reach for the stars that are the highest and the brightest, for these may well be your Planet of origin and much assistance can come through for you. The Universe is responding to your calls in magical and wondrous ways.
Kosovo
Deputy PM Charged in Corruption Probe
Kosovo’s
Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Bukoshi speaks during a news conference April 27,
1999. Credit: Reuters/Paul Hanna
Kosovo
Deputy PM Charged in Corruption Probe
By Fatos Bytyci, Pristina, Reuters – July 6,
2012http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/06/us-kosovo-corruption
(Reuters) – A European Union prosecutor in Kosovo indicted 11 suspects including a deputy prime minister on corruption charges on Friday.
The indictment was a fresh blow to Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, who has been repeatedly criticized at home and abroad for not doing enough to fight corruption.
The prosecutor accused Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Bukoshi of abuse of office and corruption during six months in 2010 when he was health minister under Thaci’s previous government. Other suspects are current or former health ministry officials.
“The suspects are charged with abuse of official position or authority, mistreatment in exercising duties…tax evasion and obstruction of evidence,” the EU mission in Kosovo (EULEX) said in a press statement.
Bukoshi said he had not been contacted by prosecutors and denied the allegations.
“I am absolutely clean and without any involvement in tenders or any other things related to corruption and I am ready to face justice,” Bukoshi told Reuters.
Earlier this week, the 25-member International Steering Group comprised of the United States and EU powers agreed to stop overseeing Kosovo, which seceded from Serbia in 2008.
It will however still be monitored by NATO peacekeepers (KFOR) and a EU police and judiciary mission (EULEX) that mainly deals with war crimes, corruption and organized crime.
The European Union has repeatedly warned Pristina to root-out organized crime and corruption and improve the rule of law if it wants to speed up its bid to ultimately join the bloc.
Charges against Bukoshi came after deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci resigned last month after parliament voted in a disputed media law. Thaci is now left with four deputy prime ministers.
Bukoshi who during the 1990s served as prime minister in exile when Kosovo was under Serbian rule is one of the highest government officials to be charged by EULEX so far.
Powerful Corporates, Unrepresentative
Politicians and Apathetic Voters…Really?
2012 July 7
2:02 am
Powerful
Corporates, Unrepresentative Politicians and Apathetic Voters…Really?
Stephen: That’s it. Tell them
what you want them to hear and they might just believe it!This study may have been released in the UK today. Yet it could apply to the world over – but only in old paradigm terms.
I wonder who funded this ‘survey’ and I seriously question: are we really all apathetic? I don’t think so.
To say that voters are not doing their bit is a way of telling us we are ‘dumbed down’ – and yet, every day, more and more of us are waking up. Look to situations recently in Egypt, Mexico, Russia, Argentina, Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Ireland, and Iceland… even the UK!
Meanwhile, corporate power is actually dwindling. Politicians ARE being called to heel. Containment is underway.
Yes, change IS in the air! The ‘new’ democracy awaits; one that IS truly democratic. Not long now…
British
Democracy in Terminal Decline, Warns Report
Exclusive: Corporate power, unrepresentative
politicians and apathetic voters leave UK ‘increasingly unstable’, says studyJuliette Jowit,Political Correspondent, The Guardian- July 6, 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/06/british-democracy-decline-report
A study into the state of democracy in Britain over the last decade warns it is in “long-term terminal decline” as the power of corporations keeps growing, politicians become less representative of their constituencies and disillusioned citizens stop voting or even discussing current affairs.
The report by Democratic Audit shared exclusively with the Guardian notes there have been many positive advances over the last 10 years: stronger select committees of MPs holding ministers and civil servants to account; devolution of power to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and publication of much more information about politicians’ expenses and party donors.
But it found evidence of many other areas where Britain appeared to have moved further away from its two benchmarks of representative democracy: control over political decision-making, and how fairly the system reflects the population it represents – a principle most powerfully embedded in the concept of one person, one vote.
Among its concerns, identified from databases of official statistics and public surveys, were that Britain’s constitutional arrangements are “increasingly unstable” owing to changes such as devolution; public faith in democratic institutions “decaying”; a widening gap in the participation rates of different social classes of voters; and an “unprecedented” growth in corporate power, which the study’s authors warn “threatens to undermine some of the most basic principles of democratic decision-making”.
In an interview with the Guardian, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, the report’s lead author, warned that Britons could soon have to ask themselves “whether it’s really representative democracy anymore?”
“The reality is that representative democracy, at the core, has to be about people voting, has to be about people engaging in political parties, has to be about people having contact with elected representatives, and having faith and trust in elected representatives, as well as those representatives demonstrating they can exercise political power effectively and make decisions that tend to be approved of,” said Wilks-Heeg.
“All of that is pretty catastrophically in decline. How low would turnout have to be before we question whether it’s really representative democracy at all?” The UK’s democratic institutions were strong enough to keep operating with low public input, but the longer people avoided voting and remained disillusioned, the worse the problem would get, said Wilks-Heeg.
“Over time, disengagement skews the political process yet further towards those who are already more advantaged by virtue of their wealth, education or professional connections. And without mass political participation, the sense of disconnection between citizens and their representatives will inevitably grow.”
Membership of political parties and election turnout has fallen significantly in the last decade, with only 1% of the electorate belonging to a party, and just over six out of 10 eligible voters going to the ballot box in the 2010 general election and barely one in three in European and local elections. But the depth of public disillusionment and the range of ways voters are turning away from politics revealed by the latest study could shock even those involved.
Sadiq Khan, shadow justice secretary and former chair of human rights group, Liberty, said: “What I find really troubling is there’s no shortage of big issues which we must get to grips with – the economy, the future of our health, education and social care systems, our environment – many of which grab the attention of the public, but there’s a disconnect when it comes to party politics.”
For its fourth report in a series dating back to 1996, Democratic Audit examined dozens of data sets from Britain and other countries with democratic governments, legislation, public opinion surveys and research from other academics.
The report, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, found 74 “areas of improvement”, ranging from the increasing use of the 1998 Human Rights Act to growing membership of smaller parties such as the Scottish Nationalist party and the Greens, which gained its first MP, Caroline Lucas, in 2010.
However, there were 92 areas in which the authors had “continuing concerns”, such as the uncertainty over England’s constitutional settlement as powers were increasingly devolved to the other three parts of the UK, and increasing evidence of press harassment; and a further 62 “new or emerging concerns”, including electoral fraud and declining newspaper sales and audiences for TV news.
Britain also ranked below average compared with other wealthy democracies in the OECD and the EU, and even worse when measured against Nordic countries for issues from party membership and turnout to corruption, press freedom, income inequality and trade union membership.
This was “further evidence of the areas in which [the UK] falls short, not of an abstract ideal of democracy, but of what has been demonstrated to be possible,” adds the report.
The exercise was not intended as a “scorecard” since the issues covered ranged from lowering the age at which candidates can stand in elections to setting up a supreme court; but the combined result is “fine grained”, says the report.
“The sheer volume of qualitative and quantitative evidence we have collated, not just for our current audit but also for the previous ones, enables us to make informed judgments,” it adds.
Recent attempts to rejuvenate democracy had not had much success: last year only 42% voted in a rare referendum on changing the voting system for general elections, and in May [2012] eight out of nine cities rejected the chance to have directly elected mayors like London.
Among the changes that could stem or reverse the democratic drift would be stronger powers for MPs to hold ministers to account, and a written constitution to ensure institutions such as the Electoral Commission were not vulnerable to being abolished by future governments, said Wilks-Heeg.
A proposal to reform the Lords by having mostly elected members was also welcome, but would only work as part of a wider vision, not the usually “piecemeal” approach, said Wilkes-Heeg.
New World Bank Head Pulls Funding of Corrupt
Project
2012 July 7
2:04 am
New World
Bank Head Pulls Funding of Corrupt Project
sage: Jim Yong Kim was nominated
by Barack Obama to head the World Bank, a position usually held by an American.
Could this ‘first-day-on-the-job’ decision by the new World Bank head serve as
a wake-up call on corruption everywhere – and a new way forward for the bank?
It has already set the agenda for other funders.
World Bank
Chief Backs Pullout from Bangladesh Padma Bridge Project
Jim Yong Kim says World Bank was
right to drop Padma bridge funding following evidence of ‘high-level
corruption’
Carey L
Biron for IPS, The Guardian – July 6, 2012
On Monday, his first day in office, the new
World Bank president, Jim Yong Kim, said he sees the institution’s recent
decision to pull out of a massive bridge project in Bangladesh as
“appropriate”.Last Friday, the World Bank announced that it was cancelling a $1.2m loan to Bangladesh, which would have made up a significant chunk of a $2.9m bridge that would span more than six kilometres over the Padma River.
The bridge, envisioned to hold cars and trains, would connect the country’s impoverished south-west with the capital, but now will face significant hurdles in getting built. Following the World Bank’s lead, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Co-operation Agency have made similar statements.
Citing undisclosed “credible evidence” pointing to a “high-level corruption conspiracy”, the bank said it was cancelling the project’s line of credit immediately. “The World Bank cannot, should not and will not turn a blind eye to evidence of corruption,” it said.
“The cancellation is unfortunate,” Shahidul Alam, a photographer and writer in Dhaka, told IPS, “as the penalty for the suspected corruption is being paid neither by the officials in question, nor the government in power, but by the general public of Bangladesh.”
The decision, stretching back to September 2011, was actually made by Kim’s predecessor, Robert Zoellick. But speaking with journalists on Monday at the bank’s Washington headquarters, Kim said he was following the situation closely.
“Even toward the very end, there were extensions given so that there would be what we would think of as an appropriate response; not seeing one, we cancelled the bridge project,” he said. “Now, we’re very concerned about the wellbeing of the poorest people in Bangladesh, but what I must stress is the bank’s position is that we do not tolerate corruption … I do think it was appropriate.”
The World Bank, with $43bn in annual outlay and about 9,000 employees around the globe, has long been criticised for parts of its funding being diverted through corruption. Such leaks impinge on the effectiveness of its poverty-alleviation and development programmes.
But Zoellick’s five-year term as president saw a major anti-corruption focus that gained widespread praise. Last week, Transparency International, a watchdog group, published a brief characterising the bank’s fight against corruption as “commendable”.
Still, for some, those first steps have only underscored the World Bank’s relative newness to major anti-corruption efforts. “As a newcomer to the world of openness and accountability, [the World Bank] seems to have recently adopted a policy of chopping off the head because of a perceived headache,” the executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, Iftekharuzzaman, said following the Padma announcement.
“Instead of depriving the people of the benefits of funds that the bank draws from global public sources, the bank should be more strategic and continue to engage with the [Dhaka] government … sharing the responsibility as a key fiduciary agent of the project to ensure integrity, transparency and accountability in the implementation process.”
Although the World Bank declined to respond specifically to the criticism that has followed its Padma decision, it seems clear that its officials feel they operated in good faith for long enough.
Over the course of two investigations since September, the bank stated last Friday, “We urged the authorities of Bangladesh to investigate this matter fully and, where justified, prosecute those responsible for corruption … Because we recognise the importance of the bridge for the development of Bangladesh … in an effort to go the extra mile, we sent a high-level team to Dhaka to fully explain the bank’s position and receive the government’s response. The response has been unsatisfactory.”
Moral defeat
That corruption was taking place surrounding
the Padma project has never been under debate. Last week, two officials from
the Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin were formally accused of bribing
Bangladeshi officials connected to the plan, following information brought to
light by the World Bank investigation.Little action has yet been taken against Bangladeshi officials, however, though the story has roiled the national political waters, particularly tarnishing the ruling Awami League government. The bank’s highly visible accusations of corruption have made the Padma project an instant issue in the next national elections, scheduled for next year.
“The World Bank’s decision is a moral defeat for the government,” Moudud Ahmed, a Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) official, told journalists in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, the finance minister, AMA Muhith, submitted a lengthy statement to parliament detailing his ministry’s involvement with the World Bank’s investigations. “The statement of the [World Bank] has humiliated the whole country, and the allegation … against us is not well founded,” Muhith said. “It is also not true that the government of Bangladesh has not taken any appropriate action to avert corruption. I think we have considered courteously all the recommendations of the WB, going well beyond our routine procedures.”
Muhith suggests Zoellick, “in an attempt to settle the issue in haste during his term, has taken this imprudent decision, which has shattered the image of Bangladesh.”
Still, for many Bangladeshis, the perception is of a government in which corruption has, for the most part, continued as usual. “A government that came into power with a pre-election promise that it would root out corruption should at the least have demonstrated that it took the allegations seriously,” Alam said. “Its sudden defiance against imperial powers rings hollow when faced with complete acquiescence in all previous transactions. It’s a new song, and sung out of tune.”
Could this public shaming by the World Bank serve as a wake-up call on corruption for the government?
“Given the nature of corruption in Bangladesh, I don’t think so,” said Abdur Chowdhury, chair of the economics department at Marquette University in the US. “Over the last decade, corruption has become entrenched in the society. An all-out effort is needed to root out corruption from every sphere of the society. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening in the near future.”
Minister:
Privatizations are Greece's top priority
ATHENS,
Greece (AP) — Greece's three-party coalition government will try to get the economy out of
its deep recession by encouraging private investment and making privatizations its "highest priority,"
finance minister Yannis Stournaras said Saturday.
"The privatization program aims at
attracting important international capital that will be invested mainly in
property development and infrastructure," Stournaras told parliament on
the second day of the debate on the new government's policy platform.He said the government plans to give priority to 28 privatizations, including the state natural gas, water and betting companies, the development of the former Athens airport, other airports, yacht marinas, the state railways and the sale and leaseback of 28 state properties. The privatization of Public Power Corporation will come at a later stage, Stournaras said.
Earlier, the leader of Greece's main opposition party accused the country's three-party coalition government of wanting to sell Greece's resources and public companies on the cheap.
"The prime minister's policy statement was nothing more than a 'for sale sign' put on Greece," Alexis Tsipras, head of the Coalition of the Radical Left party, known as Syriza, told Parliament. He said he was especially warning those who want to "grab state property on the cheap." He added would-be buyers of state property might lose all their money and face criminal proceedings.
Tsipras proposed a moratorium on the payment of Greece's debt until the country, mired in a deep recession, returns to growth. He predicts his party will soon come to power because the coalition government will fail. When it comes to government, he said, it would fix finances by taxing the rich and going after tax evaders.
Evangelos Venizelos, the socialist leader and a former finance minister, whose party is part of the coalition, ripped into Tsipras' payments moratorium proposal, saying this was tantamount to the country declaring bankruptcy.
"The country can take no more demagoguery," he said.
The newly-elected parliament will stage a vote of confidence on the government at midnight Sunday. 7-8-12
Wall Street's link to Libor
Americans
still assume the London banking rates scandal doesn't affect them – but they're
wrong
- Robert Reich
- guardian.co.uk, Sunday 8 July 2012 19.12 BST
Barclays'
Bob Diamond resigned in the wake of the revelations that the bank's traders had
been involved in artificially fixing the Libor rate. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty
Britain is abuzz with the Libor scandal, but so far it's been a yawn in the
United States. That's because Americans have assumed that the wrongdoing is
confined to the other side of the pond. After all, "Libor" is short
for "London interbank offered rate", and the main culprit to date has
been London-based Barclays. It's further assumed that the scandal hasn't really
affected the pocketbooks of average Americans anyway.Wrong, on both counts. It's becoming apparent that Barclays' reach extends far into the US financial sector, as evidenced by its $453m settlement with American as well as British bank regulators, and the US justice department's active engagement in the case. Even by American standards, the Barclays traders' emails are eyepopping, offering a particularly a chilling picture of how easily they got their colleagues to rig interest rates in order to make big bucks. (Bob Diamond, the former Barclays CEO, says the emails made him "physically ill" – perhaps because they so patently reveal the corruption.)
Most importantly, Wall Street will almost surely be implicated in the scandal. The biggest Wall Street banks – including the giants JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America – are likely to have been involved in similar manoeuvres. Barclay's couldn't have rigged the Libor without their witting involvement. The reason they'd participate in the scheme is the same reason Barclay's did – to make more money.In fact, Barclays' defence has been that every major bank was fixing Libor in the same way, and for the same reason. And Barclays is "co-operating" (giving damning evidence about other big banks) with the justice department and other regulators in order to avoid steeper penalties or criminal prosecutions, so fireworks in the US can be expected.
There are really two different Libor scandals, and both are about to hit America's shores. The first has to do with a period just before the financial crisis, around 2007, when Barclays and, presumably, other major banks submitted fake Libor rates lower than the banks' actual borrowing costs in order to disguise how much trouble they were in. This was bad enough. Had American regulators known then, they might have taken action earlier to diminish the impact of the near financial meltdown of 2008.
But the other scandal is worse, and is likely to get the blood moving even among Americans who assume they've already seen all the damage Wall Street can do. It involves a more general practice – starting around 2005 and continuing until … who knows, it might still be going on – to rig the Libor in whatever way necessary to assure the banks' bets on derivatives would be profitable. This is insider trading on a gigantic scale. It makes the bankers winners and the rest of us – whose money they've used to make their bets – losers and chumps.
Obviously, Libor is not limited to the UK. As the benchmark for trillions of dollars of loans worldwide – mortgage loans, small-business loans, personal loans – it affects the most basic service banks provide: borrowing money and lending it out. People put their savings in a bank to hold in trust, and the bank agrees to pay interest on those. And people borrow money from the bank and agree to pay the bank interest.
The typical saver or borrower on both sides of the Atlantic trusts that the banking system is setting today's rate based on its best guess about the future worth of the money. And we assume that the banks' guess is based, in turn, on the cumulative market predictions of countless lenders and borrowers all over the world about the future supply and demand for money.
But if that assumption is wrong – if the bankers are manipulating the interest rate so they can place bets with the money we lend or repay them, bets that will pay off big for them because they have inside information on what the market is really predicting which they're not sharing with the rest of us – it's a different story altogether.
It would amount to a rip-off of almost cosmic proportions – trillions of dollars that average people would otherwise have received or saved on their lending and borrowing that have been going to the bankers instead.
It would make the other abuses of trust Americans have witnessed in recent years – predatory lending, fraud, excessively risky derivative trading with commercial deposits, and cozy relationships with credit-rating agencies – look like child's play by comparison.
What can we expect when and if the full import of this scandal is understood in America? Most Americans suffer outrage fatigue when it comes to Wall Street. Its excesses have already wrought havoc to the lives of millions of Americans, causing taxpayers to shell out billions (of which only a portion has been repaid).
They are also cynical that anything will ever be done to stop these abuses because the Street is too powerful. To date, not a single top financial executive has been charged with a crime in connection with the excesses that led to the near-meltdown of 2008. Indeed, America's top financial executives are back to making more money than ever. And their political power (via campaign contributions) has already eviscerated much of the Dodd-Frank law that was supposed to rein them in – including the so-called Volker rule that was sold to Wall Street as a milder version of the old Glass-Steagall Act that used to separate investment banking from commercial banking.
But we may be reaching a tipping point where Americans move beyond outrage to political action. Recall that the bailout of Wall Street gave birth to both the Tea Partiers and Occupiers. Across America, one hears a growing demand that Glass-Steagall be reinstituted and that the biggest banks be broken up. Not long ago, the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve, hardly known as a bastion of radicalism, proposed that the biggest banks had become too big to regulate and should be shrunk.
The pertinent question here is whether the unfolding Libor scandal, which will soon hit these shores, will provide enough ammunition and energy to finally get the job done.
SaLuSa July11.Wed.2012
Angelo: Good day SaLuSa, would you kindly give us
an update today please or if you have something to talk about.
Good day SaLuSa, Good day Angelo, thank you and you too. I would like to talk about ascension the
coming events also the dark ones! You
can expect the energy to rise faster, because of more people awakening. This will lead to the expansion of the
interlocking energy around the planet Earth, which are a higher energy and a
faster development of your consciousness on a planetary level! There is still time for the dark ones to plot
their last attacks, but will lead to failure!
Off planet interference will decrease within 2 to 3 months, so they
would try to influence as many as possible with fear, using the astral planes,
and which they tried to make a bargain when Angelo in 2011, to kill me (Laughing, and Angelo too)! Angelo
made contact with 14 highly advanced females, you would know them as the large Wing
symbol in Egypt, which is a symbol in their civilization! Angelo
will have more Fun now, Laughter SaLuSa… Wait until he meets their Princess of that
civilization… Angelo they are advanced
humans.
I ’m SaLuSa
of Sirius, wishing all Love and Light, SaLuSa.
Thank you
SaLuSa
Angelo
Telepathic
Transmission concluded
YouTube
*UFOs and
anomalies near the Sun – Review for July 5, 2012. – YouTube
*The UFO Is Still There By The Sun!
*There is no time like the present to review your relationships with friends or family. Often when you incarnate you are placed with souls you have known in previous lives, and it is for this reason that you are likely to have issues between you that need facing again.
Because there is a block between you it carries forward to each life until it is resolved. When you are placed together again in a family, you do not know why but you may have antagonism for each other. Because family members are expected to try and get on with each other, it would be hoped that differences could be more easily overcome. However, that is not always the case and they can become worse.
So if you recognise yourself as being in such a situation, realise how it has come about and make a move to repair the damage to your relationship. Sometimes the hardest part is being able to forgive and it is not a sign of weakness on your part.
Be the first one to offer the olive branch and it will release the negative emotions that you hold within. It will be better to have addressed the problem now rather than let it fester and remain with you. Those who hold on to the idea that they are the victim, should understand that karma is the outworking of problems between two people and both are equally involved.
Those souls that find it easy to forgive actions against them, are showing their spiritual advancement and in so doing are helping another soul to evolve. It is the way to avoid thinking in terms of revenge, as it is unnecessary as not one soul will avoid having to face spiritual justice at some point. It does not mean that punishment is involved, it is karma and making a resolution that you will accept another opportunity to show that you can deal with your problems without adverse results.
Uncontrolled emotions are at the root of so many upsets that you experience, and usually caused by the ego and so called pride. If you want to ascend into the realm where peace and harmony exist, then you must commence living that way now. Be that which you see as being your Higher Self, and be free from your old self that has become saddled with the lower vibrations and lack of Light.
The time of fighting for survival is almost over and you are about to enter a new phase where there is no lack but abundance. Where those that are of the dark will no longer be able to bring you down and take away your rights. You stand at the door of freedom and peace, and you are asked little in return except that you treat all others as One with you.
If only you could all understand that you have been waiting for this period for eons of time. The past is breaking away from you and you should allow it to move out of your lives. Go forward with the experiences that have lifted you up, and know that those souls whom you have loved and lived with are also doing the same.
If it is in your future plans to meet with them again it shall happen, but of course many will travel with you as you ascend. No one is deliberately breaking relationships apart, but you must recognise the free choice others have exactly as you have yourself.
Everything that lies ahead for those who ascend is of a higher vibration, and as such it is not prone to the lower vibrations and maintains its form. Aging as you understand it no longer occurs and in fact everything remains in its prime condition. Can you imagine how wonderful that is when there is no decay or death.
Yet the conditions are not static and change can take place without leaving a trail of rubbish behind it, as it is instantaneous. Remember Dear Ones, that these are the realms where you will be able to create through the power of thought, and uncreate if necessary.
When you think of what you have to gain, it is surely worthwhile putting in whatever effort is needed to be sure you ascend. Your intent is one thing but you need to start living your truth now. The wonders of the Universe are far beyond your imagination and life abounds everywhere even in the same space as you occupy. All souls are experiencing what they have chosen as a means of raising their vibrations, whilst at the same time adding it to the pool of knowledge that all other souls can draw from.
Beyond your dimension you will find that the Oneness of all life is appreciated and understood, and consequently there is love and friendship between all civilizations. There are however individual groups that are an exception that you would call rebels, but they pose little harm and can be dealt with. Sometimes they infiltrate from other Universes but can be sent back to where they came from.
On Earth it has been vastly different as you are of a much lower vibration that allows for Beings of a similar vibration to enter your space. Having said that it must be pointed out that we have been your protectors to keep unauthorised visitors away from Earth. If you did not have the Galactic Federation of Light travelling with you, you would not be where you are today. In your present cycle you have been as young children needing a guiding hand and protection.
We have enjoyed our experiences with you and have learnt much about the problems that you have faced. For us it has been a very satisfying adventure, and we look forward to a wonderful reunion that is approaching very rapidly. Then you shall meet your real families from whence you came eons of time ago.
It has been a long journey but in earlier civilizations such as Atlantis many of you met us then, as in certain periods when the vibrations were higher we would regularly walk amongst you. Atlantis had its highs and lows and in the end was responsible for its own destruction. It could so easily have happened again on your Earth but for our presence and intervention.
Your destiny is to ascend and no amount of interference by the dark Ones will alter it. It is not only too late but their power base is now falling apart and almost inoperable. They are as you might say running scared, and such was their arrogance they never imagined that their plan could fail. Now they hit out in despair as a last gasp, but that will be all as they are about to be removed from what they thought were their impregnable positions. Never fear Dear Ones, we are in charge and will protect you right up to the last moments.
Has the
dreaded China crash finally arrived?
By
The
Week's Editorial Staff | The Week – Tue, Jul 10, 2012
China's leaders are warning that the country, a
reliable engine for the global economy
in recent
years, is facing "huge downward pressure"
This week, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao warned
that the
Chinese economy is facing "huge downward pressure," the bluntest
message to date from Beijing about the Asian powerhouse's economic problems.
China's GDP growth is still expected to clock in at a relatively impressive
7
to 8 percent in 2012, but that is considerably slower than the jaw-dropping 10
percent rate it has recorded in recent years. With exports falling and the real
estate market cratering, China's government has taken steps to boost
economic growth by cutting interest rates and approving new infrastructure
projects. However, some analysts worry that China's "stimulus
lite" policies will do little to prevent a hard fall, which would have
negative consequences for the U.S. and other countries that have come to rely
on China to fuel the global economy. Is China on the verge of an economic
crash?
Yes. And the fallout could be severe: China's economy is "weakening more rapidly than official statistics would suggest," which could lead to "a much sharper decline" than what many economists expect, says David Pierson at The Los Angeles Times. The ongoing debt crisis in Europe has stifled Chinese exports, while flatlining consumer demand within China has led to thousands of layoffs, stagnant sales of heavy machinery, and record amounts of coal and iron ore going to waste. Soon it will be obvious that China is in the midst of a "painful slowdown that could be felt around the globe."
"China's growth is slowing, raising risks for world economy"
Maybe. But a slowdown wouldn't be all bad: The Chinese government "has lots of levers to pull and can avoid a crash," says Angus Walker at ITV News. And remember, China is in the midst of a historic transition from being a producer of cheap goods to a fully industrialized country. That means the government wants the economy to slow a little bit as the country reduces its dependency on exports. "The problem comes when the gear change is clumsily executed." If China botches the transition, it could find itself in real trouble.
"Is China's slowing economy in crisis or transition?"
No. China's economy is about to bounce back: Of course China's economy is slowing down after its "super-high growth phrase," says Evan Osnos at The New Yorker. But even so, China's robust, resilient economy is "still on pace to overtake the United States as the world's largest economy by 2020." And there are already signs that the slowdown has bottomed out, meaning an economic rebound could soon be underway. "If China was a stock, it would be down now, but, viewed from another angle, that means it is cheap."
"Is China running out of steam?"
Kenyan
Presidential Candidates to Stand Trial For Crimes Against Humanity
William Ruto
and Uhuru Kenyatta
Kenya
Candidates Face ICC Trial Month After Vote
By Thomas Escritt and James Macharia, The Hague/Nairobi, Reuters – July 9, 2012
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/09/us-kenya-icc
(Reuters) – The International Criminal Court said on Monday two senior Kenyan politicians would be tried for crimes against humanity in April 2013, just a month after they stand in a presidential election in east Africa’s largest economy.
The announcement of the court dates raises the prospect of Kenya’s next leader making his first foreign trip to appear in the dock of a court set up to try some of the world’s worst war crimes and atrocities.
The close scheduling could also complicate campaigning in a country that was ripped apart by ethnic violence and riots that killed more than 1,200 people during its last presidential vote in 2007.
Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, a former finance minister, and William Ruto, former higher education minister, are among four Kenyans facing charges that they helped orchestrate the bloodshed that followed the disputed 2007 presidential vote. All deny wrongdoing.
Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s founding father Jomo Kenyatta, is running second in opinion polls for presidential vote next March behind current Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Analysts were divided over what impact the global court’s timetable might have on Kenyatta and Ruto’s election chances.
“The fact that the dates have been set may dampen the enthusiasm of some of their supporters. They will have doubts electing individuals who will in the very next month be heading to the ICC trials,” political commentator David Makali told Reuters.
But many of the men’s supporters had feared the court would order a trial before the election, possibly preventing them from running at all. Kenyatta and Ruto’s lawyers had campaigned for a trial date after the election.
The new dates would allow them to campaign said Adams Oloo, a political science lecturer at the University of Nairobi. “The ruling allows them to sit pretty and campaign without any worry that they could be shepherded to trial. I would say it is a big relief for them,” he added.
There was no immediate reaction from the defendants or their lawyers.
Kenya’s next election will come under intense scrutiny because it will be the first under a new constitution, and the first since the 2007 poll that gave rise to deadly fighting in a country previously seen as a relative haven of peace in a troubled region.
Rights
Challenge
Rights groups have asked the High Court to stop the duo from running for the presidency on the grounds that the ICC charges make them ineligible for public office.
Any High Court decision is likely to be appealed by the losing party and the case could end up taking months to resolve before Kenya’s Supreme Court.
Kenyatta and Ruto have criticized the court for trying them, but have insisted they would cooperate with it.
Kenya’s government has also promised to work with the court, though President Mwai Kibaki, has also said during his last term he wants to have the cases transferred to Nairobi to be tried under Kenyan law.
The indictment of an elected president would put Kenya into a similar position to Sudan, whose President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is wanted by the ICC to face charges of genocide and other atrocities.
Any conviction of an elected president would dismay investors and Western governments, many of whom wanted the two men to face the court before the election.
“The key risk to the economy is that an individual indicted for war crimes is elected as the 4th president of the republic. This would bring a ‘Khartoum’ discount to Kenya assets,” analyst Aly Khan Satchu told Reuters.
The ICC said Ruto would stand trial with radio presenter Joshua Arap Sang from April 10, while Kenyatta would appear with the head of the civil service, Francis Muthaura on April 11.
(Writing by James Macharia)
Congo warlord jailed for 14 years in landmark case
By Thomas Escritt | Reuters – 1 hr 26 mins ago, 7-10-12
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Delivering
its first sentence, the International Criminal Court jailed Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for 14 years on Tuesday for recruiting child soldiers.
The Hague-based court was set up a decade ago to punish and discourage the world's worst crimes through a new system of international justice, but its critics say it has moved too slowly and failed to put its most important suspects on trial.
Lubanga was found guilty in March of abducting boys and girls under the age of 15 and forcing them to fight in a war in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002 and 2003. At least 60,000 people are thought to have been killed in that chapter of a wider Congolese war.
"The trial and sentence handed down today sends a strong message to those who recruit and use children during times of war," said Anneke van Woudenberg of Human Rights Watch.
But taking into account the six years Lubanga spent in detention during the trial, Lubanga's sentence has only eight years to run. He could get parole earlier.
Critics of the International Criminal Court questioned how big an achievement it could claim from sentencing Lubanga.
"If you'd said at the beginning, this court would finish one trial in 10 years, and that would be for a secondary offence like using child soldiers, people would have said they won't waste their money on it," said William Schabas, a law professor at Middlesex University.
Some Congolese were also disappointed in Lubanga's sentence, which compares to the 50 years handed down in May by another court in The Hague to former Liberian president Charles Taylor for war crimes in Sierra Leone.
"We had hoped he would stay in prison for life in order to ease the minds of the victims," said Emmanuel Folo, a human rights lawyer in Ituri.
Presiding judge Adrian Fulford criticized the ICC's founding prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, for his conduct of Lubanga's case. Moreno-Ocampo, who recently completed his term, did not respond to a request for comment.
Lubanga's sentence was shortened because of his good behavior in the face of the prosecutor's failure to disclose some evidence and giving misleading statements to the media, Fulford said.
Dressed in a grey suit, blue shirt and tie, Lubanga's initial wariness gave way to growing confidence as Fulford criticized Moreno-Ocampo.
AFRICAN ATROCITIES
Lubanga's Union of Congolese Patriots fought against militias from the Lendu ethnic group, including the Congolese Popular Army and the Patriotic Resistance Force in the Ituri region.
The conflict was part of a wider war in Congo in which several million people are thought to have died. Fighting continues in eastern Congo.
"Local populations, including children, continue to be exposed to the dramatic consequences of war at the hands of armed groups," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
It said it hoped to bring new charges of murder, sexual slavery and pillaging against Bosco Ntaganda, another militia leader and erstwhile ally of Lubanga.
Some of Moreno-Ocampo's detractors said he had focused too strongly on bringing prosecutions mainly against Africans.
But both Moreno-Ocampo and his successor Fatou Bensouda, who is from the West African country of Gambia, have said that is because the worst atrocities were committed there. Supporters of the court say its focus on Africa has made up for the shortcomings of local justice systems.
Suspects before the court include Laurent Gbagbo, the former president of Ivory Coast, who is in The Hague awaiting confirmation of charges of crimes against humanity in his country.
But others remain at large.
Those include President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan, indicted by the court in 2009 and accused of war crimes in Darfur.
Then there is Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, the subject of a worldwide internet campaign last year, who is accused of enslavement and using child soldiers.
The International Criminal Court's record compares to more than 60 people convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia since it was set up in 1993.
"The ICC must ensure it learns the lessons of the first 10 years and challenge those who argue international justice is too costly and lengthy," British Foreign Minister William Hague said on Monday.
But even if U.S. opposition to the court under President George W. Bush has given way to tacit support under Barack Obama, it is still constrained by its political environment.
It is unable to prosecute alleged atrocities in Syria, for example, because Syria never signed the Rome Statute establishing the court. The ICC could still bring prosecutions if it had a referral from the United Nations Security Council - but that has so far been vetoed by Russia.
(Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
Defiant
Egypt parliament meets amid legal crisis
By Jailan Zayan | AFP –
15 mins ago,
7-10-12
Egypt's dissolved parliament convened on Tuesday
in defiance of the powerful military and the judiciary as a constitutional crisis raged over a presidential decree reinstating the Islamist-led
assembly.
"We are gathered today to review the court rulings, the ruling of the Supreme Constitutional Court," which ordered the house invalid, speaker Saad al-Katatni said.
"I want to stress, we are not contradicting the ruling, but looking at a mechanism for the implementation of the ruling of the respected court. There is no other agenda today," he added.
Last month, the Supreme Constitutional Court said certain articles in the law governing the parliamentary elections were invalid, annulling the house.
The military, which ruled Egypt after Hosni Mubarak was ousted in last year's popular uprising, then dissolved the house and took legislative control using a document granting the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) sweeping powers.
But on Sunday, just eight days after taking office, President Mohamed Morsi, a former member of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, ordered the lower house to reconvene.
His move highlighted the power struggle between the president and the SCAF, after the constitutional declaration issued by the military basically defanged the post of president.
Morsi's decree was hailed by those who want to see the army return to barracks, but it was criticised by those who fear an Islamist monopolisation of power as a "constitutional coup."
Katatni said parliament had referred the case invalidating the house to the Court of Cassation, while the Supreme Constitutional Court was looking into cases put forward to annul Morsi's decree.
Hundreds of people gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, hub of the revolution, to chant their support for Morsi's decision and chant "Down with the military," while those opposing the decree protested outside the presidential palace.
The tension prompted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to call for negotiations.
"We urge that there be intensive dialogue among all of the stakeholders in order to ensure that there is clear path for them to be following," she said at a news conference in Vietnam.
The Egyptian people should "get what they protested for and what they voted for, which is a fully elected government making the decisions for the country going forward," she added.
Clinton is due in Egypt on July 14 to express American support for the process of democratic transition there.
Islamist parties, including the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, which Morsi headed before becoming president, and Salafist parties attended Tuesday's parliamentary session.
But several MPs from liberal and leftist parties boycotted the gathering.
Katatni insisted during a brief opening statement aired live on television that the house "respects the law and judicial rulings."
On Monday, the Supreme Constitutional Court rejected Morsi's decree, saying that all of its rulings were binding.
"All the rulings and decisions of the Supreme Constitutional Court are final and not subject to appeal ... and are binding for all state institutions," it said.
The court stressed that it was "not a part of any political conflict ... but the limit of its sacred duty is the protection of the texts of the constitution."
Several groups and politicians had criticised the court's June ruling as politically motivated.
The SCAF backed the court on Monday, saying the rule of law must be upheld.
It underlined the "importance of the constitution in light of the latest developments," the official MENA news agency reported.
Islamists scored a crushing victory in three-stage parliamentary elections held from November, with the Muslim Brotherhood heading the lower house.
The dissolution of parliament took place just a day before the second round of presidential elections that saw Morsi become Egypt's first democratically chosen head of state.
Instead of being sworn in before parliament, the 60-year-old Morsi took the oath on June 30 before the constitutional court.
The presidency insisted on Monday that Morsi's decree "neither contradicts nor contravenes the ruling by the constitutional court."
The ruling does not need to be implemented immediately, said presidential spokesman Yasser Ali, arguing that the decision "takes into account the higher interest of the state and the people."
Washington lavishly supported Mubarak during his 30 years in power, but analysts say US officials will now have to work with multiple centres of power -- including a military seen as restricting Morsi's room for manoeuvre.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on a visit to Cairo that he was confident Egypt would resolve its growing power struggle.
"I have the impression that a solution can be found," Westerwelle told reporters.
"There is still no guarantee that the way towards democracy will be successful but we want to do what we can to ensure that it succeeds.
"The newly elected, first democratic president assured me that he does not aim to question the decision of the constitutional court but that this is rather about how to organise the ruling's implementation," he added.
Financial
Insiders: Wall Street’s Been Manipulating Libor for Decades; Scandal Going
Global
2012 July 10
Financial Insiders: Wall Street’s Been Manipulating Libor for Decades; Scandal Going Global
Stephen: While the Libor scandal headlines have hit the British newspapers on an almost daily basis for the past couple of weeks since Barclays was heavily fined, this latest story simply confirms what many of us have known for ages. But at least now it is hitting the mainstream – and hence the consciousness of the wider world.
That is, that Wall Street – and it’s various financial banks, brokers and bandits – has been doing the same thing for decades.
According to this story, the Federal Reserve was “worried” about possible Libor manipulations “15 years ago’. I’d say that was because they feared, even back then, that the role of the banks in such a major manipulation of the banking system would eventually lead back to their own manipulation of the entire world’s economic system.
Well, fellas, that’s just what IS going to happen. And sooner than you think.
May I suggest you also read the (rather long, but very in-depth) accompanying story below this one for The Economist’s revelations that the Libor Scandal is indeed going global…
Libor Scandal: Manipulation Spanned Decades, According to Reports
By Bonnie Kavoussi, The Huffington Post – 9 July, 2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/09/libor-scandal-manipulation-spanned-decades_n_1658696.html
Though the Libor scandal is just breaking now, some financial insiders claim that Wall Street’s been fiddling with the key interest rate for decades.
“Fifteen years ago, the word was that LIBOR was being rigged,” a financial industry veteran involved in the Libor process told the Economist. “It was one of those well kept secrets, but the regulator was asleep, the Bank of England didn’t care, and…[the banks involved were] happy with the reference prices.” (Hat tip: Barry Ritholtz.) (Stephen: I believe this is an acknowledgement to the blogger http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/)
“Going back to the late 1980s, when I was a trader, you saw some pretty odd fixings,” another financial industry veteran told the Economist.
Indeed, the Federal Reserve was worried about possible Libor manipulation 14 years ago, according to Business Insider.
Barclays agreed last month to pay $450 million to settle charges that it had rigged Libor, a key interbank lending rate that is used to help set interest rates around the world. If the banks set Libor too high, then that could have raised borrowing costs for businesses, homeowners and other borrowers.
Two million U.S. mortgages (largely subprime adjustable-rate mortgages) are indexed to Libor, according to research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland cited by the Washington Post.
Experts say it is unlikely that Barclays acted alone.
Other banks under investigation for allegedly fixing the Libor rate include JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and UBS.
Roughly 18 banks help set the Libor rate every day.
Here’s The Economist’s comprehensive original story…
The
Economist: The Rotten Heart of Finance
A scandal over key interest rates is about to go global
By unknown reporter(s), The Economist – July 7, 2012
http://www.economist.com/node/21558281
THE most memorable incidents in earth-changing events are sometimes the most banal. In the rapidly spreading scandal of LIBOR (the London inter-bank offered rate) it is the very everydayness with which bank traders set about manipulating the most important figure in finance.
They joked, or offered small favours. “Coffees will be coming your way,” promised one trader in exchange for a fiddled number. “Dude. I owe you big time!… I’m opening a bottle of Bollinger,” wrote another. One trader posted diary notes to himself so that he wouldn’t forget to fiddle the numbers the next week. “Ask for High 6M Fix,” he entered in his calendar, as he might have put “Buy milk”.
What may still seem to many to be a parochial affair involving Barclays, a 300-year-old British bank, rigging an obscure number, is beginning to assume global significance. The number that the traders were toying with determines the prices that people and corporations around the world pay for loans or receive for their savings.
It is used as a benchmark to set payments on about $800 trillion-worth of financial instruments, ranging from complex interest-rate derivatives to simple mortgages. The number determines the global flow of billions of dollars each year. Yet it turns out to have been flawed.
Over the past week damning evidence has emerged, in documents detailing a settlement between Barclays and regulators in America and Britain, that employees at the bank and at several other unnamed banks tried to rig the number time and again over a period of at least five years. And worse is likely to emerge. Investigations by regulators in several countries, including Canada, America, Japan, the EU, Switzerland and Britain, are looking into allegations that LIBOR and similar rates were rigged by large numbers of banks.
Corporations and lawyers, too, are examining whether they can sue Barclays or other banks for harm they have suffered. That could cost the banking industry tens of billions of dollars. “This is the banking industry’s tobacco moment,” says the chief executive of a multinational bank, referring to the lawsuits and settlements that cost America’s tobacco industry more than $200 billion in 1998. “It’s that big,” he says.
As many as 20 big banks have been named in various investigations or lawsuits alleging that LIBOR was rigged. The scandal also corrodes further what little remains of public trust in banks and those who run them.
Like many of the City’s ways, LIBOR is something of an anachronism, a throwback to a time when many bankers within the Square Mile knew one another and when trust was more important than contract. For LIBOR, a borrowing rate is set daily by a panel of banks for ten currencies and for 15 maturities.
The most important of these, three-month dollar LIBOR, is supposed to indicate what a bank would pay to borrow dollars for three months from other banks at 11am on the day it is set. The dollar rate is fixed each day by taking estimates from a panel, currently comprising 18 banks, of what they think they would have to pay to borrow if they needed money. The top four and bottom four estimates are then discarded, and LIBOR is the average of those left. The submissions of all the participants are published, along with each day’s LIBOR fix.
In theory, LIBOR is supposed to be a pretty honest number because it is assumed, for a start, that banks play by the rules and give truthful estimates. The market is also sufficiently small that most banks are presumed to know what the others are doing. In reality, the system is rotten. First, it is based on banks’ estimates, rather than the actual prices at which banks have lent to or borrowed from one another.
“There is no reporting of transactions, no one really knows what’s going on in the market,” says a former senior trader closely involved in setting LIBOR at a large bank. “You have this vast overhang of financial instruments that hang their own fixes off a rate that doesn’t actually exist.”
A second problem is that those involved in setting the rates have often had every incentive to lie, since their banks stood to profit or lose money depending on the level at which LIBOR was set each day. Worse still, transparency in the mechanism of setting rates may well have exacerbated the tendency to lie, rather than suppressed it. Banks that were weak would not have wanted to signal that fact widely in markets by submitting honest estimates of the high price they would have to pay to borrow, if they could borrow at all.
In the case of Barclays, two very different sorts of rate fiddling have emerged. The first sort, and the one that has raised the most ire, involved groups of derivatives traders at Barclays and several other unnamed banks trying to influence the final LIBOR fixing to increase profits (or reduce losses) on their derivative exposures. The sums involved might have been huge. Barclays was a leading trader of these sorts of derivatives, and even relatively small moves in the final value of LIBOR could have resulted in daily profits or losses worth millions of dollars.
In 2007, for instance, the loss (or gain) that Barclays stood to make from normal moves in interest rates over any given day was £20m ($40m at the time). In settlements with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Britain and America’s Department of Justice, Barclays accepted that its traders had manipulated rates on hundreds of occasions.
Risibly, Bob Diamond, its chief executive, who resigned on July 3rd as a result of the scandal (see article), retorted in a memo to staff that “on the majority of days, no requests were made at all” to manipulate the rate. This was rather like an adulterer saying that he was faithful on most days.
Barclays has tried its best to present these incidents as the actions of a few rogue traders. Yet the brazenness with which employees on various Barclays trading floors colluded, both with one another and with traders from other banks, suggests that this sort of behaviour was, if not widespread, at least widely tolerated. Traders happily put in writing requests that were either illegal or, at the very least, morally questionable. In one instance a trader would regularly shout out to colleagues that he was trying to manipulate the rate to a particular level, to check whether they had any conflicting requests.
The FSA has identified price-rigging dating back to 2005, yet some current and former traders say that problems go back much further than that. “Fifteen years ago the word was that LIBOR was being rigged,” says one industry veteran closely involved in the LIBOR process. “It was one of those well kept secrets, but the regulator was asleep, the Bank of England didn’t care and…[the banks participating were] happy with the reference prices.” Says another: “Going back to the late 1980s, when I was a trader, you saw some pretty odd fixings…With traders, if you don’t actually nail it down, they’ll steal it.”
Galling as the revelations are of traders trying to manipulate rates for personal gain, the actual harm done would probably have paled in comparison with the subsequent misconduct of the banks. Traders acting at one bank, or even with the clubby co-operation of counterparts at rival banks, would have been able to move the final LIBOR rate by only one or two hundredths of a percentage point (or one to two basis points).
For the decade or so before the financial crisis in 2007, LIBOR traded in a relatively tight band with alternative market measures of funding costs. Moreover, this was a period in which banks and the global economy were awash with money, and borrowing costs for banks and companies were low.
“Clean in principle”
Yet a second sort of LIBOR-rigging has also emerged in the Barclays settlement.
Barclays and, apparently, many other banks submitted dishonestly low estimates of bank borrowing costs over at least two years, including during the depths of the financial crisis. In terms of the scale of manipulation, this appears to have been far more egregious—at least in terms of the numbers. Almost all the banks in the LIBOR panels were submitting rates that may have been 30-40 basis points too low on average. That could create the biggest liabilities for the banks involved (although there is also a twist in this part of the story involving the regulators).
As the financial crisis began in the middle of 2007, credit markets for banks started to freeze up. Banks began to suffer losses on their holdings of toxic securities relating to American subprime mortgages. With unexploded bombs littering the banking system, banks were reluctant to lend to one another, leading to shortages of funding system-wide.
This only intensified in late 2007 when Northern Rock, a British mortgage lender, experienced a bank run that started in the money markets. It soon had to be taken over by the state. In these febrile market conditions, with almost no interbank lending taking place, there were little real data to use as a basis when submitting LIBOR. Barclays maintains that it tried to post honest assessments in its LIBOR submissions, but found that it was constantly above the submissions of rival banks, including some that were unmistakably weaker.
At the time, questions were asked about the financial health of Barclays because its LIBOR submissions were higher. Back then, Barclays insiders said they were posting numbers that were honest while others were fiddling theirs, citing examples of banks that were trying to get funding in money markets at rates that were 30 basis points higher than those they were submitting for LIBOR.
This version of events has turned out to be only partly true. In its settlement with regulators, Barclays owned up to massaging down its own LIBOR submissions so that they were more or less in line with those of their rivals.
It instructed its money-markets team to submit numbers that were high enough to be in the top four, and thus discarded from the calculation, but not so high as to draw attention to the bank (see chart 1). “I would sort of express us maybe as not clean, but clean in principle,” one Barclays manager apparently said in a call to the FSA at the time.
Confounding the issue is the question of whether Barclays had, or thought it had, the tacit support of both its regulator and the Bank of England (BoE). In notes taken by Mr Diamond, then the head of the investment-banking division of Barclays, of a call with Paul Tucker, then a senior official at the BoE, Mr Diamond recorded what was interpreted by some in the bank as a nudge and a wink from the central bank to fudge the numbers (see article).
The next day the Barclays submissions to LIBOR were lower. This could be a crucial part of the bank’s defence.
The allegation by Barclays that some banks seemed to be fiddling their data would appear to be supported by the data themselves. Over the period of the financial crisis, the estimates of its borrowing costs submitted by Barclays were generally among the top four in the LIBOR panel (see chart 2 ,at right).
Those consistently among the lowest four were some of the soundest banks in the world, with rock solid balance-sheets, such as JPMorgan Chase and HSBC. However, among banks regularly submitting much lower borrowing costs than Barclays were banks that subsequently lost the confidence of markets and had to be bailed out. In Britain these included Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HBOS.
The tobacco moment
Regulators around the world have woken up, however belatedly, to the possibility that these vital markets may have been rigged by a large number of banks. The list of institutions that have said they are either co-operating with investigations or being questioned includes many of the world’s biggest banks. Among those that have disclosed their involvement are Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, RBS and UBS.
Court documents filed by Canada’s Competition Bureau have also aired allegations by traders at one unnamed bank, which has applied for immunity, that it had tried to influence some LIBOR rates in co-operation with some employees of Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, ICAP, JPMorgan Chase and RBS. It is not clear whether employees of these banks actually co-operated or, if they did, whether they succeeded in manipulating rates.
Continental Europe is focusing on cartel effects rather than digging into the internal culture of banks. Separate investigations, by the European Commission and the Swiss authorities, focus on the possible effects of inter-bank rate manipulation on end users. Last October European Commission officials raided the offices of banks and other companies involved in trading derivatives based on EURIBOR (the euro inter-bank offered rate).
The Swiss competition commission launched an investigation in February, prompted by an “application for leniency” by UBS, into possible adverse effects on Swiss clients and companies of alleged manipulation of LIBOR and TIBOR (the Tokyo inter-bank offered rate) by the two Swiss and ten other international banks and “other financial intermediaries”.
The regulatory machinery will grind slowly. Investigators are unlikely to produce new evidence against other banks for a few months yet. Slower still will be the progress of civil claims. Actions representing a huge variety of plaintiffs have been launched. Among the claimants are investors in savings rates or bonds linked to LIBOR, those buying derivatives priced off it, and those who dealt directly with banks involved in setting LIBOR.
Deciding a figure for the potential liability facing banks is tough, partly because the cases will be testing new areas of the law such as whether, for instance, an Australian firm that took out an interest-rate swap with a local bank should be able to sue a British or American bank involved in setting LIBOR, even if the firm had no direct dealings with the bank.
The extent of the banks’ liability may well depend on whether regulators press them to pay compensation or, conversely, offer banks some protection because of worries that the sums involved may be so large as to need yet more bail-outs, according to one senior London lawyer.
A particular worry for banks is that they face an asymmetric risk because they stand in the middle of many transactions. For each of their clients who may have lost out if LIBOR was manipulated, another will probably have gained. Yet banks will be sued only by those who have lost, and will be unable to claim back the unjust gains made by some of their other customers. Lawyers acting for corporations or other banks say their clients are also considering whether they can walk away from contracts with banks such as long-term derivatives priced off LIBOR.
The revelations also raise difficult questions for regulators. Mr Tucker’s involvement in the Barclays affair may harm his prospects of being appointed governor of the Bank of England, although he may well have a benign explanation for his comments (he is due to appear before parliament soon).
Another issue is the conflict central banks face, in times of systemic banking crises, between maintaining financial stability and allowing markets to operate transparently. Whether the BoE instructed Barclays to lower its submissions or not, regulators had a pretty clear motive for wanting lower LIBOR: British banks, in effect, were being shut out of the markets. The two hardest-hit banks, RBS and HBOS, were both far too big to fail, and higher LIBOR rates would have made the regulators’ job of supporting them more difficult.
This highlights a deeper question: what is the right level of involvement in influencing or regulating market interest rates, in a crisis, by those responsible for financial stability? Central banks get a slew of sensitive information from banks which they rightly do not want to make public. Data on deposit outflows at banks could trigger unnecessary runs, for example. Yet LIBOR is a measure of market rates, not those picked by policymakers.
Reform club
Two big changes are needed. The first is to base the rate on actual lending data where possible. Some markets are thinly traded, though, and so some hypothetical or expected rates may need to be used to create a complete set of benchmarks. So a second big change is needed. Because banks have an incentive to influence LIBOR, a new system needs to explicitly promote truth-telling and reduce the possibilities for co-ordination of quotes.
Ideas for how to do this are starting to appear. Rosa Abrantes-Metz of NYU’s Stern School of Business was one of a group of academics who, in 2009, raised the alarm that something fishy was going on with LIBOR. One simple change, she proposes, would be significantly to raise the number of banks in the panel.
The theoretical changes needed to repair LIBOR are not difficult, but there are practical challenges to reform. The thousands of contracts that use it as a point of reference may need to be changed. Moreover, the real obstacle to change is not a lack of good ideas, but a lack of will by the banks involved to overturn a system that has served most of them rather well.
With lawsuits and prosecutions gathering pace, those involved in setting the key rate in finance need to get moving.
Adding a calendar note to “Fix LIBOR” just won’t do.
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