The Growing Opposition To Russia's Vladimir Putin

CBC news

The growing opposition to Russia's Vladimir Putin

written by Daniel Schwartz

Friday December 9, 2011

Russia's flawed parliamentary elections have led to the largest protests in Moscow since Vladimir Putin came to power in 1999, fueling speculation that Russia might face its own version of the Arab Spring. Those autocratic regimes confronted unanticipated opposition, and that fact has led Russian observers to wonder who may be the ones to take up the cause against Putin.

The official results of the Dec. 4 elections have Prime Minister Putin's United Russia party as the winners but with far fewer votes than the previous election. At the same time, several opposition parties were not allowed to run, independent monitoring was far from ideal, and several other shortcomings called the outcome into question even before the ballots were counted.

But it was the announced results themselves — like the vote count in troubled Chechnya —that really threw some observers.

Election officials announced United Russia received 99.5 per cent of the votes in Chechnya. But the total number was several thousand more than the number of registered voters in the republic.

After critics pointed out the discrepancy, the electoral commission added to the number of registered voters, so the turnout would at least seem theoretically possible.

Then widespread reports of ballot-box stuffing and other election fraud around the country fuelled the protests. Golos, the only independent election monitor in Russia, received 5,300 reports of election violations.

Although the largest in years, the number of protesters who took to the streets initially was still relatively small, but the authorities cracked down hard, arresting over 300 people, including the head of Golos.

The talk now, though, is that much larger opposition protests are in the works, including one for Dec. 10. And they are being egged on by foreign observers like U.S. Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, who sent a tweet on Dec. 5 addressed to Putin, saying "Dear Vlad, the Arab Spring is coming to a neighborhood near you."

For his part, Putin claimed the protesters were acting "in accordance with a well-known scenario," and were doing the bidding of foreign powers, especially the U.S. government.

Still, there are plenty of homegrown opponents to Putin these days, especially to his recently announced bid to have a second run at the presidency in 2012.

The Putin opponent currently getting the most attention is Alexei Navalny. Here a brief look at Navalny and some other leading opposition figures in Russia.

Alexei Navalny

A lawyer, Navalny has been gaining followers through his attacks on corruption in government and business, using the internet as his vehicle.

With a background in commercial law, he began blogging on LiveJournal (ZhivoyZhurnal) in 2008. By the end of that year he had about 1,500 readers. That number is now over 60,000 and on Twitter he has over 137,000 followers (@navalny, in Russian).

Earlier this year, he launched a website, financed by online donations, to investigate and expose corruption in government contracts. The website has a scorecard at the top of its frontpage, which showed 73 complaints filed and 39 substantiated by the Russian anti-monopoly service.

Since February, United Russia has been Navalny's focus. He dubbed it the "the party of crooks and thieves" and the label stuck, going viral during the election campaign.

After the vote, Navalny urged his followers to join the protests against election fraud, using the slogan, "Return the stolen elections."

At the Dec. 5 rally, Navalny told protesters, "We should remember that they are nobody and we are the power. We do not need thieves and crooks!"

He was arrested and charged with disobeying police orders, and is now serving a 15-day prison sentence.

In an interview in April with the Russian weekly magazine, The New Times, editor Yevgeniya Albats called Navalny the "future president" and Navalny responded, "I have heard that joke so many times recently."

Since then, he has turned down an offer from the opposition party, Parnas, to be their presidential candidate, explaining that he is certain the results would be fixed.

Navalny is on the cover of the current edition of the Russian edition of Esquire magazine. "He is the most interesting person in Russian politics," editor Dmitry Golubovsky explained.

In addition to organizing the democratic opposition to Putin, Navalny has also appealed for support from Russian nationalists.

Navalny, 35, is married, with two children.

Please click HERE to read the entire article...

After Euro Zone Pact, Eyes Turn To S&P's Downgrade Threat; 15 Euro-Zone Countries On Warning For A Possible Downgrade. Wow! :o

The Wall Street Journal

After Euro Zone Pact, Eyes Turn To S&P's Downgrade Threat

written by Javier E. David, Dow Jones newswire

Friday December 9, 2011

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The two big questions facing the euro zone following Friday's fiscal pact are whether it goes far enough for the European Central Bank to ramp up bond-buying and whether Standard & Poor's downgrades its ratings on member countries' debt.

As it turns out, the latter may well depend on the former.

In the run-up to Europe's debt summit this week, S&P increased the stakes by placing 15 euro-zone countries on warning for a possible downgrade. To some, the move had echoes of how the rating agency responded to the political brawl over the U.S. debt ceiling, which concluded with an 11th hour deficit-cutting deal to raise the ceiling but still prompted S&P to strip the U.S. of its coveted Triple-A rating.

In that instance, S&P seemed just as concerned about the messy political process and the lack of any will to devise an effective fiscal containment plan as it was with the plan itself.

So, will the agency be satisfied with how the Europeans dealt with their sometimes bitter divisions and got 26 members of the 27-strong European Union to agree to tighter fiscal governance or will it pull the trigger?

The good news is that, unlike the U.S., the euro zone is already well into a program of fiscal consolidation, which S&P analysts could view encouragingly.

"When S&P put U.S. ratings on watch list…there was no near-term prospect of fiscal consolidation; in Europe it's exactly the opposite," said Krishna Memani, portfolio manager and director of fixed income at OppenheimerFunds. European fiscal consolidation "will take place, it's just a question of how quickly and by how much," he said.

Ultimately, however, the outlook for euro zone debt hinges on whether the ECB is going to use its balance sheet to backstop sovereign bond markets, since investors remain highly nervous about struggling governments' ability to finance themselves. And if their borrowing costs rise, that could prompt a ratings cut.

The central bank is deeply reluctant to sacrifice price stability at the altar of fiscal balance, which it feels is the responsibility of governments. But given the risks at stake--including the once unimaginable notion of a euro breakup--the ECB could yet bite the bullet and significantly increase its purchases of government bonds.

That in turn could prevent S&P from issuing a cascade of downgrades and alleviate concerns investors have about transferring debt from one sovereign to another.

"If the ECB takes on more of a role, then the path out of this becomes far clearer than it has been for the last two years," Memani says. "They can extinguish this debt by printing money," he added.

But S&P is also worried about the underlying health of the economies in question, and that could still prompt it to take action, others say.

Eric Upin, chief investment officer at Makena Capital says the euro zone's central issue is the one most troubling to S&P: governments are spending too much money, with not nearly enough growth or revenues to support it.

Because so much sovereign debt is held by banks, this raises the stakes for nations already skirting on the edge of AAA status - primarily France, whose financial sector is sagging under the weight of government bonds gone bad. Heavily indebted countries may be forced to absorb the banking sector losses, creating a vicious cycle of rising debt levels that's likely to make credit agencies nervous.

"It appears to us that there is not enough action to stave off a downgrade," Upin said. Europe's debts "would be manageable if it were hundreds of billions, but it looks like trillions."

Less than five months after it made its dramatic decision to downgrade the biggest economy in the world, S&P has again put itself in the hot seat.

Up Eurs! Euro Crisis: Britain Stands Alone After PM David Cameron’s Historic Veto!

The Sun UK

Euro crisis: Britain stands alone after PM David Cameron’s historic veto

written by Graeme Wilson and Kevin Schofield

Friday December 9, 2011

DAVID Cameron has blasted the bully-boys of Europe with a sensational Winston Churchill-style "Up Yours".

The PM vetoed a new treaty and kept Britain out of a dodgy deal to save the euro.

But his bulldog spirit left the nation facing an unknown future and risking an EU backlash.

The PM last night defended his historic veto of an EU deal intended to save the euro — despite infuriating pro-Europeans.

Jubilant Tory MPs hailed his decision as a massive step towards Britain's EXIT from the European Union.

His stand in Brussels was the first time a British Prime Minister has ever vetoed an EU treaty.

Defiant Mr Cameron insisted he was RIGHT, as the deal threatened the City of London financial hub.

He said: "We were offered a treaty that didn't have proper safeguards for Britain and I decided it was not right to sign it."

But EU chiefs turned on him last night for daring to stand up for Britain. And the Coalition was rocked when Nick Clegg warned Britain could end up marginalised in a two-speed Europe.

One Brussels insider warned: "This is going to cost the UK dearly. They have antagonised everyone."

The PM stuck to his guns during ten hours of bruising negotiations in which he faced intense pressure from French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Mr Cameron had a furious show-down with Mr Sarkozy in the early hours of yesterday morning.

There were even reports that the fuming Frenchman had to be "restrained" at one point.

One French official blasted the PM for demanding concessions but offering nothing in return.

He likened Mr Cameron to "a man who wants to go to a wife-swapping party without taking his own wife".

Mrs Merkel complained: "I really don't believe Mr Cameron was ever really with us at the table."

Last night the EU's other 26 countries were set to press ahead with their own treaty — leaving Britain on the outside. They agreed new rules on tax and spending by eurozone countries and tougher sanctions to back them up.

The PM insisted Britain will keep its influence in the corridors of powers and remain a member of the EU. He said: "Membership is in our interests."

Earlier Mr Sarkozy had blamed Britain's "unacceptable" demands for torpedoing the treaty. At one point during a meeting of leaders yesterday, the French president appeared to "blank" Mr Cameron.

But the PM insisted they were on good terms. He said: "Obviously, he disagrees with the approach that I am taking. But he went out of his way to repeatedly say, 'This is not against David personally, we're good friends, we work together'." The Coalition was left split down the middle. Tory MPs hailed their leader for keeping his promise to defend British interests. Meanwhile furious Liberal Democrats savaged Mr Cameron and accused him of betraying the UK. Some Tories said it was now time to rewrite Britain's relations with Brussels.

"We are going to be a satellite on the edge of what is going to be an economic superpower. We need a different relationship."

Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Tebbit said: "There is no smooth easy path ahead. All the roads look rocky. Thankfully, we have taken a step along the right one." Senior eurosceptic David Davis added: "David Cameron has done exactly the right thing. The British demands were utterly reasonable."

GERMANS and the French believe they would be better off if they had never joined the Euro — 42 per cent thinking their finances would be flusher, a poll revealed.

Please click HERE to read the entire article...

Michigan J. Frog Starring In "One Froggy Evening"

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE

You Made It... HAPPY FRIDAY Everybody! :)

MF Global Collapse Prompts Call for Rule Overhaul... Okay Let's ALL Applaud Pres Obama's Gargantuan Dodd/Frank Financial Reform Legislation He Signed Into Law! Great Job! [/sarcasm]

CNBC

MF Global Collapse Prompts Call for Rule Overhaul

written by Reuters staff

Thursday December 8, 2011

MF Global's collapse has highlighted major gaps in customer protection that require a complete overhaul of U.S. futures regulations, a futures self-regulatory official said on Thursday.

Daniel Roth, chief executive of the National Futures Association, which self-polices the industry, plans to lay out a blueprint of possible reforms at a House Agriculture Committee hearing where MF Global's former chief executive Jon Corzine is also expected to testify.

"Thousands of customers have suffered and continue to suffer from a breakdown in the regulatory protections they have come to expect," Roth said in prepared testimony. "We should be able to identify certain frailties of current structure that will need to be addressed. No ideas should be off the table in this process."

Roth's ideas include storing customer money with a third-party custodian, instead of with a futures brokerage directly, and having self-regulatory organizations perform surprise spot-checks more frequently to confirm account balances.

MF Global filed for bankruptcy protection on Oct. 31, after it was forced to reveal it had made a $6.3 billion bet on European sovereign debt . Investigators are searching for hundreds of millions of dollars in missing customer money from futures accounts, and they are probing whether MF Global raided customer funds for the firm's own use.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as several other self-regulatory organizations, oversee different aspects of MF Global's business, but there is no single regulator in charge of policing the whole firm.

The search for the missing money has raised serious questions about the effectiveness of U.S. futures regulations in protecting customer money, which is required to be segregated from firm funds.

The NFA was not the primary regulator for MF Global's futures business, which was overseen directly by the CME Group [CME 244.58 -8.57 (-3.39%) ]. But NFA did participate on an audit committee that received regular updates about MF Global's condition in the weeks leading up to its bankruptcy filing.

In his testimony, Roth laid out numerous possibilities for reforms, both with how firms are policed and also with the mechanisms in place to protect customers in the event of a bankruptcy filing.

One way to avoid future insolvencies, he said, is to change the way clearinghouses collect margin, forcing brokers to hand over enough margin to back each and every one of its customer positions, regardless of whether the bets of some customers exactly offset those of other customers.

Using so-called gross margining puts more of customers' money to the clearinghouse, and leaves less of it in the brokerage's own accounts, where MF Global is said to have misused it.

In addition, Roth also questions whether the futures industry needs an insurance-type program in place similar to the one run by the Securities Investor Protection Corp, or SIPC, which covers claims from the investors of collapsed securities brokerage firms.

Currently, there is no such industry-backed fund in place to cover claims for futures customers.

"We need to examine the pros and cons of establishing a formalized mechanism to address customer losses due to a (futures commission merchant) insolvency," he said.

John Fletcher, a general manager of the Central Missouri Agri-Service who plans to testify on behalf of the National Grain and Feed Association, also will tell lawmakers that regulatory changes may be in order. But he stopped short of advocating any specific approach, saying the issues raised by MF Global need to be "examined carefully and quickly."

"It may be that some entity other than FCMs should be responsible for holding and safeguarding customer funds," he said. "Rather than a clearing firm, should the clearinghouse or the exchange itself or some independent third party perform the role?"

CME's Duffy: MF Global Broke Rules, Tapped Customer Funds

NASDAQ

CME's Duffy: MF Global Broke Rules, Tapped Customer Funds

written by Jacob Bunge, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Thursday December 8, 2011

Officials at MF Global Holdings Inc. (MFGLQ) illegally used customers' money for the firm's own benefit in its final days of life, according to the executive chairman of exchange operator CME Group Inc. (CME).

The now-bankrupt broker-dealer in the past year was also found to have violated some guidelines for investing customer money held on deposit, and was told to tighten up certain accounting practices following examinations by CME and other overseers, said Terry Duffy, CME's chairman, in prepared remarks Thursday.

MF Global "appears to have broken a number of rules and obligations to protect customer collateral resulting in customer losses," Duffy said in testimony prepared for a hearing on MF Global's downfall, called by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, which oversees U.S. futures market matters.

CME has come under focus in the MF Global matter because it presides over nearly all U.S. futures trading, where MF Global was a major broker for asset managers and hedgers. CME also was MF Global's primary regulator at the exchange level, responsible for auditing the firm's books.

The trustee liquidating MF Global's brokerage has estimated that as much as $ 1.2 billion in customer funds remain missing five weeks after the firm's collapse.

Duffy defended CME's oversight of MF Global, including several audits in the days prior to its Oct. 31 bankruptcy filing, which he said left an " unprecedented" blemish on the U.S. futures-trading business.

"Indeed, this is the first time in the industry's history that a customer has suffered a loss as a result of a clearing members' improper handling of customer funds," Duffy said in his prepared remarks.

Duffy defended CME's oversight of MF Global, including several audits in the days prior to its Oct. 31 bankruptcy filing, which he said left an " unprecedented" blemish on the U.S. futures-trading business.

"Indeed, this is the first time in the industry's history that a customer has suffered a loss as a result of a clearing members' improper handling of customer funds," Duffy said in his prepared remarks.

Duffy traced for lawmakers a timeline of MF Global's final days, which included an unannounced Thursday, Oct. 27 audit by CME officials who examined MF Global's customer money held at close of business the prior day. That examination turned up only "immaterial discrepancies" and no funds missing as of Wednesday, Oct. 26, he said.

But MF Global's condition grew more dire and CME returned to conduct a second audit on Sunday, Oct. 30, after the exchange operator was told by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that an internal report from MF Global then showed a $900 million shortfall in client funds driven by an "accounting error." A day's worth of investigation found no such error, Duffy said, and at 2:00 a.m. Monday morning, MF Global disclosed to its regulators that customers' money had been transferred into the firm's own accounts.

"Transfers of customer funds for the benefit of the firm constitute serious violations of our rules and of the Commodity Exchange Act," Duffy said.

MF Global later on Oct. 31 corrected figures reported days earlier, showing a $200 million shortfall in segregated funds as of Thursday, Oct. 27, that suggested money had been moved out of customers' accounts that Friday, Duffy said.

Duffy said that CME's most recent regulatory audit of MF Global commenced Jan. 31, 2011, and wrapped up with a final report date of Aug. 4. After the investigation CME required MF Global to change the way it had been investing some customers' money held on deposit, alongside other "relatively minor" infractions, he said. These were immediately corrected, Duffy said.

At the same time, according to Duffy's testimony, securities regulators looked over MF Global's books and records and notified the firm that it needed to alter some accounting practices.

Duffy told lawmakers in his remarks that no number of rules or regulations could stop someone intent on breaking the law.

"While it is clear that action is necessary to restore customer confidence and protect against future failures, the fact is that [MF Global] broke rules by moving customer segregated funds out of an account over which it had control," Duffy said. "A firm failed to comply with applicable rules, but that does not mean the segregation system is a failed system."

Former CEO Jon Corzine Of MF Global Clueless About Missing Client Funds!!! Oh WOW! Imagine If Pres Obama Appointed Corzine As US Secretary Treasury Like He Intended! :/

MarketWatch

Corzine: ‘I do not know where the money is’

written by Ronald D. Orol

Thursday December 8, 2011

As much as $1.2 billion in client funds may be unaccounted for after the eighth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, reiterated an attorney representing the trustee overseeing distribution of customer money for the firm. The trustee first warned in November that funds were missing.

“I simply do not know where the money is, or why the accounts have not been reconciled,” [Would you want him in charge of your hard earned money? Come on now! He had a FIDUCIARY DUTY to every customer as head of that firm! (emphasis mine)] Corzine said to a House Agriculture Committee hearing that sought to examine the MF Global collapse. He also said he was “stunned” when told that MF Global couldn’t account for the money.

New York-based MF Global filed for bankruptcy protection on Oct. 31 after disclosing sizable exposure to derivatives and other investments related to billions of dollars in European sovereign debt.

Regulators are investigating whether the firm tapped into customer futures accounts for its own proprietary trading. No one at the firm has been charged so far.

Yet Corzine testified that he would never intend or direct or have customer funds moved, but added he was aware of a shortfall in funds on the evening of Oct. 30.

“I never intended to break any rules whether it dealt with segregation rules or any other rules,” he said. “I’m not in a position given the number of transactions to know anything specifically about the movement of any specific funds.”

Corzine, who left MF Global on Nov. 3, was subpoenaed to testify before the committee. He said he offered to testify in January, once he had been able to obtain and review “relevant records,” but that this was rejected. Corzine told lawmakers he has had limited access to his records since leaving the firm and that he needed them to “testify accurately.”

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are conducting investigations into the failure. Lawmakers on the panel squabbled about the CFTC’s failure to identify problems and take action at MF Global before its collapse. Some Democrats on the panel defended the agency [UNREAL! (emphasis mine)], insisting that it does not have the resources to do regulate effectively.

“I don’t blame the law enforcement. I am concerned about whether you have the resources to do the job you need to do,” said Rep. Leonard Boswell, Democrat from Iowa.

Republican counterparts, however, raised concerns about the agency oversight, questioning how officials could be taking so long to find the missing customer money and about conflicts of interest leading the CFTC chairman, Gary Gensler, to recuse himself from the investigation.

Gensler said last month that he would not be involved in any matters associated with MF Global’s bankruptcy. Gensler and Corzine both worked at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. at the same time.

Rep. Timothy Johnson, Republican from Illinois, raised concerns about Gensler’s absence, asking whether he is part of a “Goldman Sachs fraternity.”

“If Mr. Gensler is here or listening to this somewhere, which I assume he is, from the standpoint of Congressman Johnson, I find your failure to testify here totally unacceptable,” he said.

Republicans asked pointed questions to Jill Sommers, a CFTC commissioner that is supervising the commission’s MF Global investigation, arguing that the agency did not appear to do a good enough job communicating with the SEC and other regulators in the period before the firm’s bankruptcy filing. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a self-regulatory organization that polices securities brokers, raised concerns in June that MF Global had a substantial position in European debt and was not appropriately holding capital against it.

“I am not sure exactly of the circumstances of who was consulting with the SEC and FINRA in the days leading up to the bankruptcy,” Sommers said, adding that she was not involved in that point. “I think there are periodic meetings [that] regulators have to review issues in the markets, but I’m not sure how often those happen.”

Corzine, a former [DEMOCRATIC (emphasis mine)] U.S. senator and [DEMOCRACTIC (emphasis mine)] governor of New Jersey, also remarked he was deeply saddened by the firm’s failure, noting that there were “an extraordinary number of transactions” during MF Global’s last few days and that he did not know if there were “operational errors.”

Both Republicans and Corzine’s former colleagues on the Democratic side noted they have been hearing from ranchers and farmers in their states who have had their accounts frozen and appear to have lost money.

The agriculture committee is responsible for investigating the failure of MF Global because it has jurisdiction over regulation of commodity-futures brokerages, as well as over farmers and ranchers that use futures trading as a way to hedge.

So far, four weeks after the bankruptcy, thousands of former investors at MF Global have had accounts frozen or have received only partial distributions.

Lawmakers also said that they have heard concerns from some farmers in futures as a hedge that the missing funds have had a chilling effect on investment in the markets.

Please click HERE to read entire article...

Ex-MF Global Boss Quits Controller John Liu’s Office. Davis' Departure Comes As Liu Hands Out Staff RAISES!

New York Daily news

Ex-MF Global boss quits Controller John Liu’s office

written by Jonathan Lemir

Thursday December 8, 2011

A top aide to embattled City Controller John Liu has abruptly resigned - just three months after he took the job.

The hiring of Kevin Davis, a former chief executive at the Jon Corzine-led investment firm which lost more than $1.2 billion of its clients’ money, raised eyebrows when he took the city position in September.

Davis quit Wednesday, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. His departure is the latest blow to Liu, whose fundraising practices are currently being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Davis, who made $175,000 a year while on the city payroll, worked as head of commodities in the controller’s Office of Bureau Management.

Liu did not seek his resignation, according to the Journal report.

Davis worked for more than a decade at MF Global but was not involved with the collapse connected to former NJ Gov. Corzine, who is due to testify on Capitol Hill Thursday about the missing money.

But Davis was in charge when a rogue trader at MF Global lost $141 million for the company - an incident that observers believe was the first serious hit to the firm, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

His employment in Liu’s office was a sensitive subject for the controller, who was long considered a formidable 2013 formidable mayoral candidate.

But Liu’s political future is now in serious doubt, as the former Queens Councilman has had to fend off some calls to step down amid a series of scandals seemingly connected to his office.

One of Liu’s top moneymen was arrested last month on charged he illegally diverted $16,000 into the controller’s campaign.

Liu, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, has also had to defend himself against charges that donations to his campaign were made in the names of people who now say they never gave cash to the mayoral hopeful.

The Daily News reported Thursday that Liu this week gave discretionary pay raises to members of his staff - which drew fire from good government groups.

The vast majority of the 126 employees who are receiving the raises, which range from 3% to 8%, are members of District Council 37.

A Liu spokesman denied that the pay bumps were connected to DC 37’s support for Liu’s plan to form a “super” pension board to reform the city’s pension system.

As Much As $1.2 BILLION In MF Global Customer Money Is Still Unaccounted For (MISSING) Since The Firm's Oct. 31st Bankruptcy! WOW! Great Dodd/Frank Financial Reform Bill Pres Obama! [/Sarcasm]

The Wall Street Journal

MF Global Customers Argue Rights to Any Cash

written by Dan Strumpf and Jerry A. Dicolo

Thursday December 8, 2011

Brokerage customers of MF Global Holdings Ltd. don't know where all of their money is. But they have gone to court to try to protect it.

Some customers are objecting to an MF Global motion for approval to use $26 million under a credit line from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. The customers say it is still unknown whether missing customer funds are mixed in with the company's cash and don't want the money spent until that is determined.

The failed company already has received permission to use some of the money to continue operations and is seeking approval to use the full amount.

As much as $1.2 billion in MF Global customer money is still unaccounted for since the firm's Oct. 31 bankruptcy, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of the firm's brokerage has said. If that customer money is discovered, customers would get it, the trustee says.

But if the money isn't found, the customers will have to get in line with MF Global's creditors for whatever remains of the failed company are left, according to court filings and the trustee.

Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan has sought "super-priority" creditor status for the $26 million, a position that some customers also contest in court filings.

J.P. Morgan spokeswoman Mary Sedarat says the firm's request for those funds to be first in line is "standard operating procedure," in a bankruptcy case.

Separately, on Friday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn is expected to rule on the proposed transfer of $2.1 billion in frozen customer funds to new firms.

The motion, if approved, would effectively reunite former MF Global customers with cash that would make them about two-thirds whole.

Exchange operator CME Group Inc. supported that proposal in a filing this week. In arguing for the transfer, it said creditors "should not see a penny of value from MF Global's estate until all customer and other claims at the MF Global level have been paid 100%."

Lawyers for customers say their clients shouldn't end up in the bankruptcy case as creditors in the event their money isn't located.

"Customers are not creditors," said Sander Esserman, a partner at Stutzman, Bromberg, Esserman & Plifka, a law firm representing some MF Global customers. "These customers gave their money to the third-party broker for safekeeping, and supposedly were protected by laws and contracts and are not supposed to be creditors. It's not like we did a service for MF Global and didn't get paid.…It's a totally different relationship."

Other lawyers uninvolved in the case say customers could have a difficult time prevailing with that argument if their money isn't found.

COP17 Report: Pres Obama and United Nations to Tax U.S. for Green Climate Fund! Oh Hell NO! >:/

WMO: "Climate change is real and we are already observing its manifestations in weather and climate patterns around the world”

Josette (Me): Note to WMO, the climate has been changing since the beginning of TIME! No one can dispute that. Precisely the reason why they changed name of champaign from Global Warming.

WMO: Worst hit by CLIMATE deaths/losses in 2010: Pakistan, Guatemala, Colombia, Russia, Honduras, Oman, Poland, Portugal, China, Tajikstan.

Josette: The actual reason for those climate deaths/losses is due to poor infrastructure, preparation and emergency response by the government in those countries.

WMO: Small island states 'may disappear if no climate deal'.

Josette: Puhleeease! They'll say anything to scare the crap out of the world to get leaders to agree to sponsor this Green Climate FUND and new TAX! Small islands have always been at risk of disappearing. Sh*t Indonesia and surrounding tiny islands almost disappeared in the 2004 Indian Ocean TSUNAMI caused by a MASSIVE 9.1 magnitude undersea megathrust EARTHQUAKE. Or how about the recent 2011 Pacific coast of Tohoku TSUNAMI caused by a MASSIVE 9.0 magnitude undersea megathrust EARTHQUAKE that almost swallowed up Japan. Plus, new islands are birthed from underground ocean volcanic lava flows. This phenomenon is otherwise known as Sumarine Volcanoes, "They may become so large that they break the ocean surface as new islands." The earth also has Shield Volcanoes. "The largest and most prominent shield volcano chain in the world are the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of hotspot volcanoes in Pacific Ocean. The Galápagos Islands are an isolated set of volcanoes, consisting of shield volcanoes and lava plateaus. The composition of the lavas of the Galápagos shields are strikingly similar to those of the Hawaiian volcanoes. In addition, there is no clear pattern of age between the volcanoes, suggesting a complicated, irregular pattern of creation. How exactly the islands were formed remains a geological mystery, although several theories have been fronted." It's part of the natural process on earth. Not only do these wackjobs want to control the global general population every which way possible, but they actually think they can control earth's natural rhythms too.

WMO: UN climate chief urges action to stop climate change 'spinning out of control' read article HERE.

Josette: Are you serious? or just mental? Come on now, do you honestly believe we as mere humans can "STOP" the climate from changing? Why would we want to? We benefit from the 4 seasons that change our climate. Our ancient ancestors respected that fact! Once upon a time ALL of the continents were one until they broke off and separated. Our ancient ancestors adapted to that dramatic change of land mass. Now what is our problem? Lack of ingenuity perhaps? Taxing Economic GROWTH practices WILL NEVER solve the genuine problems humanity faces today ie; famine caused by man-made food shortages. Governments that are attending this UN summit are the very people who allow their buddies to pollute the earth by dumping toxic chemicals in the ground and in our rivers around the world, use up ground water for mining and end up drying up the land above that wild animals graze on, use up fertile farm land for alternative fuels instead of planting crops to eat where we would have enough food for every human being on this planet with an abundance left over AND they have the nerve to act like they give a crap. Take a look at this promotional picture I found for this COP17 event. Read what they are brainwashing our youth with. You can click the picture to enlarge. This is ALL ONE BIG CON!

The Washington Examiner

Report: Obama, UN to tax US for Green Climate Fund

written by Joel Gehrke Commentary Staff Writer

Monday December 5, 2011

President Obama's team of negotiators at the United Nations Climate Change Conference may agree to a tax on foreign currency transactions, designed to pay for a "Green Climate Fund," that would fall disproportionately on American travellers and businesses, according to a group attending the conference that is skeptical of the UN position on global warming.

Negotiators at the conference are considering "a new tax on every foreign currency transaction in the world," according to the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT). "Every time you travel abroad, you'll have to pay a climate tax," explains CFACT, the group that released the "Climategate" emails. "More importantly, every time we import goods, every time we export our fine products (think jobs) we will do so with a climate tax skimming off the top."

European countries would evade much of the tax burden, however, because "transactions within the Eurozone won't have to pay this new tax."

CFACT suggests that Obama is open to implementing this tax and similar policies in the absence of a full climate treaty, which would require congressional approval. "We have learned that while many have discounted this conference, knowing that a full climate treaty is difficult to achieve especially with a U.S. Senate that will not vote to ratify," CFACT says. "Obama and his fellow climate travelers are working around the Senate and planning to stick America with the bill."

Egyptian Election Blow As Judge Admits Turnout Was Only 52%! Why Didn't 48% Exercise Their RIGHT To Vote?! Come On YOU NEED TO VOTE! You Couldn't Before, Now You Can!

The Telegraph UK

Egyptian election blow as judge admits turnout was only 52 per cent

written by Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent

Monday December 5, 2011

Irregularities and delays continued to dog the Egyptian election, with the judge in charge saying he had made a mistake in the turnout in last week's vote and an entire constituency's results being invalidated by a court.

Turnout in Monday's round of the election, run-off votes in the 52 out of 56 constituencies from last week's first round in which there was no clear individual winner, seemed to be low judging by queues at polling stations.

There were long lines of voters waiting last Monday and Tuesday in what was the first free election in the country for decades. But what the actual turnout was remains mired in confusion after the judge who runs the election commission, Abdul Moiz Ibrahim, said he had made a mistake in announcing the figure at 62 per cent on Friday when it was in fact 52 per cent.

He said he was "very tired" when he made the original announcement, though he also blamed the error on the commission's staff. However, the discrepancy with the original estimate of 70 per cent given by the ruling military council will lead to further suspicions about the poll's conduct.

A court invalidated all of one constituency's votes in Cairo after learning that supervisors walked out in protest at the conditions during the count.

In their absence 75 ballot boxes were damaged and 15 went missing.

On Monday there continued to be reports of illegal campaigning, particularly by the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Freedom and Justice Party and the radical Islamist Nour party.

Of the 52 run-offs, 24 are between blocs led by these two Islamists parties, with the FJP competing in another 23 against other parties. The two parties dominated the polling last week, winning over 60 per cent of the vote between them, and the run-off system is likely to favour a high presence for them among the third of seats reserved for individuals on top of the party lists' quotas if the trend is continued in the remaining rounds.

Cambodia's Killing Fields Deputy Tells Court Khmer Rouge Were "Not Bad People" Wow That's Pretty TWISTED! I Shared Their Atrocities With You In Next Post.

I would like to emphasize that the Khmer Rouge Communist Party of Kampuchea Cambodia was INFLUENCED and INSPIRED by The Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx aka MARXISM!

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The Daily Mirror UK

Cambodia's killing fields deputy tells court Khmer Rouge were "not bad people"

written by Melissa Thompson

Tuesday December 6, 2011

HIS brutal regime was behind the deaths of around 1.7million in the killing fields of Cambodia.

But as he went on trial for genocide yesterday, Khmer Rouge deputy Nuon Chea astonishingly claimed that the murderous thugs headed by Pol Pot were “not bad people”. The 85-year-old blamed neighbouring Vietnam for the atrocities. He told a court in the capital Phnom Penh: “I don’t want the next generation to misunderstand history.

“I don’t want them to believe the Khmer Rouge are bad people, are criminals. It was the Vietnamese who killed Cambodians.”

Chea, 85, was known as Brother Number Two during the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror from 1975 to 1979, when a third of the population was murdered or died as a result of slavery, starvation or torture. When the Daily Mirror first revealed the full horror of the killing fields, the world was appalled.

The regime was toppled in 1979 when Vietnam invaded, and its leader Pol Pot died in 1998.

Chea is on trial with two others. They deny charges including crimes against humanity. Former internal security boss Kaing Guek Eav, 69, was convicted last year and sentenced to 35 years in jail.

CAMBODIA History: The Khmer Rouge MARXIST COMMUNIST Regime Led By Pol Pot (1975-1979) Take A Look At What SOCIAL JUSTICE Really Means!

I would like to emphasize that the Khmer Rouge Communist Party of Kampuchea Cambodia was INFLUENCED and INSPIRED by The Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx aka MARXISM!

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The Khmer Rouge MARXIST COMMUNIST Regime

[source: wikipedia]

The Khmer Rouge (Khmer: “Khmer Krahom” in Khmer) literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan. Democratic Kampuchea was the name of the state as controlled by the government of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979.

Khmer Rouge means Communist Cambodians. 'Rouge' comes from the French word for red, which is a symbol of communism. Khmer means people from the Cambodian region. This was another name for the Communist Party of Kampuchea that was given by the former King Sihanouk. The organization began in January 1968 as the Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea and was changed thirteen years later to Party of Democratic Kampuchea.

This organization is remembered primarily for its policy of social engineering, which resulted in genocide. Its attempts at agricultural reform led to widespread famine, while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency, even in the supply of medicine, led to the deaths of thousands from treatable diseases (such as malaria). Arbitrary executions and torture carried out by its cadres against perceived subversive elements, or during purges of its own ranks between 1975 and 1978, are considered to have constituted a genocide.

After taking power, the Khmer Rouge leadership renamed the country Democratic Kampuchea. The Khmer Rouge subjected Cambodia to a radical social reform process that was aimed at creating a purely agrarian-based Communist society. The Khmer Rouge forced around two million people from the cities to the country to take up work in the agricultural field. They were not only forcing people out of their homes, but then also depriving humans of their basic rights as they controlled how Cambodians acted, what they wore, who they could talk to, and many other aspects of their lives. Over the next years, the Khmer Rouge killed many intellectuals, city-dwellers, minority people, and many of their own party members and soldiers who were suspected of being traitors.

The population in Cambodia was around 7,100,000 at the beginning of what ended up being the most lethal regime of the 20th century. Throughout the next ten years, 3,300,000 people (including men, women, children, and foreigners) were killed and by the end of the genocide, there was a total of slightly less than four million that were lost to the ways of the Khmer Rouge.

The Khmer Rouge wanted to eliminate anyone suspected of "involvement in free-market activities". Suspected capitalists encompassed professionals and almost everyone with an education, many urban dwellers, and people with connections to foreign governments.

The Khmer Rouge believed parents were tainted with capitalism. Consequently, children were separated from parents and indoctrinated in communism as well as taught torture methods with animals. Children were a "dictatorial instrument of the party" and were given leadership in torture and executions.

One of their mottos, in reference to the New People, was: "To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss". This philosophy that the Khmer Rouge had developed over time. It started as communist party that was working together and searching for direction from the Vietnamese guerrillas who were fighting their own civil war.

Pol Pot was a key leader in the movement after he returned to Cambodia from France. He had become a member of the French Communist Party (PCF) which gave guidance to the ideas of the Khmer Rouge.

The movement gained strength and support in the northeastern jungles and established firm footing when Cambodia’s leader Prince Sihanouk was removed from office during a military coup in 1970. The former prince then looked to the Khmer Rouge for backing. With the threat of Civil war looming, the Khmer Rouge gained support by posing as a “party for peace”. [<=== What a JOKE! (emphasis mine)]

As the Khmer Rouge gained power they focused on an ideology of establishing a purely agrarian society. Pol Pot highly influenced the propagation of this policy. It is believed that he was influenced by the way that tribes of the north-eastern jungles lived. He respected that they lived “free of Buddhism, money or education” and decided that this was a good way for the people of Cambodia to start living. He wanted social institutions to be removed and make the society all agrarian. This was his way of “[creating] a complete Communist society without wasting time on the intermediate steps” as the Khmer Rouge said to China in 1975.

By the 1970s, the ideology of the Khmer Rouge combined its own ideas with the anti-colonialist ideas of the PCF, which its leaders had acquired during their education in French universities in the 1950s. The Khmer Rouge leaders were also privately very resentful of the Vietnamese, and were determined to establish a form of communism very different from the Vietnamese model.

After four years of rule, the Khmer Rouge regime was removed from power in 1979 as a result of a invasion by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and was replaced by moderate, pro-Vietnamese Communists. The Khmer Rouge survived into the 1990s as a resistance movement operating in western Cambodia from bases in Thailand. In 1996, following a peace agreement, their leader Pol Pot formally dissolved the organization. Pol Pot died on April 15, 1998, having never been put on trial. The Khmer Rouge is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people or 1/5 of the country's total population (estimates range from 850,000 to 2.5 million) under its regime, through execution, torture, starvation and forced labour. Because of the large number of deaths, and because ethnic groups and religious minorities were targeted, the deaths during the rule of the Khmer Rouge are often considered a genocide as defined under the UN Convention of 1948.

UN Backed Tribunal Charges Three Former Leaders Of The MARXIST Communist Movement That Ruled Cambodia Between 1975 And 1979 Regime MURDERED 2 MILLION INNOCENT Souls!

I would like to emphasize that the Khmer Rouge Communist Party of Kampuchea Cambodia was INFLUENCED and INSPIRED by The Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx aka MARXISM!

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The Khmer Rouge (Khmer: “Khmer Krahom” in Khmer) literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan. Democratic Kampuchea was the name of the state as controlled by the government of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979.

Khmer Rouge means Communist Cambodians. 'Rouge' comes from the French word for red, which is a symbol of communism. Khmer means people from the Cambodian region. This was another name for the Communist Party of Kampuchea that was given by the former King Sihanouk. The organization began in January 1968 as the Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea and was changed thirteen years later to Party of Democratic Kampuchea.

This organization is remembered primarily for its policy of social engineering, which resulted in genocide. Its attempts at agricultural reform led to widespread famine, while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency, even in the supply of medicine, led to the deaths of thousands from treatable diseases (such as malaria). Arbitrary executions and torture carried out by its cadres against perceived subversive elements, or during purges of its own ranks between 1975 and 1978, are considered to have constituted a genocide.

The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975. The regime, led by Pol Pot, changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea. They immediately evacuated the cities and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century, discarded Western medicine, and destroyed temples, libraries, and anything considered Western. At least a million Cambodians, out of a total population of 8 million, died from executions, overwork, starvation and disease.

Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million; the most commonly cited figure is two million (about one-third of the population). This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng became notorious for its history of mass killing. Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand. The regime disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. The Cham Muslims suffered serious purges with as much as half of their population exterminated. [source: wikipedia]

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The Telegraph UK

Khmer Rouge 'Brother Number Two' defends regime that killed two million

written by By Simon Lewis in Phnom Penh

Monday December 5, 2011

The former "Brother Number Two" of the Khmer Rouge, under whom up to two million people died in Cambodia in the 1970s, has claimed his party were not "bad people", in evidence at a UN backed tribunal.

Monday saw the first day of evidence in the trial of three former leaders of the communist movement that ruled the South East Asian state between 1975 and 1979.

Nuon Chea, 85, who was second in command in the Khmer Rouge, said: "I don't want the next generation to misunderstand history. I don't want them to believe the Khmer Rouge is bad people, are criminal. Nothing is true about that."

The comment came as part of a protracted history lesson to the students, monks and victims who gathered at a specially built courthouse on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital.

In a speech lasting more than an hour Nuon Chea, laid the blame for the war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, with Cambodia's neighbour Vietnam.

In the years preceding the Khmer Rouge's "liberation" of Phnom Penh in April 1975, Nuon Chea, who denies the charges, said the Vietnamese operated a "puppet" movement posing as a Cambodian-led communist party.

He went on to play on historic animosity between Cambodia and Vietnam.

"How many Vietnamese people are now in Cambodia, both legal and illegal? If you don't protect the country, the country will be gone."

Nuon Chea, replacing his trademark sunglasses with reading glasses, took his time and often failed to answer questions by the judge.

Fellow defendants, former head of state Khieu Samphan and former foreign minister Ieng Sary, sat slumped in their chairs most of the day at the court.

Nuon Chea also spoke of a radicalising experience in Thailand, where he worked for the Thai Foreign Ministry in the late 1940s.

"Injustice was everywhere" in Thailand, he said.

He said was privy to reports coming out of Cambodia at the time. "I observed ... the shooting of Cambodian people by the French [colonial rulers] ... I was heartbroken and I started my resistance."

Chum Sirath, of the group Ksaem Ksan, or the Victims Association of Democratic Kampuchea, said Nuon Chea's strategy was "shrewd".

He said: "He mixes historic truths such as the suffering of the people during French colonialist era, the expansionist policy of neighbouring countries detrimental to Cambodia, with lies about the crimes committed during his regime: deportations of populations, concentration camps, forced marriages, detention and torture centres and so on, saying all was perpetrated by Vietnamese agents."

Workers Detail Abuse in Chinese State-Owned Copper Mines In Zambia

Human Rights Watch

Zambia: Workers Detail Abuse in Chinese-Owned Mines

written by Staff

Saturday November 3, 2011

(Lusaka) – Chinese-run copper mining companies in Zambia routinely flout labor laws and regulations designed to protect workers’ safety and the right to organize, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Zambia’s newly elected president, Michael Sata, a longtime critic of the Chinese labor practices, should act on his campaign promises to end the abuse and improve government regulation of the mining industry to ensure that all companies respect Zambia’s labor laws.

The 122-page report, “‘You’ll Be Fired If You Refuse’: Labor Abuses in Zambia’s Chinese State-owned Copper Mines,” details the persistent abuses in Chinese-run mines, including poor health and safety conditions, regular 12-hour and even 18-hour shifts involving arduous labor, and anti-union activities, all in violation of Zambia’s national laws or international labor standards. The four Chinese-run copper mining companies in Zambia are subsidiaries of China Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Corporation, a state-owned enterprise under the authority of China’s highest executive body. Copper mining is the lifeblood of the Zambian economy, contributing nearly 75 percent of the country’s exports and two-thirds of the central government revenue.

“China’s significant investment in Zambia’s copper mining industry can benefit both Chinese and Zambians,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “But the miners in Chinese-run companies have been subject to abusive health, safety, and labor conditions and longtime government indifference.”

The report is based on research conducted during three field missions in November 2010 and July 2011 and draws on more than 170 interviews, including with 95 mine workers from the country’s four Chinese copper operations and 48 mine workers from other multinational copper mining operations. Miners at Chinese-run firms said they were pleased that the companies had made a substantial investment in the copper mines and created jobs. But they described abusive employment conditions that violate national and international standards and fall short of practices among other multinational copper mining companies in the country.

“Sometimes when you find yourself in a dangerous position, they tell you to go ahead with the work,” an underground miner at Non-Ferrous China Africa (NFCA) told Human Rights Watch. “They just consider production, not safety. If someone dies, he can be replaced tomorrow. And if you report the problem, you’ll lose your job.”

Between October 5 and October 12, 2011, miners at three of the four Chinese-run copper mining operations initiated strikes, hopeful that the new government’s election would create an environment for improved conditions. Production ground to a halt. On October 19, Non-Ferrous China Africa, the longest-operating Chinese-owned copper mine, fired at least 1,000 striking workers. After government pressure in subsequent days, NFCA agreed to reinstate them. Reuters reported that NFCA’s chief executive officer said that the reinstated workers would be screened and the “troublemakers” disciplined.

Miners from the Chinese-owned companies described consistently poor health and safety standards, including inadequate ventilation that can lead to serious lung diseases, the failure to replace workers’ damaged protective equipment, and routine threats to fire workers who refuse to work in unsafe places underground. These practices, combined with the already dangerous nature of copper mining, cause injuries and other health complications. At times, Chinese managers bribe or threaten miners to keep them from reporting accidents or other problems to the government’s Mines Safety Department, the miners said.

“Many of the poor health and safety practices we found in Zambia’s Chinese-run mines look strikingly similar to abuses we see in China,” Bekele said. “Respecting labor laws and ensuring workers’ safety should be standard operating practice both in China and abroad, not treated as an irritating barrier to greater profits.”

In addition to their poor safety standards, several Chinese-run copper operations in Zambia require miners to work brutally long shifts, despite difficult conditions involving extreme heat and contact with acids and noxious chemicals. Many miners at Sino Metals work five 12-hour shifts a week as well as a sixth 18-hour “change shift” when they rotate from the day shift to the night shift or vice versa. Other miners there described working 365 days without a single day off. Zambian law specifies a 48-hour work week, and every other multinational copper mining company uses 8-hour shifts that comply with this law. Several miners said the long hours contributed to accidents, and many complained about failing to receive proper overtime.

Please click HERE to read entire article...

SYRIA: 34 Bodies Dumped In Public Square In Homs!!! >:/

The Telegraph UK

Syria: 34 bodies dumped in public square in Homs

written by Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent

Monday December 5, 2011

A human rights group monitoring events in Syria claims it had evidence of the worst massacre yet by the regime of President Bashir al-Assad.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has chronicled deaths on both sides during the nine month-long uprising, said a witness had seen the bodies of 34 people dumped in a public square in the restive city of Homs.

It said the 34 had all been seized from anti-Assad neighbourhoods in the city by the shabiha – unofficial militias loyal to and armed by the regime.

The bodies had been left in the pro-regime district of Al-Zahra, it said.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in the uprising, with an increasing number of regime soldiers being killed by armed insurgents as the country drifts towards civil war.

The regime itself continues to send out contradictory messages about its strategy. On Sunday, it sent a letter to the Arab League agreeing to allow Arab League observers into the country in an attempt to ward off a severe new sanctions regime.

The country would sign a League proposal "soon", a foreign ministry spokesman said. But the letter was also said to contain significant new demands by the Syrians which make it unlikely that any deal will be agreed in the near future.

Syrian state media said it demanded an immediate lifting of sanctions, "prior co-ordination" with the authorities in Damascus on what the observers would do and see, and pre-notification of all the observers' personal backgrounds. In addition it sought a guarantee that they would not also visit refugee camps in Turkey.

The Arab League imposed sanctions on Syria a week ago in response to its refusal to implement an Arab League peace deal, of which sending observers into the country was only a part.

Nabil al-Arabi, the Arab League secretary-general, said he had received the Syrian letter and was consulting with member governments. But the conditions set by Syria would make it difficult for countries like Qatar, which have pushed for tough action against the regime of President Bashir al-Assad, to accept.

Outside his own circle of international allies, there is increasing hostility and bafflement directed towards Mr Assad's refusal to meet the demands of an organisation of which he was until recently a leading light.

"Assad has no room for manoeuvre. Whoever joins a manoeuvring game has to hold strings. But someone holding a thread is better advised to use it as a lifeline," wrote Nayla Tueni, the managing director of the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar, traditionally hostile to Syria.

Good Morning Everyone! HAPPY MONDAY! These Pics Always Make Me Crack Up! ♥♥♥ I Hope You All Have A Fantastic Day With A Smile On Your Face, A Song In Your Heart And A Skip In Your Step! ♥♥♥

The Courage To Be Myself...

Back in 1994 while on a skiing trip in Breckenridge, Colorado I ran across this poster in a gift shop. The title of it caught my attention. Curious, I began to read it. the message touched my spirit so profoundly that I had to buy it. The funny thing is that I had to lug that poster with me on the airplane back to Los Angeles, California. I didn't care, it was a long poster attached to cardboard backing. I didn't want to bend or roll it up because I wanted to hang it on my wall just as it was. I still have it hanging right next to the door frame of my bedroom. So everytime I exit my bedroom it's right there for me to see. I've had it for so long, I admit that I don't read it everyday. However, on occasion my spirit stops me and I unconsciously begin reading this message. I'm grateful that my spirit knows what it needs and at those times it's nourishment.

I hope this message touches you as it touched me. May it bring you peace, love, understanding and acceptance of who you are. Enjoy!

The Courage To Be Myself

By: Sue Patton Thoele

I have the courage to ...

Embrace my strengths ~ Get excited about life ~

Enjoy giving and receiving love ~

Face and transform my fears ~

Ask for help and support when I need it ~

Spring free of the Superwoman/man trap ~ Trust myself ~

Make my own decisions and choices ~ Befriend myself ~

Complete unfinished business ~

Realize that I have emotional and practical rights ~

Talk as nicely to myself as I do to my plants ~ Honor my own needs ~

Communicate lovingly with understanding as my goal ~

Give myself credit for my accomplishments ~

Love the little girl/boy within me ~

Overcome my addiction to approval ~

Grant myself permission to play ~ Quit being a responsible sponge ~

Feel all of my feelings and act on them appropriately ~

Nurture others because I want to, not because I have to ~

Choose what is right for me ~

Insist on being paid fairly for what I do ~

Set limits and boundaries and stick to them ~

Say "yes" only when I really mean it ~ Have realistic expectations ~

Take risks and accept change ~ Grow through challenges ~

Be totally honest with myself ~

Correct erroneous beliefs and assumptions ~

Respect my vulnerabilities ~ Heal old and current wounds ~

Favor the mystery of spirit ~ Wave good-bye to guilt ~

Plant "flower" NOT "weed" thoughts in my mind ~

Treat myself with respect AND teach others to do the same ~

Fill my own cup first, THEN nourish others from the overflow ~

Own my own excellence ~

Plan for the future, but live in the present ~

Value my intuition and wisdom ~

Know that I am lovable ~

Celebrate the differences between men and women ~

Develop healthy, supportive relationships ~

Make forgiveness a priority ~

Accept myself just as I am NOW!

Courage Is...

I've had this message on my refridgerator for as long as I can remember. The messages I kept on my refridgerator were used to help me remain focused on what was really important to me and to give me strength through the tough times. I can't stress enough how important it is to surround yourself with positive messages. I no longer have to read them... I simply know them. That is the key!

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Courage is...

Believing in yourself and fulfilling

your potential.

Showing you care and giving unconditionally.

Doing what you want and trusting yourself

to make the right decisions.

Sitting in the driver's seat and taking control of your life.

Making your own decisions and being honest

with yourself and others.

Accepting changes and flowing with them.

Dealing with your problems and asking for help.

Offering your opinions and communicating

your fears and doubts.

Accepting abundance and allowing

yourself to succeed.

Trying again and doing new things.

Loving yourself and others unconditionally.