Monday, July 1, 2013
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN HERE BUT USA MEN WEAK
Egypt army gives Mursi 48 hours to share power
CAIRO |
(Reuters) - Egypt's armed forces handed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi
a virtual ultimatum to share power on Monday, giving feuding
politicians 48 hours to compromise or have the army impose its own road
map for the country.A dramatic military statement broadcast on state television declared the nation was in danger after millions of Egyptians took to the streets on Sunday to demand that Mursi quit and the headquarters of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood were ransacked.
Mursi's backers were furious at the military statement: "The age of military coups is over," said Yasser Hamza of the Brotherhood parliamentary wing. Hours later, there was still no official reaction from president himself.
But it provoked delight among liberal leaders and crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square, who cheered when a flight of military helicopters swooped overhead trailing national flags. Silhouetted against the sunset, it was a powerful illustration of the military's desire to be seen in tune with the people.
"If the demands of the people are not realized within the defined period, it will be incumbent upon (the armed forces) ... to announce a road map for the future," chief-of-staff General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in the statement. It was followed by martial music.
The people had expressed their will with unprecedented clarity in the mass demonstrations, he said, and wasting more time would only increase the danger of division and strife.
The army said it would oversee the implementation of the roadmap it sought "with the participation of all factions and national parties, including young people", but it would not get directly involved in politics or government.
Mursi's office later said the president met Sisi and Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, releasing a picture of them seated together smiling, but did not respond to the military statement.
Anti-Mursi demonstrators outside the presidential palace cheered the army statement, and the main opposition National Salvation Front, which has demanded a national unity government for months, applauded the military's move. The army is held in high regard, especially after it helped topple Mubarak.
On Tahrir Square, thousands celebrated the army's move with a fervor that recalled its unsentimental removal of Mubarak at the end of 18 days of protests and bloodshed: "We want a new armed forces council to govern until new elections," said accountant Mohamed Ibrahim, 50. "The army alone supports the legitimate revolutionary will of the people."
Amr Moussa, a liberal politician and former foreign minister who stood in last year's presidential election, said: "The invitation to meet the demands of the people within the next few hours is a historic opportunity which should not be lost."
It was the second time in just over a week that the armed forces had issued a formal warning to the politicians, piling pressure on Mursi to concede power-sharing with the liberal, secular and left-wing opposition.
Analysts said the military intervention could serve Mursi if he wished to compromise, but it risked emboldening his opponents to harden their demands, at the risk of triggering a coup.
"The ultimatum has the ring of a potential coup," said Yasser al-Shimy of the International Crisis Group think-tank.
"What makes it not a coup is it gives time for the politicians to sort out their differences."
The second biggest Islamist group in parliament, the Nour Party, said it feared the return of army rule "in a big way" and urged Mursi to compromise with his opponents.
The armed forces have played an important role in Egyptian politics since army officers staged the overthrow of the monarchy in 1952.
SELF-DEFENCE?
After the destruction of its offices, the Brotherhood which operated underground until the overthrow of Mubarak in 2011, said it was considering how best to defend itself.
Sunday's mass rallies were bigger than anything seen since the Arab Spring uprising. By Monday evening, big crowds returned to Tahrir Square and other gathering points.
Mursi supporters also congregated near a Cairo mosque that has been their focus for the past 10 days. Some were bitter at the irony of liberal leaders embracing the army:
"The world always thought we Islamists didn't believe in democracy," said Hassan al-Sherbeny. "Now Islamists are teaching Egyptians democracy while the liberals are giving up democracy.
"And where is the world's reaction to all that?"
Five non-Brotherhood government ministers tendered their resignations from the cabinet, apparently in sympathy with the protesters, underlining a sense of isolation for the party that won a series of elections last year but has failed to build out alliances to form a broader consensus.
"Both sides are still in their trenches," a senior European diplomat said just before the military statement.
Eight people died in a night of fighting around the Brotherhood headquarters, where guards fired on youths hurling rocks and fire bombs. A Brotherhood official said two of its members were hurt. Another eight people were killed and 731 injured in clashes around the country on Sunday.
Unknown attackers also firebombed the headquarters of the moderate Islamist Wasat party allied with the Brotherhood. The party called in a statement for dialogue among all parties.
Security sources said security forces arrested 15 bodyguards of Brotherhood deputy leader Khairat El-Shater after an exchange of gunfire with them outside his home. The guards are suspected of illegal possession of firearms used in the shooting at the movement's headquarters, the sources said.
The Brotherhood's political wing denied the arrests, saying only Khater's driver had been "kidnapped".
The Brotherhood's official spokesman told Reuters that the attack had crossed a red line of violence and among possible responses might be to revive "self-defence committees" former during the 2011 uprising.
"The people will not sit silent," Gehad El-Haddad said.
Mursi's movement complained at the lack of police protection, which can only heighten its sense of being under siege from both the liberal opposition and state officialdom inherited from the old regime.
NOT TALKING
Liberal protest organizers, who declared Mursi ousted by people power on Sunday, said they hoped people would stay in the streets until Mursi left.
Mursi, who has not appeared in person, earlier renewed offers via allies of dialogue and pledged to work with a new parliament if disputes over election rules can be ironed out. But he has so far offered no substantial concessions.
The opposition does not trust the Islamist movement, which critics accuse of using a series of electoral victories to monopolize power. They want a total reset of the rules of a democracy imperfectly worked out over the past two years.
The massive protests showed that the Brotherhood has not only alienated liberals and secularists by seeking to entrench Islamic rule, notably in a new constitution, but has also angered millions of Egyptians with economic mismanagement.
Tourism and investment have dried up, inflation is rampant and fuel supplies are running short, with power cuts lengthening in the summer heat and motorists spending hours fuelling cars.
The cost of insuring government debt against default surged to record highs. Forward contracts indicated a significant fall for the pound against the dollar.
Some uniformed policemen marched among protesters in Cairo and Alexandria, chanting "the police and the people are one", and several senior officers addressed the Tahrir Square crowd. An independent police association said they stood with demonstrators and would not let them down.
"The Egyptian people will not fight this battle alone but will be supported by the judiciary, the national police and the armed forces," the Police Club statement said.
Adding to the failure to protect the Brotherhood headquarters, that cast doubt on whether Mursi could rely on the security forces to clear the streets if he gave the order.
The United States and the European Union have urged Mursi to share power with the opposition, saying only a national consensus can help Egypt overcome a severe economic crisis and build democratic institutions.
U.S. President Barack Obama renewed a call for Mursi and his adversaries to cooperate, just as Sisi's statement was made.
The Pentagon, which funds the Egyptian army heavily, said it could not speculate on what was about to happen in Egypt.
(Reporting by Asma Alsharif, Alexander Dziadosz, Shaimaa Fayed, Maggie Fick, Alastair Macdonald, Shadia Nasralla, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh, Paul Taylor and Patrick Werr in Cairo; Writing by Paul Taylor and Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Vatican bank chiefs resign amid scandal
Vatican bank chiefs resign amid scandal |
Director and deputy quit days after the arrest of a Vatican-linked Italian cleric on suspicion of fraud.
Last Modified: 01 Jul 2013 20:48
     |
Pope Francis has ordered a review of the Vatican bank's activities. [AP]
|
|
The director of the Vatican bank Paolo Cipriani and
his deputy Massimo Tulli have resigned following the latest developments
in a broadening financial scandal. Cipriani and Tulli handed in their resignations on Monday "in the best interest of the institute and the Holy See", the Vatican said in a statement. Their resignations came three days after Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, a senior cleric with close connections to the bank, was arrested along with Giovanni Zito, a secret services agent, and Giovanni Carenzio, a financial broker, on suspicion of corruption and fraud. They are accused of plotting to bring $26 million in cash to Italy from Switzerland for Scarano's rich shipping industry friends in the southern city of Salerno. The 61-year-old cleric is also under a separate investigation on suspicion of money laundering. Bank probe Pope Francis last week set up a commission of inquiry to get to grips with the Vatican bank's longstanding problems. The bank gained notoriety in 1982 when Roberto Calvi, the head of Banco Ambrosiano, was found hanging from Blackfriar's Bridge, near the financial district in London. Banco Ambrosiano collapsed following the disappearance of $1.3 billion in loans the bank had made to several dummy companies in Latin America. The Vatican had provided letters of credit for the loans. The Italian banker used to have close connections to the Vatican bank. A court ruled he had been murdered but the crime has never been solved. The Vatican said Ernst von Freyberg, the bank's president, would become interim director general of the bank, which manages assets of $9.3 billion and handles funds for Vatican departments, Catholic charities and congregations as well as priests and nuns living and working around the world. |
Obama Supports Terrorism” – The Egyptian People’s Message For America
Obama Supports Terrorism” – The Egyptian People’s Message For America
I am not sure when the people of Egypt became more worldly than
the people here in America but it would seem they have it figured out.
Betsy Hiel tweeted a picture of a banner that has been hoisted in Tahrir
Square that reads “Obama Supports Terrorism” in both English and
Arabic. The banner has been placed in preparation for Sunday’s scheduled
protests against Mohamed Morsi and The Muslim Brotherhood.
Here is the original tweet from Betsy Hiel:
In a related story this week, an Egyptian politician claims that our Ambassador to Egypt is part of a Muslim Brotherhood “sleeper cell.” Raymond Ibrahim reports for Jihadwatch:
Does Obama support terrorists? You tell me. How is it that Anti-Muslim Brotherhood/Anti-Morsi protesters in Egypt are smarter than 80% of the people in this country?
Here is the original tweet from Betsy Hiel:
In a related story this week, an Egyptian politician claims that our Ambassador to Egypt is part of a Muslim Brotherhood “sleeper cell.” Raymond Ibrahim reports for Jihadwatch:
More information concerning the blatantly pro-Brotherhood position of the United States continues to emerge. Earlier, U.S. ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson exposed the Obama administration’s allegiance when she urged Egyptians—including the beleaguered Christian Copts—not to protest against the Muslim Brotherhood as planned for June 30.A couple of days ago news broke that Mohamed Morsi, president of Egypt, has been tied to Benghazi by some leaked intelligence documents. There is growing evidence that Benghazi was likely a failed prisoner exchange to trade Ambassador Stevens for The Blind Sheik.
Now, in a recent live interview on Tahrir TV, former Egyptian Member of Parliament, Mustafa Bakari, exposed the relationship between Patterson and Khairat al-Shater, the deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Among other things, he pointed out how she recently visited him at his private residence—as opposed to the party’s headquarters—where she likely discussed with him internal matters concerning Egypt, including how “we [the U.S.] will stand with you [regarding the June 30 protests],” adding that she sees and treats him as the “true ruler of the nation.”
Due to Patterson’s ongoing and very open relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, Bakari concluded that “in fact, in my opinion, she is a member of the sleeper cells of the Brotherhood, likely recruited by Essam al-Erian or Muhammad al-Baltagi.”
Does Obama support terrorists? You tell me. How is it that Anti-Muslim Brotherhood/Anti-Morsi protesters in Egypt are smarter than 80% of the people in this country?
Read more: http://freedomoutpost.com/
dwolla sucks big dick
Dwolla Review
Dwolla Overall Rating
Rating Criteria | Find a Processor | Get Instant Rate Quotes | Write a Review
Dwolla Overview
Dwolla Logo
Although Dwolla’s payment concept is not exactly a new one, its marketing and business strategy is completely unique. With help from a few banking and financial institution investors, Dwolla has created a payment network that eliminates all of the common fees that merchants incur from accepting card payments. Additionally, the company’s network eliminates the common transfer delays and fraud that plagues similar networks such as the ACH network that most banks utilize. Essentially, Dwolla is a global system for instant cash transfers.
Dwolla can be used for payments between individuals, businesses, or both, but the focus of this review will be the consumer-to-merchant acceptance side. Merchants can accept payments the same way individuals can pay each other, or they can use features that are better suited for their needs. These include website integration and plug-ins for shopping carts as well as tools that can be used to accept payments at the merchant’s location. The company has made major headway in the payments market and has reported that it is processing $30 to $50 million in transactions every month.
Dwolla now suspending accounts like PayPal
PayPal was such a great idea at the beginning.
It brought the freedom of cash transactions to the Internet with
minimal invasions of privacy. It was a simple concept, but over the
years as it grew and grew it seemed to lose it’s original vision,
feeling more like any other cumbersome bank account. Maybe that’s why
co-founders Peter Thiel and Elon Musk moved on to more revolutioanry
projects after PayPal was purchased by Ebah. Peter Thiel is no involved
with the SeaSteading movement and Eloc Musk is involved with SpaceX.
Many who sought more economic freedom than PayPal was offering flocked to their competitor Dwolla, especially in the Bitcoin community. For a while Dwolla made it easy to exchange from Bitcoin to dollars and back, while PayPal was distinctly hostile to people using their service that way. But now it seems that Dwolla is going the way of PayPal
Dwolla has begun closing the accounts of people operating unlicensed Bitcoin exchanges and even private individuals affiliated with those exchanges, and their going after some of the heavy hitters in the Bitcoin community.
On January 23rd Dwolla suspended the account of StompRomp founder Josh Harvey. Josh stands accused of using Dwolla to move funds in and out of MtGox, and sending some money he owed to a friend who also used Dwolla to move funds in and out of MtGox. That’s it. MtGox is perhaps the largest Bitcoin Exchange site out there. MtGox is to Bitcoin what Kitco is to Silver. Of course, using Dwolla this way is a common practice, but targeting Josh Harvey sends a message to the community. Dwolla called it “suspicious activity” but it’s clearly intended to have a chilling effect on Bitcoiners using Dwolla.
When David Perry of Coding in My Sleep blog wrote to Dwolla for comment they responded:
It’s an odd, highly-regulated world that Dwolla has made the choice operate inside of. Where some scenarios appear black and white, rules and procedures can often add layers of grey. Of course, it’s on us to find new ways to balance convenience, safety, and privacy with these requirements and see through the grey, but it’s important to note that we’ll always err on the side of caution. We understand that being misunderstood by our own users sucks, but if it means protecting the network and the community, we’ll do it.
As soon as I saw “highly-regulated” I knew what was going on here. The State places a lot of vague rules on those providing payment services, because fundamentally the government is anti-commerce and demands a piece of every pie, and Dwolla isn’t willing to go to bat for economic freedom. To avoid a crippling indictment from the State they will suspect anything ever remotely questionable. It’s like an employer who fires both employees whenever there’s any whisper of sexual harassment because the cost of a lawsuit is more than the value of any employee.
What this means is that, like PayPal, a Dwolla account can be frozen, and the user can lose access to their funds, without evidence, without due process, and increasingly without any semblance of customer services. So if you use either of these services I high recommend you don’t leave any money in them you’re not willing to lose.
If anything this only further demonstrates the need for alternative currency.
- See more at: http://silverunderground.com/2013/01/dwolla-now-suspending-accounts-like-paypal/#sthash.0QKicbkj.dpuf
Many who sought more economic freedom than PayPal was offering flocked to their competitor Dwolla, especially in the Bitcoin community. For a while Dwolla made it easy to exchange from Bitcoin to dollars and back, while PayPal was distinctly hostile to people using their service that way. But now it seems that Dwolla is going the way of PayPal
Dwolla has begun closing the accounts of people operating unlicensed Bitcoin exchanges and even private individuals affiliated with those exchanges, and their going after some of the heavy hitters in the Bitcoin community.
On January 23rd Dwolla suspended the account of StompRomp founder Josh Harvey. Josh stands accused of using Dwolla to move funds in and out of MtGox, and sending some money he owed to a friend who also used Dwolla to move funds in and out of MtGox. That’s it. MtGox is perhaps the largest Bitcoin Exchange site out there. MtGox is to Bitcoin what Kitco is to Silver. Of course, using Dwolla this way is a common practice, but targeting Josh Harvey sends a message to the community. Dwolla called it “suspicious activity” but it’s clearly intended to have a chilling effect on Bitcoiners using Dwolla.
When David Perry of Coding in My Sleep blog wrote to Dwolla for comment they responded:
It’s an odd, highly-regulated world that Dwolla has made the choice operate inside of. Where some scenarios appear black and white, rules and procedures can often add layers of grey. Of course, it’s on us to find new ways to balance convenience, safety, and privacy with these requirements and see through the grey, but it’s important to note that we’ll always err on the side of caution. We understand that being misunderstood by our own users sucks, but if it means protecting the network and the community, we’ll do it.
As soon as I saw “highly-regulated” I knew what was going on here. The State places a lot of vague rules on those providing payment services, because fundamentally the government is anti-commerce and demands a piece of every pie, and Dwolla isn’t willing to go to bat for economic freedom. To avoid a crippling indictment from the State they will suspect anything ever remotely questionable. It’s like an employer who fires both employees whenever there’s any whisper of sexual harassment because the cost of a lawsuit is more than the value of any employee.
What this means is that, like PayPal, a Dwolla account can be frozen, and the user can lose access to their funds, without evidence, without due process, and increasingly without any semblance of customer services. So if you use either of these services I high recommend you don’t leave any money in them you’re not willing to lose.
If anything this only further demonstrates the need for alternative currency.
- See more at: http://silverunderground.com/2013/01/dwolla-now-suspending-accounts-like-paypal/#sthash.0QKicbkj.dpuf
Dwolla now suspending accounts like PayPal
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