Thursday 6 October 2011

Britain blocks attempt to arrest Israel's Livni

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain blocked an attempt on Thursday to arrest visiting Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni for alleged war crimes, officials said.
Livni, foreign minister during Israel's three-week assault on the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip launched in December 2008, is the first senior Israeli figure to visit Britain since the government changed a war crimes law that had kept her and some other Israeli officials away for fear of arrest.

Her centrist Kadima party said she was in Britain at the invitation of Foreign Secretary William Hague.

A Palestinian civilian, who maintains Livni is responsible for war crimes allegedly committed by Israel during the Gaza offensive, asked Britain's top prosecutor to allow an application be made for an arrest warrant for Livni, according to lawyers representing the unnamed Palestinian.
The Crown Prosecution Service said prosecutors had not taken a decision on the request when the government intervened, informing them that Livni was on a "special mission" to Britain, effectively granting her immunity from prosecution.

As a result, Britain's top prosecutor, Keir Starmer, refused to allow an application to court for an arrest warrant against Livni.

Britain last month introduced a new law limiting citizens' rights to seek the arrest of foreign politicians for alleged war crimes committed anywhere in the world.
Israel had urged Britain to change the law in 2009 after there were reports that Livni would have risked arrest on war crimes charges stemming from the Gaza offensive if she had not cancelled a visit.

Under the old law, private citizens could start criminal prosecutions in such cases by applying to a magistrate for an arrest warrant. The new law requires the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions before a warrant can be issued.

However, lawyers for the Palestinian plaintiff said it was not the change in the law that spared Livni from arrest but the government's issue of a certificate of diplomatic immunity.
"Access to justice has been denied in the name of political expediency," a statement from lawyers for the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and the London law firm Hickman & Rose said.
Livni told the BBC the British legal system should not be "abused by those that are trying in the most cynical way to take leaders and officers and soldiers who are fighting against terror ... and to change their position into war criminals."

In a statement issued after talks with Livni on the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Hague said it was "an appalling situation when political abuse of our legal procedures prevented people like Mrs Livni from travelling legitimately to the UK."

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign organised a protest against Livni's visit, saying the British government "must arrest war criminals, not invite them to London."

LINK

Monday 3 October 2011

Rage Against The Machine - Sleep Now In The Fire

Obama Supporters "Occupy" DC



WE ARE DOOMED

Black Ops - Zombie Labs Rezurrection Trailer / Moon Gameplay!!!



Call of Duty need a Zombie Banker map I think.

Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name Live on BBC Radio 5 Live ...

No Bonuses For Goldman?

GOLDMAN Sachs is planning to slash bonuses to almost zero amid growing expectations that the Wall Street bank is about to slide into the red for only the second time in its history.
The market meltdown that began in August has hammered the revenues of all the big global investment banks.
Analysts have been slashing their forecasts for Goldman's third-quarter results, due on October 18, with most now expecting it to report a loss.
Morgan Stanley, its closest rival, could also fall into the red.
Goldman's senior executives are determined to prove that the bank can continue to generate bigger returns for shareholders, despite the market turmoil.
They have made an internal commitment to ensure that no more than 35 per cent to 45 per cent of its revenue is paid to staff -- a lower proportion than any other Wall Street bank. The ratio of staff pay to turnover is the key metric used by analysts to determine the efficiency of an investment bank.
Cutting bonuses to the bone is one of the few tools that Goldman can use to keep the ratio under control. It has already cut salaries for its London partners and is also cutting thousands of jobs.
However, its third-quarter revenues are expected to have fallen by about half compared with the second quarter, putting the ratio under pressure.
New accounting rules forcing banks to defer bonus payments add to the strain. Deferred bonuses awarded last year or the year before, when market conditions were more buoyant, hit the bottom line as the bankers receive the cash.
Banks that went on a hiring spree following the financial crisis, hoping to cash in on the demise of rivals like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, have less flexibility on pay.
Big salaries were offered to tempt bankers to join firms such as Nomura and Barclays Capital, meaning they are now lumbered with higher fixed costs.
Huw van Steenis, a banking analyst at Morgan Stanley, said third-quarter results would be "ugly" for Wall Street.
"On average, we assume fixed-income trading will be down 45 per cent on Q2 and equity trading down 15 per cent.
"Underwriting and merger and acquisition volumes are also down in a big way."
THE SUNDAY TIMES

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/financial-services/bruised-goldman-slashes-bonuses/story-fn91wd6x-1226156467855