VIPASSANA MEDITTATION-DAY THREE MEDITATION DISCOURSE SUMMARIES

Unknown Light Arist

Vipassana Meditation

Ten-day Meditation Discourse Summaries

Ashvatha Gardens

Serious Fraud Office to Investigate Libor Manipulation

Criminal charges could be brought against traders implicated in the interest rate rigging scandal after the Serious Fraud Office announced on Friday that it had begun a formal investigation into attempts to fix Libor.

The director of the SFO David Green said he had "decided to formally accept the Libor matter for investigation" after reviewing the information provided by regulators which last week fined Barclays £290m for attempting to manipulate the price of the key interest rate known as Libor - the London interbank offered rate.

The investigation is understood to be into the wider market and not just Barclays.

Freedom Project

François Hollande Keeps Election Promise of Raising Taxes For Wealthiest

Since its revolution France has had a reputation for loving to hate the rich. But it has always boasted mega-wealthy business leaders, global brands, moneyed aristocratic families and designer luxury from embossed crocodile handbags to villas on the Riviera. Now it could be set for a new record as the European country doing the most to soak the rich.

The president, François Hollande, made no secret of his election pledge to squeeze fat cats and hit the mega-rich, making them bear the brunt of "sacrifices" needed to fix public finances. This week he was true to his word. The wealthiest households, banks and big business are to shoulder the best part of €7.2bn (£5.7bn) in tax rises this year, and more next year. France, already the only EU country with a wealth-tax, will increase it, with people worth more than €1.3m paying a one-off levy this year.

Inheritance tax, lowered by Sarkozy, will rise. New taxes are aimed at bank profits, dividends, bonuses, stock options, big businesses and energy companies holding petrol stocks. Already there has been a clamp-down on fat-cat salaries with a cap on the pay of chief-executives at state-owned companies.

Freedom Project

Romania's President Impeached Amid International Concern

Romanian politicians impeached President Traian Băsescu in an overwhelming vote on Friday, paving the way for a national referendum that could see the divisive and increasingly unpopular leader ousted from the position he's held for eight years.

The vote of 256-114 in parliament came as Băsescu and Prime Minister Victor Ponta have engaged in a bitter power struggle in the eastern European country of 19 million, which emerged from communism in 1989. The machinations, especially attempts to sideline the judiciary, have led the United States and the European Union to issue statements of concern about Romania's democracy.

Băsescu opponents accused him of overstepping his authority by meddling with the prime minister's office and trying to influence judicial affairs. The 60-year-old former ship captain was also accused of making racist remarks about Gypsies and disabled people.

Senate speaker Crin Antonescu, who will serve as interim president now that Băsescu has been effectively suspended from the role, said a popular referendum on Băsescu's fate will be held on 29 July.

Freedom Project

Libya Goes To the Polls In First Election Since Gaddafi's Fall

Libyan polling station workers

Libyan polling station workers prepare for voting to begin in Tripoli.
Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images

Libyans have started voting in the first parliamentary election since the fall of the longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi last year.

To read the rest of this story, visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/07/libya-polls-first-election-gaddafi

How Activism Forced Nike to Change Its Ethical Game

nike sustainable business

Problems still exist in Nike’s supply chain but the corporation today operates with an openness and transparency that would have been unthinkable 20 years ago.
Photograph: Neal Simpson/EMPICS Sports Photo Agency

With three weeks until the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, activists are busy cranking out yet another round of anti-sweat shop campaigns and shock-horror exposes. But do these campaigns really make any difference?

Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is yes.

In the new Olympic special edition of Ethical Consumer magazine the spotlight is on Nike and the impact that 20 years of campaigning has had in changing the corporate culture of one of the world's biggest sportswear brands.

Freedom Project

Turmoil Returns to Stock Markets and Euro

Spain's borrowing costs soared back to crisis levels on Friday after infighting among eurozone countries signalled a return to the turmoil that has rocked the global economy in recent months.

The interest rate on Spanish bonds touched 7%, leaving Madrid on the brink of asking Brussels for a formal bailout, despite having secured a €100bn rescue facility for the country's banks.

Stock markets plunged and the euro tumbled as investors withdrew funds from the currency zone in favour of safer havens. The euro fell 1% to its lowest level against the dollar since July 2010. Spain's Ibex index of leading shares was down more than 3%. The German Dax fell almost 2% to 6410 and the French CAC 1.9% lower at 3168. The FTSE dropped 30 points to 5662, while the New York Dow Jones index fell 138 points to 12,719.

A report on the jobs market in the US added to market tensions after it appeared to show the powerhouse of global growth hitting the buffers. The US added only 80,000 jobs last month, well short of the 200,000 average it managed until March and the 400,000 it needs to bring down unemployment.