United Nations Peace Envoy, Kofi Annan, has decided to hold an international conference regarding the ever-growing war in Syria, which has left several killed and severely injured. The meeting will take place in Geneva this coming Saturday, but cause for concern is arising, as the United States is having mixed emotions about being a part of the conference.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has confirmed that despite the United State’s lukewarm feelings about the conference, it will be in attendance, in addition to representatives from various countries including Russia, China, Britain, France, Turkey, and others from European Union, as well as the Arab League.

According to Annan, the purpose of the meeting, “is to forge a consensus on the terms for a political solution among international players with stakes and influence in the Syrian conflict over terms for a political solution. The U.N. envoy believes that the best hope of pressing the combatants on the ground to observe his peace plan to which they signed up in April but have not implemented, is for the foreign powers on whose support they variously depend to agree on terms.”

And the main problem that needs to be addressed this coming Saturday, is the conflict in different approaches and decisions that Russia and the United States both want to make. One of the countries that has yet to announce its appearance is Iran, which is a key factor in resolving conflict. “I have made it quite clear that I believe Iran should be part of the solution,” Annan said in Geneva last Friday. “If we continue the way we are going and competing with each other, it could lead to destructive competition and everyone will pay the price.”

The reason for both Iran and Saudia Arabia being excluded from the conference is based on the Obama Administration not wanting them there. According to Tony Karan, reporter for Time World, “The Obama Administration cited Iran’s role in backing up Syria’s bloody crackdown to declare Tehran’s involvement a “red line” for participating in the Geneva talks, and Annan presumably left out Saudi Arabia as a compensatory gesture to Russia which insists that those countries arming and funding Syria’s rebels share major responsibility for escalating the conflict.

A state department official told reporters last week that “If Kofi Annan can get the proposed participants to agree on such a plan for political transition then there will be a meeting, but that’s what we need to find out before we go to any meeting. There’s no point in going just for the sake of it.”

Image Courtesy of  United Nations

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Hitting the treadmill to work off the festive pounds traditionally tops the New Year resolutions list, but according to research by moneysupermarket.com, Brits are shunning the gym this year.

Research by Britain’s number one comparison site found over two thirds of consumers (68%) won’t be joining or renewing their membership as they believe the gym is an unnecessary cost, and they keep fit and healthy in other ways. This is compared to 46% of respondents in 2009.

One in ten Brits (12%) are concerned about the cost implications with 5% not planning to renew their membership as they rarely used it this year and need to cut costs. A further 6% are unsure about signing up due to the current economic climate and needing to rethink their spending.

The research also found the younger generation favour the gym with almost one in five (18%) of 18-34 year olds stating they already regularly exercise and plan to renew their membership in the new year compared to just 6% of those aged over 55. Instead an overwhelming 81% of this age group stated the gym is a waste of money and find alternative ways to keep fit and healthy rather than signing up to a fitness club.

James Clarke, Head of Protection at MoneySupermarket.com said: “Despite the indulgence of Christmas it seems gym membership is not high on the priority list for a New Year health kick as Brits look to cut costs. Joining a gym can be a huge financial commitment, and with many gym-goers admitting to rarely using their membership, it’s important to consider whether their hard-earned cash can be used more effectively.”

Quitting smoking is also another resolution many vow to take as part of leading a healthier lifestyle. A recent poll run of MoneySupermarket site users found over 13% of respondents successfully quit last year, and a further 5% have vowed to kick the habit in 2012.

James Clarke continued: “For those exercise fanatics who commit to the gym and work out on a regular basis it is worth knowing there are life insurance and critical illness policies that reward a healthy lifestyle. The same also applies for smokers who quit the habit, as there is a huge price difference between policies for smokers and non-smokers. Brits could see average savings of GBP4,347 over the term of the policy – a significant sum of money!”

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David Cameron’s government has announced sweeping changes to the way in which Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her family are funded.

The main source of royal funding has historically been the Civil List, which originated in the 18^th century when George III handed the Crown Estate over to the government in exchange for an annual payment.  Nowadays, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio whose assets are worth an estimated £6.7 billion.  Although the amount of the Civil List is traditionally set at the beginning of each reign, the growth of inflation has meant that, during the present Queen’s reign, it has usually been adjusted every ten years.

Since 2001, the Civil List has been set at £7.9 million.  According to the monarchy’s website, 70 percent of that money goes toward staff salaries, while the remainder is used to defray the cost of official functions, such as royal garden parties and incoming state visits.

The monarchy also receives annual grants-in-aid from government departments.  For example, in 2009-10, the Department of Transport provided £3.9 million toward the cost of travel, while the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport provided £400,000 for communications and £15.4 million for the maintenance of historic royal palaces.  Additionally, the monarchy has supplemented these sources of income by drawing on a cash reserve that accumulated during a period of low inflation in the 1990s. In 2009-10, the reserve contributed £6.5 million, but it is expected to run out by 2012.

All this money is used for official purposes and should not be confused with the sovereign’s personal assets.  The Queen’s personal income is funded by the profits from the Duchy of Lancaster.

Last week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced that, starting in 2013, the Civil List and grants-in-aid would be abolished in favor of one annual payment called the “Sovereign Support Grant.”  This payment would be equal to fifteen percent of the profits from the Crown Estate during the previous two years.  As Osborne put it in his speech to the House of Commons, “the monarch will do as well as the economy is doing.”

Under the proposed formula, the Queen would receive £34 million in 2013-14, which is comparable to the total amount spent in 2009-10.  Furthermore, the fifteen percent formula will be reviewed every seven years by the Royal Trustees (the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Keeper of the Privy Purse) in order to ensure that it becomes neither too large nor too small.

In addition to consolidating royal finances, Osborne also said that the National Audit Office will be able to audit the assets used by the Royal Household for official purposes.  Furthermore, the monarchy’s finances will be subject to unprecedented parliamentary scrutiny, as the sovereign grant accounts will be laid before Parliament each year and the Public Accounts Committee will be able to hold hearings on royal finances.

MPs of all parties were broadly supportive of the government’s proposals, and there was unanimous praise for the Queen’s long record of service throughout her almost 60 year reign. However, the opposition Labour party’s financial spokesman, Ed Balls, expressed concern that, if the Crown Estate’s profits were to rise dramatically, it could create a windfall for the royal family that would prove damaging to their popularity. In such a case, he suggested that it would be prudent to allow the Royal Trustees to adjust the formula downward instead of having to wait the full seven years.

waynehowes / Shutterstock.com

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Six individuals connected with Xclusive Tickets Limited and Xclusive Leisure and Hospitality have been charged with a range of offenses after an investigation by the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office and the Metropolitan Police.

Terence Shepherd, Allan Schaverien, Alan Scott, Cyril Gold, and Geert van Meel have all been charged with offenses arising from Xclusive’s sale of tickets to a wide range of events, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  Additionally, Sheperd’s wife, Margaret Canty-Sheperd, has been charged with money laundering.

It is alleged that the Xclusive companies have a long history of failing to deliver on their promises.  Many customers complained that they never received the tickets, while others reported receiving tickets that were later revealed to have been stolen.  All told, the Xclusive companies received over £5 million in payment for tickets that were never delivered.

The accused claim that their failure to supply the tickets was due to the collapse of another company, Peter Ticketing.  However, prosecutor Miranda Moore QC told Southwark Crown Court that Peter Ticketing was actually a bogus entity created to conceal Xclusive’s fraud.

Shepherd, Scott, Gold, van Meel, and Canty-Shepherd have all pleaded not guilty.  Schaverein has pleaded guilty and has been bailed for sentencing until after his co-defendants’ trial is over.

Xclusive is just the latest ticket-related scandal to be exposed.  According to a report in Dagbladet, a Norwegian company by the name of Euroteam habitually pays cash for black market tickets, which it then resells at a hefty premium.  For example, in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, Euroteam was able to sell $81.7 million worth of tickets despite the fact that they were not an official distributor.

Dagbladet also alleges that the company contacted FIFA vice president Jack Warner in 2009 and asked him for tickets to the 2010 World Cup.  Warner, who is also president of the Caribbean Football Union, is said to have ordered tickets to several World Cup matches only to have the deal with Euroteam fall through for unknown reasons.  In February, Dagbladet reported that FIFA’s ethics committee was investigating Warner’s links to Euroteam, but nothing seems to have happened since then.

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During the initial international military operation in Libya, the coalition forces engaged in operation Odyssey Dawn between March 19-31. However, the operation was essentially a code word for actions of war disguised as humanitarian aid. The allied forces collaborated against Muammar Gaddafi on their mission of ‘liberation’ to save the people of Libya from their ‘bloodthirsty’ oppressor, forgetting that for several years they had a civil relationship and strong political and financial bonds with the very same man.

At the beginning, NATO’s participation and exactly who was going to be heading the mission, was a mystery. However, within a few days, France’s PM Nicola Sarkozy, took the lead in this operation. “Sarkozy likes nothing better than a crisis, a fight and a gamble,” said Financial Times columnist Peggy Hollinger. “With his approval ratings at an all-time low, this Libyan intervention could be just what he needs to revive his faltering popularity at home.” However, without the firepower of the United States in the form of Tomahawk Cruise Missiles and aircraft carrier based aircraft, nothing would have been achieved. For the U.S., Odyssey Dawn was a coming out party for America’s newest military formation, African Command (Africom). It is no accident that at the very moment that African oil reserves are becoming a major source for the United States, Washington should create a military formation for the continent. It is very important to keep in mind that the control of energy resources is always central to U.S. strategy, and with world reserves declining, the scramble to hold the petroleum high ground is always part of the agenda.

The big argument for the operation leadership was between France and England, while the Americans made their involvement obvious via missiles but reiterated that they did not intend to deploy any soldier into Libya. Washington, Paris, and London concluded that Muammar Gaddafi is not a target himself, even though his palace in Tripoli had been under attack. A missile also landed just 50 meters away of the famous tent that he used to welcome the foreign leaders in.

The types and numbers of forces against Gaddafi were massive. France, Britain, United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Norway and Qatar and United Arab Emirates comprised an undefeatable opponent against Gaddafi’s forces.

I’m wondering, what kind of humanitarian mission consists of fighting as well as spying aircrafts, aircraft carriers, submarines, battle cruisers, tankers, and a rain of missiles?

On the other hand, regarding Libyan forces, colonel Gaddafi is considered to have a personal army consisting of thousands of members, much more than a   simple army. However, we cannot be sure how many of them have defected so far. They have tanks, aircrafts, armed and armored vehicles for transportation, submarines, armed ships, and picket boats at their disposal. Although, many of them are either destroyed or useless.

Is this another war for oil? We all know the scenario and the answer is probably affirmative. Curiosity, somehow wouldn’t let me rest, and after a little research a dilemma suddenly appeared – Was the Libyan war being pursued for  obtaining black gold or for water?

One conspiracy theory, called New World Order (NWO), seems to suggest a link. Between the lines, since the beginning of the past century, oil magnates created a cartel to take control of all oil reserves around the planet, as well as  take some of them out of production. Nevertheless, some years ago the NWO conspirators reached the conclusion that very soon oil would be replaced as the Earth’s most valuable resource by another, less suspected one. Instead,  that valuable resources will be pure, sweet drinking water. Of course, water is an abundant resource with enough on this planet to satisfy the needs of many times the current levels of population. But, exactly as they did with oil, another abundant resource, they plan to make drinking water artificially scarce by having control over its main sources.

So, why Libya?  In late 1983, Qaddafi created the Great Man-Made River Authority. The job of the authority was to take water from the aquifers in the south, and bring it in the most efficient and economic way to the Libyan coastal belt. In 1996, the Great Man-Made River Project, reached one of its final stages, and a huge amount of sweet, unpolluted water began reaching the homes and gardens of the citizens of Libya’s capital Tripoli. The rest I leave to you.

I do not assume that all these are necessarily truth, but I believe it is important to have as much information as possible so we can make up our minds more accurately.

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Bownessie, the mythical creature of Britain’s Lake Windermere, made an appearance in February that was caught on camera by a couple of kayakers.  Bownessie, not as famous as her northern cousin—the Loch Ness monster, is still well-known, especially to locals.

Tom Pickles, 24, and Sarah Harrington, 23, said they stared at the shape, terrified as it moved through the water at about 10 miles per hour. “I thought it was a dog,” Pickles said. “Then I realized it was much bigger and moving really quickly. Each hump was moving in a rippling motion and it was swimming fast. I could tell it was much bigger underneath from the huge shadow around it.”

“Its skin was like a seal’s, but its shape was abnormal — it’s not like any animal I’ve ever seen before. We saw it for about 20 seconds. It was petrifying. We paddled back to the shore straight away,” Harrington said.

The couple was able to take a picture of the creature with their cell phone camera before it disappeared.  Experts who have examined the fuzzy photograph have said that the image is authentic, but that the file size is too small to tell if it was altered.  This is the eighth sighting in the past two years.

There are also the skeptics who say the monster, whether in Loch Ness or Windermere, is just a myth. “I have a whole lot of doubt that it could be a Loch Ness monster. I don’t think a monster can exist biologically,” said Ian Winfield, a scientist at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology at the Lancaster, England, Environment Centre. “It’s a bit of fun, it adds a bit of spice to life,” he said. “It would be wonderful if it was true. I mean if we had some kind of creature alive in the British Isles it would be fantastic but I really don’t think it can be so.”

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