The following information is used for educational purposes only.
In this blog, teachers, students and all those who have some kind of interest in the English language will find useful, interesting, curious and funny things to be used in their classes or for their personal enjoyment.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Saturday, July 6, 2013
GRAlInt/RELIG-How to Spark your Own Spirituality (with Oprah Winfrey)-Video
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Source: http://on.aol.com/video/how-to-spark-your-own-spirituality-517651484?icid=bottom_related_thumb_2
Source: http://on.aol.com/video/how-to-spark-your-own-spirituality-517651484?icid=bottom_related_thumb_2
GRalINt/RELIG-Marianne Williamson´s Personal Prayer (with Oprah Winfrey)-Video
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Source: http://on.aol.com/video/marianne-williamsons-personal-prayer-517611380
Source: http://on.aol.com/video/marianne-williamsons-personal-prayer-517611380
GRalINt/RELIG-Soul to Soul: Nate Berkus answers life´s big questions (with Oprah Winfrey)-Video
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Soul to Soul: Nate Berkus answers life´s big questions
Source:http://on.aol.com/video
Soul to Soul: Nate Berkus answers life´s big questions
Source:http://on.aol.com/video
GRAlInt/RELIG-Two Evening Prayers from Marianne Williamson’s Illuminata
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Two Evening Prayers from Marianne Williamson’s Illuminata
Dear God.
Thank you for this day.
Thank you for my safety and the safety of my loved ones.
As I enter sleep, may these hours give me peace.
May they bring healing to my mind and body.
While I sleep, dear Lord, please bless the world.
Where there is pain, where there are people who
have no place to sleep, who suffer and who
die, may Your angels come unto them and
minister to their lives.
Dear Lord,
Please let the light stream in.
Please use my hours of sleep,
Please prepare me, during these hours of rest,
for greater service to You.
May the light that surrounds me, tomorrow
shine through me.
Soften my heart.
Thank you, Lord.
Amen.
Dear God,
I surrender to you the day now over.
May only the love remain.
Take all else into the fire of your transformative
power.
Release me, release others, from any effects of
my wrongmindedness or wrongdoing.
Dear God,
Return me to your light.
As I now give to You who I am, what I did, who
I loved, who I failed to love, please make all
things right.
Take all things.
May I continue to grow in Your light and love.
Tomorrow, may I be better.
Amen.
Source: http://missingsleep.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/two-evening-prayers-from-marianne-williamsons-illuminata/
Two Evening Prayers from Marianne Williamson’s Illuminata
Dear God.
Thank you for this day.
Thank you for my safety and the safety of my loved ones.
As I enter sleep, may these hours give me peace.
May they bring healing to my mind and body.
While I sleep, dear Lord, please bless the world.
Where there is pain, where there are people who
have no place to sleep, who suffer and who
die, may Your angels come unto them and
minister to their lives.
Dear Lord,
Please let the light stream in.
Please use my hours of sleep,
Please prepare me, during these hours of rest,
for greater service to You.
May the light that surrounds me, tomorrow
shine through me.
Soften my heart.
Thank you, Lord.
Amen.
Dear God,
I surrender to you the day now over.
May only the love remain.
Take all else into the fire of your transformative
power.
Release me, release others, from any effects of
my wrongmindedness or wrongdoing.
Dear God,
Return me to your light.
As I now give to You who I am, what I did, who
I loved, who I failed to love, please make all
things right.
Take all things.
May I continue to grow in Your light and love.
Tomorrow, may I be better.
Amen.
Source: http://missingsleep.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/two-evening-prayers-from-marianne-williamsons-illuminata/
GRalINT/POL-Argentina and the Judiciary: subverting the rule of law
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Argentina and the Judiciary: subverting the rule of law
Posted 18 April 2013
The upper house in Argentina’s Congress has approved a series of laws proposed by the government that allow the executive branch to exert considerable influence over the judiciary, threatening the already limited independence of the country’s judicial system.
Under these reforms, the Council of Magistrates (Consejo de la Magistratura), which is in charge of several key functions in the judiciary including proposing candidates and removing them, will be elected by citizens.
133 out of 144
Argentina ranks 133rd out of 144 countries for judicial independence. This gives undue influence over the judiciary to the party in power. In the Transparency International 2011 Global Corruption Barometer people in Argentina identified political parties as the institution they perceived as most corrupt. In addition, judges that run on the ticket of the ruling party will have a significant advantage because the government can more easily promote its nominees in a process that will be unfamiliar to the electorate.
The government has claimed that the new laws are “democratising the judiciary”, but in reality rather than promoting democracy they threaten the country’s rule of law by concentrating too much power in the executive branch.
The timing of the new law, which will have to be passed by the lower house, highlights the tension between the political and the judicial branches of the state. In recent months, the courts have refused to allow legal moves by the government to break up media groups seen by President Cristina Kirchner as monopolistic and biased.
The latest proposal was roundly criticised by civil society and the press. Poder Ciudadano, the Transparency International chapter in Argentina, issued a statement calling on the Senate to reject the laws.
Argentina executive and judiciary: a tale of undue influence
In a high profile scandal, in 2012 Vice President Amado Boudou was accused of illegal enrichment, money laundering and influence peddling to allegedly prevent the bankruptcy of a mint and printing company. Rather than leading to legal consequences for the accused, so far the allegations have resulted in the removal of the presiding judge and resignation of the prosecutor. This followed Boudou’s alleged business partner’s accusations that the presiding judge lost his objectivity. Criminal charges were brought against the prosecutor by Boudou himself.
The move by Congress comes just one day before a march against the government that is expected to bring large crowds on to the streets of Buenos Aires and other major cities, the second such protest in less than six months. Many people in Argentina are dissatisfied with the high levels of corruption and impunity in government circles.
An independent judiciary, unafraid to hold government to account, is an essential element of any strong system to fight against corruption. Without credible rule of law government officials, particularly in the executive, cannot be held accountable for their actions. A judiciary beholden to the ruling party cannot be counted on to act impartially.
Reforms in the judiciary to strengthen its independence should be made a priority – Argentina ranks 133rd out of 144 countries for judicial independence, according to a 2012-2013 report by the World Economic Forum. However, the current package of reforms will only further curtail independence in the judiciary.
Judicial reforms: Recommendations for Argentina
Judicial corruption is a threat in many countries, as noted in the 2007 Global Corruption report on the judiciary. Argentina was singled out as a country where government control of the judiciary is too strong. The recent reforms reinforce and broaden the government’s powers. We recommend the following:
The separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary needs to be strengthened
Citizens must be guaranteed access to justice fairly, without fear of political interference, and in a timely manner.
There must be a broad discussion on the nature of the reforms, which includes input from civil society.
Press contact(s):
Chris Sanders
Manager, Media and Public Relations
press@transparency.org
+49 30 3438 20 666
Source: www.transparency.org
Argentina and the Judiciary: subverting the rule of law
Posted 18 April 2013
The upper house in Argentina’s Congress has approved a series of laws proposed by the government that allow the executive branch to exert considerable influence over the judiciary, threatening the already limited independence of the country’s judicial system.
Under these reforms, the Council of Magistrates (Consejo de la Magistratura), which is in charge of several key functions in the judiciary including proposing candidates and removing them, will be elected by citizens.
133 out of 144
Argentina ranks 133rd out of 144 countries for judicial independence. This gives undue influence over the judiciary to the party in power. In the Transparency International 2011 Global Corruption Barometer people in Argentina identified political parties as the institution they perceived as most corrupt. In addition, judges that run on the ticket of the ruling party will have a significant advantage because the government can more easily promote its nominees in a process that will be unfamiliar to the electorate.
The government has claimed that the new laws are “democratising the judiciary”, but in reality rather than promoting democracy they threaten the country’s rule of law by concentrating too much power in the executive branch.
The timing of the new law, which will have to be passed by the lower house, highlights the tension between the political and the judicial branches of the state. In recent months, the courts have refused to allow legal moves by the government to break up media groups seen by President Cristina Kirchner as monopolistic and biased.
The latest proposal was roundly criticised by civil society and the press. Poder Ciudadano, the Transparency International chapter in Argentina, issued a statement calling on the Senate to reject the laws.
Argentina executive and judiciary: a tale of undue influence
In a high profile scandal, in 2012 Vice President Amado Boudou was accused of illegal enrichment, money laundering and influence peddling to allegedly prevent the bankruptcy of a mint and printing company. Rather than leading to legal consequences for the accused, so far the allegations have resulted in the removal of the presiding judge and resignation of the prosecutor. This followed Boudou’s alleged business partner’s accusations that the presiding judge lost his objectivity. Criminal charges were brought against the prosecutor by Boudou himself.
The move by Congress comes just one day before a march against the government that is expected to bring large crowds on to the streets of Buenos Aires and other major cities, the second such protest in less than six months. Many people in Argentina are dissatisfied with the high levels of corruption and impunity in government circles.
An independent judiciary, unafraid to hold government to account, is an essential element of any strong system to fight against corruption. Without credible rule of law government officials, particularly in the executive, cannot be held accountable for their actions. A judiciary beholden to the ruling party cannot be counted on to act impartially.
Reforms in the judiciary to strengthen its independence should be made a priority – Argentina ranks 133rd out of 144 countries for judicial independence, according to a 2012-2013 report by the World Economic Forum. However, the current package of reforms will only further curtail independence in the judiciary.
Judicial reforms: Recommendations for Argentina
Judicial corruption is a threat in many countries, as noted in the 2007 Global Corruption report on the judiciary. Argentina was singled out as a country where government control of the judiciary is too strong. The recent reforms reinforce and broaden the government’s powers. We recommend the following:
The separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary needs to be strengthened
Citizens must be guaranteed access to justice fairly, without fear of political interference, and in a timely manner.
There must be a broad discussion on the nature of the reforms, which includes input from civil society.
Press contact(s):
Chris Sanders
Manager, Media and Public Relations
press@transparency.org
+49 30 3438 20 666
Source: www.transparency.org
GRalINt/POL-Argentine corruption: business as usual?
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Argentine corruption: business as usual?
Apr 22, 2013, by Jude Webber
Corruption is a popular spectator sport in Argentina – at least to judge by the TV ratings of a show by the country’s most prominent investigative journalist.
Jorge Lanata has for the past two Sundays run videotaped conversations with a financier and an accountant and revealed documents purporting to show that a businessman, Lázaro Báez, was a front-man and partner of former president Néstor Kirchner, the late husband of incumbent Cristina Fernández, and that the financiers were involved in illegally funnelling money out of Argentina. The second show in the series, aired on April 21, had record ratings.
The government has not come out and denied the allegations directly, but at least one prominent pro-government legislator has dismissed them and the financier and accountant have gone on other television shows and changed their story, saying they had lied to Lanata.
Corruption is widely considered something engrained in Argentina – there have been precious few top-level convictions, and there is a sense that public officials are untouchable. According to one poll 70 per cent of respondents believed the allegations but only 14 per cent considered convictions would follow.
The sense of official impunity – at a time when the government is pushing through judicial reforms that it says will “democratise” the system – was one of the major complaints at nationwide demonstrations on April 18. The protests saw tens of thousands of pot-banging citizens, gathered by social media rather than a party or leader, coming out in Argentina’s major cities to express their anger against the government.
As far as corruption is concerned, it seems not a day goes by at the moment without some new allegation or incident.
Monday was the turn of Ralph Lauren, the US fashion group, which paid $1.6m to US authorities, and left the country, in order to settle allegations that it bribed customs officials $568,000 in cash between 2005 and 2009 and gave three different government officials gifts of perfume, dresses and handbags valued at as much as $14,000.
No one was available in the president’s office to comment on the allegations. The company “investigated, self-reported, co-operated fully with the authorities, conducted a worldwide risk assessment and implemented a series of remedial measures, including enhanced compliance programs and training”, said Tom Hanusik, a lawyer for Ralph Lauren, as reported by the FT.
Also on Monday, La Nación newspaper reported that Brazilian plane maker Embraer was investigating allegations of bribery payments in Argentina. But Embraer refuted that in a statement:
Regarding the information published in the Argentine press, involving the name of Embraer, the Company categorically denies the accusations of any irregularity in the process of the sale of airplanes to Austral Líneas Aéreas. The Company regrets the fact that it was not contacted by the authors of the news articles and, therefore, did not have an opportunity to refute the untruths that were published.
A spokesman said the company had reported an investigation to the US SEC in 2011 and had recently expanded the three countries in that original remit to five, but which countries have been involved and details have not been disclosed.
Argentina might be like a juicy political soap opera, but will corruption hurt the president, popularly known as CFK for her initials (Cristina Fernández de Kirchner)? No, is the short answer from Daniel Kerner of Eurasia, a consultancy.
In a note to clients, he wrote:
Corruption allegations will probably not damage CFK. New corruption allegations that a businessman with close ties to the administration (Lazaro Baez) has generated ample media coverage. The issue has brought corruption back to the spotlight and will probably continue to dominate headlines. However, the corruption scandal is unlikely to have a major political impact other than reinforcing discontent among opposition voters. There have been numerous corruption accusations against the government in the past, and they usually die down. Thus, while they clearly don’t help the government, unless the accusations (more) directly touch President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner or one of her main advisors, this will not develop into a political crisis.
Business as usual then?
Source: www.blogs.ft.com
Argentine corruption: business as usual?
Apr 22, 2013, by Jude Webber
Corruption is a popular spectator sport in Argentina – at least to judge by the TV ratings of a show by the country’s most prominent investigative journalist.
Jorge Lanata has for the past two Sundays run videotaped conversations with a financier and an accountant and revealed documents purporting to show that a businessman, Lázaro Báez, was a front-man and partner of former president Néstor Kirchner, the late husband of incumbent Cristina Fernández, and that the financiers were involved in illegally funnelling money out of Argentina. The second show in the series, aired on April 21, had record ratings.
The government has not come out and denied the allegations directly, but at least one prominent pro-government legislator has dismissed them and the financier and accountant have gone on other television shows and changed their story, saying they had lied to Lanata.
Corruption is widely considered something engrained in Argentina – there have been precious few top-level convictions, and there is a sense that public officials are untouchable. According to one poll 70 per cent of respondents believed the allegations but only 14 per cent considered convictions would follow.
The sense of official impunity – at a time when the government is pushing through judicial reforms that it says will “democratise” the system – was one of the major complaints at nationwide demonstrations on April 18. The protests saw tens of thousands of pot-banging citizens, gathered by social media rather than a party or leader, coming out in Argentina’s major cities to express their anger against the government.
As far as corruption is concerned, it seems not a day goes by at the moment without some new allegation or incident.
Monday was the turn of Ralph Lauren, the US fashion group, which paid $1.6m to US authorities, and left the country, in order to settle allegations that it bribed customs officials $568,000 in cash between 2005 and 2009 and gave three different government officials gifts of perfume, dresses and handbags valued at as much as $14,000.
No one was available in the president’s office to comment on the allegations. The company “investigated, self-reported, co-operated fully with the authorities, conducted a worldwide risk assessment and implemented a series of remedial measures, including enhanced compliance programs and training”, said Tom Hanusik, a lawyer for Ralph Lauren, as reported by the FT.
Also on Monday, La Nación newspaper reported that Brazilian plane maker Embraer was investigating allegations of bribery payments in Argentina. But Embraer refuted that in a statement:
Regarding the information published in the Argentine press, involving the name of Embraer, the Company categorically denies the accusations of any irregularity in the process of the sale of airplanes to Austral Líneas Aéreas. The Company regrets the fact that it was not contacted by the authors of the news articles and, therefore, did not have an opportunity to refute the untruths that were published.
A spokesman said the company had reported an investigation to the US SEC in 2011 and had recently expanded the three countries in that original remit to five, but which countries have been involved and details have not been disclosed.
Argentina might be like a juicy political soap opera, but will corruption hurt the president, popularly known as CFK for her initials (Cristina Fernández de Kirchner)? No, is the short answer from Daniel Kerner of Eurasia, a consultancy.
In a note to clients, he wrote:
Corruption allegations will probably not damage CFK. New corruption allegations that a businessman with close ties to the administration (Lazaro Baez) has generated ample media coverage. The issue has brought corruption back to the spotlight and will probably continue to dominate headlines. However, the corruption scandal is unlikely to have a major political impact other than reinforcing discontent among opposition voters. There have been numerous corruption accusations against the government in the past, and they usually die down. Thus, while they clearly don’t help the government, unless the accusations (more) directly touch President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner or one of her main advisors, this will not develop into a political crisis.
Business as usual then?
Source: www.blogs.ft.com
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