Democrats to up their efforts in the far South

The Democrat Party has instructed its MPs to visit their constituents and work harder to ensure they still have their support ahead of the Opposition in the deep South.

Pheu Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh tried on Monday to win the hearts of locals while on a tour to push his idea to make the three southern provinces a special autonomous administrative zone, which he called "Nakhon Rat Pattani".

Thepthai Senpong, spokesman of the Democrat Party leader, gave a press conference after the party called MPs from five southern provinces to consider Pheu Thai's latest move. The meeting agreed they could easily lose support of people in the far South because it was a sensitive spot in which locals' allegiance swayed with political sentiment.

Fighting off the bear One year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, these CNNMoney.com readers are repairing their portfolios. Here's what they're d

I started adding bank and insurance stocks to my portfolio in the middle of November 2008 and bought through the end of March. I bought Royal Bank of Scotland, Genworth Financial, GE, Hartford, Lincoln National, Deutsche Bank, State Street, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Berkshire Hathaway.

I wasn't sure if all the companies would make it out of the crisis but I felt many were victims of panic selling. Although they had short-term balance sheet issues, their business was fundamentally solid enough to recover and build long term shareholder value.

By early March, my portfolio had lost almost 40%. I had friends tell me they were liquidating their stocks because they believed we were in for the next Great Depression. But I fought my urge to panic and decided to see it as a great opportunity.

I held onto the stocks I already had and used the 15% of my portfolio that was in cash to buy more. I'm so glad I did. One year after Lehman Brothers, my portfolio is down less than 15%.

Singer Monica 'Still Standing' after overcoming tragedies

(CNN) -- At first, R&B singer Monica wanted no part of reality television.

"I assumed [producers] would not want a reality show about my life as it really is, because my life is drama-free now," said the Grammy Award-winning artist. "If they wanted drama, they would have had to have caught me 10 years ago."

The singer, whose full name is Monica Denise Arnold, has overcome some terrible experiences.

She witnessed the suicide of a despondent boyfriend and was involved with rapper C-Murder (whose real name is Corey Miller and who is the brother of rapper Master P) when he was arrested for the shooting death of a fan.

But those times are now behind the mother of two young sons. She's happily settled in a committed relationship with her children's father, rapper Rocko, and currently starring in the BET show "Monica: Still Standing." A new album is set to be released in the new year.

While she's had success with singles like "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)," "Angel of Mine" and her duet, "The Boy Is Mine," with singer Brandy, the 29-year-old is looking to break through to superstar status.

"I think this is her moment," said her cousin and longtime manager, Melinda Dancil. "People have seen 'the artist Monica,' but they have never really seen 'the person Monica,' and the person Monica is really what creates her engaging personality."

The singer is quick to point out that "I'm not a victim, I'm a victor," and said she wants her legacy to extend beyond just her reputation as a singer, songwriter and occasional actress.

She spoke to CNN about her career, why you won't see her in a catfight with another female singer and what makes her emotional.

CNN: What do you hope fans take away from your new reality show?

Monica: My main objective is to show some form of strength.

I think people experience a lot, especially in this day and age, and especially young people, and people don't normally speak directly to them.

I think they will take the idea of strength, the idea of faith and the idea of family away from it. The latter two are things that people don't like to talk a lot about or deal a lot with, in my experience.

CNN: At what point are you in your career?

Monica: I'm at the point in my career where it's time for me to start defining who I am as an artist.

I would love for people to look at me as a great singer, but also know exactly who I am, the way that we have loved and respected people like Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle having gone through the different stages of their lives with them. That's the type of history I want to have.

This is the defining moment where I separate myself from others by whatever it is I do and the way that I do it.

CNN: There was a moment at the 2009 BET Awards where you and Keyshia Cole performed [the duet "Trust"]. You came out singing, and the camera went to Beyonce in the front row where she was grooving.

What is it like to perform for your peers, some of whom may not have been in the business as long as you have, but who may have greater recognition?

Monica: You know, I don't think about it a lot. I look at it like this: They work hard, so I know they want to see great entertainment as well. Any time I perform in front of my peers, I think about it that way.

I think about it the same way I do as when I am out on stage in front of a lot of people I don't know. You give 120 percent, make sure you do your absolute best and try to make sure each performance is memorable.

CNN: What don't your fans know about you?

Monica: I talk a lot about strength, faith and love, but I don't ever talk about the fact that I am one of the most sensitive people in my family.

That might be the most shocking, because you always see me fighting the good fight, with the strong face on, but I am the most emotional.

CNN: What makes you emotional?

Monica: (Chuckles) Anything. I don't like to see children hurt or in need. I don't like to see people troubled or without, I don't like to see death.

Some things make me emotional in a good way. When my son does well in school, I get real emotional because that's a testament to what I'm feeding him at home on a daily basis as far as knowledge goes.

I wasn't so emotional until I had my first son.

CNN: You gave up your teenage years to your career. Any regrets?

Monica: None. I still love it.

I always tell people that the music industry may be frustrating sometimes, but the singing never gets old. It's something I grew up doing, and I take the bitter with the sweet.

CNN: What's frustrating to you about the industry?

Monica: It's frustrating to me to see how much they force people to compete. It's not a competition. What is for me is for me, what's for you is for you.

You can't constantly make these artists feel like they can't like each other or enjoy each other or do songs together because one is from this place and the other is from another. I think it's foolish.

U.S. diplomats land in Myanmar for meetings

(CNN) -- Two U.S. diplomats arrived in Myanmar Tuesday and will meet with imprisoned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and deputy Scot Marciel plan to meet with Suu Kyi Wednesday, a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar said.

The visit is part of a new shift in U.S. policy toward Myanmar.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in September that the United States will try to directly engage with the military leaders of Myanmar, also known as Burma, without abandoning its existing sanctions on the southeast Asian country.

Suu Kyi's detention has been a key component in America's political tangle with Myanmar. Critics of the country's ruling junta have accused the regime of convicting Suu Kyi, 64, to keep her from participating in 2010 elections.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been confined in her house for about 14 of the past 20 years. She was sentenced to 18 more months of house arrest after John Yettaw, an American man, swam uninvited to her home in Yangon where she has been confined.

Suu Kyi has accepted the new shift in U.S. policy toward Myanmar, her spokesman said.

It was unclear if the two diplomats would meet with members of Myanmar's military junta.

In August, U.S. Senator Jim Webb became the first American official to meet withe Myanmar's junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, when he went there to secure Yettaw's release.

Stunned Wilson High students grieve for slain [Cambodian-American] classmate

Odell Smith, 16, covers his face and grieves with fellow Woodrow Wilson High students at the spot where Melody Ross was shot and killed. "I just saw her moments before she was shot...she was smiling," said Smith. (Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times / November 2, 2009)
Melody Ross, a pole vaulter, was well-liked and had a positive attitude, friends say. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / October 31, 2009)

Friday night's shooting jolts parents who consider campus to be the safest school in Long Beach.
Mourning students at Long Beach's Wilson High School gathered Monday by the pavement where classmate Melody Ross was shot after the homecoming football game. Leaving handwritten notes to Melody and her family, the teenagers lit candles and shed tears as they remembered the bubbly 16-year-old.

"Why her?" asked sophomore Micah Mathis, 15, who took French with Melody, an honors student. "That's what I want to know."

The mood at the coastal campus was somber as students, teachers and administrators struggled to comprehend what occurred Friday, when someone fired into a crowd of students leaving the game, striking three people, including Melody, who was fatally wounded.

Police patrol cars circled the school. The principal's voice cracked as she addressed students. Grief counselors met with a steady stream of teenagers, who wore black shirts in Melody's honor and released balloons during a lunchtime ceremony attended by her parents.

"It's a large high school, but it's like a family and it feels like we've lost one of our own," said Chris Eftychiou, spokesman for the Long Beach Unified School District. "The students are very resilient and they are helping each other get through this difficult time."

Wilson has 4,300 students, and is racially and economically diverse. The school serves some of the city's most affluent communities, yet half the students receive free or reduced-price lunches, a measure of poverty. Many parents consider Wilson, an early adopter of school uniforms, the safest high school in the city.

Tamura Howard of Signal Hill said her 14-year-old daughter previously attended a Christian school and that she believed Wilson is safe.

"That's why I put her in this school, it has a reputation for being safe and it's in a relatively good neighborhood," said Howard, noting that her daughter attended Friday's game. "This has given me nightmares."

The week had been a boisterous one on Wilson's campus, with pep rallies leading up to the game, and a dance. Students were hoping for an unlikely drubbing of crosstown rival Polytechnic High School, one of the nation's strongest high school football teams.

"Everyone was so, so excited," said senior Daisha Black, 17. "Everyone kept saying, 'Isn't it a good day to be a Bruin?' "

But minutes after the game, shots were fired on Ximeno Avenue just south of 10th Street, striking Ross and two others who are expected to survive.

Although there were hundreds of people leaving the campus, police have no witnesses or suspects. Anyone with information is asked to call the homicide detail at (562) 570-7244.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote today to offer a $10,000 reward.

Meanwhile, rumors swirled across campus about who shot Melody.

"People don't want to talk, they don't want to open their mouths," said Black, who was a few feet from Melody when the shooting occurred, and whose boyfriend comforted her while awaiting paramedics.

Students learned about the death Saturday morning through text messages and the Internet.

Madison Guest, 16, didn't believe the rumors until a friend asked her to bring flowers to track practice Saturday. She was on the team with Melody, and recalled hearing her boisterous cheers on the track.

"She was always happy and always supported me in my running," the junior said. "I'm still in shock. I just tried to go on with my day -- that's what she would have wanted."

Melody's parents were sequestered in their North Long Beach home Monday afternoon. The family fled the Khmer Rouge and the killing fields of Cambodia to move to Long Beach before Melody was born.

One month ago, tired of the violence in their last neighborhood, near Anaheim Street, the center of Long Beach's large Cambodian community, the family moved to North Long Beach.

The district's superintendent set up a fund to help the family with funeral costs and other needs

Russian, Cambodian ships collide in Black Sea

SOFIA, November 2 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian ship Nikolai Psomiadi and the ship Dolian flying the Cambodian flag, collided in neutral waters of the Black Sea off Bulgaria on Monday.

According to the Marine Rescue and Coordination Centre in Varna, the incident occurred outside Bulgaria’s 12-mile territorial zone during a storm. The captains of both ships rejected the offers of help.

The press service of the ministry of transport, communications and information technologies said the Bulgarian Navy has been notified of the incident. A helicopter is ready to fly to the scene of the incident, if need be.

Tweeting from Fugitiveland

Thailand's ex-premier is on the run. And he wants the Twitterati to know about it.
BANGKOK, Thailand – To hear the Thailand’s ruling government tell it, Thaksin Shinawatra is the kingdom’s most meddlesome fugitive.

Since fleeing Thailand last year, the self-exiled, billionaire ex-premier has zig-zagged the globe while stirring anti-establishment supporters from afar. He has incessantly needled the ruling party through in-country proxies, sarcastic Tweet messages and Skype video calls, broadcast at political pep rallies that sometimes turn violent.

His sanctuaries have included Hong Kong, London, Liberia and Dubai. Each new hideout spurs new extradition threats from the government. But if Thaksin pulls off a recent promise to visit Cambodia — right in Thailand’s backyard — the government’s repeated promises to catch him may begin to appear hollow.

Many experts already suspect authorities prefer Thaksin as a fugitive rather than a prisoner.

“The best way to diminish Thaksin’s popularity is not to make him a martyr, but rather to allow him to make a fool of himself via Skype as often as he wishes,” said Federico Ferrara, assistant political science professor at the National University of Singapore.

Imprisoning Thaksin, he said, would be “highly destabilizing,” sparking huge rallies and endless requests for release.

Thaksin has repeatedly promised supporters he’ll someday come home to Thailand. This week, the Thai government was rankled by his plans to visit the neighborhood.

At an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit this week, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen went on the offense for Thaksin and publicly offered to build him a Cambodian home.

Moreover, he pondered hiring him as a political advisor and even compared him to Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and political prisoner in Burma. Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup after five years of rule, is also a “victim” of politics, Hun Sen said.

These slights were widely interpreted as payback for an ongoing Thai-Cambodia land ownership dispute that has riled fierce nationalism on both sides and occasionally turned bloody. Bitterness between the countries runs even deeper, dating back to alleged Thai government sympathies to communist Khmer Rogue leaders who led mass killings in Cambodia during the 1980s.

“I don’t want (Hun Sen) to be a victim or a pawn for somebody that undermines the interests of this country,” said Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at a press conference. “I’m sure that when he’s better informed, he’ll change his mind.”

But Thaksin now insists he’s Cambodia-bound. He even Tweeted his thanks to Hun Sen, who has assured the ex-premier that Cambodia will disregard extradition requests.

Actually extraditing and jailing Thaksin would surely enrage his supporters, a largely rural, working-class faction known as the “red shirts.” Many of them believe Thaksin was the first Thai politician to challenge old-money elites and fight on their behalf.

The powers behind the coup that toppled Thaksin in 2006, however, insist he is incorrigibly corrupt. Last year, courts sentenced him to two years in prison for using political power to secure a Bangkok land deal for his wife.

By keeping Thaksin on the run, he remains a “fugitive” that “helps the government portray the ‘red shirts’ as illegitimate by association,” said political professor Kevin Hewison, director of the Carolina Asia Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The government appears to crank up its Thaksin hunt each time his supporters become active, Hewison said.

Imprisoning Thaksin, he said, would just stir even more problems for the government. “He'd likely become an imprisoned symbol for opposition,” Hewison said. “Do they want that? No. He is less of a threat, and a declining star for the red shirt supporters, if he is at a distance.”

Authorities likely set the stage for Thaksin’s escape themselves, Ferrara said, by allowing the ex-premier to attend the 2008 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing. Thaksin was then on trial for fraud and a guilty verdict was widely assumed. Judges granted him leave, Ferrara said, expecting him to flee.

He has acquired up to six passports – secured from countries including Montenegro and Nicaragua, his political backers said – to traverse the globe and evade capture. Keeping up the appearance of a vigorous chase has helped the Thai government cement Thaksin’s “fugitive” image, Ferrara said.

“Thaksin can only be discredited as a ‘fugitive’ if someone is actually pursuing him,” he said.

“Otherwise he would be merely an ‘exiled politician,’ something that has a much more favorable connotation because it hints at the possibility that the government might either not have the goods on Thaksin or the stomach to lock him up.”