How India's Modi is seeking to charm US audiences

Once shunned by the US, India's PM Narendra Modi received a rock star welcome in New York's Madison Square Garden. Analyst Michael Kugelman talks to DW about how the premier is seeking to reshape India's image abroad.

Deutsche Welle, 29 Sep 2014

The Indian PM Narendra Modi appeared before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 18,500 people from the US and Canada - mostly of Indian origin - in Madison Square Garden, New York's famed sport arena. Modi came into the auditorium under a spotlight, leading many to compare the event to a political rally, with the audience wearing T-shirts bearing his picture and periodically chanting "Modi! Modi!"

Ahead of his first White House summit on September 29, Modi - speaking in Hindi from a rotating stage - vowed that he would build a strong and confident India, and fight corruption. He also touted India's promise as a tech giant, joking that it was no longer known as a nation of "snake charmers." A day before, in his debut at the United Nations, the Hindu nationalist had presented a worldview shaped by ancient tradition, promoting multilateralism as well as yoga.

Modi is currently on a five-day visit to the United States aimed at improving bilateral ties which have seen some irritants over the past years, including the revocation of Modi's visa after the 2002 Gujarat riots where some 1000 people - many of them Muslims - were killed, and, more recently, the spat over the arrest of an Indian diplomat in the US and India's refusal to sign a global trade deal.

Kugelman: 'Modi's visit has surprised many
 Americans - including the members of Congress
present at the Madison Square Garden event'

Michael Kugelman, South Asia analyst the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, says in a DW interview that the PM is using the US visit to send out the message that India is strong, ready to engage with the US, and that he has clearly moved on from the visa ban that aggrieved him for so many years. But despite the pageantry, there are many tricky issues which will have to be discussed and won't magically go away, he adds.

DW: How well has Narendra Modi been received in the US?

Michael Kugelman: The reaction to Modi has been nothing short of extraordinary. This is a leader who was effectively persona non grata in the US for nearly 10 years, and yet now he is speaking to huge and adoring crowds, and sharing stages with members of Congress and even the singer Jay-Z. It is a dramatic transformation. We should keep in mind, however, that most of these audiences are members of the Indian diaspora - a very large community that is a strategic source of support for Modi.

How has Modi been trying to charm American audiences and especially the Indian- American community?

I think he's trying to convince the diaspora that he is capable of righting the Indian ship, which has been slowly sinking in recent years - as evidenced above all by India's struggling economy, but also by unusually costly corruption scandals. Modi's message to this diaspora -which has voiced its anxieties about India's recent struggles - is that happy days are here again, and that he will make sure they stay happy for years on end.

But it hasn't just been rhetoric. Very significantly, Modi announced in his speech at Madison Square Garden in New York that he will implement a series of policies that make it much easier for Indian-Americans and Americans more generally to travel and visit India. If India's economy is to improve, it will need to facilitate foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, and FDI flows are dependent not only on flows of capital and goods, but also of people. These new announced policies will be very helpful in this regard.

Shortly before his arrival in the US, a federal court in New York summoned Modi to respond to a lawsuit accusing him of human rights abuses. How much has this cast a shadow over Modi's visit and what role does the issue of the 2002 Gujarat riots still play in bilateral ties?

A very small shadow at best, and at any rate an irrelevant shadow for Modi given that as prime minister, he will have immunity from any such legal challenges while he in the US. And yet the fact that this lawsuit will simply be shrugged off is another indication of how far Modi has come from pariah to celebrity in such a short time.

There have been a number of anti-Modi protests in New York - small in number yet still very much happening - and yet interestingly enough the Indian media, which is providing intense, minute-by-minute coverage of Modi's visit, has paid little attention to them.

There has also been a new revelation appearing in the Western press and circulated widely on social media that Modi allegedly refused to help a Muslim MP while he was surrounded by a Hindu mob and later killed. And yet, once again, this won't affect the PM's visit or the perception of him. In this regard, one must credit Modi's PR machine, which is operating on all cylinders throughout this visit and has resulted in very little critical accounts of him at all within the mainstream media.

What has been at the core of his message to American audiences?

The basic, fundamental message is that India is strong, and that India is ready to engage with Indian-Americans and the US more broadly.

What image is Modi presenting of himself while abroad?

A very similar message to the one he presents at home - that he is a tireless, determined, and patriotic leader who will do everything possible to get India back on track. He has also sought to project a softer side - perhaps to soften the perception that he is ultra-serious and stern and not afraid to upbraid his subordinates - by making jokes about his visa difficulties, calling for more focus on yoga, and even quoting lines from Star Wars.

In all of this, Modi is trying to do something very simple: Introduce himself to a general American public that really doesn't know him at all, given his inability to come to the US to engage with them for nearly 10 years.

How may this image and style help improve bilateral ties with the US, both politically and economically?

Kugelman: 'How this all translates to
 the official level is a much more open
question'

I think the visit has surprised many Americans - including the members of Congress present at the Madison Square Garden event - because it's not too often that a foreign leader, and particularly a brand new one, takes the country by storm by barnstorming the US' financial capital and being met by huge and adoring crowds. Since most Americans - other than Indian-Americans - probably knew very little about him, his visit likely impressed them as well.

How this all translates to the official level is a much more open question. US-India relations have certainly come a long way over the last few decades, but they have faced a raft of crises in recent months, and these won't be easy to overcome - even with the repository of goodwill for Modi now overflowing. Obama and Modi will need to discuss tricky and tension-filled issues - such as policies in each country that the other deems prohibitively protectionist - that won't magically go away.

What Modi's New York itinerary does show, however, is that he is ready to engage, and that he has clearly moved on from the visa ban that so aggrieved him for so many years. Forget all the pageantry and big crowds: The mere fact that he came to the US is a big achievement for the bilateral relationship. And it can also serve as a big confidence-building measure as Obama and Modi sit down to discuss some pretty serious issues.

Michael Kugelman is senior program associate for South and Southeast Asia at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, where he is responsible for research, programming, and publications on South and Southeast Asia.

Russia, West unite against 'Islamic State' terrorists

Even though Russia isn't a member of the US-led coalition against the "Islamic State," Moscow and Washington have become de facto allies. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has accused Washington of double standards in Syria.

Deutsche Welle, 28 Sep 2014

At first glance, everything is as it was before. Russian state TV never misses an opportunity to denounce the West. On Thursday evening, a news anchor gleefully quoted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York: The growing strength of the "Islamic State" ("IS") is the result of the West's "strategic blunders."

Though that wasn't the only verbal taunt. "It seemed strange to me that the US president said several times that the world has become freer and more secure," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov scoffed a day earlier, commenting on Barack Obama's appearance at the UN General Assembly. The Russian diplomat said he couldn't even understand whether that was a serious statement.

Lavrov was indignant that Obama had listed Russia, directly behind Ebola and before Islamist terrorism, as the number two threat to world peace on account of its actions in Ukraine in violation of international law.

Lavrov criticized the United States for
calling his country a threat to world peace

Russian fighter jets for Iraq

The situation in Ukraine continues to strain relations between Russia and the West. But the fight against the "Islamic State" in the Middle East has brought Moscow and the West as close together as they have been for months. Russia voted together with other members of the UN Security Council for the US-introduced resolution against Islamist terror militias. All nations will be required to stop all aid to extremists.

Moscow has also expressed itself as being neutral to the US-led coalition against the "IS"; the Kremlin doesn't wish to belong. "The anti-'IS' coalition is not a party, we do not expect any invitations and we are not going to buy entry tickets," a representative of Russia's Foreign Ministry told the news agency Interfax. He emphasized, however, that Russia is already supporting the countries fighting against "IS."

That support is primarily taking the form of military aid for Iraq. According to media reports, Russia has delivered a dozen Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets and an undisclosed number of Mi-28 military helicopters to the government in Baghdad. In July, Moscow and Baghdad signed another billion-dollar contract to deliver numerous Grad rocket launchers, Howitzers and other weapons.

"Without any coalition help we have long supported Iraq, Syria and other countries in the region in the fight against this evil," said Lavrov, referring to the "IS."

Moscow's Syria concerns

The US-led coalition has initiated
airstrikes in Syria and Iraq

While Russia and the West are, in a sense, coordinating, Syria remains a source of tension. Moscow recently criticized the recent US and coalition airstrikes against "IS" positions in Syria, insisting that these can only be carried out with the consent of the government in Damascus. The US has rejected these claims, with Washington denying the legitimacy of President Bashar al-Assad's regime on account of its actions against the Syrian opposition.

Syria has been a close Russian ally since the Soviet years. Since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, Russia has held a protective hand over Assad's regime and has often prevented sharp resolutions in the UN Security Council.

About a year ago, Moscow convinced Syria to destroy its chemical weapons. In doing so, Russia prevented US airstrikes against Syrian troops. Now Moscow is worried that the US could bomb not only the "Islamic State," but Assad's regular army as well.

Moscow is accusing Washington of double standards in Syria and believes its policy toward Damascus has been proven correct. "When we called for aid to support the Syrian government in the fight against terrorists, nobody listened to us," said Lavrov.

The "Islamic State" recently threatened Russia, calling for the liberation
of the Russian-controlled northern Caucasus

'IS' threatens Putin's Russia

Russia's indirect support for the fight against the "IS" is probably to protect itself. A few weeks ago, "IS" militias threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin in an Internet video, saying that the Russian north Caucasus should be "liberated."

"The threats of terror attacks in the Caucasus should be taken seriously," said Mikhail Margelov, head of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament.

Security experts estimate that there are Russian fighters in Syria, in addition to "IS" activists at home in Russia; exact figures are hard to come by. At the beginning of September, an alleged "IS" member was arrested in Moscow, and in Russian social networks, websites supporting the "IS" are repeatedly shut down.

Will ET Be Here Soon? NASA Brings Scientists, Theologians Together To Prepare

Huffington Post, Lee Speigel, 09/22/2014

Looking for extraterrestrial life is akin to a search for a cosmic needle-in-a-haystack, as evidenced by the above incredible Hubble Space Telescope image showing approximately 10,000 galaxies.

In large part, thanks to NASA's Kepler spacecraft, more than 1,400 planets have been identified beyond Earth.

A few days ago, NASA tried closing the gap between life on Earth and the possibilities of life elsewhere. The space agency and the Library of Congress (image below left) brought together scientists, historians, philosophers and theologians from around the world for a two-day symposium, "Preparing For Discovery." Their agenda: To explore how we prepare for the inevitable discovery of extraterrestrial life, be it simple microbial organisms or intelligent beings.

"We're looking at all scenarios about finding life. If you find microbes, that's one thing. If you find intelligence, it's another. And if they communicate, it's something else, and depending on what they say, it's something else!" said astronomer, symposium organizer and former chief NASA historian, Steven J. Dick.

"The idea is not to wait until we make a discovery, but to try and prepare the public for what the implications might be when such a discovery is made," Dick told The Huffington Post. "I think the reason that NASA is backing this is because of all the recent activity in the discovery of exoplanets and the advances in astrobiology in general.

"People just consider it much more likely now that we're going to find something -- probably microbes first and maybe intelligence later," he added. "The driving force behind this is from a scientific point of view that it seems much more likely now that we are going to find life at some point in the future."

Among the many speakers at last week's astrobiology symposium, one has raised a few international eyebrows in recent years.

"I believe [alien life exists], but I have no evidence. I would be really excited and it would make my understanding of my religion deeper and richer in ways that I can't even predict yet, which is why it would be so exciting," Brother Guy Consolmagno, a Jesuit brother, astronomer and Vatican planetary scientist told HuffPost senior science editor David Freeman.

Consolmagno has publicly stated his belief that "any entity -- no matter how many tentacles it has -- has a soul," and he's suggested that he would be happy to baptize any ETs, as long as they requested it.

"There has to be freedom to do science. Being a good scientist means admitting we never have the whole truth -- there's always more to learn." Consolmagno also doesn't think the public would panic when or if it's revealed that alien life has been found.

"I really think it would be a three-day wonder and then we'd go back to worrying about reality TV or the crazy things going on in Washington -- that's the way human beings are. Because I think most people are like me: we expect it's out there. And our reaction would be, 'Wow, thank heavens. It's about time."

Earth is no longer the center of the universe, nor is it flat -- at least that's the currently accepted thinking among most scientists. And we now know, conclusively, that there are a lot more planets than the ones in our own solar system.

"The number of habitable worlds in our galaxy is certainly in the tens of billions, minimum, and we haven't even talked about the moons. And the number of galaxies we can see, other than our own, is about 100 billion," Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at California's SETI Institute told HuffPost.

Watch this video zooming and panning through the night sky to show 10,000 galaxies photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope.

At the NASA/Library of Congress symposium, Shostak gave out some startling numbers about how many stars there are in the part of the universe that we can see. "It's a big number: 10,000 billion, billion. And we know that most of those stars have planets -- 70 or 80 percent. If all of those planets are sterile, and you're the only interesting thing happening in the cosmos, then you are a miracle. That would be exceptional in the extreme. So, the middle-of-the-road approach is to say, 'You're not a miracle, you're just another duck in a row of ducks.'"

"The bottom line of this," Shostak said, "is something like one in five of all stars may have an analog to Earth. That's a lot of habitable worlds, and, indeed, the number of Earths in our own galaxy might be on the order of 50 billion."

Those are big numbers to ponder.

The D.C. conference included a great deal of discussion about the upcoming mission of the Hubble's long-anticipated successor: the James Webb Space Telescope. As large as a tennis court, this deep space observatory is scheduled for a 2018 launch and will orbit beyond our moon. The Webb telescope will focus on new planetary discoveries and collect data from the atmospheres of those planets, looking for certain things that might point to what we would consider possible indicators of life.

HuffPost asked Dick, an astrobiologist, for his opinion on the continuing output of UFO reports around the world.

"I try to keep an open mind on this. Ninety-some percent can be explained by natural phenomena, etc. The question is what to do with the other 3 or 4 percent," Dick said. "My opinion is that they should be studied further, on the one hand. By definition, they're something that we don't know what they are. They could be some physical, psychological or social phenomena that we don't know about. But I think it's jumping to a conclusion that they're extraterrestrial. I don't see that evidence.

"I haven't looked at the evidence close enough to say that there's intelligence behind it. But I've seen enough to know that there are unexplained things that we should look at more, and right now, the U.S. government is not doing that."

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China looks to quantum mechanics to protect secrets from US hackers

"FUTURE AND PHYSICS (#)" - May 16-17, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) -

(#) New major Discoveries (This channel will become a historical channel in the future, prove that Kryon is a real communication to humanity from the Creative Source) - (Text version Physics)

1 To see and measure multi-dimensional/quantum physics, instrument (super cooling quantum plasma lens)

2 Two more laws of multi-dimensional physics revealed: explanation of dark matter & acknowledgement of free energy (controlling mass)

3 God in the atom. God has - provable - part in physics. Intelligent/benevolent design. (Will bring religion and science together.)

4 Human Consciousness is an attribute of physics. (Pleiadians - Humans ancestors / Humans free choice only planet in the Milky Way Galaxy. Other galaxies have their own spiritual systems and physics)

5.Coherent DNA. Multidimensional DNA coherent between dimensions will give Enhanced DNA

"Earth, the only planet with free choice in the Milky Way Galaxy"

"The Big Picture - You Are Not Alone" - (a message from Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)

"The Quantum Factor" – Apr 10, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Galaxies, Universe, Intelligent design, Benevolent design, Aliens, Nikola Tesla (Quantum energy), Inter-Planetary Travel, DNA, Genes, Stem Cells, Cells, Rejuvenation, Shift of Human Consciousness, Spontaneous Remission, Religion, Dictators, Africa, China, Nuclear Power, Sustainable Development, Animals, Global Unity.. etc.) - (Text Version)


"Recalibration of the Universe"– Jan 25, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text Version)

“… The entire galaxy revolves as one plate, in a very counter-intuitive way. The stars and the constellations do not orbit within the rules of Newtonian physics that you are used to seeing all around you in your own solar system. For the stars and clusters in your galaxy, distance from the center does not matter. All the stars rotate as one. This is because the galaxy is entangled with the middle of itself. In that state, there is no time or distance. The change of consciousness on this planet has changed the center of the galaxy. This is because what happens here, dear one, is "known" by the center.

It's interesting to us what your reaction to all this is scientifically. You saw that the "creative event" of your Universe is missing some energy in order for it to have formed as it did. In addition, the unusual way the galaxy rotates, as I just stated, was also noted. So you have calculated that for all this to be in place, there has to be missing 3D matter, and you have given it a name - dark matter. How funny! Did you ever think that there could be a multidimensional effect going on that you now can observe and calculate - that has immense power, but can't be seen? It's not "matter" at all and it's not 3D. It's quantum energy.

Let me tell you something about physics. Yet again, I'll make it simple. Everything your scientists have seen in physics happens in pairs. At the moment, there are four laws of physics in your three-dimensional paradigm. They represent two pairs of energy types. Eventually, there will be six. At the center of your galaxy is what you call a black hole, but it is not a single thing. It is a duality. There is no such thing as "singularity". You might say it's one energy with two parts - a weak and a strong quantum force. And the strangest thing is it knows who you are. It is the creator engine. It's different in other galaxies than this one. It's unique.

The very physics of your galaxy is postured by what you do here. The astronomers can look into the cosmos and they will discover different physics in different galaxies. Could it be that there's something going on in the other galaxies like this one? I'm not going to answer that. … “

Germany tops asylum claims for first time in 15 years

The number of people seeking asylum in industrialized nations has risen by almost 25 percent in just one year, driven largely by wars in Syria and Iraq. Germany has received the most claims.

Deutsche Welle, 25 Sep 2014

The UN refugee agency said on Friday more people than ever are seeking asylum in wealthy countries, largely because of war and instability in Syria, Iraq and other global hotspots.

In the first half of this year, around 330,700 people requested refugee status in industrialized nations - a 24 percent increase on the same period in 2013.

Germany topped the list of new asylum claims for the first time since 1999, with 65,700 applications - mainly due to a rise in applications from Syrians. That figure was a 50 percent rise on January to June 2013 numbers.

Five nations received almost two-thirds of new asylum claims - Germany, the United States, France, Sweden and Turkey.

20-year high

The overall number for 2014 could top 700,000, "the highest total for industrialized countries in 20 years and not seen since the 1990s conflict in former Yugoslavia," the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.

"We are clearly into an era of growing conflict," said UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres.

"The international community needs to prepare their populations for the reality that in the absence of solutions to conflict, more and more people are going to need refuge and care in the coming months and years," said Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal.

The EU's 28 member states registered 216,300 claims in the first half of 2014 - a 23 percent increase compared to last year. Italy, a frequent destination of people escaping conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, had almost as many claims in January to June 2014 as all of 2013.

But many fail to reach Italy safely, with nearly 3,000 people dying in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean this year.

Syria main country of origin, Australia criticized

Claims emerging from Syrians more than doubled in the first half of 2014, to 48,400. That was followed by Iraq, with 21,300 applications, and Afghanistan's 19,300 claims.

The number of asylum seekers in Australia fell by one-fifth, to 4,600. Australia has been the target of UNHCR criticism over the past decade for sending refugees arriving by boat to Pacific islands while their claims are assessed.

In a separate statement on Friday, the UNHCR slammed Australia for a controversial new deal, under which Canberra will start sending refugees to Cambodia.

jr/kms (Reuters, AFP)

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Big four accountants under fire in Holland for poor audit work

DutchNews.nl, Thursday 25 September 2014

(NOS/ANP)

Finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has pledged to get tough on the big four accountancy firms after a damning report from the financial services regulator.

The AFM said on Thursday that all four firms - KPMG, Deloitte, PwC and EY - have done little to improve the quality of their annual report audits since the last inspection in 2010.

The problems are structural and require 'fundamental reforms and a cultural shift,' the AFM said.

In a reaction, Dijsselbloem said 'the checks which accountants are required to carry out by law should be above reproach... It is unacceptable that the quality is not up to standard.'

Measures

In an effort to force the firms to improve, the AFM is planning a series of reforms. Accountancy groups will be required by law to have a supervisory board. Senior officials will have to be vetted by the AFM and the supervision of semi-public bodies such as hospitals and housing corporations will be stepped up.

According to the NRC, KPMG is the worst performer of the big four in the Netherlands. Of the 10 audits which the AFM looked at, seven were branded 'insufficient' - which means the books were signed off without the accountant being certain they were accurate.

Four out of 10 PwC and Deloitte audits failed to make the grade as did three carried out by EY.

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International arms trade treaty gains momentum

As the 50th country is expected to ratify the international arms trade treaty, the treaty will finally enter into force 90 days later. Amnesty International's Rasha Abul-Rahim explains the treaty's global significance.

Deutsche Welle, 25 Sep 2014

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is the first-ever United Nations treaty that regulates the international arms trade. It's aimed at halting the flow of weapons to countries that are known to use them to commit or facilitate serious human rights abuses.

Along with other groups, Amnesty International has been campaigning for this treaty for more than two decades.

DW: What exactly does this arms trade treaty regulate, and who will control whether arms trading will happen according to the treaty?

Rasha Abdul-Rahim: The treaty regulates a series of conventional weapons that include things like small arms and light weapons, ammunition, explosives, bombs, missiles, tanks, military vehicles, military aircraft, naval ships, et cetera. Under the terms of the treaty, the onus is on the governments to control these weapons and to assess the risk that transferring the arms, the ammunition or the components to another country could be used for serious human rights violations or violations of international humanitarian law.

The treaty asks states to establish and maintain effective national control systems to control the export, the import, the transit of arms. States are also asked to maintain a national control list which they share with other states that are party to the treaty. On the other part of the treaty, states are actually obliged to report annually on their arms exports.

Abdul-Rahim says the treaty will
be a giant leap forward

For Amnesty International, the most important provision of the treaty is the one to do with human rights. There's a prohibition that states are not allowed to transfer arms if they will be used for serious crimes, like war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the like. The second part is more of a risk assessment - the states have to conduct a risk assessment to assess whether there's a substantial risk that the arms they're transferring to another country could be used for serious human rights abuses.

When we look at the current situation in Iraq, where there's talk about supplying Kurdish fighters with weapons, how can it be ensured that such arms are not used to commit human rights violations?

Amnesty International is calling for a more preventive approach and strict safeguards to mitigate and remove the substantial risk of arms being used. So before there's any chance that military equipment is authorized, we're asking governments to use concrete, enforceable, transparent and verifiable mechanisms to make sure that the military equipment being supplied isn't likely to be misused, or diverted and then misused. That's really to prevent the people on the ground and prevent serious human rights violations from occurring.

That sounds very theoretical, given that many countries have not signed or will certainly not ratify this agreement, like for instance Syria. Won't arms and equipment continue to be sold to these countries, whether legally or illegally?

To tackle the illicit trade, we first need to control the legal and legitimate trade - most of the weapons that end up in the illegal trade start in the authorized trade. To reduce the risk of diversion for unauthorized uses, and to minimize the risk of loopholes and weaknesses being exploited by unscrupulous arms dealers, we need a global treaty like an arms trade treaty with strong human rights protections and we need that treaty to be effectively implemented.

What difference will it make for people on the ground - who are now victims of conflict - that this treaty will now come into effect this December?

If the treaty is implemented effectively, it could help stop irresponsible arms flows from fueling serious violations that we're seeing in places like Syria and Iraq. It's about making a real difference to people's lives by stopping arms from going to places where they're used for atrocities.

No one is saying the treaty is a panacea. But if it's effectively and robustly implemented, it'll be a giant leap forward in making sure there's greater protection for the hundreds of millions of people whose lives and livelihoods are affected by this.

Of course, we want more states to ratify and effectively implement the ATT, but there's already real international momentum building behind this. It's important, obviously, that the world's largest arms-exporting countries are part of the treaty. But it's also important to stress that over half of all [the world's] states have already signed the ATT, and over a quarter have ratified it in a little over a year - which is really a fast pace for such a global treaty.

So if civil society keeps pushing, the most skeptical states will join the treaty eventually. Five of the top ten arms-exporting states have already ratified the treaty - including the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

What about the United States?

We're often [told], well the US will never ratify. That may be the case, because there's a huge pro-gun lobby inside the US. But, for example, in January 2014, the US issued a new policy directive on conventional arms sales, and that was the first one since the mid-90s. Basically the directive pledges not to export arms where there's a likelihood that the weapons transferred will be likely to be used for genocide or other atrocities, or will be used to violate human rights law or international humanitarian law. This is a positive development and an indication that the US could ratify in the future.

If you look at the mine ban convention that came into force in 1999 - the US had not signed it. But in June 2014, the Obama administration announced the US would no longer produce anti-personnel landmines, or acquire new ones. The US also said it was diligently pursuing other policies that would allow it to agree to the landmine treaty. This is more than 15 years after the treaty came into force. Just the other day (22.09.2014), the US pledged to destroy existing stockpiles of anti-personnel landmines outside the Korean Peninsula. So the arms trade treaty will have an effect, even if it takes a long time.

Rasha Abdul-Rahim is an expert on arms control, security, trade and human rights with Amnesty International in London.

UN Security Council OKs resolution to fight extremism

In an effort to curb the rise of extremism, the UN Security Council has voted unanimously to work together. Member states must now impose restrictions that "prevent and suppress" groups such as the "Islamic State."

Deutsche Welle, 24 Sep 2014

"This is only the sixth time the Security Council has met at level like this," US President Barack Obama told the 15-member body on Wednesday in a special session.

Just minutes before, the members had passed a binding resolution in a unanimous vote. The 193 nations of the UN are now obligated to hinder the spread of extremism, a decision prompted by the sudden emergence of "Islamic State" (IS) fighters in Syria and Iraq.

Roughly 15,000 foreign fighters originating from 80 nations are believed to have traveled to Syria in recent years, according to the US president.

Calling it a "historic decision," Obama reminded Security Council representatives that legal action - including banning the recruitment of foreign fighters and preventing extremists from traveling abroad to fight alongside terrorist groups - was only the first step.

"[The] resolution will not be enough. Promises on paper cannot keep us safe. Lofty rhetoric and good intentions will not stop a single terrorist attack. The words spoken here today must be matched and translated into action, into deeds ... for years to come," he said.

The US president had addressed the UN General Assembly earlier in the day, where he, along with other foreign leaders appealed for the international community to combat IS and allied militants before it was too late.

kms/mkg (AP, Reuters)

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Xi urges respect for other cultures

English.news.cn, Editor: An, 2014-09-24

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses an international seminar to mark the 2,565th
 anniversary of the birth of Confucius, which is concurrent with the Fifth Congress of the
 International Confucian Association (ICA), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing,
capital of China, Sept. 24, 2014. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on every country to respect and learn from the culture of others.

"Culture is the soul of a nation," Xi said at the opening of an international meeting on ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius.

"If a country or a nation does not cherish its own thinking and culture, if they lose their soul, no matter which country or which nation, it will not be able to stand," he said.

Xi delivered a key-note speech at the International Conference in Commemorating the 2565th Anniversary of Confucius' birth and the fifth Congress of the International Confucian Association, which opened on Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing.

Countries must value and maintain their own thinking and culture, while recognizing and respecting others', Xi said.

Individual modes of thought are special in their different ways and there is no culture or thinking that is superior to others, according to the president.

Irrespective of their size and strength, all countries' thinking and cultures deserve to be recognized and respected, he said.

Xi stressed that to recognize and respect a country's own culture does not mean to close the door to others, neither does it mean to stand upon a principle of superiority.

"All countries and nations should learn and draw on the strength and quintessence of others' culture. This is an important condition to encourage dignity, confidence and strength of our own culture," the president urged.

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version) 

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."

"... Conclusion

This is the message of the day. The recalibration of awareness is going to change systems, education, government and finance. Those who don't choose to be spiritual at all will still move with a new awareness, for they will be aware of something that they are not aware of now - a softer way of living.

We close with a trite statement that we've given before, but that many have stated in jest: "If women ran the world, they would never send their sons to be killed on a battlefield."

Many laugh. How trite, how simple minded. Indeed, there have been women leaders who have put wars together; they had to. They sent their sons, so that's not really a correct statement. However, it's more right than you may think, dear ones.

So now I will make the statement I have made over and over in these recalibrated channellings: "When recalibrated Humans run the world, there will come a day when they will never send their sons into the battlefield." You see, awareness will change all of that. They will eventually see the wisdom of unification, new ways to settle issues, and the intuitive attribute of putting things together instead of tearing them apart.

There will be a time when government armies will not need to be large, and weapons will not be as powerful. Slowly, government won't need them. Slowly, slower than you want, these things will happen as the old soul carries his light and looks at the masters of the planet and emulates them.

You've all heard it: There will come a time when the masters will come back to Earth, and there are many who are waiting for this. However, it has already happened! They couldn't come back until the alignment was right and now it is right. This is what you are feeling in 2012 and beyond. It's starting to happen, and they're back. But they're not back as corporeal Human Beings. They're back as the energy of recalibrating of the awareness of God.

I wouldn't say these things unless they were true. Watch for these things, dear ones. Remember where you heard them first and when some of them start to occur in your news. And when you see the earth working in this fashion, dear one, maybe you'll realize that what I have given today is real.

Be circumspect. There is no perfect timing. Humans will create all this at their own pace. Do not be in fear of the things that might follow, for I say it yet again that the old energy will show itself soon in survival mode and it won't be pretty.

In this beginning of new energy, stand tall and turn on your light. Darkness will shirk before you. That is the truth of the day. ...”