Hitler's 'destructive' wartime phone up for auction

Yahoo – AFP, February 17, 2017

This undated image obtained from Alexander Historical Auctions shows a
 phone belonging to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler which will be auctioned by
Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City, Maryland, on February 19,
2017 (AFP Photo/HO)

Washington (AFP) - Adolf Hitler's personal telephone, which the Fuehrer used to dictate many of his deadly World War II commands, will hit the auction block this weekend, the US house selling it announced.

Originally a black Bakelite phone that was later painted crimson and engraved with Hitler's name, the relic was found in the Nazi leader's Berlin bunker in 1945 following the regime's defeat.

Auction house Alexander Historical Auctions estimates its worth between $200,000 and $300,000.

On Sunday, the company, located in the eastern US coastal state of Maryland, will auction off more than a thousand items -- including the Siemens rotary telephone embossed with a swastika and the eagle symbolic of the Third Reich.

Alexander House dubbed the phone -- which Hitler received from the Wehrmacht, Nazi Germany's armed forces -- as "arguably the most destructive 'weapon' of all time, which sent millions to their deaths."

It said Hitler used it to give most of his orders during the last two years of World War II.

Russian officers gifted the device to British Brigadier Sir Ralph Rayner during a tour of the bunker shortly after Germany's surrender.

Rayner's son inherited the phone and is selling it, its paint now peeling to reveal its original synthetic black resin surface.

Andreas Kornfeld of Alexander House told AFP estimates are set based on a number of factors, including "rarity and uniqueness," with the expectation that sale prices will exceed opening bids.

"It would be impossible to find a more impactful relic than the primary tool used by the most evil man in history," the auction house said in a statement. "This was not a staid office telephone."

"This was Hitler's mobile device of destruction."

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"Wild Cards" (3) - Nov 19 - 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)- (Text version)

Kryon.com, November 19, 2016

This live channelling was given in Wilmington, North Carolina

Lee Carroll

To help the reader, this channelling has been revisited [by Lee and Kryon] to provide even clearer understanding. Sometime information is even added or condensed. Often what happens live has implied energy within it, which carries a kind of communication that the printed page does not. So enjoy this enhanced message given in Wilmington, NC.

Greetings, dear ones, I am Kryon of Magnetic Service.

Today I want to talk about wild cards. I wish to help explain what or who they’ve been over time, but in order for this explanation to be understood and accepted and beautiful to your soul, you’re going to have to do some pretending.

Adjusting Your Attitude

If you were a scientist coming from another planet to observe Human history, you would need to do it without emotion or bias. I can tell the story about wild cards, both for your grandfathers and for you, but there is often emotion and bias involved. Because of this, I will say one thing, and you may hear another. Dear ones, it can’t be that way for you to understand this message.

Warning: What comes next has to be disengaged from what you think you know, or from the emotions of who you think you are, what you think has happened, or even from what you feel is historical. Remember, in his pretending scenario, you’re aliens coming from another planet to learn what has happened. You’re pretending so you will disengage. Pretend history will be told to you about a race you’re not part of. This is so you will have no attachment to anything as you listen. This is the only way you will understand this lesson today. It is the only way you will begin to understand the beauty of a spiritual system that pushes you when you need to be pushed.

Wild Cards Examined

Wild card, as used in spiritual language, is a term that is difficult to define. Wild cards can be events, they can be inventions, they can involve one Human or a few. They can be one of many things or many of one thing, but they follow a timeline that you can look at. We want to talk about some of the wild cards that you’ve had in the past, and some attributes of their occurrence that you might not have thought of.

The basic attribute of any kind of wild card is that it’s a surprise event. It’s often shocking, sometimes revealing, but always a surprise. We’re also going to do some of the numerology as we go, and also take a look at the energies that help define what the energy is around specific wild cards.

Numerology is an ancient system that helps define an energy around something. For instance, an event may seem to be one thing, but the numerology will tell a story around it that may be more explanatory. When you see what we will call synchronized numerology – the same numbers repeated around a wild card – it’s very telling, for there are no accidents.

Dear Kryon, you might ask, “Does spirit create wild cards for the planet?” Answer: No, you do. Your consciousness at a certain point in time gives an allowance for a wild card. Sprit is ready to enhance some wild card scenarios and not others. But the energy and consciousness of humanity allows for their occurrence.

A wild card can be a person, an invention, a thing, an event, a new system or a new paradigm that changes the planet. It is unexpected, sometimes startling and often dramatic in its influence. If it’s an invention, it has to be outside of the purview of what would normally have occurred through the evolution of science or the timing of expected scientific evolution. It is often a paradigm shifter, and it’s usually from one person. When you see that, you will know there it’s a wild card. It isn’t always an individual invention, and sometimes it’s collective. But, dear one, you can tell because every single wild card takes everybody by surprise.

Wild Cards in History

You’ve had a number of them, and I’ll list a few so you get the idea. You’ll also get to see a system of singularity that comes to inventors. You’ll see this as I go.

Tesla was a wild card. His ideas were unexpected, controversial and advanced to a degree that even to this day those in electronic engineering shake their heads. They will take a look at what he invented and will comment, “How is it possible for any one person to have seen that? If you study alternating current, it’s a conundrum. Phase relationships of alternating current are brilliant beyond brilliant.” This was Tesla.

However, what you know about him is only what he brought to you. Now, a brilliant mind like that would have other things, don’t you think? Indeed, he did, so you might ask, “Well, where are those other things?” The answer is that those other things were stopped cold – all of them. He only was able to promote the one thing that you needed for the planet. The brilliance of his mind had many other profound ideas, but he was unable to proceed. He saw ways to alter mass in his workshops, but couldn’t. He was frustrated that he didn’t have the elaborate tools to be precise enough to make it work on a regular basis. That’s just one. Transmission of electricity without wires through the ground was the other. However, it would not have been correct at the time for those things to have been presented to humanity. You weren’t ready, but you were ready for alternating current, one of the most needed inventions for the time. Tesla died frustrated, poor, in a small room and alone. He came to do one thing, and was stopped from anything else, then he passed. If you have analyzed the people who were wild cards in your history, there is a pattern.

Other wild card inventors have come into the planet just because the earth was ready for a specific invention. Remember, Spirit does not give the information, but allows for it to be released, often all at once, all over the earth. Let me give you some examples.

Another wild card is the Wright brothers. Isn’t it odd to you that it wasn’t that long ago that you got powered flight? It was just yesterday! Some of your relatives were alive when flight was discovered! Dear ones, the Chinese have been flying kites for thousands of years. Don’t you think that they knew the dynamics of a bird? Do you think that century after century after century occurred and nobody figured out how to sustain flight with any kind of power source? Two bicycle makers figured it out!

That’s odd enough, but the fact that they only beat the French by two weeks is something worth looking at. That’s odd! It’s almost like this profound invention was ready to be given to the planet simultaneously, all over the earth, at the same time. Whoever got to it first would be the ones who got the credit. The real oddity is the timing. It’s not logical that it was so hidden, then suddenly so many were working on it all at once.

The Wright brothers were here to show it to you, then stop. All they did was what you saw at Kitty Hawk. They never went past basic wing warping, and did not have first intuitive thought about ailerons, or the basics of flight control today. For them, it stopped there. Dear ones, there was great frustration, and perhaps even health issues from it, from having others take the basics and develop flight so fast beyond them. Dysfunction and sorrow followed them both, and they died without ever being able to participate fully beyond the initial invention. One died far earlier than the other, creating sorrow for the one left behind. They came to do what they did and move on. This is more common than you know with wild cards, especially when it comes to inventions that change this planet.

Who invented the radio? Was is the Italian Guglielmo Marconi, or our frustrated wild card Tesla? Marconi got the credit, but the invention was everywhere, ready to be claimed. The earth was ripe and ready for it, and it was delivered to the consciousness of the planet at the right time. But both men got it at the same time, apart from each other. I’m giving you things to think about.

We have told you that there are wild card inventions coming in the future. One in particular is ready, but you will not receive it until the time is right. It’s almost like there’s a thinking ceiling on what you can do. We even gave you some of the attributes of the coming invention, but not the one who will bring it. We’re not even concerned that you’ll do it in advance, because we know the wild card is coming. An invention is coming. It is an invention that will rewrite physics as you know it. You’d see the patterns in quantum fields, and there would be the big aha! It would be like reinventing the wheel.

“Kryon, why can’t we have it now? What’s stopping it?” We told you, it’s too easy to weaponize. When you reach the point where you won’t weaponize it, it’s yours. All this is coming. It’s natural, and it will come when it’s time just like the Wright brothers, just like Tesla, just like Einstein.

Einstein was a genuine wild card. He was not a quantum thinker at all, but what he presented is still alive and well today and they’re still looking inside the atom for the concepts he gave you. So I will make this statement: Einstein isn’t finished yet, because the very concepts that continue to be received from his work are going to be applied to the invention of the century. So the Einsteinean principles, even though they are not quantum, will be very much involved in what is coming. You might say he was a wild card and continues to be one. The joke is that his concepts last and last, outside of time, yet his main ideas were with time. If you asked Einstein if he was happy with what he brought to the planet, he would tell you no. He was frustrated that he didn’t get to do what he really wanted. Like Tesla, he felt that something was just “out of reach” and he didn’t get to do it.

Then there was World War II. Dear ones, pretend you are an alien scientist. Disengage your emotion. You’ve come in from another planet to look at this.

World War II (WWII) was not a wild card, but the man who created and enhanced it was. This planet was teetering on the edge of ultimate dark energy and destruction. Nobody expected it. The most despicable old energy card played itself out exactly as it should have, with the consciousness of this planet going to where it had brought itself. You had just finished World War I (WWI), yet WWII ignited and continued. So WWII was simply an extension of WWI. You did it again, only this time the weapons were getting bigger and more able to destroy all of humanity. Remember the prophecy of your scripture? You were headed for mass destruction. WWII would become World War III, and by the year 2000, you would be almost gone.

As I mentioned, WWII wasn’t the wild card, rather it was the man who led the lowest consciousness in recent history who was. He was the wild card, and you know of whom I speak. This wild card killed millions of people who were not even participants in the military portion of the war. Genocide had begun, a race war had begun, and many were following his lead. It showed the darkest side of humanity – more than you had ever seen before, and it almost targeted the demise of civilization if he had won.

It was a horror wild card, and the planet had created it. However, when it was over, the entire world took a breath and for a moment, just for a moment, there was a glimmer of realization: “This cannot go on, for we will do it again.” Many things took place due to this realization. Without the wild card, you would not have the European Union, you would not have the United Nations or any attempt at unity on Earth. Disengage from your logic and emotion, dear ones. These things were not created from Spirit, but rather from the depth of lower humanity. This is the dark side at its worst, showing itself with almost free reign, but the world objected to it and started to climb out of it. It was the beginning over half a century ago of what you’re starting to see now in the shift.

The amazing shift that you’re in right now is something that goes slow. It didn’t happen all at once. The Cold War was a natural occurrence out of the consciousness that was part of the end of WWII. But, dear ones, you could never have the shift if that Cold War had continued the way it was. Enter another wild card: The Soviet system fell over.

The Cold War could not continue, and it was stopped in the form it was in. Dear ones, for those reading now, that was one of the biggest wild cards of all. The consciousness of earth said “no” and it ended. That was a huge wild card. It changed everything; it wasn’t expected; nobody saw it coming, and it changed everything. It may not have changed things immediately to the way you want it right away, but it created that which you needed at that time.

Then there was Steve Jobs. He was a wild card. What he did had little to do with technology, for that would have happened anyway soon enough. Instead, it had to do with the paradigm of the business of music on Earth. He freed it, and the paradigm of how music is obtained and heard will never be the same. However, Steve Jobs did basically one thing for all of you, and then he died. Do you see any kind of connecting of the dots to some of the inventors who come and give you the one thing, then leave? If he had lived, would there be more? Yes, but you’re not ready for it. Consciousness has to support what happens.

Yes, it would seem we have left some things out – the invention of DNA, the atomic bomb, etc. However, these were not wild cards. These are your civilization, within a normal evolution of science. Wild cards are very unexpected things, and there are more coming your way.

The Wild Card of 2016

Remember: No emotion now. You have come from another planet and you’re looking at the end of 2016 – and there is the election. Understand without bias.

So for 2016, let’s do the numerology. You add the numbers and get nine. Nine is completion in simple numerology, and when you see a nine it often means the completion of something. Often it is of a time cycle, an energy or the completion of a paradigm. But it’s very strong.

The nines are stronger than many of the other numerological aspects and you feel them. The president-elect (at this writing) is a strong wild card. He is scheduled to become the 45th president. What a coincidence! Forty-five is a nine. A nine and a nine together are more than significant. They tell a story about what is happening. I will tell you something else. This story is not finished yet and there is more coming. You don’t know what you don’t know, so don’t make up your mind in advance about any outcomes. You’re from another planet, remember? There’s no emotion, no bias, no politics and nothing to judge. Look at it for what it is.

A big stick has just been inserted into what is normal and it’s going to be turned. As the big stick turns, other things will respond that never would have responded otherwise. I wish to tell you, dear one, old soul, relax with upcoming wild cards. They do what they do on purpose so that you will have a better civilization in the future. Sometimes they show you what won’t work, and sometimes they change paradigms that would have never changed otherwise. But what you have now is a profound wild card. That is the message.

It’s so common for you to respond certain ways when you are invested in the process. The knee-jerk reaction is expected or you wouldn’t be a Human. However, for this lesson, you’re from another planet and you’re looking down and you’re seeing it. Pretend.

Isn’t that interesting about a nine and a nine together? It means that truly the end of something is here. Perhaps it’s the end of the old way things were done? Perhaps it’s a shake-up of the system so it can correct itself? Don’t dare make up your mind where it’s going, because it’s not finished yet. However, wait a moment. Did you also realize that 2017 is a “one” year? Not only is the energy one of completion with a double nine, but it moves into “a new beginning” (the definition of a one in numerology).

I have more to tell you about numerology, and also something that will be clearer about this whole situation. I will give this to you in the next channelling.

Can you relax in the face of uncertainty when it’s your own country? Can you relax in the face of not knowing what’s next? When you’re so involved, can you disengage from either side of the fray? That is the test of a Lightworker.

There’s something else coming. Dear ones, this is beautiful. No matter what you think and no matter what your reaction is to this channelling, what is happening is correct for your time and needed for your immediate future. I will speak of this later. The beauty is when you step away and see how grand it is, that Spirit cares enough that it would allow a big stick to occur that would stir your complacency at this time. The real reason? The shift is here.

How do you feel? I want you to relax and smile at what the shift has brought you. For those of you who felt all the “shift talk” was nonsense, this may be your wake-up call. It’s real. Here it comes.

This is the message of the day. I am Kryon, in love with humanity, and for good reason.

And so it is.

KRYON

As crisis swirls, Trump faces mounting pressure in party

Yahoo – AFP, Michael Mathes, February 15, 2017

US President Donald Trump has set his Republican Party on edge
(AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump and his White House have come in for intense criticism in the president's dizzying first weeks in office, and the rising sound of discord is not just coming from opposition Democrats.

Republicans on Capitol Hill and outside the Washington Beltway are increasingly venting their frustration and worry -- sometimes publicly but more often among themselves -- about the new administration's missteps, speedy policy rollouts, abrasive tone and often tenuous relation to facts.

"We shouldn't be having these questions now" in the first month of a new presidency, said a Republican senator who requested anonymity so he could discuss the issue more freely. "We are concerned."

In a dozen AFP interviews, lawmakers, party grandees and congressional staff have painted a picture of an administration struggling to get up to speed on various fronts, trampling on White House protocol, and acting hastily instead of with deliberation and prudence as they pivot away from the policies of Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.

The interviews were carried out shortly before explosive revelations in The New York Times that members of Trump's campaign and other aides were in repeated contact with Russian intelligence officials prior to November's election.

Among Republicans, strident accusations of incompetence have come from Senator John McCain.

"It's dysfunctional as far as national security is concerned. Who's in charge? Who's in charge!" an exasperated-looking McCain told reporters Tuesday, after top Trump aide Michael Flynn resigned amid charges he discussed US sanctions policy with Russia's ambassador prior to the inauguration, then misled Vice President Mike Pence about the contacts.

"Who's making policy? Who's making decisions? I don't know of anyone outside of the White House that knows," McCain said.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain fields questions from 

reporters on Capitol Hill on February 15, 2017 (AFP Photo/MARK WILSON)

'Seeking reassurance'

Trump repeatedly proclaimed he would "drain the swamp" in Washington and shake up the establishment.

"I'm just doing what I said I would do," he insisted Monday, vowing to keep translating his campaign promises into White House action.

He has proven time and again that he will do things differently as president, refusing to tone down his Twitter talk, issuing sweeping immigration restrictions and then clashing with the judicial branch which blocked them, and filling his inner circle with controversial confidants like strategist Steve Bannon.

And Trump has set his Republican Party on edge.

"Nobody's freaking out, but they are seeking reassurance" from higher-ups that the White House is not stumbling into crisis, a Republican congressional aide said, reflecting on the mood among colleagues on Capitol Hill.

Aides, House and Senate staffers and Republican operatives have huddled over drinks expressing hope that the new administration will "get it together," the aide said.

Key posts, including ambassadorships, remain unfilled, and a common criticism is that the administration often appears to remain in combative campaign mode.

White House staffers are leaking like a punctured canteen, bringing internal discord to light and infuriating the president.

"It's an unusual time that we're living at," Senator Susan Collins said when asked how she views contentious aspects of the new Trump era.

"It's troubling," she said of the Flynn fiasco.

Some lawmakers have chalked it all up to the teething problems of a new White House switching party hands, led by a president still defined by his mindset as a provocative and blunt-nosed business negotiator.

"Any new president is entitled to some grace period as far as getting his administration together," said congressman Peter King, who like Trump is from New York.

"I would give him time to get it worked out. We can come back in a few months and take a look at it."

"It's an unusual time that we're living at," Senator Susan Collins said when asked

 how she views contentious aspects of the new Trump era (AFP Photo/MARIO TAMA)

'Reduce the chaos'

Others are less forgiving.

"These are not normal growing pains," noted Republican strategist Rory Cooper, a former White House staffer under George W. Bush.

"Most Republicans want the tweets to stop and for Trump's staff to reduce the chaos emanating from their ranks," he said.

A few Republicans are now flinching at Trump's campaign promises. They balk at his plan for a wall on the Mexican border, arguing it would cost too much. And Trump's call to "repeal and replace" Obama's health care reforms is dividing Republicans.

"People you would expect to really rally around a Republican president are somewhat muted in their comments or defense," said Republican strategist Brad Marston of FourTier Strategies.

"I think there's a sense that he's probably biting off a little too much to chew."

Not every Republican is perturbed by Trump's debut, even if he antagonized Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto into cancelling a US visit and reportedly lost his cool on a call with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia.

"Trump was just being Trump," said Morton Blackwell, an influential conservative activist who recently met with the president in the White House.

And outside the political sphere, Trump's base supporters remain "delighted" so far, particularly on policy direction, Blackwell said.

"What we saw in the... campaign we're likely to see during the administration," he added. "Who would be surprised about that?"

Related Article:

"Wild Cards" (3) - Nov 19 - 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)- (Text version)

".... The Wild Card of 2016

Remember: No emotion now. You have come from another planet and you’re looking at the end of 2016 – and there is the election. Understand without bias.

So for 2016, let’s do the numerology. You add the numbers and get nine. Nine is completion in simple numerology, and when you see a nine it often means the completion of something. Often it is of a time cycle, an energy or the completion of a paradigm. But it’s very strong.

The nines are stronger than many of the other numerological aspects and you feel them. The president-elect (at this writing) is a strong wild card. He is scheduled to become the 45th president. What a coincidence! Forty-five is a nine. A nine and a nine together are more than significant. They tell a story about what is happening. I will tell you something else. This story is not finished yet and there is more coming. You don’t know what you don’t know, so don’t make up your mind in advance about any outcomes. You’re from another planet, remember? There’s no emotion, no bias, no politics and nothing to judge. Look at it for what it is.

A big stick has just been inserted into what is normal and it’s going to be turned. As the big stick turns, other things will respond that never would have responded otherwise. I wish to tell you, dear one, old soul, relax with upcoming wild cards. They do what they do on purpose so that you will have a better civilization in the future. Sometimes they show you what won’t work, and sometimes they change paradigms that would have never changed otherwise. But what you have now is a profound wild card. That is the message.

It’s so common for you to respond certain ways when you are invested in the process. The knee-jerk reaction is expected or you wouldn’t be a Human. However, for this lesson, you’re from another planet and you’re looking down and you’re seeing it. Pretend.

Isn’t that interesting about a nine and a nine together? It means that truly the end of something is here. Perhaps it’s the end of the old way things were done? Perhaps it’s a shake-up of the system so it can correct itself? Don’t dare make up your mind where it’s going, because it’s not finished yet. However, wait a moment. Did you also realize that 2017 is a “one” year? Not only is the energy one of completion with a double nine, but it moves into “a new beginning” (the definition of a one in numerology).

I have more to tell you about numerology, and also something that will be clearer about this whole situation. I will give this to you in the next channelling.

Can you relax in the face of uncertainty when it’s your own country? Can you relax in the face of not knowing what’s next? When you’re so involved, can you disengage from either side of the fray? That is the test of a Lightworker.

There’s something else coming. Dear ones, this is beautiful. No matter what you think and no matter what your reaction is to this channelling, what is happening is correct for your time and needed for your immediate future. I will speak of this later. The beauty is when you step away and see how grand it is, that Spirit cares enough that it would allow a big stick to occur that would stir your complacency at this time. The real reason? The shift is here.

How do you feel? I want you to relax and smile at what the shift has brought you. For those of you who felt all the “shift talk” was nonsense, this may be your wake-up call. It’s real. Here it comes.

This is the message of the day. I am Kryon, in love with humanity, and for good reason.

And so it is.

KRYON

Top Trump aide Flynn resigns over Russia contacts

Yahoo – AFP, Paul HANDLEY, Andrew BEATTY,  February 14, 2017

The resignation of US National Security Advisor Mike Flynn so early in an
American administration is unprecedented, and comes after details of his calls
with a Russian diplomat were made public (AFP Photo/NICHOLAS KAMM)

Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's national security advisor Michael Flynn resigned after it was revealed he misled top officials over his contacts with Russia, an unprecedented departure so early into a US president's administration.

The White House late Monday said Trump had accepted Flynn's resignation amid allegations the retired three star general discussed US sanctions strategy with Russia's ambassador Sergey Kislyak before taking office.

Flynn -- who once headed US military intelligence -- insisted he was honored to have served the American people in such a "distinguished" manner, despite the Trump presidency being less than a month old.

Flynn admitted that he "inadvertently briefed" the now Vice President Mike Pence with "incomplete information" about his calls with Kislyak.

Pence had publicly defended Flynn, saying he did not discuss sanctions, putting his own credibility into question.

"Regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology," read Flynn's letter, a copy of which was released by the White House.

Flynn's resignation came after details of the telephone calls were made public -- increasing pressure on Trump to take action.

Michael Flynn was in the Oval Office when US President Donald Trump spoke to 

his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on January 28 (AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Blackmail?

Several US media outlets reported Monday that top Trump advisors were warned about Flynn's contacts with the Russians early this year, reopening questions about who knew about the calls and why Trump did not move earlier to replace Flynn.

The resignation will also fuel calls for an independent investigation into Russia's influence during the 2016 US presidential election and throws into doubt the fledgling effort from Trump to establish ties with President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin on Tuesday said Flynn's resignation was "not our business".

"This is the internal business of the Americans, it is the internal business of President Trump's administration," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told

journalists in Moscow.

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer insisted Trump was not consulted about Flynn, a former head of defense intelligence, discussing sanctions, nor did he task the retired general to do so.

The Justice Department had warned the White House that Flynn had misled senior administration officials about the contents of his talks with Kislyak, and that it could make him vulnerable to Russian blackmail, US media reported.

The message was delivered in the last days of Barack Obama's administration by then-acting attorney general Sally Yates -- who Trump sacked after she instructed government lawyers not to defend the new president's controversial travel ban.

CNN said then director of national intelligence James Clapper and then CIA chief John Brennan agreed the White House should be told about the concerns.

Until quitting, Flynn had been instrumental in Trump's inner circle.

He was an early supporter of Trump's improbable bid for the presidency and had encouraged tougher policies on Iran and a softer policy on Russia.

That was a sharp break from the Obama administration, which introduced sanctions over Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, and what US intelligence says were its attempts to sway last year's election in Trump's favor.

Washington and Moscow had also clashed over alleged war crimes in Syria, where Russia is accused of aiding the bombing of hospitals and other civilian targets. Despite this, Flynn had argued for rapprochement.

Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak (AFP Photo/PHILIPPE 

DESMAZES)

Successor talk

Several Republicans had joined their Democratic foes in urging Flynn to resign over a situation that had become an embarrassment for the ruling party.

Flynn's resignation came just days before Trump's first official talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discussions in which the president's national security advisor would normally have a key role.

The Justice Department and Congress are both investigating possible links between Trump campaign advisors and Moscow. US intelligence has concluded that Putin personally directed an operation to interfere in the election.

On December 29, the Obama administration sanctioned four Russian individuals and five entities, and expelled 35 Russian diplomats in retaliation. Although the Russian foreign ministry prepared a response, Putin ruled it out.

After Flynn quit, the White House said Trump had named retired lieutenant general Joseph Kellogg, a decorated Vietnam war veteran who was serving as a director on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to be interim national security advisor.

The Washington Post, citing unnamed White House sources, reported that Vice Admiral Robert Harward, a former deputy commander of the US Central Command - in charge of US-led wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan - and a friend of Defense Secretary James Mattis, is the frontrunner to replace Flynn.

Other media said that retired general David Petraeus, the ex-CIA director and Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, is also possible, along with Kellogg.

Petraeus resigned in disgrace from the CIA over an extramarital affair, and pleaded guilty and agreed to serve two years probation and pay a fine for sharing classified information with his lover. His probation ends in April.

Related Article:

Flynn talked sanctions with Russians before Trump in office: reports

'Islamophobia' fuelling terrorism: UN chief

Yahoo – AFP, February 12, 2017

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (L) speaks alongside Saudi Minister of
 Foreign Affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, during a joint press conference held with in the
Saudi capital Riyadh on February 12, 2017 (AFP Photo/FAYEZ NURELDINE)

Riyadh (AFP) - "Islamophobia" in parts of the world is fuelling terrorism, the head of the United Nations said on a visit to Saudi Arabia Sunday, as anti-immigrant sentiment rises in some countries.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the comment to reporters after talks with Saudi King Salman, Crown Prince and Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"One of the things that fuel terrorism is the expression in some parts of the world of Islamophobic feelings and Islamophobic policies and Islamophobic hate speeches," Guterres said at a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.

"This is sometimes the best support that Daesh can have to make its own propaganda," Guterres said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group of Sunni extremists in Syria and Iraq.

The jihadist group has also claimed deadly attacks in Saudi Arabia and in Europe.

Anti-immigration politicians including France's Marine Le Pen have seen their popularity rise after an influx to Europe of migrants, many of them Muslims fleeing wars in Syria and elsewhere.

US President Donald Trump issued an order in late January that denied entry to all refugees for 120 days.

It also blocked travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. Refugees from Syria were blocked indefinitely.

But the order has faced obstacles and on Thursday an appellate court decided unanimously to maintain a block on Trump's order.

Syria's conflict has created 4.8 million refugees and killed more than 310,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

Guterres said "we will never be successful in fighting terrorism in Syria if an inclusive political solution is not found for the Syrian people."

A new round of UN-sponsored peace talks is scheduled for February 20 in Geneva.

Guterres arrived in Saudi Arabia from Turkey and is to be in Dubai on Monday for the World Government Summit during his regional tour.

Pope reveals anti-stress secrets - and it's not prozac

Yahoo – AFP, Angus MACKINNON, February 9, 2017

Pope Francis looks on during a general audience at the Paul VI Audience Hall
at the Vatican on February 8, 2017 (AFP Photo/ANDREAS SOLARO)

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis has shrugged off recent in-fighting in the Vatican and other stresses of his job by joking: "I am not on tranquilisers".

"There is corruption in the Vatican. But I am at peace," the pontiff said in a personally revealing interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera, published on Thursday.

In it, the erstwhile Jorge Bergoglio reveals how feelings of anxiety he sometimes experienced while he was bishop of Buenos Aires disappeared following his elevation to the papacy.

And he insists that he is losing no sleep over the manoeuvring of conservatives opposed to his reforms of Church teaching and governance.

The 80-year-old says his secret for dealing with stress is to write down all his problems in letters to Saint Joseph.

He then places the missives under a statue of the man described in the bible as the carpenter father of Jesus.

"And now he is sleeping on a mattress of letters! That's why I sleep well: it is the grace of God. I always sleep six hours. And I pray," Francis said.

Francis's reform drive has run into opposition from conservative cardinals and entrenched interests in the Vatican bureaucracy.

Tensions have appeared to be running particularly high of late.

Francis last month dismissed the head of the Knights of Malta after the ancient order challenged his authority in a dispute seen as being linked to a broader row over the direction of the Church.

And the last week has seen a series of anti-pope posters plastered all over Rome by unidentified agitators.

Asked how he dealt with such tensions and the challenges he faces, Francis quipped: "I'm not on tranquilisers.

"The Italians offer a good lesson - to live in peace you need a healthy 'couldn't care less' attitude.

"I don't mind telling you that what I am going through is a completely new experience for me.

"In Buenos Aires I was more anxious, I admit it. I felt more tense and worried. Basically I wasn't like I am now.

"From the moment I was elected I had a very particular feeling of profound peace. And that has never left me. I am at peace. I don't know how to explain it."

In what may have been an allusion to opponents led by US Cardinal Raymond Burke, Francis implied he had made his intentions clear in meetings with other senior clerics before his election.

"In the general assemblies we discussed the Vatican's problems, we discussed reforms. Everyone wanted them," he said.

Related Articles:

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: 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)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There is a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“ … Spirituality (Religions)

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation. 

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven.…”