United Nations Declaration (Articles 1 - 30):

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Incoming UN chief names three women to top posts

Incoming UN chief names three women to top posts
Nigerian Minister of the Environment Amina Mohammed, seen in 2015, will be the UN's number two official (AFP Photo/Mireya ACIERTO)

Sustainable Development
"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -
"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013. They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."
"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)
(Subjects: Who/What is Kryon ?, Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" Managed Business, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)


The Declaration of Human Freedom

Archangel Michael (Via Steve Beckow), Feb. 19, 2011

Every being is a divine and eternal soul living in a temporal body. Every being was alive before birth and will live after death.

Every soul enters into physical life for the purpose of experience and education, that it may, in the course of many lifetimes, learn its true identity as a fragment of the Divine.

Life itself is a constant process of spiritual evolution and unfoldment, based on free choice, that continues until such time as we realize our true nature and return to the Divine from which we came.

No soul enters life to serve another, except by choice, but to serve its own purpose and that of the Divine from which it came.

All life is governed by natural and universal laws which precede and outweigh the laws of humanity. These laws, such as the law of karma, the law of attraction, and the law of free will, are decreed by God to order existence and assist each person to achieve life’s purpose.

No government can or should survive that derives its existence from the enforced submission of its people or that denies its people their basic rights and freedoms.

Life is a movement from one existence to another, in varied venues throughout the universe and in other universes and dimensions of existence. We are not alone in the universe but share it with other civilizations, most of them peace-loving, many of whom are more advanced than we are, some of whom can be seen with our eyes and some of whom cannot.

The evidence of our five senses is not the final arbiter of existence. Humans are spiritual as well as physical entities and the spiritual side of life transcends the physical. God is a Spirit and the final touchstone of God’s Truth is not physical but spiritual. The Truth is to be found within.

God is one and, because of this, souls are one. They form a unity. They are meant to live in peace and harmony together in a “common unity” or community. The use of force to settle affairs runs contrary to natural law. Every person should have the right to conduct his or her own affairs without force, as long as his or her choices do not harm another.

No person shall be forced into marriage against his or her will. No woman shall be forced to bear or not bear children, against her will. No person shall be forced to hold or not hold views or worship in a manner contrary to his or her choice. Nothing vital to existence shall be withheld from another if it is within the community’s power to give.

Every person shall retain the ability to think, speak, and act as they choose, as long as they not harm another. Every person has the right to choose, study and practice the education and career of their choice without interference, provided they not harm another.

No one has the right to kill another. No one has the right to steal from another. No one has the right to force himself or herself upon another in any way.

Any government that harms its citizens, deprives them of their property or rights without their consent, or makes offensive war upon its neighbors, no matter how it misrepresents the situation, has lost its legitimacy. No government may govern without the consent of its people. All governments are tasked with seeing to the wellbeing of their citizens. Any government which forces its citizens to see to its own wellbeing without attending to theirs has lost its legitimacy.

Men and women are meant to live fulfilling lives, free of want, wherever they wish and under the conditions they desire, providing their choices do not harm another and are humanly attainable.

Children are meant to live lives under the beneficent protection of all, free of exploitation, with unhindered access to the necessities of life, education, and health care.

All forms of exploitation, oppression, and persecution run counter to universal and natural law. All disagreements are meant to be resolved amicably.

Any human law that runs counter to natural and universal law is invalid and should not survive. The enactment or enforcement of human law that runs counter to natural and universal law brings consequences that cannot be escaped, in this life or another. While one may escape temporal justice, one does not escape divine justice.

All outcomes are to the greater glory of God and to God do we look for the fulfillment of our needs and for love, peace, and wisdom. So let it be. Aum/Amen.


Pope Francis arrives for historic first US visit

Pope Francis arrives for historic first US visit
Pope Francis laughs alongside US President Barack Obama upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, on September 22, 2015, on the start of a 3-day trip to Washington (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb)


Today's doodle in the U.S. celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech on its 50th anniversary (28 Aug 2013)

'Love is love': Obama lauds gay marriage activists in hailing 'a victory for America'

'Love is love': Obama lauds gay marriage activists in hailing 'a victory for America'
The White House released this image, of the building colored like the rainbow flag, on Facebook following the supreme court’s ruling. Photograph: Facebook

Same-sex marriage around the world

"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)

… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …

Merkel says Turkey media crackdown 'highly alarming'

Merkel says Turkey media crackdown 'highly alarming'
Reporters Without Borders labels Erdogan as 'enemy of press freedom'

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Sunday, December 29, 2019

UN extends investigation of leader's mysterious 1961 death

Yahoo – AFP, December 28, 2019

Only the second secretary-general in UN history, Dag Hammarskjold was killed
along with 15 others on September 18, 1961 when their plane crashed in what was
then known as Northern Rhodesia (AFP Photo)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The United Nations General Assembly on Friday approved a resolution extending the investigation into the mysterious 1961 death of secretary-general Dag Hammarskjold.

The Swedish diplomat had been traveling in southern Africa for a mission when his plane crashed.

The text, initiated by Sweden and co-sponsored by more than 100 countries, was adopted by consensus without a vote.

Sweden recommended the reappointment of Tanzanian lawyer Mohamed Chande Othman, who has led the investigation for several years.

In his last report, published in early October, Othman accused the United States and Britain of withholding information regarding Hammarskjold's death.

Only the second secretary-general in the history of the UN, Hammarskjold was killed along with 15 other people on September 18, 1961 when their plane crashed near the city of Ndola in what was then known as Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia.

At the time, he was seeking to unite Congo and stop the mineral-rich Katanga province from seceding.

Two investigations concluded the crash was caused by pilot error. But since 2014, new probes have focused on a possible plot, a theory enforced by Othman's most recent report.

"South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States must be almost certain to hold important undisclosed information," he wrote.

The resolution urged member states, "in particular those referred to in the report, to release any relevant records in their possession."

In his report, Othman mentioned the likelihood that UN member states intercepted communications related to the crash, as well as the existence of Katangan air assets that could have attacked the secretary-general's plane.

He also cited the presence of foreign forces, including pilots and intelligence agents, on the ground at the time of the crash.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Pope prays for peace in global flashpoints

Yahoo – AFP, 25 December 2019

Pope Francis urged the international community fo "find solutions" for
the conflicts in the Middle East

Pope Francis appealed for peace in many of the world's hotspots, singling out the crises in the Middle East, Venezuela and Lebanon as well as armed conflicts ravaging many African countries.

"May Christ bring his light to the many children suffering from war and conflicts in the Middle East and in various countries of the world," the 83-year-old pontiff said in his traditional Christmas message at the Vatican.

"May he bring comfort to the beloved Syrian people who still see no end to the hostilities that have rent their country over the last decade," he said, urging the international community to find solutions to allow the peoples of that region to live together in peace and security."

He used his "Urbi et Orbi" (To the City and the World) speech to call for a resolution to the crisis in Lebanon, where he hoped for a return to "harmonious coexistence".

In the Middle East, notably Iraq and Yemen, the pope lamented that "so many people – struggling but not discouraged – still await a time of peace, security and prosperity."

The Argentinian pope, noting that in South America "a number of nations are experiencing a time of social and political upheaval," urged that "the beloved Venezuelan people... receive the aid they need."

He said the continent's crises and "many forms of poverty... offend the dignity of each person."

The pontiff also noted that "beloved Ukraine... yearns for concrete solutions for an enduring peace."

Finally Francis denounced attacks on Christians in Africa and prayed for victims of conflict, natural disasters and disease in the world's poorest continent.

The pontiff urged "comfort to those who are persecuted for their religious faith, especially missionaries and members of the faithful who have been kidnapped, and to the victims of attacks by extremist groups, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria."

'Injustice' spurs migration

The pope prayed for migrants undertaking a perilous and potentially deadly sea crossing to Europe to seek a better life, saying: "It is injustice that makes them cross deserts and seas that become cemeteries."

"It is injustice that forces them to ensure unspeakable forms of abuse, enslavement of every kind and torture in inhumane detention camps. It is injustice that turns them away from places where they might have hope for a dignified life, but instead find themselves before walls of indifference."

Pope Francis also focused on the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, plagued by insecurity for a quarter of a century due to the presence of dozens of local and foreign armed groups.

"May (Jesus Christ) bring peace to those living in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, torn by continuing conflicts," the pontiff said.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

The Pope and UN chief call for religious and environmental tolerance

Yahoo – AFP, December 20, 2019

Pope Francis handed the UN chief a copy of a document hailed as a milestone in
the dialogue between Christians and Muslims (AFP Photo/Filippo MONTEFORTE)

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday jointly appealed for religious tolerance and environmental protection.

After a meeting at the Vatican, the pair released a video message.

"It is good that this meeting of ours takes place in the days leading up to Christmas,” the Argentinian Pope said in his native Spanish with Guterres by his side.

“We cannot, we must not look the other way when believers of various faiths are persecuted in different parts of the world,” the Pontiff added.

"It is a time of peace and goodwill and I am sad to see that Christian communities - including some of the oldest in the world - cannot safely celebrate Christmas," the UN Secretary-General said.

“Tragically we see Jews being murdered in synagogues, their gravestones defaced with swastikas; Muslims gunned down in mosques, their religious sites vandalised; Christians killed at prayers, their churches torched,” Guterres said.

'It is a time of peace and goodwill': UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres with
Pope Francis (AFP Photo/Filippo MONTEFORTE)

Repeating the message he made in November during a trip to Japan for a world without nuclear weapons, Francis said: "The use as well as possession of nuclear weapons... is also immoral."

The Pope also urged people to “take care of our land which, generation after generation, has been entrusted to our custody by God so that we may cultivate it and hand it over to our children.”

Guterres arrived in Rome five days after the UN's COP25 climate summit in Madrid and called on all countries around the globe to commit to carbon neutrality by 2050.

Francis gave his guest a copy of the “human fraternity for world peace and living together” declaration which was signed by the Pope and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, in the United Arab Emirates in February.

Considered a milestone in the dialogue between Christians and Muslims, the text calls for freedom of belief and expression, the protection of places of worship and advocates full citizenship for discriminated "minorities".

Guterres said the text was "extremely important when we see such dramatic attacks on religious freedom and the lives of believers".

The Secretary-General said the UN had launched an action plan to safeguard religious sites and a strategy to combat hate speech.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Pope lifts 'pontifical secret' for sex abuse cases

Yahoo – AFP, Ljubomir MILASIN, Alexandria SAGE, December 17, 2019

The decision by Pope Francis was the latest move to improve transparency in
the handling of cases of clerical child abuse (AFP Photo/Tiziana FABI)

Vatican City (AFP) - Priests can no longer cite papal secrecy in abuse cases, the Vatican said Tuesday, the latest move by Pope Francis to combat silence surrounding paedophilia in the Roman Catholic church.

The Church has been rocked by thousands of reports of sexual abuse around the world by priests, and accusations of cover-ups by senior clergy.

Francis' latest instructions regarding Vatican law on sexual abuse say that the pontifical secret no longer applies "to accusations, trials and decisions" involving such cases.

Pontifical secrecy is a rule of confidentiality designed to protect sensitive information related to Church governance, such as diplomatic correspondence, personnel issues and alleged crimes.

Critics say the secrecy laws have prevented priests and victims from reporting abuse, as well as hindered national justice systems prosecuting cases.

The Vatican also announced on Tuesday that it was raising the age at which sexual images of a person were deemed child pornography from 14 to 18.

In May, the pope passed a landmark measure to oblige those who know about sex abuse to report it to their superiors, a move expected to bring even more cases to light.

In Tuesday's statement, issued on the Argentine pontiff's 83rd birthday, Francis spelt out the new obligations.

"The person who files the report, the person who alleges to have been harmed and the witnesses shall not be bound by any obligation of silence with regard to matters involving the case," he wrote.

An 'all-out battle'

Archbishop of Malta Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's chief sex crime investigator, called Francis' move an "epochal decision that removes obstacles and impediments."

He told the official Vatican News website that "the question of transparency now is being implemented at the highest level."

The pope has vowed an "all-out battle" against sex abuse within the Church, but some victims' groups have said concrete measures have been slow in coming.

Marie Collins, a child sexual abuse survivor who in 2017 resigned from a Vatican committee she said was failing to adequately tackle paedophilia, welcomed the pope's latest move.

"Excellent news," Collins wrote on Twitter, saying the committee had recommended the step. "At last a real and positive change."

Despite the lifting of papal secrecy, Francis qualified that discretion in sexual abuse cases was still required.

Information pertaining to such cases should be treated, "in such a way as to ensure its security, integrity and discretion... for the sake of protecting the good name, image and privacy of all persons involved," the pope wrote.

But that should not obstruct the law, the obligation to report abuses and the carrying out of requests by law enforcement, the instructions said.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

World's youngest PM takes office in Finland

Yahoo – AFP, December 10, 2019

Sanna Marin is Finland's youngest ever leader (AFP Photo/Heikki Saukkomaa)

Helsinki (AFP) - Finland's Sanna Marin, 34, was officially appointed as the country's prime minister on Tuesday, becoming the world's youngest sitting head of government.

The former transport minister takes the helm of a coalition of five parties that will all be led by women, once the prime minister takes over as head of her Social Democratic party next year. All but one of the female coalition leaders are aged under 35.

Marin became Finland's third female prime minister after her nomination was passed in parliament by 99 votes to 70 Tuesday and President Sauli Niinisto officially appointed the new centre-left cabinet.

She succeeds Antti Rinne, who resigned last week after losing the trust of one of his coalition parties over his handling of a postal strike.

Marin has made global headlines for becoming not only Finland's youngest ever leader, but also the world's youngest sitting head of government, ahead of Ukraine's Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk who is currently 35.

Marin (C) was sworn in with her centre-left cabinet (AFP Photo/Vesa Moilanen)

But on Tuesday, Marin deflected questions about the international attention she has received over becoming the world's youngest premier.

"My own thoughts have been on practical things and this week, I haven't followed what the press have been writing very much either at home or abroad," she told reporters outside parliament.

Earlier this week she said: "I have never thought about my age or gender, I think of the reasons I got into politics and those things for which we have won the trust of the electorate."

Marin grew up looked after by her mother and her mother's girlfriend, and said that her "rainbow family" showed her the importance of "equality, fairness and human rights".

In a 2015 interview, Marin said she felt 'invisible' as a child, because she could not speak openly about her family setup.

The world's youngest political leaders after Finland's Sanna Marin become the 
world's youngest sitting prime minister on Tuesday. (AFP Photo/Jonathan WALTER)

She has also said that her childhood has strongly influenced her political priorities, which include protecting Finland's generous welfare system and low levels of inequality.

"I come from a poor family and would not have been able to succeed and move forward were it not for the strong welfare state and the Finnish education system," she told Helsingin Sanomat.

The Social Democrats took office in June after defeating the far-right, anti-immigration Finns Party by the narrowest of margins in April's general election.

The victory was seen by some commentators as a triumph for Finland's liberal, equal society over a party that ran on a ticket of cutting asylum levels almost to zero and halting anti-climate change measures.

Speaking after Tuesday's parliamentary vote, Marin pledged to rebuild trust in her party.

"We have promised the Finnish people change and now we must deliver on that promise. In June we agreed a government programme together and I believe it is through actions that we will best restore people's trust," she said.

Sunday, December 8, 2019

US resumes talks with Taliban in Doha

Yahoo – AFP, December 7, 2019

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has in recent weeks made a whistle-stop tour of countries
with a stake in Afghan peace, including Pakistan (AFP Photo/KARIM JAAFAR)

Doha (AFP) - Washington resumed talks with the Taliban in Qatar Saturday, both sides said, three months after President Donald Trump abruptly halted diplomatic efforts that could end America's longest war.

In September, the United States and the Taliban had appeared on the verge of signing a deal that would have seen Washington begin withdrawing thousands of troops in return for security guarantees.

It was also expected to pave the way towards direct talks between the Taliban and the government in Kabul and, ultimately, a possible peace agreement after more than 18 years of war.

But that same month, Trump abruptly called the year-long effort "dead" and withdrew an invitation to the insurgents to join secret talks at his US retreat at Camp David after the killing of an American soldier.

"The US rejoined talks today in Doha. The focus of discussion will be reduction of violence that leads to intra-Afghan negotiations and a ceasefire," said the US source briefed on efforts to end almost two decades of war in Afghanistan.

The Taliban spokesman in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen, confirmed the talks on his Twitter account, saying they had resumed "from where they were broken off".

"Talks revolved around the signing of an agreement and related issues," he wrote.

"Negotiations will resume tomorrow."

Anas Haqqani, brother to the Taliban's deputy leader, participated in the talks, Shaheen confirmed.

A halt to Taliban attacks is the key priority for Kabul in the resumed talks 
between Washington and the insurgents (AFP Photo/WAKIL KOHSAR)

Haqqani was released from Afghan government custody last month as part of a prisoner swap that saw an American academic and his Australian colleague freed.

During a surprise visit to a US military base in Afghanistan last week, Trump said the Taliban "wants to make a deal."

Even during the stall in talks, US negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad has in recent weeks made a whistle-stop tour of nations with a stake in Afghan peace, including Pakistan.

Thorny issues

He recently arranged a captive swap in which the Taliban released an American and an Australian academic whom they had held hostage for three years.

The Taliban have until now refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, which they consider an illegitimate regime.

In a nod to concerns raised by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the US State Department voiced support for a ceasefire -- a key priority for Kabul before it enters negotiations with the Islamist insurgents.

"Ambassador Khalilzad will rejoin talks with the Taliban to discuss steps that could lead to intra-Afghan negotiations and a peaceful settlement of the war, specifically a reduction in violence that leads to a ceasefire," the State Department said on Wednesday as it announced the resumption of efforts to end the conflict.

Washington had sought to seal a political deal with the Taliban ahead of September's elections in Afghanistan.

An agreement with the Taliban is expected to have two main pillars -- a US withdrawal from Afghanistan and a commitment by the militants not to offer sanctuary to jihadists.

The Taliban's relationship with Al-Qaeda was the main reason for the US invasion nearly 18 years ago.

But the thorny issues of power-sharing with the Taliban, the role of regional powers including Pakistan and India, and the fate of Ghani's administration remain unresolved.

The Taliban, believing they have the upper hand in the war, kept up attacks even while talking to the United States.

Trump thanks Tehran as American freed in prisoner swap

Yahoo – AFP, Elodie CUZIN, December 7, 2019

The US Ambassador to Switzerland Edward T. McMullen, Jr. welcomes Princeton
graduate student Xiyue Wang on arrival in Switzerland, after his release from
Iran on December 7, 2019 (AFP Photo/HO)

Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump thanked Tehran for a "very fair" negotiation Saturday after an American scholar detained in the country was released in exchange for an Iranian scientist held in the United States.

Coming at a time of soaring tensions, the prisoner swap -- involving a Princeton graduate student jailed for espionage since 2016 and an Iranian national arrested over a year ago in Chicago -- took place in neutral Switzerland.

"Thank you to Iran on a very fair negotiation," tweeted Trump, as Xiyue Wang made his way home to his family.

"See, we can make a deal together!" wrote the US leader, who was expected to welcome Wang in person when he finally arrives in the United States, after a stop in Germany for medical evaluations.

A photo tweeted by the American Embassy in Bern showed Wang on a rainswept tarmac in Zurich with an official blue and white US jet in the background, hugging ambassador Edward McMullen.

The Chinese-born American was in apparent good health and in "very, very good humor," said a senior US administration official.

Tehran had announced the release of its national, Massoud Soleimani, shortly before Trump revealed that Wang was returning home.

"Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted -- along with a photograph of himself and the scientist on a plane under the words "Going home."

"Many thanks to all engaged, particularly the Swiss government," which has looked after US interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic ties, Zarif said.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted photos of himself
on a plane with freed scientist Massoud Soleimani (AFP Photo)

The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed that the exchange -- which it called a "humanitarian gesture" -- took place on its territory. It was credited by both sides with an intensive diplomatic effort to secure the men's release.

"Our country stands ready for further facilitation, in accordance with its long-lasting tradition of good offices," the foreign ministry statement said.

'Hopeful' sign

The United States and Iran have not had diplomatic ties since 1980, and relations have sharply worsened since Trump withdrew from an international accord giving Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

The arch-enemies came to the brink of military confrontation in June this year when Iran downed a US drone and Trump ordered retaliatory strikes before cancelling them at the last minute.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States was "pleased that Tehran has been constructive in this matter."

Briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, the senior US official noted that Trump "remains committed to talks with Iran without preconditions" -- about Iran's nuclear program, its "malign activities" in the Middle East, and the deadly mass protests that have gripped the country.

While Tehran has so far rebuffed US offers of talks, the official said: "We're hopeful that the release of Mr. Wang is a sign that the Iranians may be willing to come to the table to discuss all these issues."

The official also voiced hope "the release of Mr Wang is a sign that the Iranians are realizing that the practice of hostage taking diplomacy, really should come to an end."

Princeton graduate student Xiyue Wang, pictured with his family before he 
was detained in Iran in August 2016 (AFP Photo/Hua Qu)

A doctoral candidate at Princeton, Wang was conducting research for his dissertation on late 19th- and early 20th-century Eurasian history when he was imprisoned in August 2016. He was serving 10 years on espionage charges.

"He was not a spy, he was not involved in espionage and, and was wrongfully detained from the start," the US official said.

A statement on the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website said Wang had been "freed on Islamic clemency."

Soleimani, a professor and senior stem cell researcher at Tehran's Tarbiat Modares University, was arrested on arrival at Chicago airport in October 2018 for allegedly attempting to ship growth hormones, according to Iranian media.

The US official confirmed the Justice Department has dropped charges against Soleimani, calling the swap a "reciprocal humanitarian gesture" and a "very, very good deal for the United States."

"There's been absolutely no payments of cash or lifting of sanctions or any sort of concessions or ransom," the official said.

Spying allegations

Rob Malley, president of the International Crisis Group consultancy, called it a "rare bit of good news on US-Iran front."

"But several other Americans remain unjustly detained in Iran and they should be released too," he cautioned. "They should not be used as pawns in the two countries' fraught relationship."

Foreign nationals still held in Iran include former US soldier Michael R. White, British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, French academic Roland Marchal and Australian university lecturer Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

Two other Australians, travel bloggers Jolie King and Mark Firkin, were released in October by Iran, in another apparent swap for Iranian student Reza Dehbashi.

In September, Negar Ghodskani, an Iranian woman sentenced in the United States for violating sanctions against Tehran was released and returned home after giving birth in custody.

An unknown number of Iranians are detained abroad.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Kerry launches US bipartisan group addressing climate 'like a war'

Yahoo – AFP, December 1, 2019

As US secretary of state in 2016, John Kerry attended the COP22 climate change
conference in Morocco; this year, as the US sends a low-level delegation to the
COP25 talks in Spain, Kerry has founded a private group to raise climate
awareness (AFP Photo/Mark RALSTON)

Washington (AFP) - Former US secretary of state John Kerry said Sunday that he had formed a cross-party, celebrity-studded coalition to take on the cause of climate change and confront it "like a war."

The initiative's launch coincides with the opening Monday of the COP25 international climate talks in Madrid, where the US administration of Donald Trump will be represented only by a low-level delegation.

Trump has begun the process of withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreement signed by nearly every other country, calling global warming a "hoax."

In contrast, Kerry told NBC's "Meet the Press" that climate change poses "an international security issue" requiring the equivalent of a wartime mobilization.

Kerry said his new group World War Zero included admirals and generals as well as celebrities including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and rock legend Sting.

Kerry, a Democrat, appeared Sunday with another member, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and Republican former governor of California.

Without specifically referring to Trump or the COP25 talks, Kerry said that "no country is getting the job done."

"Things are getting worse, not better. So we have our unlikely allies coming together here... to treat this like a war."

The United Nations warned last week that barring an immediate, dramatic decline in fossil fuel emissions, the world will be unable to avert climate disaster.

The US is the world's second largest polluter, after China, and carbon emissions from the two countries are growing, not declining.

Some American conservatives, including Trump, question established climate science and say severe curbs on industrial emissions could inflict severe economic harm.

Schwarzenegger disputed that conclusion, saying California had provided "perfect proof you can protect the environment and economy at the same time" with the development of "green" jobs.

The Kerry group is planning to hold town meetings across the US -- including states seen as key to next year's presidential election -- with the goal of reaching millions of Americans and persuading climate skeptics.

It will not advocate any specific climate policies.

The group includes Henry Paulson, a former Treasury secretary under George W. Bush, and John Kasich, a former Republican governor of Ohio.

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20TH KRYON SUMMER LIGHT CONFERENCE, US (7), June 2-4, 2017 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Text version "The State of the Earth")

"....  A mini ice age is coming"Kryon, isn't that doom for the planet?"  Many have seen the artist's rendering of major earth cities under ice and all of the other things that go very well with science fiction movies. That's simply a painting of someone's doom scenario, not reality based in the history of the cycle. If you want to know what a mini ice age is like, just flash back in history and study what took place in about 1650. That was a mini ice age. Due to the change in the Gulf Stream (the ocean), the river Thames froze in London. Dear ones, it was cold, but it did not doom the planet. That's a mini ice age.

That's what you're facing, and I'll say it again. If you live in a cold climate, heed this advice: It's going to get colder. Get off the grid! Within the next 15 years, find a way of producing electricity independently or in smaller groups. This can be done neighborhood-wide or separately in homes. You're going to need this, dear ones, because the grid as it exists right now all over the world is not prepared for this coming cold, and the grid will fail. That's not doom and gloom, that's just practical, commonly known information. Your electricity infrastructure is delicate, too delicate. Prepare for a cold spell that may last for a couple of decades. That's all it is. Technology is racing forward to allow this. Don't let your politics get in the way of your survival. ..."

"...  This is controversial. The planet can't just "change the water". It does it instead with a "reboot of life in the ocean" using the water cycle. Watch for evidence of this as it occurs, and then remember this channel. This weather cycle is to refresh the life in the ocean so that everyone on the planet will have needed food from the ocean. Gaia does this by itself, has done it before, and it does it for a reason - so it will not stagnate.

Dear ones, indeed, you have put compromising things into the air and the water, but it has not caused this cycle. We have said for a very long time, stop killing the environment! The reason? It's going to kill you, not Gaia. Gaia is spectacularly resilient and will survive anything you do. However, it is you who may not survive if you continue polluting. All this is starting to change with your awareness, and you're starting to see this and move with it. But Humans are not causing the current weather shift. This will be known eventually.

What is happening has happened before, and it's almost like a reboot for the oceans and it carries a lot of dichotomous events. You're going to see reports of a dying ocean, but at the same time you're going to see unusual reports of too many fish and other sea life in places that were supposed to have a decline. You're going to see the life cycle of the ocean itself start to change and reboot.

The chief player in this renewal is a place you would not expect: Antarctica. I want you to watch for magic in Antarctica. It has always been the core of the refreshing of microbes and other kinds of life in your oceans and it's especially active during these mini ice ages. The process will cause currents under the sea to be filled with new life, delivering it to both hemispheres almost like an under-sea conveyor belt. ..."


"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) SoulsMidpoint 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)

“… 4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally)Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”



New Mini Ice Age

"The weather you have today, and all the alarming attributes of it, is a scenario of what was scheduled to happen on Earth anyway. I review again that the weather changes you are seeing prophesied by myself, 21 years ago, are not a surprise. The changes are not caused by the pollutants you put in the air. You call it global warming and that's a nice phrase, and perhaps that will get you to put less pollutants in the air – a very good thing. But what you are seeing in the weather shift today was not caused by Humans putting things into the air. It would have happened anyway in about 300 years."

"We've called this process the water cycle, since it's all about water, not about air. The water is the predominant attribute of Gaia and of the weather cycle you're seeing. More predominant is the temperature of it. The cycle is ice to water and water to ice, and has been repeated on this planet over and over and over. It is not new. It is not exceptional. It is not frightening. But it's a cycle that modern humanity has not seen before, and it's a long cycle that is beyond the life span of a Human Being. Therefore, it tends to be overlooked or not seen at all !"

"In the days of the Lemurians, the water level of the Pacific Ocean was almost 400 feet lower, and that's only 50,000 years ago. [Kryon invites science to check this out – the water level at that time.] That was a water cycle working, and the reason it was lower was due to so much of the water being stored as ice. Today you're going through another water cycle that will eventually lead to cooling. The last one was in the 1400s."

"Science sees that at about 1650. As mentioned, they are so slow there is no remembrance that a Human has of them except in past writings and in the rings of the trees. The time span of the changes is so great that environmental record keeping does not exist in the form that it does today. But you can still look at the rings of the trees and at the striations of the rocks and can generally figure out that a few hundred years ago, you had a mini-ice age. Now you're going to have another one."