Putin plays powerbroker in Mideast

Deutsche Welle, 22 November 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin is enjoying a resurgence in the Middle East. But Russia's position as a powerbroker - at the expense of a passive US - could well be both illusory and short-lived.

Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, deposed the US president at the top of Forbes magazine's world power list, and about to go and visit the pope - it hasn't been a bad fall for Vladimir Putin.

To consolidate Russia's new position as a Mideast powerbroker, Putin has been pressing the flesh. On Monday (18.11.2013), he spoke by phone to both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel visited Moscow two days later, and a further visit from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is about to be finalized.

Putin gave his ally Assad a lifeline

"The Russians are enjoying a resurgence throughout the Middle East," said Jonathan Eyal, international director at the UK's Royal United Services Institute. "There is a high level of frustration with the Americans, particularly with the negotiations with Iran, which a lot of Arabs believe are going against their own interests."

"It is clear that Putin seized on a number of factors that created a huge opening for Russia," added Leon Aron, director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

Three channels: Syria, Egypt, Iran

The most spectacular of these factors was the triumph of striking a chemical weapons deal in Syria, when Putin deftly turned an off-the-cuff remark from US Secretary of State John Kerry into salvation for his ally Bashar al-Assad. "That was pretty remarkable," said Aron.

Meanwhile, Russia has slotted into a power vacuum in Egypt, where the US stopped its financial assistance to the Egyptian military after a coup deposed President Mohammed Morsi. After a polite interlude, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Cairo last week to discuss a deal to sell missile defense systems to the Egyptian military.

At the same time, Russia is also taking advantage of the unexpected progress in discussions with Iran over its nuclear program. Ushered in by the friendly face of Hassan Rouhani, the potential deal - easing sanctions with Iran in exchange for nuclear inspections - has put strains on US relations with both Israel and Saudi Arabia.

"There is a clearly a discord among the coalition that stood by the sanctions against Iran," said Aron. "The French have dissented, the United States Congress is unlikely to support any relaxation of sanctions. So the US is weakened again. And Putin has always seen Russia's definition as a great power largely in opposition to the United States."

Rouhani's charm offensive with the US
 has angered both Israelis and Arabs

Russian strength or US weakness?

Stephen Sestanovich, Russia specialist at the US-based Council on Foreign Relations, says Putin's view of his own role is shared by many Americans. "By far the dominant American feeling about Putin is negative: he's considered reflexively anti-American," he told DW in an email. "That view, of course, magnifies his accomplishments. When he succeeds, it's seen as an American setback."

On the other hand, Putin's foreign policy is subject to its own pressures. Netanyahu's visit to the Kremlin was also a last ditch attempt to influence an international deal with Iran. But Russia, as a member of the P5+1 group currently locked into the delicate talks, is unlikely to threaten the possibility of a deal, particularly after Putin told his Iranian counterpart on Monday that "a real chance has now emerged for finding a solution to this longstanding problem."

Lilia Shevtsova, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment's Moscow center, points out that Russia's foreign policy is hamstrung by other limitations too. "Moscow does not have enough resources or soft power to give them permanence," she told DW.

She also pointed out that Putin, just like Obama, does have domestic concerns too. "For Putin, foreign policy is just a means to secure his own power," she said. "A lot of people who don't support his domestic policy do support the growing importance of Russia in the international arena. Russia is sinking into a crisis and is trying to compensate for that with foreign activities. But that is happening, by coincidence, while the West is crippled."

Sestanovich suggests that the Syria deal success masked Putin's other shortcomings. "In general, Americans tend to overrate Putin's skill," he said. "In most respects, his foreign policy has foundered - alienating Europeans, his immediate neighbors, major Middle East governments, and the US too. If Putin can re-establish a serious security relationship with Egypt, that would be an impressive result."

Shevtsova says Putin's foreign
policy has domestic reasons

The pendulum swings

But of course there are good reasons why Washington's current "softness" in the Middle East is likely to be short lived. If nothing else, US policy is expected to change tack once again once Obama leaves office in 2016. "US policy is highly personalized," said Eyal, "I remember it was said after the Vietnam War, 'it'll be 20, 30 years before the United States does anything.' Well, five years after Vietnam Reagan was elected and the whole intellectual climate changed overnight."

Moreover, Eyal sees plenty of flaws in the common view that the US is in long-term decline. "If you look at American defense expenditure, for instance, they have the biggest punch of any nation in the world, and will continue having that for decades to come."

"There's a 101 reasons why the idea that America will forget about the Middle East is nonsense," he added, and listed three he considered the most important: the survival of Israel as a domestic issue in the United States, the importance of securing energy resources for the global economy - even if the US is less dependent on the region's fossil fuels - and thirdly the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and Islamic extremists remains a security threat.

All this of course, does not stop Putin enjoying his moment of diplomatic glory - however long it lasts.

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Archangel Michael on Putin -  May 14, 2013 (An Hour with an Angel)

SB: Okay. Thank you, Lord. I’m going to put the Vladimir Putin question ahead of the Boston bombing question. I think a lot of Russian readers and listeners are wondering if they can trust Vladimir Putin.

Now, you’ve said he was in containment and he’s coming out of containment. Can you direct yourself to Russian listeners, please, and tell them what they need to know about Vladimir Putin, please?

AAM: Well, I will say that he has been gradually coming out of containment, and reintegrated, shall we say, into society and into his role and decisions. So what I say to you is be vigilant and be the observer. Do not get caught in what appears to be the drama of this readjustment of power. So, allow the shifting of the core and the centers of power to be adjusted.

Russia has a very important role to play in the future years, as I have said before. So, stand back, my friends. Be the observer. I am not asking you to extend your wholehearted trust and empathy to this individual. What I am asking you to do is to extend trust to your own discernment, because it is not 100 per cent clean, but it is not dirty either.....

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reshuffles cabinet

BBC News, 15 July 2013

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New transport minister Lisa Raitt (right)
 is among the current cabinet members
to change posts

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has unveiled a major cabinet reshuffle in the wake of an expenses scandal that has hit his party's popularity.

Among the eight new ministers announced on Monday were four women.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird are among those to keep their posts.

Mr Harper first announced the changes on Twitter, where he said he was "proud to be naming four new strong, capable women to the Ministry".

The shuffle also comes as Mr Harper and the current Conservative government prepares for the 2015 election.

On Monday, the prime minister said the appointments would "carry our new agenda forward".

Housing expenses fiddle

Among the new cabinet members are Labour Minister Kellie Leitch, Heritage Minister Shelly Glover, Public Works Minister Diane Finley and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, who replaces a recently resigned Vic Towes.

Several existing cabinet members also changed posts. Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson swapped jobs.

Leona Aglukkaq leaves behind the environment brief to become health minister, while Lisa Raitt, the former labour minister, will now handle transport.

Four Canadian senators have faced scrutiny since December for their official expenses.

The Senate's internal economy committee has demanded hefty sums be repaid by Conservative Senator Mike Duffy, Liberal Senator Mac Harb and Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau, who is on a leave of absence over a separate matter - a criminal complaint of assault and sexual assault.

Senator Pamela Wallin resigned in May from the Conservative caucus over an ongoing audit into her travel expenses.

Mr Harper has said he had no knowledge of his chief-of-staff's decision to give Sen Duffy C$90,000 ($86,000; £57,000) to repay improperly claimed housing expenses.

Court documents show the chief of staff told three other employees in the prime minister's office.

Canadian senators are appointed on the advice of the prime minister and may serve in the Senate until age 75.

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This Election Will Clear the Way for Obama  – Nov 5, 2012 (Archangel Michael channeled by Linda Dillon)

".... GW: Wonderful. Thank you again, Michael.

Maybe a question I’d like to kind of know personally, for me, a geopolitical question about Canada, is Canadian Prime Minister Harper in containment? Can we expect a shift in his actions, or will events have to occur to bring a change in governance?

AAM: Harper is in middle containment. He is not in severe containment, but he is in mid-containment. And so there will be a change of heart there as well, and a change of heart in the rigorous nature of his policies. ...."

Iran threats against Israel 'unacceptable': Putin

Google – AFP, 11 June 2013

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Iran had a right to a peaceful nuclear programme but slammed as "unacceptable" its threats against its regional nemesis Israel.

"Iran is in a very difficult region," Putin told a televised question-and-answer session in Moscow.

"And when we hear threats from Iran against its neighbours, particularly Israel, when we hear from Iran that Israel must be destroyed -- I think this is completely unacceptable."

Putin appeared to be referring to comments made over the years by Iran's outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will stand down when his second terms expires shortly after Friday's national election.

Russia is a close trading partner with Iran and supplies the Islamic Republic with weapons and has built its first nuclear reactor near the Gulf city of Bushehr.

But Moscow in recent years has taken a more stern line with Tehran that includes a demand for it to cooperate with United Nations nuclear inspectors.

Western powers and Israel suspect that Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at eventually developing an atomic weapon that could be used against its enemies.

Tehran counters that it needs the programme for nuclear energy and for medical research needs.

Putin said on Tuesday that Iran should not be "discriminated" against with demands for it to abandon its nuclear programme.

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Vladimir Putin and his wife announce their separation in TV interview

Archangel Michael on Putin -  May 13, 2013 (An Hour with an Angel)

SB: Okay. Thank you, Lord. I’m going to put the Vladimir Putin question ahead of the Boston bombing question. I think a lot of Russian readers and listeners are wondering if they can trust Vladimir Putin.

Now, you’ve said he was in containment and he’s coming out of containment. Can you direct yourself to Russian listeners, please, and tell them what they need to know about Vladimir Putin, please?

AAM: Well, I will say that he has been gradually coming out of containment, and reintegrated, shall we say, into society and into his role and decisions. So what I say to you is be vigilant and be the observer. Do not get caught in what appears to be the drama of this readjustment of power. So, allow the shifting of the core and the centers of power to be adjusted.

Russia has a very important role to play in the future years, as I have said before. So, stand back, my friends. Be the observer. I am not asking you to extend your wholehearted trust and empathy to this individual. What I am asking you to do is to extend trust to your own discernment, because it is not 100 per cent clean, but it is not dirty either.

Vladimir Putin and his wife announce their separation in TV interview

Russian president and Lyudmila Putin reveal that they are no longer living together by 'their common decision'

The Guardian, Luke Harding and Alexander Winning in Moscow, Thursday 6 June 2013

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Lyudmila Putin leave a poling
station in Moscow in March 2012. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, have announced their separation after 30 years of marriage, ending years of speculation about their relationship. She had rarely been seen in public in recent months, prompting media speculation about the president's marriage.

Confirmation came on Thursday evening when the Putins gave an interview to the state-run TV channel Russia 24 after attending a ballet at the State Kremlin Palace. Asked about a rumour that they no longer lived together, Putin, 60, said: "That is true."

Mrs Putin, 55, said it had been "our common decision. And our marriage is over due to the fact that we barely see each other".

Asked if they had divorced, she said it was a "civilised divorce". But Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, later clarified that the Putins aren't yet legally divorced and that he didn't know when the divorce proceedings would be finalized.

"Everything that's related to Putin's personal life is his business alone, he has never made it a subject for public discussion. That's his principle, and he has earned that right, so let's treat it with respect," Peskov said.

The couple, who have two daughters in their 20s, had last been seen in public together at Putin's inauguration to his third presidential term in May 2012.

"We really love our children, are very proud of them and see them regularly," Putin said. Rumours that he and his wife had separated have circulated for years, and amount to Moscow's worst kept secret. During one of their rare public appearances together back in 2010, they sat awkwardly on a sofa as a census-taker asked them questions.

Mrs Putin – or Mrs Putina in Russian – seemed dazed, and uncertain how to react in the presence of her husband. Her demeanour fuelled allegations that she had retired to an Orthodox convent or was leading a life separate from her husband.

During Putin's first presidential stint between 2000 and 2004, he took his wife on several foreign trips. But by his second term he was travelling solo. Meanwhile there was speculation that Putin had embarked on a series of dalliances with other, much younger women. In 2008 he publicly denied claims that he was about to divorce his wife and marry Alina Kabaeva, a 27-year-old rhythmical gymnast with "incredible flexibility". Evening Standard owner Alexander Lebedev shut down his tabloid Moscow newspaper after it broke the story.

During a visit to Italy and while standing alongside – fittingly – Silvio Berlusconi, Putin was asked about the story by a brave female reporter.

Putin replied: "There is not a word of truth in what you say." Then he added: "I have always treated badly those who poke their noses and their erotic fantasies into someone else's life."

Speculation about Putin's love life is paradoxically a product of the Kremlin's own ultra-secretive habits.

Since becoming president in 2000, Putin has starred in a non-stop action-man drama – skiing down volcanoes, stunning tigers and polar bears, and even flying with cranes, his exploits covered nightly by state-controlled TV.

But despite this exhaustive image management, Kremlin aides have said nothing about Putin's personal life. There are practically no photos of the Putins' two grown-up daughters.

For months at a time, Mrs Putin would vanish, as if kidnapped by aliens. Given this news blackout it was inevitable that half-truths, educated speculation and lurid nonsense would fill the vacuum.

Lyudmila's confirmation that she and her husband have split is the rarest thing in Moscow's twilight informational world: a genuine fact.

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Archangel Michael on Putin -  May 13, 2013 (An Hour with an Angel)

SB: Okay. Thank you, Lord. I’m going to put the Vladimir Putin question ahead of the Boston bombing question. I think a lot of Russian readers and listeners are wondering if they can trust Vladimir Putin.

Now, you’ve said he was in containment and he’s coming out of containment. Can you direct yourself to Russian listeners, please, and tell them what they need to know about Vladimir Putin, please?

AAM: Well, I will say that he has been gradually coming out of containment, and reintegrated, shall we say, into society and into his role and decisions. So what I say to you is be vigilant and be the observer. Do not get caught in what appears to be the drama of this readjustment of power. So, allow the shifting of the core and the centers of power to be adjusted.

Russia has a very important role to play in the future years, as I have said before. So, stand back, my friends. Be the observer. I am not asking you to extend your wholehearted trust and empathy to this individual. What I am asking you to do is to extend trust to your own discernment, because it is not 100 per cent clean, but it is not dirty either.

Angry JP Morgan shareholders seek to strip Jamie Dimon of chairmanship

US banking giant facing revolt by dissidents in wake of $6bn London Whale trading loss last year

guardian.co.uk, Dominic Rushe in New York,  Sunday 19 May 2013

Jamie Dimon, chairman, president and chief executive officer of JP Morgan
Chase. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

JP Morgan faces an angry shareholder revolt this week as investors attempt to strip boss Jamie Dimon of the chairmanship of the banking giant.

The revolt in the wake of last year's $6.2bn (£4bn) London Whale trading loss has been aggravated by a decision to cut off dissident shareholders' access to voting information ahead of the bank's annual meeting on Tuesday.

Last year a proposal to split Dimon's roles as chairman and chief executive gained 40% of the vote.

But that vote came before the magnitude of the incident was clear and ahead of regulatory and internal reports that have been highly critical of the failures of oversight at the bank.

A vote to strip Dimon of the chairman's job, while not binding, would be a heavy blow and there have been reports that he has considered resigning if he does not keep both titles.

Shareholders also intend to vote against the reelection of several other directors over their role in the trading fiasco.

Last year's vote was sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) pension fund.

This year support for the vote has grown and AFSCME has been joined by employee retirement plans for New York city and the state of Connecticut, as well as the UK's Hermes fund managers.

The split has the backing of major investors and the influential advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass, Lewis & Company.

But Dimon has fans too. The T Rowe Price group, one of the firm's top 10 investors, has publicly backed Dimon ahead of the meeting, an unusual move for a large shareholder.

Prof Peter Henning of Wayne State University in Detroit said he expected the roles would not be split. He said the bank's financial returns had been exemplary, though "hubris" had clearly played a part in the London losses.

"There are good reasons why the roles should be split that have nothing to do with the Whale. This shouldn't be a referendum on Dimon," he said.

"The problem is that there is no guarantee that an independent chair would give any greater degree of oversight."

But Prof Charles Elson, corporate governance expert at the University of Delaware, said it was clear the roles should be split.

"The chairman of the board is there to monitor the CEO. A good CEO recognises that," he said. "Titles have meaning."

Last week the split's backers were denied access to a running tally of how the vote was going.

Broadridge, the firm that collated the votes, was asked to restrict access by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, Wall Street's main lobby group. As the banks are its clients, Broadridge said it was contractually obliged to comply.

The split's supporters argue JP Morgan has been handed an unfair advantage in the final stages of the fight. Large index funds, for example, often wait until the last 48 hours to cast their vote.

The Council of Institutional Investors, whose members manage $3tn of assets in total, is now lobbying for the Securities and Exchange Commission to review the situation.

Shares of JP Morgan Chase have been broadly flat since December 2006, when Dimon assumed the chairmanship.

But the bank has significantly outperformed its peers and Dimon is credited with steering the bank through the credit crisis with aplomb.

Dimon initially dismissed the Whale losses as a "tempest in a teapot" but the losses rattled Washington and led Barack Obama to push for tighter regulation of Wall Street. Dimon's thinking on the situation seems to have evolved too.

In April he told shareholders the loss was the "stupidest and most embarrassing situation I have ever been part of".

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Ascension is Not Distant But Very Current and Underway – Mar 12, 2013 (Archangel Michael channeled by Linda Dillon)

“… SB: Well, that is very helpful. Could you, in the time that’s remaining, could you tell us a little bit about the continuing impact and success of containment? Perhaps as specific and detailed an account as you can give us?

AAM: You know when we place people in containment — and I use the word people because in this situation we are talking about very specific human beings, as you know. And I would not be averse to going down the list, if you wish. But I also wish to re-emphasize what we have said before, is that containment is something that is done very rarely and with great consideration. And the reason is it does not remove free will but it literally contains free will.

The beings that have been put in what you can think of, and we know that you are aware that there are various levels of containment, but think of the most epic, and they are basically in light boxes, and that light and love is penetrating them completely and fully, and they will not be released until they have been fully penetrated.

That is why that decision is not made casually. It is much more invasive than even you are imagining. So, it is something we do with great respect, yes, even for what you would think of as the darkest players. When we contain them, it is done with a great deal of respect.

Now, those who have been in key positions, leadership positions, are being kept in those containers of light not just until the darkness has fled or been cleansed, but the plan on our side is that they are being kept in that realm until they are extraordinary light beings. So, it is almost as if when they re-emerge you will barely recognize them.

Now, you say, “But, Lord, we are still witnessing some terrible atrocities on our planet.” And as the Prince of Peace and the Warrior of Peace, I am very aware of that. But I also suggest to you that some of those people that you see are almost like puppet shells, and the true person is in a light chamber.

Is it being successful? Yes. Now, there are some who have been released from their containment, and they have chosen to come forward to make… to fulfill their mission and purposes. And they were ready to do that. Yes, the Pope was a good example of that. Then there are… there are others, particularly within the financial world, who are returning to put things to rights.

Yes, Jamie Dimon is one of those beings.

SB: Is Queen Elizabeth in containment, Lord?

AAM: She is re-emerging.

Tar sands exploitation would mean game over for climate, warns leading scientist

Prof James Hansen rebukes oil firms and Canadian government over stance on exploiting fossil fuel, which he says would make climate problem unsolvable

The Guardian, Damian Carrington, Sunday 19 May 2013

Prof James Hansen accused the Canadian government of acting as
salesmen for major oil companies. Photograph: Murdo Macleod

Major international oil companies are buying off governments, according to the world's most prominent climate scientist, Prof James Hansen. During a visit to London, he accused the Canadian government of acting as its tar sands' salesman and "holding a club" over the UK and European nations to accept its "dirty" oil.

"Oil from tar sands makes sense only for a small number of people who are making a lot of money from that product," he said in an interview with the Guardian. "It doesn't make sense for the rest of the people on the planet. We are getting close to the dangerous level of carbon in the atmosphere and if we add on to that unconventional fossil fuels, which have a tremendous amount of carbon, then the climate problem becomes unsolvable."

Hansen met ministers in the UK government, which the Guardian previously revealed has secretly supported Canada's position at the very highest level.

Canada's natural resources minister, Joe Oliver, has also visited London recently to campaign against current EU proposals to penalise oil from Alberta's tar sands as highly polluting. "Canada can offer energy security and economic stability to the world," he said. Oliver also publicly threatened a trade war via the World Trade Organisation if the EU action went ahead: "Canada will not hesitate to defend its interests."

The lobbying for and against tar sands has intensified on both sides of the Atlantic as the EU moves forward on its proposals, which Canada fears could set a global precedent, and President Barack Obama considers approving the Keystone XL pipeline to transport tar sands oil from Canada to the US gulf coast refineries and ports. Canada's president, Stephen Harper, was met by protesters when he visited New York last week to tell audiences that KXL "absolutely needs to go ahead".

Canada's tar sands are the third biggest oil reserve in the world, but separating the oil from the rock is very energy intensive and causes three to four times more carbon emissions per barrel than conventional oil. Hansen argues that it would be "game over" for the climate if tar sands were fully exploited, given that existing conventional oil and gas is certain to be burned.

"To leave our children with a manageable situation, we need to leave the unconventional fuel in the ground," he said. Canada's ministers were "acting as salesmen for those people who will gain from the profits of that industry," he said. "But I don't think they are looking after the rights and wellbeing of the population as a whole."

"The thing we are facing overall is that the fossil fuel industry has so much money that they are buying off governments," Hansen said. "Our democracies are seriously handicapped by the money that is driving decisions in Washington and other capitals."

The EU aims to penalise oil sources with higher carbon footprints, as part of a drive to reduce the carbon emissions from transport called the fuel quality directive. But Canada, supported by the UK, is fiercely opposed: "We are not saying they should not move to reduce emissions," said Oliver. "But the proposed implementation of the FQD [fuel quality directive] is discriminatory to oil sands and not based on scientific facts." However, Europe's commissioner for climate action, Connie Hedegaard, said the FQD was "nothing more, nothing less" than accurate labelling and putting a fair price on pollution.

Hansen, who informed the US Congress of the danger of global warming in 1988, has caused controversy before by saying the "CEOs of fossil fuel companies should be tried for high crimes against humanity" and calling coal-fired power plants "factories of death". In April, he stepped down from his Nasa position after 46 years to spend more time communicating the risks of climate change and to work on legal challenges to governments.

Hansen has started a science programme at Columbia University, the first task of which is to produce a report to support suits filed again the US federal government and several state governments. It is being pursued by the Our Children's Trust charity and is based on a trust principle recognised in US law.

"We maintain that the atmosphere and climate are held in trust by the present generations for the future generations and we do not have the right to destroy that asset," Hansen said. "Therefore the courts should require the government to give a plan as to how they are going to ensure that we still have that asset to pass on to the next generation."

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This Election Will Clear the Way for Obama  – Nov 5, 2012 (Archangel Michael channeled by Linda Dillon)

".... GW: Wonderful. Thank you again, Michael.

Maybe a question I’d like to kind of know personally, for me, a geopolitical question about Canada, is Canadian Prime Minister Harper in containment? Can we expect a shift in his actions, or will events have to occur to bring a change in governance?

AAM: Harper is in middle containment. He is not in severe containment, but he is in mid-containment. And so there will be a change of heart there as well, and a change of heart in the rigorous nature of his policies. ...."

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

“…  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….”

"2013 - What Now ?" – Jan 6, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Text version)

“… New ideas are things you never thought of. These ideas will be given to you so you will have answers to the most profound questions that your societies have had since you were born. Inventions will bring clean water to every Human on the planet, cheaply and everywhere. Inventions will give you power, cheaply and everywhere. These ideas will wipe out all of the reasons you now have for pollution, and when you look back on it, you'll go, "This solution was always there. Why didn't we think of that? Why didn't we do this sooner?" Because it wasn't time and you were not ready. You hadn't planted the seeds and you were still battling the old energy, deciding whether you were going to terminate yourselves before 2012. Now you didn't…. and now you didn't.

It's funny, what you ponder about, and what your sociologists consider the "great current problems of mankind", for your new ideas will simply eliminate the very concepts of the questions just as they did in the past. Do you remember? Two hundred years ago, the predictions of sociologists said that you would run out of food, since there wasn't enough land to sustain a greater population. Then you discovered crop rotation and fertilizer. Suddenly, each plot of land could produce many times what it could before. Do you remember the predictions that you would run out of wood to heat your homes? Probably not. That was before electricity. It goes on and on.

So today's puzzles are just as quaint, as you will see. (1)How do you strengthen the power grids of your great nations so that they are not vulnerable to failure or don't require massive infrastructure improvement expenditures? Because cold is coming, and you are going to need more power. (2) What can you do about pollution? (3) What about world overpopulation? Some experts will tell you that a pandemic will be the answer; nature [Gaia] will kill off about one-third of the earth's population. The best minds of the century ponder these puzzles and tell you that you are headed for real problems. You have heard these things all your life.

Let me ask you this. (1) What if you could eliminate the power grid altogether? You can and will. (2) What if pollution-creating sources simply go away, due to new ideas and invention, and the environment starts to self-correct? (3) Overpopulation? You assume that humanity will continue to have children at an exponential rate since they are stupid and can't help themselves. This, dear ones, is a consciousness and education issue, and that is going to change. Imagine a zero growth attribute of many countries - something that will be common. Did you notice that some of your children today are actually starting to ponder if they should have any children at all? What a concept! ….”

Netanyahu flies into turbulence over $127,000 bed on plane

Outcry in austerity-hit Israel over news that 'rest chamber' was installed on plane ferrying PM and wife to London for Thatcher funeral

guardian.co.uk, Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem, Sunday 12 May 2013

Binyamin and Sara Netanyahu in China this week. It was pointed out that
 the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, who will be 90 next month, spent
 an 11-hour flight to South Korea seated. Photograph: Avi Ohayon/
 AFP/Getty Images

The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has encountered severe turbulence after it emerged that he ordered a double bed to be installed on a plane that carried him and his deeply unpopular wife, Sara, to Baroness Thatcher's funeral in London last month – at a cost of $127,000 (£83,000).

The revelation comes amid growing resentment over an austerity budget proposed by the finance minister Yair Lapid, a former TV personality who won popular support in January's election by promising to champion Israel's financially squeezed middle class. Up to 15,000 people demonstrated in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities on Saturday night in an echo of the massive social justice protests that swept the country two years ago.

Following an outcry over the cost of installing a "rest chamber" on the chartered El Al flight, Netanyahu's office said that henceforth no sleeping cabins would be provided on short-haul flights to Europe.

Initially, officials defended the move – disclosed by Israel's Channel 10 on Friday evening – in a statement that was immediately mocked by commentators for its detailed account of Netanyahu's schedule.

The statement said: "The prime minister took off for London on the night after Independence Day, in the course of which he attended a reception for outstanding soldiers at the presidential residence, the World Bible Quiz, a reception for diplomatic personnel in Israel and the Israel prize ceremony. The flight was booked for midnight after a day full of events, and afterwards the prime minister was to represent the state of Israel at a number of official international events, including meetings with the prime ministers of Canada and Britain. It is acceptable for the prime minister of Israel to be able to rest at night between two packed days as those."

El Al, Israel's national airline, was paid $427,000 for the charter flight, including the cost of the chamber. A smaller plane, without sleeping quarters, would have cost $300,000, according to Israeli media reports.

Channel 10 pointed out that the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, who will be 90 next month, spent an 11-hour flight to South Korea seated in business class.

Writing in Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's biggest-selling newspaper, Sima Kadmon said: "We thought that nothing could surprise us anymore when it came to the Netanyahus' personal behaviour. Well, we thought wrong. It turns out that King Bibi and Queen Sara are entitled to do everything … The double bed that was installed on the plane cost the Israeli public, which is buckling under the weight of the austerity measures, half a million shekels. Is there no shame?"

The disclosure of Netanyahu's in-flight sleeping arrangements follows the revelation earlier this year of a prime ministerial budget of $2,800 forice-cream. A contract with a Jerusalem ice-cream parlour was swiftly cancelled.

Meanwhile, the Israeli public is facing a 1.5% rise in income tax, a 1% increase in VAT and a reduction in child allowances as part of an austerity package, which critics says disproportionately penalises the middle class.

Anger at demonstrations on Saturday focused on Lapid, whose party Yesh Atid (There is a Future) came second in January's election and is now a key partner in Netanyahu's coalition government. Lapid had pitched his campaign at middle-class voters who were the mainstay of 2011's social justice movement.

Daphni Leef, one of the protest leaders, called on Lapid to "take from the tycoons, not the people … from those who have and not from those who don't".

Lior Tzur, 31, told the Jerusalem Post: "Lapid sold us all an illusion that he'll change things and help the middle class, when really he's just going to continue the same policies of money and power that existed before."

A poll published in the pro-government Israel Hayom tabloid last week found that more than 50% of respondents said their confidence in Lapid had fallen since the election.

Revelations of Binyamin Netanyahu’s profligacy come days after

 anti-austerity protests in cities across Israel. Photograph: Uriel 

Sinai/Getty Images

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Matthew’s Message - May 12, 2013 - (Matthew Channelled by Suzanne Ward)

“… Israel's persistent belligerence is the work of the Zionists—another of the Illuminati's disparate groups—who serve only their own interests of conquest. Contrary to what they want you to believe, the Zionist movement does not represent the will of the Israelis or Jews anywhere else in the world. In time, this movement, which is losing favor even with its former staunch allies, will completely lose its credibility and influence. …”

Archangel Michael on the World’s Movement into the Golden Age – Mar 24, 2013 (Archangel Michael channeled by Linda Dillon)

GW: I’m reading between the lines here, and what you’re saying, Michael, is that the young people and even many of the elders within Israel are searching for peace.

The fact that Netanyahu has even maintained a position of power or leadership within the country might suggest that something that was not particularly life-honoring had taken place in the leadership.

Is Netanyahu in containment at the moment?

AAM: He is in some form of mild containment. He is not in full containment, let us put it that way. Now, we also say that he has a following in the middle range of those who wish to maintain the status quo. And part of that maintenance of the status quo is not just the belief in lack and limitation. It is also the desire to maintain power, and to maintain wealth, and to maintain positions of freedom.

And that is not the fundamental basis upon which Israel, or any other nation, for that matter, has been founded. So his position and his power you will see diminishing.

(Religions – Zionism - March 1, 2012 - Matthew Channelled by Suzanne Ward)

9. It can be no other way—simply, this is the physics that governs life in this universe. As Earth continues apace into successively higher planes, nothing with low vibrations in any form—physical bodies, subversive plans, theft, dishonesty, unjust laws and imprisonment, bigotry, cruel customs and deeds—can survive.

10. Moving on, no, it will not be quite like religions being “totally discarded and replaced by universal laws in the Golden Age.” When the truths come forth that science and spirit are one and the same and that religious dogmas were originated by early leaders of church and state to control the masses, people whose consciousness has risen beyond the constraints of third density will adhere to the spiritual aspects of their respective religions and the devised, controlling aspects will fall by the wayside.

11. One of the truths to come forth is that Zionism, which by dark intent has been made synonymous with Judaism, actually is a bellicose political movement within the Illuminati, and its aim for more than six decades has been to create conflict and instability in the entire Middle East. Zionists, who have wielded powerful influence within and behind major governments and their military forces, do NOT represent the Jewish peoples in Israel or anywhere else. And, like all other Illuminati factions, they have been committed to that cabal’s goal of global domination.

12. Although Semites are of diverse national origins and religions, the Zionists have been successful in convincing many that “anti-Semitic” is exclusively prejudice against the Jewish peoples and opposition to Israel’s right to defend itself from its “enemies.” By means of that blatant distortion, they obtained not only world sympathy, but also massive defense funding from Israel’s allies, most especially the United States, all of which served to increase the Illuminati’s vast profits from their industrial-military machine.

13. In addition to controlling the masses through dogmatic teachings, religions have served the dark purpose of divisiveness to such an extent that it resulted in centuries of trauma and bloodshed. Witness the Crusades, wars between Catholics and Protestants, pogroms against Jews, executions of “blasphemous” individuals who refused to “recant.”  (Read More …)