Biden order makes sexual harassment in US military a crime

Yahoo – AFP, January 27, 2022 

An executive order signed by US President Joe Biden that makes sexual
harassment a crime in the military includes provisions on domestic violence
and the wrongful broadcast or distribution of intimate visual images
(AFP/Nicholas Kamm) (Nicholas Kamm)

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday making sexual harassment a crime under the military justice code, in an attempt to relieve a long-term issue with which the Pentagon has struggled. 

The move, called for in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, the Pentagon's annual budget package, pays homage to Vanessa Guillen. 

The 20-year-old army soldier was murdered by a fellow soldier in 2020 after being sexually harassed and telling her family she did not trust the military command to follow up on her complaint. 

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the order "honors the memory of Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen," whose death is "catalyzing national attention to the scourge of sexual violence in our military and helping advance bipartisan military justice reform." 

Biden tweeted earlier in the day that he was "signing an Executive Order to make sexual harassment an offense in the Uniform Code of Military Justice." 

The order is also meant to "strengthen the military's response to domestic violence and the wrongful broadcast or distribution of intimate visual images," he said. 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had previously appointed an independent commission to submit recommendations as to how best to deal with perpetrators of sexual violence in the armed forces, and how to prosecute them more effectively. 

The commission concluded that removing decisions about prosecuting sexual assault from the military chain of command was the only solution. 

Instead of incurring administrative sanctions as was previously the case, perpetrators may receive prison time.

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.

US set to stay in global postal union after reform deal reached

Yahoo – AFP, September 25, 2019

The US pushed for the reform of setting international postal rates as it said the
current system it was cheaper to send a package to New York from Beijing than
Los Angeles, which hurt its domestic businesses (AFP Photo/Andrew Burton)

Geneva (AFP) - The United States is set to remain in the UN postal agency after member states on Wednesday decided to reform the body to address Washington's criticism that its rules unfairly benefit China.

The Universal Postal Union's 192 members agreed by acclamation to a compromise supported by the US to reform the system used to determine the rates countries' postal services can charge for ensuring that packages from abroad reach their final destination.

Following days of intense negotiations in Geneva, the parties gathered for only the third extraordinary congress in UPU's 145-year history opted for a compromise under the looming threat of a US pull-out.

President Donald Trump's administration announced last October that it planned to withdraw from the UPU in a year unless it underwent dramatic reform.

UPU chief Bishar Hussein had warned Tuesday that if Washington did withdraw, it would cause a "total disruption" of the postal service in the country and dramatic hikes to consumer costs.

Trump's 'objectives' met

Trump's hardline trade advisor Peter Navarro insisted earlier this week that the US was well-prepared for "a possible seamless exit" if no acceptable reform agreement could be reached.

But shortly before Wednesday's decision, he told the assembly that the reform proposal, which implies that countries will be permitted as of next year to gradually set their own rates for postal deliveries, "does indeed meet the objectives that President Donald J. Trump gave me."

He vowed that if the UPU members voted for the proposal "in its entirety" the US would stay.

"Let's get this done," he said.

The standoff at the UPU, which sets international postal rates, came amid Trump's broader trade battle with China, with the US charging that the current system penalises American businesses.

The agency, based in Bern, has until now determined what rates national postal services can charge for ensuring that packages sent from abroad are delivered to their final destination.

It has long imposed lower prices for bulky letters and small parcels coming from emerging and developing countries, a group that still includes China.

Navarro has maintained that under the current system it costs more to send a package from Los Angeles to New York than from Beijing to New York, penalising US small businesses and manufacturers.

According to Washington, it costs the US $300-500 million annually under the current system.

The US had pushed for a radical and immediate reform of the UPU enabling members to "immediately self-declare rates", but that option was voted down on Tuesday.

Navarro had however said the US would be open to a "multi-speed option", that would allow a transition period for countries to transition to self-declared rates.

Global executions at lowest level in a decade: Amnesty

Yahoo – AFP, April 10, 2019

Nooses hang at Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul, Afganistan (AFP
Photo/WAKIL KOHSAR)

Executions fell worldwide by nearly a third last year to their lowest levels in at least a decade, but several countries recorded a rise, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

Use of the death penalty dropped in Iran -- by an eye-popping 50 percent, following a change to its anti-narcotics laws -- Iraq, Pakistan and Somalia, the rights group found in its annual review.

But it rose in Belarus, Japan, Singapore, South Sudan and the United States, while Thailand resumed executions for the first time in a decade and Sri Lanka threatened to follow suit.

"Despite regressive steps from some, the number of executions carried out by several of the worst perpetrators has fallen significantly," said Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International's Secretary General.

He added the "dramatic" drop globally proved that "even the most unlikely countries are starting to change their ways and realise the death penalty is not the answer".

"This is a hopeful indication that it's only a matter of time before this cruel punishment is consigned to history, where it belongs," Naidoo said.

In total, death penalty figures fell around the world from at least 993 in 2017, to at least 690 last year.

Amnesty's count excludes China -- the world's top executioner -- where the numbers are classified as a state secret.

The organisation estimates thousands of people are sentenced to death and executed there every year.

Graphic on executions worldwide, according to a 2018 report by Amnesty 

International (AFP Photo/Gal ROMA)

Iran (253), Saudi Arabia (149), Vietnam (at least 85) and Iraq (at least 52) were the other countries that resorted to the death penalty most in 2018.

Vietnamese authorities' decision to release figures for last year was "unprecedented" for the southeast Asian nation, Amnesty noted.

Elsewhere Japan, Singapore and South Sudan reported their highest levels of executions in years.

Naidoo said these three countries "now form a dwindling minority" and challenged them "to act boldly and put a stop to this abhorrent punishment".

Amnesty also noted concern over a sharp spike in the number of death sentences imposed in some countries -- particularly Iraq and Egypt -- over the course of 2018.

But its annual review found the global trend towards abolition of the death penalty had gathered steam.

Burkina Faso adopted a new penal code effectively banning executions, while Gambia and Malaysia both declared an official moratorium.

Meanwhile, courts in the US state of Washington declared the death penalty unconstitutional there.

Amnesty highlighted a December vote by the United Nations General Assembly that saw 121 countries support a global moratorium on the death penalty, with only 35 states opposed.

"Slowly but steadily, global consensus is building towards ending the use of the death penalty," Naidoo said.

Vatican signs first accord with Palestine, making recognition of state official

The Vatican has signed its first accord with Palestine, legally recognizing it as a state. The Holy See said it hopes the agreement will lead to improved relations in the Middle East although Israel expressed regret.

Deutsche Welle, 27 June 2015

Vatican Foreign Minister Paul Gallagher and his Palestinian counterpart, Riad al-Malki, signed the treaty at a ceremony inside the Vatican on Friday.

The treaty covers the life and the activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine. It is the first accord since the Vatican recognized the Palestinian state in February 2013, and marks the Vatican's first legal recognition of Palestine.

Gallagher said he hoped the Vatican's recognition "may in some way be a stimulus to bringing a definitive end to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which continues to cause suffering for both parties."

The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the UN General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state.

Calling the agreement "historic," al-Malki said it marked "a recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, freedom and dignity in an independent state of their own, free from the shackles of occupation."

Israel complains

The Israeli Foreign Ministry expressed "regret" at the Vatican's decision. Israel called the accord "a hasty step (that) damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement."

Both the United States and Israel oppose recognizing the Palestinian state. They say that it undermines US-led efforts to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian deal on the terms of Palestinian statehood.

Israel also said it could have implications on its future diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

But Gallagher called for peace negotiations to resume between Israelis and Palestinians towards a two-state solution. "This certainly requires courageous decisions, but it will also offer a major contribution to peace and stability in the region," he said.

jm/bk (dpa, Reuters, AP)

Pope Francis welcomes Palestinian authority President Mahmud Abbas during

a private audience at the Vatican on May 16, 2015 (AFP Photo/Alberto Pizzoli)

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"Not Your Father's New Age" - Feb 14/15, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

".. Everything that has transpired during these years has been realized potential. That is to say that we see the potentials of what you might do, and report on that and only that. Much of what we see now is realized quickly. When we told you in 2012 there would be a new pope, 13 months later it happened. This was not prophecy, but rather a potential. We saw it coming because we have the overview and we knew of the anxiety of the existing pope, the health of the man, and we also knew of the potentials of a South American pope to come forward. All of these things should be a "connect the dots" for you. I come yet again, not with prophecy, but with information given with a congratulatory attitude of potential. ..."

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

Politicians begin to weigh in on the supreme court’s ruling in Obergefell v Hodges, with Republicans notably expressing far more divisive opinions

The Guardian, Ben Jacobs in Washington, Friday 26 June 2015

“Love is love,” declared Barack Obama, in the aftermath of the supreme court’s landmark decision on gay marriage on Friday.

In a speech in the White House Rose Garden, the president warmly embraced the court’s 5-4 decision in Obergefell v Hodges as a step towards making “our union a little more perfect”. He described the ruling as “a victory for America”.

“This ruling is a victory for Jim Obergefell and the other plaintiffs in the case,” he said. “It’s a victory for gay and lesbian couples who have fought so long for their basic civil rights. It’s a victory for their children, whose families will now be recognized as equal to any other. It’s a victory for the allies and friends and supporters who spent years, even decades, working and praying for change to come.

“And this ruling is a victory for America. This decision affirms what millions of Americans already believe in their hearts: when all Americans are treated as equal we are all more free.”

Obama referenced proudly the work of activists who he said had labored for “years, even decades” in the fight for marriage equality, and said the decision was “a vindication of the belief that ordinary people can do extraordinary things”.

The White House released this image, of the building colored like the rainbow
flag, on Facebook following the supreme court’s ruling. Photograph: Facebook

He also praised the court for reaffirming “that all Americans are entitled to the equal protection of the law. That all people should be treated equally, regardless of who they are or who they love”.

Obama noted that “progress often comes in small increments, two steps forward and one step back”, but celebrated the court’s decision as a reminder that sometimes “justice arrives like a thunderbolt”. He praised the decision as “an extraordinary achievement” and referenced a statement made by Robert F Kennedy.

“What an extraordinary achievement,” he said. “What a vindication of the belief that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. What a reminder of what Bobby Kennedy once said about how small actions can be like pebbles being thrown into a still lake, and ripples of hope cascade outwards and change the world.”

Obama’s powerful statement came as a little surprise. The president publicly endorsed same-sex marriage in 2012 and referenced the push for gay marriage in his second inaugural speech. Almost in lockstep, leading Democrats echoed his words.

Among presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton said in a statement: “I am celebrating today’s landmark victory for marriage equality.” Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley proclaimed that the “supreme court affirmed that marriage is a human right – not a state right … the American dream is strongest when all are included”. And Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said: “Today the supreme court fulfilled the words engraved upon its building: ‘Equal justice under law.’”

The Democratic National Committee chair, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, used similar language to the president, saying “Love is love, and love is now the law”, while Senate minority leader Harry Reid celebrated the decision and said: “The supreme court ruled on the right side of history.”

In a particularly poignant statement, the Democratic New York congressman Sean Patrick Maloney said: “Last year, I celebrated this ruling in a personal way – by marrying my now-husband Randy after 22 years together, with whom I have raised three beautiful children. While the idea of marriage was once impossible in the eyes of the federal government, because of the supreme court’s action, our relationship was finally treated as equal under federal law.”

Maloney added: “These triumphs are not only for families like mine, but for millions of Americans who still face legal discrimination simply for who they are and who they love.”

Republicans expressed far more diverse opinions. Some were ready to accept the court’s decision. Ohio senator Rob Portman, a supporter of gay marriage, said: “I would have preferred for this issue to be resolved by the democratic process in the states because I think you build a more lasting consensus that way.” But he added: “Now the court has reached its decision, I hope we can move past the division and polarization the issue has caused.”

Some presidential candidates took similar tacks. Dr Ben Carson, who supports civil unions, said: “While I strongly disagree with the supreme court’s decision, their ruling is now the law of the land.”

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham echoed Carson, saying: “I am a proud defender of traditional marriage and believe the people of each state should have the right to determine their marriage laws. However, the supreme court has ruled that state bans on gay marriage are unconstitutional, and I will respect the court’s decision.”

Graham expressed his opposition to the pursuit of a constitutional amendment to overturn the court’s decision, adding: “Furthermore, given the quickly changing tide of public opinion on this issue, I do not believe that an attempt to amend the US constitution could possibly gain the support of three-fourths of the states or a supermajority in the US Congress.”

Not all Republicans were so pragmatic. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said: “The supreme court can no more repeal the laws of nature and nature’s God on marriage than it can the laws of gravity.

Huckabee went on to compare the court to King George III, saying: “I will not acquiesce to an imperial court any more than our founders acquiesced to an imperial British monarch. We must resist and reject judicial tyranny, not retreat.”

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker called for a constitutional amendment. In his opinion, “this supreme court decision is a grave mistake. Five unelected judges have taken it upon themselves to redefine the institution of marriage.”

Walker went on to argue: “The only alternative left for the American people is to support an amendment to the US constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage.”

On Capitol Hill, House majority whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana pointedly proclaimed that he agreed with Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent in the case. Scalia condemned what he said were the “unelected judges [who] took it upon themselves to rewrite the laws to their own personal liking”.

We're proud to celebrate marriage equality! #AndProud https://t.co/jDadChCZuJ pic.twitter.com/kkFajfK4SE

— Google (@google) June 26, 2015

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"The Akashic Circle" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, The Humanization of God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)  - (Text version)

“… Gender Switching

Old souls, let me tell you something. If you are old enough, and many of you are, you have been everything. Do you hear me? All of you. You have been both genders. All of you have been what I will call between genders, and that means that all of you have had gender switches. Do you know what happens when it's time for you to switch a gender? We have discussed it before. You'll have dozens of lifetimes as the same gender. You're used to it. It's comfortable. You cannot conceive of being anything else, yet now it's time to change. It takes approximately three lifetimes for you to get used to it, and in those three lifetimes, you will have what I call "gender confusion."

It isn't confusion at all. It's absolutely normal, yet society often will see it as abnormal. I'm sitting here telling you you've all been through it. All of you. That's what old souls do. It's part of the system. …”

Russia seeks more Chinese investment: official

English.news.cn   2015-04-24

ST. PETERSBURG, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Russia is interested in Chinese investment, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Friday.

The official said Russia has seen Western markets closed to Russian investment, so the country has been stepping up its financial cooperation with China and is seeking larger Chinese investments in the Russian economy.

Siluanov mentioned the 800-km high-speed railway connecting Moscow with Kazan, capital of the Tatarstan Republic, as one possible project China may invest in. The investment for the project is estimated at 1 trillion rubles (19 billion U.S. dollars).

Siluanov also expressed support for China's initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt.

"The Silk Road initiative would facilitate a broader relationship between our countries," RIA Novosti news agency quoted him as saying.

Siluanov noted that the project would provide better conditions for freight between Asia and Europe and therefore help improve Russia's economy.

Chinese president Xi Jinping greets his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin at the APEC summit in Beijing, November 2014. (Photo/CNS)

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First death-free day of Ukraine ceasefire, US sees no compliance

Yahoo – AFP, Marc Burleigh with Jo Biddle in Washington, 25 February 2015

Ukrainian servicemen check documents of a local resident at a checkpoint 

near Slavyanoserbsk, in the region of Lugansk on February 25, 2015 (AFP

Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak)

Kiev (AFP) - A UN-backed ceasefire showed signs of finally taking hold in Ukraine on Wednesday, with no deaths reported on the front for the first time since the truce took effect 10 days ago.

However, Secretary of State John Kerry told US lawmakers: "To date, neither Russia nor the forces it is supporting have come close to complying with their commitments," renewing warnings that Moscow would face further sanctions.

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks 

during a hearing of the House Foreign

Affairs Committee on February 25, 2015

in Washington,DC (AFP Photo/Brendan 

Smialowski)

A day earlier, Kerry had said the Russians were persisting in "lies... to my face" about their activities in Ukraine. The US dismisses Moscow's denials about giving military backing to the separatists in east Ukraine.

Russia has in turn warned it could cut off gas supplies to Ukraine within days -- and, by extension, to parts of the European Union.

The geopolitical tensions between the old Cold War foes overshadowed a lull in fighting that produced the first day without fatalities since the ceasefire came into effect on February 15.

"Over the past day, one soldier was wounded but there were no dead," Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told journalists in Kiev. The rebels also reported no deaths on their side.

There was still no confirmation, though, from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) of a pull-back of heavy weapons from the frontline -- the other key plank of the truce.

Rebels insisted they were withdrawing artillery, rocket launchers and tanks from some areas, and journalists saw a column of howitzer guns being driven along a road near the separatist stronghold of Donetsk.

But the OSCE mission in Ukraine said the warring sides had not provided the information needed to determine what, if any, arms withdrawals have occurred.

Kiev says it will not carry out an arms pull-back until a full and "comprehensive" ceasefire is observed and has accused Russia of continuing to send military hardware in to bolster the rebels.

Exasperation with Russia

Pro-Russian rebels move heavy-artillery

 from close the eastern Ukrainian town of 

Starobecheve, on February 25, 2015

 (AFP Photo/Vasily Maximov)

The West has thrown its hopes of finding a negotiated solution to the 10-month conflict fully behind the truce, which last week won unanimous backing from the UN Security Council.

But continued breaches by rebel forces -- especially their assault on Debaltseve, a strategic transport hub, and attacks on Ukrainian army positions near the port city of Mariupol -- have exasperated the EU and US.

British Prime Minister David Cameron this week announced his country will send up to 75 soldiers to Ukraine on a "training mission". He said they would not be sent to the conflict zone.

Poland on Wednesday announced its own plans to send a small contingent of troops to Ukraine to help train Kiev's military officers.

Cameron urged the EU to look at wide-ranging sanctions on Russia's economy, which is already toppling into recession because of a drop in oil prices.

View galleryThe key industrial hub of Mariupol has become the latest …

The key industrial hub of Mariupol has become the latest hotspot in the conflict in east Ukraine, st …

Russia, though, is flexing its muscles in readiness for any additional sanctions.

Its state-run gas giant Gazprom has warned it could cut off supplies to Ukraine, amid a dispute over payment.

President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Ukraine had paid only enough "for three or four days' gas supplies. Unless there is a prepayment, Gazprom... will terminate the supply," according to the Interfax news agency.

Much of the gas that flows through Ukraine goes on to supply the EU market.

Putin, in televised comments, also claimed Ukraine had cut off gas supplies to separatist-held territories in the east in what "smacks of genocide."

Workers of the Separate Repair - Recovery Battalion restore tanks, armored personel 

carriers and other heavy weapons in a factory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk 

on February 25, 2015 (AFP Photo/Andrey Borodulin)

Russian drill

The instability is torpedoing Ukraine's fragile economy. The country's central bank on Wednesday increased currency controls in a bid to stop a free-fall of the hryvnia.

Also of concern to EU neighbours is a Russian military drill launched near the borders with Estonia and Latvia.

Some 1,500 Russian paratroopers were to descend from the skies en masse in an exercise to capture and destroy an enemy's airfield, defence ministry spokeswoman Irina Kruglova told AFP. She said the drill was to continue into Saturday.

Since the start of the Ukraine crisis, Russia has staged a series of wargames that have alarmed its post-Soviet neighbours and the West.

Lithuania said on Tuesday it would return to limited conscription later this year because of "the current geopolitical environment".

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Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a cabinet meeting outside 

Moscow, on February 4, 2015 (AFP Photo/Michael Klimentyev)

Matthew message (Channelled by Suzanne Ward, Feb 8, 2015)

Matthew message (Channelled by Suzanne Ward, Aug 3, 2014)

Archangel Michael: Peace on Earth is Not a Dream

Golden Age of Gaia, Steve Beckow, February 13, 2015

Archangel Michael will find a way to get his message out. Linda was not planning on giving a reading today, but a caller begged her. And in the course of the reading, AAM sent a message to all of us. Here it is:

Greetings I am Michael, Archangel of Peace, Warrior of Love, bringer of news.

Our time is at hand and you know this. As we nudge, encourage and conjoin with so many upon the planet to bring forth in form not merely in heart but in form, not only the promise of peace but the actuality of peace.

This is not a dream. This is not an unreality. This is not, as some think, ‘pie in the sky.’

This is what our partnership, our sacred union, our co-creation together, is capable of. And always has been. Only now the human vibration, frequency and knowingness has risen to a level where humans are consciously aware that they are able and capable of anchoring peace on Earth with us right now.

This is not merely an exercise of intent, but of will and action. It is a glorious day. It is not a day of defeat. It is not a day of fear. It is not a day of worry. It is a glorious day!

So I reassure you, my beloved one, and I reassure many, peace is at hand. And I thank you for all the assistance, the diligence, all the consistency that you have offered to and with me – you are cherished.

"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)

“…  8 - The End of War

The last one is the best. For thousands of years on this planet, Human Beings have warred with each other. If you take a look at the reasons they warred with each other, you will quickly see there aren't any good ones - land, resources, greed. Those are not reasons. That is a description of old energy. Those are not reasons. Reasons would be perhaps defense against an aggressor. But what if there is no longer the consciousness of the aggressor?

When I appeared in my partner's life more than 20 years ago, I said to him privately that the first messages we're going to give will be unbelievable. There would be laughter. We told him that Human nature and consciousness itself would change, and that the seeds of peace would be planted and there would come a time where there is no more war. Indeed, the laughter was great because humans look at history and they see patterns based on an absolute energy called Human Nature. "Impossible! There always has to be war. There always has been. Therefore, there always will be." This is you, in a box, in a black and white potential, where you can only see the black and white of what is and the black and white of what has been. You have no idea the shades of color that are there in your consciousness and the beauty of the love of God.

North Korea is on the edge of change, as we told you it might be. What did this require? The death of the old energy, and I want you to watch this take place. The advisors of the young leader are going to do their best to pull him back into an old energy. This free choice of his will be far different than his father, for he sees some color. Watch for these things. They'll take longer than you want, but it is the beginning of the beginning.

You'll see a fresh unification of South America sooner than not, for what is going to take place potentially this year in Venezuela. You'll see Iran changing. We have no clock. These are the potentials. These can change with free choice. These are not prophecies. This is a reality shift, dear ones, so number eight becomes the propensity not to war again. This is what Humans are going to want. This is what governments are going to want. There is a wisdom factor that will begin to happen on the planet that is grander than what you think is possible. For when you look at government, what do you think about? You see dysfunction, and there is an axiom that says the more people that try to do something together, the worse it gets. It all settles to the lowest common denominator. I'm telling you even those things are going to become old energy concepts. Instead, you're going to watch wisdom become the top potential.

I have no clock. I cannot tell you when. I can just tell you it is in the works, and there will be the seeds of it for you to observe soon - right now, in every single of the eight categories I showed you.

There are those who will say, "Well, Kryon, you're doing a lot more predictions than you used to." I want to tell you what's going on, dear one. I am not predicting anything. I am just telling you what's already there in the potential soup of your reality. That's what Humans are doing on this planet, and for those who believe this communication, you should breathe a sigh of relief and say, "It's about time." ….”