Asian cave paintings challenge Europe as cradle of art

Yahoo – AFP, Mariette Le Roux, 8 Oct 2014

This handout picture released by the journal Nature, on October 8, 2014, shows a 

hand stencil found on a cave wall in Maros karsts on the Indonesian island of 

Sulawesi (AFP Photo/Kinez Riza)

The silhouette of a hand on a cave wall in Indonesia is 40,000 years old, showing that Europe was not the birthplace of art as long believed, researchers said on Wednesday.

Created by spraying reddish paint around an open hand pressed against rock, the stencil was made about the same time -- and possibly before -- early humans were leaving artwork on cave walls around Europe that was long thought to be the first in the world.

In the same cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, a painting of a pig was dated to about 35,000 years ago, the Indonesian and Australian team reported in the journal Nature.

The discovery, they said, throws up two theories, both of which challenge the conventional wisdom around the history of human artistic expression.

Art either arose independently but simultaneously in different parts of the world -- or was brought by Homo sapiens when he left Africa for a worldwide odyssey.

"Europeans can't exclusively claim to be the first to develop an abstract mind anymore," Anthony Dosseto of Australia's University of Wollongong said in a statement.

"They need to share this, at least, with the early inhabitants of Indonesia."

Anthropologists consider rock art to be an indicator of the onset of abstract thinking -- the ability to reflect on ideas and events.

Recasting human evolution

Dosseto and a team dated 12 hand stencils and two animal likenesses found at seven cave sites on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

The ancient images were discovered more than 50 years ago, but had never been accurately dated.

This handout picture released by the journal Nature, on October 8, 2014, shows

 hand stencils marking a cave wall in Maros karsts on the Indonesian island of

 Sulawesi (AFP Photo/Kinez Riza)

It had been widely assumed that anything older than 10,000 years would have eroded away in the tropical climate.

The team measured the radioactive decay of trace amounts of uranium found in small stalactite-like calcite growths called "cave popcorn" that had formed a layer less than 10 millimetres (0.38 inches) thick over the art.

The method produced minimum estimates for the works' ages, and the pieces could in fact be much older, said the team.

The stencil is now officially the oldest known specimen of the hand silhouette art form, they reported.

And the depiction of a fat-bellied babirusa "pig deer", its four legs, head, tail and lines of hair still clearly visible, is one of the earliest known depictions of an animal, "if not the earliest".

"It can now be demonstrated that humans were producing rock art about 40,000 years ago at opposite ends of the Pleistocene Eurasian world," the team wrote.

The previous oldest cave art was from El Castillo cave in northern Spain, including a hand stencil dated 37,300 years ago, according to Wil Roebroeks of Leiden University, who wrote a comment on the study.

The oldest known animal painting was of a charcoal rhino in the Chauvet Cave in France, dated to 35,300-38,827 years ago. Traces of red paint about 36,000-41,000 years old were found in Fumane, Italy.

Chris Stringer, a palaeontologist at Britain's Natural History Museum, said the new data suggested that early humans were already artists when they spread out of Africa tens of thousands of years ago.

"I think some of the art in Australia will also eventually be dated to this very early time," he said in a video distributed by Nature.

The findings "stress the great relevance of Asia, and especially southeast Asia, for the study of human evolution," added Roebroeks.

"Compared with Europe, Asia has seen little fieldwork, and new finds will keep on challenging what we think we know about human evolution."

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"The Big Picture - You Are Not Alone" - Feb 2012 (Message from Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“..  Your Story

Several hundred thousand years ago, Humans began to form into the Human that you recognize today. That's just yesterday. Don't confuse this with Human development. You have had that going on for a very long time. But the DNA that is within your body is not the DNA that developed naturally on the planet. Yours is outside of the system of Earth-based evolutionary processes, and the scientists are starting to see this. The "missing link" that they speak of is not Human.

So again, we tell you that the ones who came to help seed you approximately 100,000 to 200,000 Earth years ago were the Pleiadians who had gone into graduate status and who had changed consciousness. They had become quantum with free choice, and you have parts of their DNA within you.

New information for you: The seeding process was not a one-time event. This is why we give you these large sections of time where the Pleiadians worked with you. It was done over time and in many places. It was not all simultaneous, and this was for reasons that will remain unknown to you for now, but will later explain why you will find other Human types that now are extinct. Now you only have one Human type, and that is counterintuitive to all mammal development on the planet. This was a design, and it took more than 100,000 years to create this for humanity as you know it.

It's your Human bias that has the creation story of the knowledge of light and dark being given to Humans in one day in a garden involving a talking snake and other mythology. Spiritual logic should tell you that these stories are simply metaphors of a real truth, that indeed there was a major shift of consciousness, but over a longer period of time and not instantly. The same mythology has the earth created in seven days. However, this only represents a numerological truth [7 is the number of divinity], meaning that there was a divine design in the creation of the planet. It's time to start using spiritual logic within the teachings you have about spiritual history, for the revelations will be wonderful and lead to fuller understanding.

Now, what really is in your DNA? It's the Pleiadians' code, and it's the ones before them, and even the ones before them. You can't remember it, for that is not the set-up. The system is that your Akashic record is only from Earth, but your "divine remembrance" will take you back to the beginning, where system after system after system created that which you see as the divinity within the galaxy and the Universe.

Who are they? They're your "divine" parents. They're the seed divinity in you and they visit here. They're not all Pleiadians, did you know that? Instead, they're from all over the galaxy. You see, they also represent the seeds of the Pleiadians, and they keep you safe. You wouldn't have it any other way, would you? "Safe from what?" you might ask. ….”

"The Timing of Creation"– Aug  12, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Text version)

Kerry to join Cairo talks on rebuilding Gaza

Yahoo – AFP, 6 Oct 2014

US Secretary of State John Kerry gestures upon his arrival for a meeting with

 Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on July 23, 

2014 (AFP Photo/Abbas Momani)

Washington (AFP) - Secretary of State John Kerry will take part in a conference on rebuilding Gaza, devastated by a 50-day war with Israel earlier this year, a US official said Monday.

Kerry "will be attending the conference" to be held in Cairo on October 12, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

The Palestinian government on Thursday unveiled a 76-page reconstruction plan for Gaza, calling for $4 billion to rebuild the war-battered territory, with the largest amount going to build housing for some 100,000 left homeless.

The Israeli military operation in the impoverished Gaza Strip killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians, while attacks by Gaza militants killed 73 on the Israeli side.

The report said $4 billion (3.2 billion euros) would be needed for the "direct costs" of rebuilding the besieged coastal territory. It would include $1.9 billion for public and private infrastructure repairs, and $1.2 billion for "reactivating economic productivity."

The priority will be to remove rubble and unexploded shells, while also repairing Gaza's power station and improving access to water, health care and education.

Last month, the US unveiled an additional $71 million in emergency aid to Gaza, highlighting that "more than 580,000 people are still sheltering in United Nations facilities."

It brought the US total funding since the start of the war to more than $118 million.

"Basic necessities like food, clean water, and fuel remain in short supply throughout the territory," the State Department warned in a September statement.

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US supreme court decision paves way for sweeping expansion of gay rights

Court declines to hear appeals from five states – Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin – seeking to uphold same-sex marriage bans and paves way for legalisation in six other states

theguardian.com, Dan Roberts in Washington and Amanda Holpuch in New York, Monday 6 October 2014

The court’s decision was made on Monday morning. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

The US supreme court paved the way for a sweeping expansion of gay rights across the United States on Monday, declining to hear appeals from five states seeking to uphold bans on same-sex marriage.

The court’s unexpected decision means that same-sex marriage becomes legal in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, where states had been appealing defeats in the lower courts.

Couples in six other states – Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming – should be able to get married in “short order”, the Associated Press reported. Those states are covered by the jurisdictions of the courts involved in the defeated appeals.

Legal experts were digesting the implications of the supreme court decision, which would make same-sex marriage legal in 30 states and the District of Columbia – a majority of states in the union.

Evan Wolfson, president of the campaign group Freedom to Marry, welcomed the court’s decision to allow the lower courts’ rulings to stand. “The court’s letting stand these victories means that gay couples will soon share in the freedom to marry in 30 states, representing 60% of the American people,” he said in a statement.

But he called on the supreme court justices to “finish the job”. He said: “We are one country, with one constitution, and the court’s delay in affirming the freedom to marry nationwide prolongs the patchwork of state-to-state discrimination and the harms and indignity that the denial of marriage still inflicts on too many couples in too many places.”

Ed Whelan, of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, an opponent of same-sex marriage, criticised the court for its “irresponsible” decision. He conceded that it would be hard for the court to rule against same-sex marriage in future, having allowed so many pro-marriage rulings to stand.

The decision was clear in its implications for the five states directly covered by the appeals turned away by the supreme court. Same-sex marriage could be legal in these states within hours, provided the relevant circuit courts dissolve the stays they had put in place when ruling in favour of same-sex marriage.

“The only point of the stay order was to maintain the status quo pending the ultimate resolution of the cases, and there is now an ultimate resolution of the cases,” said William Eskridge, a professor at Yale Law School.

The decision also paves the way for same-sex marriage to become legal in the six other states which have cases pending in these circuits: West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Wyoming, Colorado and Kansas. “If I were representing the plaintiffs in all those states, I would be moving for summary judgement today,” said Eskridge.

There are still hurdles in the path to legalising same-sex marriage in those states. District courts may decide that the cases before them were different enough to warrant new appeals. “This is an area of the law in flux though and it is not inconceivable that a district court in one state might decide to argue its case is different enough from another in the same circuit to warrant a fresh appeal,” said Jessica Levinson, a supreme court commentator and professor of law at Loyola Law School in California.

States could also petition the courts for rulings en banc - that is, in a sitting of all the judges on the court.

But the lower courts would nevertheless be bound by the precedent set by the appeals that the supreme court allowed to stand on Monday.

The supreme court move took legal experts by surprise, as the prevailing expectation was that the justices would simply delay making a decision, rather than turn the appeals away. “The impacts are pretty substantial and that may just may be an indicator that if and when they do [rule], they may well rule in favour of marriage equality in any event,” said Carl Tobias, Williams professor of law at University of Richmond.

One of the supreme court justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, suggested in September that the court would delay taking up a case until a circuit court delivered ruling against same-sex marriage, which may happen in one of the more conservative circuits.

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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. …”

Pope Francis: Vatican begins landmark synod to discuss family life

BBC News, 5 October 2014

Pope Francis: Vatican begins landmark synod to discuss family life

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• Francis: The Pope's calling
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Pope Francis and more than 200 senior bishops are meeting at the Vatican to discuss some of the most controversial issues affecting the Catholic Church.

They will be joined by lay Catholics to debate abortion, contraception, homosexuality and divorce.

The extraordinary Synod lasts two weeks and a follow-up meeting will be held next year.

Pope Francis said on Saturday that he wanted bishops to really listen to the Catholic community.

He said he hoped they would have a "sincere, open and fraternal" discussion that would respond to the "epochal changes" that families were living through.

Last year, a global survey launched by Pope Francis suggested that the majority of Catholics reject Church teaching on issues such as sex and contraception.

Many Catholics hope that Pope Francis' reformist attitude will help to modernise

and revitalise an ailing Church

Pope Francis was elected to lead the Church in a papal enclave in 2013

after his predecessor Benedict XI retired

On Saturday, Pope Francis led crowds in the Vatican's St Peter's Square in
a vigil to prepare for the Synod

As one of the world's oldest religious institutions, the Catholic Church is in no hurry to change its teachings, says the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt in Rome.

No-one should expect rapid results from this Synod, but many Catholics are hoping that it will bring some change, our correspondent adds.

After these two weeks of debate, the Synod will gather again in a year's time to continue its review.

The Catholic Church has more than one billion members around the world.

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

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

“…  1 - Spirituality

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

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

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

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

“…  3 - Longer Life is Going to Happen, But…

Here is one that is a review. We keep bringing it up because Humans don't believe it. If you're going to start living longer, there are those who are frightened that there will be overpopulation. You've seen the way it is so far, and the geometric progression of mathematics is absolute and you cannot change it. So if you look at the population of the earth and how much it has shifted in the last two decades, it's frightening to you. What would change that progression?

The answer is simple, but requires a change in thinking. The answer is a civilization on the planet who understands a new survival scenario. Instead of a basic population who has been told to have a lot of children to enhance the race [old survival], they begin to understand the logic of a new scenario. The Akashic wisdom of the ages will start to creep in with a basic survival scenario shift. Not every single woman will look at herself and say, "The clock is ticking," but instead can say, "I have been a mother 14 times in a row. I'm going to sit this one out." It's a woman who understands that there is no loss or guilt in this, and actually feels that the new survival attribute is to keep the family small or not at all! Also, as we have said before, even those who are currently ignorant of population control will figure out what is causing babies to be born [Kryon joke].

Part of the new Africa will be education and healing, and eventually a zero population growth, just like some of the first-world nations currently have. Those who are currently tied to a spiritual doctrine will actually have that doctrine changed (watch for it) regarding Human birth. Then they will be able to make free choice that is appropriate even within the establishment of organized religion. You see, things are going to change where common sense will say, "Perhaps it would help the planet if I didn't have children or perhaps just one child." Then the obvious, "Perhaps I can exist economically better and be wiser with just one. It will help the one!" Watch for these changes. For those of you who are steeped in the tradition of the doctrines and would say that sounds outrageously impossible, I give you the new coming pope [Kryon smile]. For those of you who feel that uncontrolled procreation is inevitable, I encourage you to see statistics you haven't seen or didn't care to look at yet about what first-world countries have already accomplished on their own, without any mandates. It's already happening. That was number three.….”

"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)

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

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

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

Sweden to recognise Palestinian state

BBC News, 3 October 2014

Sweden has just elected a new centre-left government led by Prime Minister
Stefan Lofven (second left)

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Sweden is to "recognise the state of Palestine", Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has said, the first long-term EU member country to do so.

"The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution," he said during his inaugural address in parliament.

It should be "negotiated in accordance with international law", he said.

Sweden last month voted out the centre-right Alliance coalition of Fredrik Reinfeldt after eight years.

That allowed the Social Democrats led by Mr Lofven to form a government with other parties on the left including the Greens.

"A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence. Sweden will therefore recognise the state of Palestine," Mr Lofven said on Friday, without giving a timeline for the recognition.

Sweden will join more than 130 other countries that recognise a Palestinian state.

Most of the EU's 28 member states have refrained from recognising Palestinian statehood and those that do - such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - did so before joining the bloc.

Long campaign

The Palestinians have long sought to establish an independent, sovereign state in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Gaza Strip - occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War.

Correspondents say Sweden's move is likely to be strongly criticised by Israel and the US, who argue that an independent Palestinian state should only emerge through negotiations.

Palestinians say the peace process is hampered by Israeli settlements like
this one in the West Bank

In 1988, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally declared a Palestinian state within the pre-June 1967 lines.

This won recognition from about 100 countries, mainly Arab, Communist and non-aligned states - several of them in Latin America.

The 1993 Oslo Accord between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel led to mutual recognition. However, two decades of on-off peace talks have since failed to produce a permanent settlement.

In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to that of a "non-member observer state".

It followed a failed bid to join the international body as a full member state in 2011 because of a lack of support in the UN Security Council.

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Turkey pushes for more than 'dropping tons of bombs' on IS

Yahoo – AFP, Burak Akinci, Oct 1, 2014

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) addresses the Turkish parliament

 in Ankara after it reconvened following the summer recess on October 1, 2014

(AFP Photo/Adem Altan)

Ankara (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pressed the West on Wednesday to find a long-term solution to the crises in Syria and Iraq, saying dropping "tons of bombs" on Islamic State militants would only provide temporary respite.

Erdogan has pushed for the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad throughout the Syria crisis to settle the conflict and said that international action had to go well beyond air strikes.

"Dropping tons of bombs from the air is only a temporary solution and only delays the threats and the danger," Erdogan told parliament in a keynote address on the opening day of its new session.

A Syrian Kurd arrives in the southeastern

 town of Suruc in the Sanliurfa province

 after crossing the border into Turkey on

October 1, 2014 (AFP Photo/Bulent Kilic)

"The world should know that Turkey is not a country that will allow itself to be used in the search for a palliative solution," he added.

Erdogan's comments came a day ahead of a debate in parliament when the government will seek authorisation for military action by Turkish armed forces in the Syria and Iraq crises.

After months of reticence in the fight against IS that exasperated the West, Turkey has now shifted its policy and indicated it is willing to join the international coalition.

Ankara has not yet indicated what form its assistance could take although Erdogan has repeatedly called for a buffer zone on the Turkish border inside Syria -- backed by a no-fly zone -- to ensure security.

"Turkey has no intention of intervening in any country's internal affairs or grabbing any other country's land," Erdogan told parliament.

"But peace and stability in the region means peace and stability in Turkey," he added.

Parliament urged to back measures

According to the Hurriyet daily, quoting sources in Turkey's central command, the request seeks permission from parliament for the presence and transit of foreign soldiers in Turkish territory and deployment of Turkish military forces to Iraq or Syria.

The armed forces want to allow Turkey's allies the use of Turkish bases for humanitarian aid and logistical support, including the Incirlik air base which the US is keen to use for sorties against IS, it said.

But is for the government to determine the terms and conditions under which the bases, including Incirlik, can be used, Hurriyet said.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has a strong majority in parliament but Erdogan called on the opposition to also vote for the mandate.

"Parties in parliament should take this into consideration when voting for the mandate," Erdogan said.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) addresses the Turkish Parliament 

during a debate as the Parliament reconvenes after a summer recess in Ankara, 

October 1, 2014 (AFP Photo/Adem Altan)

"Remaining silent means betraying our history."

Turkey has been accused of playing a role in the growth of IS with its past support of Islamist Syrian groups in the hope they would aid the ousting of Assad.

But Erdogan angrily lashed out at suggestions of collusion between Turkey and IS.

"It is out of the question to tolerate or to have the slightest sympathy on our territory, region or planet for such a terrorist group," he said.

Ankara has previously justified its low-key role in the fight against IS by saying its hands were tied by concerns over the fate of dozens of Turkish hostages abducted by IS in Iraq.

But those hostages were freed September 20, prompting what Erdogan has acknowledged as a major change in Turkish policy.

Related Article:

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New York Times faces new job cuts

The New York Times has announced fresh job cuts, mostly in its newsroom division, to save costs. The newspaper said it wanted to invest more heavily in its digital product portfolio.

Deutsche Welle, 1 Oct 2014

The New York Times confirmed Wednesday more job cuts would be required to lower costs against the background of shrinking advertizing revenue from its print business.

The newspaper said it would have to slash 100 newsroom positions and a smaller number of jobs from its editorial and business operations.

"We will also redesign the magazine, crate new journalistic features and adapt our journalism to a world where an increasing number of readers find us on mobile," NYT Executive Editor Dean Baquet said in a statement.

Deep restructuring ahead

He added the company would also invest heavily in audience development, its digital product portfolio and advertizing.

However, NYT Opinion, a mobile app dedicated to opinion content, would be shut down as it was not attracting enough subscribers.

The Times had earlier reported a hefty drop in profits in the second quarter, with its Q2 net earnings falling by half year-on-year to $9.2 million (7.3 million euros).

hg/cjc (Reuters, AFP)

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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)

“…6 - The News

Number six. I'll be brief. Watch for your news to change. It has to. When the media realizes that Human Beings are changing their watching habits, they're going to start changing what they produce for you to watch. Eventually, there's going to be something called "The Good News Channel," and it will be very attractive indeed. For it will be real and offset the drama of what is today's attraction. This is what families at night, sitting around the table, will wish to watch. They'll have something where the whole picture of a situation is shown and not just the dramatic parts. You will hear about what's happening on the planet that no one is telling you now, and when that occurs [we have no clock, dear one], it's going to compete strongly with the drama. I keep telling you this. Human nature itself is starting to be in color instead of black and white. Watch for it. And that was number six ….”

Ex-Guantanamo detainee walks free after UK drops terror charges

Yahoo – AFP, 1 Oct 2014

Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam

 Begg, seen here in 2012, has been in custody

 since March (AFP Photo/Carl Court)

London (AFP) - A former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Moazzam Begg, walked free from a British prison on Wednesday after prosecutors dropped seven terror charges relating to the conflict in Syria.

The 45-year-old, who fought in Bosnia in the 1990s and admitted training young men in Syria "to defend civilians" against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, had been in custody since March awaiting trial.

"I wanted my day in court but I was very happy," Begg told reporters outside the high-security Belmarsh prison in southeast London shortly after being released.

"I think that it's important to point out some of the government's failures in its foreign policy and its internal policy -- it's clear demonising of the Muslim community."

The Crown Prosecution Service made the dramatic announcement during a pre-trial review at the Old Bailey court in London, where Begg was appearing via videolink.

"The prosecution have recently become aware of relevant material and in light of which, after careful and anxious consideration, have reached the conclusion that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction in this case," prosecuting lawyer Christopher Hehir said.

Begg was arrested in February at his home, accused of providing terrorist training between October 2012 and April 2013, and funding terrorism between July and August 2013.

His arrest caused headlines because of his high profile, and police conceded that questions were now going to be asked about why he was charged in the first place.

From Guantanamo to rights campaigning

Born in Britain, Begg fought in Bosnia in the 1990s and moved with his family to Afghanistan in 2001.

He was detained in Pakistan in January 2002 and spent nearly a year in prison at Bagram, the main US airbase in Afghanistan, before being sent to the notorious US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba until his release without charge in January 2005.

Returning to Britain, he became director of a human rights organisation, CAGE, and a vocal critic of the rights of those detained under the so-called "War on Terror".

After the Arab Spring, he visited Syria twice, as well as Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, to conduct what he said were investigations into the British government's role in human rights violations, according to CAGE.

His lawyer Ben Emmerson said he made no secret of his visits to Syria but was not guilty of terrorism.

"Mr Begg did not train anyone for the purposes of terrorism as defined in the 2001 act," Emmerson told the court.

"Mr Begg says he was involved in training young men to defend civilians against war crimes by the Assad regime."

Some 500 British citizens are believed to be fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and Britain has stepped up checks to prevent them leaving and has arrested returnees.

In his speech to the Conservative Party conference, Prime Minister David Cameron had a message for Britons who travel to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State jihadist group.

"You have declared your allegiance. You are an enemy of the UK and you should expect to be treated as such," he said.

Obama and Modi vow to improve trade, economic ties

The US and Indian leaders have met for formal talks at the White House, focusing on trade and economic ties. Narendra Modi's warm welcome comes nine years after Washington refused him a visa on human rights grounds.

Deutsche Welle, 30 Sep 2014

US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the two countries' economic relationship, with Modi pressing Obama to make it easier for Indian services companies to reach US shores.

Obama praised Modi for addressing India's challenges since taking office in May, singling out in particular the prime minister's focus on "the needs of the poorest of the poor."

The pair said they discussed shared intelligence on terrorism and regional concerns such as Afghanistan, as well as clean energy, climate change, and the scientific push in India to improve sanitation and hygiene. They also swapped views on the rise of the Islamic State militant group, and the fight against Ebola in West Africa.

Modi also revealed he and Obama had a "candid" discussion about the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), reached in Bali last year. All 160 World Trade Organization (WTO) members, including India, agreed to implement the TFA.

But the government in New Delhi has blocked the agreement, over concerns its food subsidies to the poor could face legal challenges. Under existing WTO rules, stockpiling and food subsidies for the poor are considered trade distorting.

Modi told Obama he hoped for an agreement "soon" to free up the TFA.

"India supports trade facilitation. However, I also expect that we are able to find a solution that takes care of our concern on food security. I believe that it should be possible to do that soon," Modi said.

Frayed ties

Both sides are seeking to address concerns their relationship is under threat, following strained ties on several issues in recent months. An existing civil nuclear agreement is causing some headaches, while last December, US authorities arrested and strip-searched an Indian diplomat in New York on suspicion she mistreated her housekeeper.

In 2005, Modi was denied a visa to the US on human rights ground over anti-Muslim riots in the state of Gujarat, where he was the top elected official. The riots left more than 1,000 people dead.

Modi denies wrongdoing and has never been charged over the deaths. But a lawsuit leveled by a New York human rights group against Modi is trying to get him to answer allegations he failed to stop the violence.

US officials have insisted the lawsuit will not detract from Modi's visit. As a foreign head of government, Modi receives diplomatic immunity.

Obama and Modi first met in a private dinner at the White House late on Monday.

Stressing a common goal of togetherness, the pair wrote a joint article for Tuesday's Washington Post newspaper. They also traveled together to pay homage at a memorial to civil rights leader Martin Luther King, just a few blocks from the White House.

jr/dr (dpa, Reuters, AP, AFP)