From the streets to the summit: young climate leaders mobilize at UN

Yahoo – AFP, Issam AHMED, 21 September 2019

Young activists take part in the first UN Youth Climate Summit on September 21

A day after youth-led global climate strikes, several hundred young activists including Greta Thunberg gathered for a climate summit at the United Nations on Saturday, chiding older generations for doing too little to curb carbon emissions.

The UN has invited 500 young activists and entrepreneurs to take part in the New York meeting, the first of its kind, though some were unable to attend after being denied US visas, a point raised by the organizers.

It comes days before a climate action summit which UN chief Antonio Guterres has called to seek greater commitments from world leaders on reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris accord to avert runaway global warming.

The tone for Saturday's event was set by an impassioned speech by Argentine activist Bruno Rodriguez, 19, who led school strikes in his native country.

"The climate and ecological crisis is the political crisis of our time, it is the economic crisis of our time, and it is the cultural crisis of our time," he said, as Guterres, who was billed as the "keynote listener," watched on.

Students participate in the Global Climate Strike on September 20 in New York

"Many times, we hear that our generation is going to be the one in charge of dealing with the problems that current leaders have created, and we will not wait passively to become that future: The time is now for us to be leaders."

Thunberg, whose protests outside Sweden's parliament last year sparked the global youth movement, spoke first but briefly, saying she wanted to give more time to others.

"We showed we are united and young people are unstoppable," said the 16-year-old, who will also address Monday's summit.

On Friday, masses of children skipped school to join global strikes that Thunberg said were "only the beginning" of the movement.

Some four million people filled city streets around the world, organizers said, in what was billed as the biggest-ever protest against the threat posed to the planet by rising temperatures.

Swedish teen Greta Thunberg has become the poster child for a new 

youth-led climate change protest movement

'Greenwashing' under fire

The corridors of the UN were filled Saturday with young people in formal suits and ties, dresses, and traditional wear from their home countries, and others wearing simple t-shirts and jeans.

"This is the change, and it's coming," said Lalita P-Junggee, a green entrepreneur from Mauritius, who turns billboards and textile waste into fashionable bags.

The day also saw young innovators proposing solutions, pitching their ideas to panels from leading global companies like Google.

But corporations also came under fire for their ties to the oil and gas industries.

During one testy exchange, Kathleen Ma, a 23-year-old delegate who lives in New York turned to a representative from Microsoft, which this week announced a deal with Chevron and oilfield services company Schlumberger to provide cloud computing services.

Map of protests and actions planned during the "Week for the Future" scheduled 

from September 20 to 27, according to the Fridays For Future movement

"Do you care more about getting contracts from fossil fuel companies than you care about youth? Do you care more about profits than you care about us?" she asked, to wide applause.

Lucas Joppa, Microsoft's chief environmental officer, thanked her for the question, replying: "That's one that the entire tech sector, and everybody in the world we live in today which is predicated upon an oil and gas economy has to answer.

"It's one that you'll be hearing more about both from Microsoft and our peers in the broader tech sector as this moves forward."

Rodriguez, the activist from Argentina, later told AFP that young activists were strongly in favor of efforts to divest from the fossil fuel industry, which was responsible for "pillaging" across Latin America.

Pacific Islanders marched in Sydney in one of the first protests in a global 

day of action on climate change

He added that he welcomed the fact that the corporate sector had a heavy presence on the sidelines of the main UN climate summit this week, but that their efforts need to go beyond rhetoric and "they also need to be conscious that the greenwashing speech has no place anymore."

A landmark UN report to be unveiled next week will warn global warming and pollution are ravaging Earth's oceans and icy regions in ways that could unleash misery on a global scale.

But Guterres struck a more optimistic note Saturday, crediting young activists with spurring action.

"This changing momentum was due to your initiative and to the courage, with which you have started these movements."

Kathleen Ma, 23, criticized Microsoft over a cloud computing deal it has

signed with Chevron and Schulmberger

Kathleen Ma, 23, criticized Microsoft over a cloud computing deal it has signed with Chevron and Schulmberger

Young activists take part in the first UN Youth Climate Summit on September 21

Students participate in the Global Climate Strike on September 20 in New York

Swedish teen Greta Thunberg has become the poster child for a new youth-led climate change protest movement

Map of protests and actions planned during the "Week for the Future" scheduled from September 20 to 27, according to the Fridays For Future movement.

Pacific Islanders marched in Sydney in one of the first protests in a global day of action on climate change.

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"The State of the Earth" – (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"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…

Water

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

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

Lagarde urges policymakers to resolve manmade economic threats

MSN – AFP, 20 September 2019

Eric BARADAT Outgoing IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde gives an
exclusive interview to AFP journalists at the IMF headquarters in Washington
on September 19, 2019

Accustomed to being the first woman in influential leadership positions and speaking frankly to men in power, Christine Lagarde says manmade threfinats to the global economy can be "man-fixed."

Lagarde only last week left her post as head of the International Monetary Fund after eight years, the first woman to serve in that role, and she is expected to put another "first" on her resume by the end of the year: first woman to serve as president of the European Central Bank.

Eric BARADAT Christine Lagarde is expected to take over
leadership of the European Central bank and calls for
 policymakers to address manmade threats to global growth

She sees a world economy where growth is "fragile" and "under threat" from trade frictions and Brexit, and perhaps an over-reliance on the efforts of central banks like the ECB.

But while she tried to urge action during her time at the IMF -- she took over in 2011 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis -- she said a central bank should "stick to its mandate," which perhaps is a clue to how she will run the ECB.

Or perhaps not.

She carefully avoided a commitment about how she would use her influence in the new post.

Manmade problems can be 'man-fixed'

In perfect English and always engaging and crisply professional, Lagarde sat down with AFP on Thursday to review her legacy at the Washington-based crisis lender, where she arrived after being the first woman finance minister of France.

In bare numbers, her record is impressive: the IMF helped to avoid a global depression, 90 countries -- nearly half of its members -- benefitted from some form of lending or credit line during the crisis, and the lending capacity was doubled to $1 trillion.

One of her main regrets is that she ran out of time to convince the member governments to increase those resources further, since the IMF, which sits "right at the core, at the center of the global financial safety net," may not have enough cash to address the next inevitable crisis.

Still, the IMF remains influential over economic and financial policy matters.

"I think we have spoken truth to power, not always to the power's pleasure," Lagarde said.

But as she leaves Britain is poised to crash out of the European Union, with no deal to cushion the blow in place as yet, while "America First" President Donald Trump has waged a multi-front trade war primarily targeted at China.

Those threats have undercut confidences and business investment as well as exports, and global growth could by some estimates fall to the slowest pace since 2008 at the start of the financial crisis.

But Brexit and trade frictions "are manmade and can be man-fixed," and Lagarde quipped, "A bit of woman wouldn't hurt."

Where are the roof fixers?

She has often urged governments to "fix the roof while the sun is shining," borrowing from former US President John F Kennedy, pushing for spending while times are good to fix long-term problems and help people left behind by globalization and technological change.

Yet even amid a worldwide wave of anger against trade and globalization, officials who control the purse strings of governments have not done enough, Lagarde said.

Instead central banks have done much of the heavy lifting in preventing the financial crisis from becoming a depression.

"I think central bankers have done an awful lot and were for many years regarded as the only game in town," she said.

If confirmed, Lagarde will step into her new post as one of those central bankers in an environment where Trump has maintained a relentless campaign against the US Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates aggressively to stimulate growth, while others in Europe have criticized outgoing ECB President Mario Draghi for cutting rates further into negative territory to juice a sluggish EU economy.

Experience shows that when politicians meddle with central bank independence it "doesn't pan out very well," she cautioned, but at the same time "a central bank has to do the job that it is assigned to do... they should stick to facts and data so that they could be predictable."

In her new post leading the ECB, she pledged to focus on job creation and stability, but stability alone may not be enough in the lives of real people.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg meets with Obama in Washington

Yahoo – AFP, September 18, 2019

Former US president Barack Obama (R) met with climate activist Greta
Thunberg in Washington (AFP Photo)

Washington (AFP) - Barack Obama met with teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg in Washington, the former US president said Tuesday.

Obama announced the Monday meeting via Twitter, hailing the 16-year-old as "one of our planet's greatest advocates."

The Obama Foundation released a video of the former president's meeting with Thunberg -- who is visiting the United States after crossing the Atlantic in an emissions-free boat.

"No one is too small to have an impact and change the world, so just do everything you can. Be creative," Thunberg said during the meeting.

"You and me, we're a team," said Obama, before asking the young activist if she believed in fist bumping, to which she responded in the affirmative.

"Recognizing that her generation will bear the brunt of climate change, she's unafraid to push for real action," Obama wrote on Twitter.

On Friday, Thunberg took part in a climate demonstration in front of the White House in Washington, and on September 20 will participate in a "global climate strike" in New York along with other protests around the world.

Two priests should be tried in altar boys abuse case: Vatican

Yahoo – AFP, September 17, 2019

Pope Francis has apologised for predatory priests but cover-ups in the
Vatican have severely damaged trust (AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Vatican City (AFP) - An Italian priest accused of sexually abusing altar boys in a seminary and another priest who allegedly facilitated that abuse have been referred to Italian justice, the Vatican said Tuesday.

A statement said the Vatican’s Promoter of Justice has recommended that Father Gabriele Martinelli stand trial over charges of sexual abuse, and that Father Enrico Radice also be tried over charges of covering it up.

The alleged abuse took place at the pre-seminary of St Pius X, an institution located on Vatican grounds that trains altar boys and is very close to Pope Francis's residence.

"The investigation was launched in 2017 following press reports," the Vatican said.

Martinelli was a seminarian and aged 21 when the alleged abuse took place and was in charge of training the boys.

A Polish roommate of one of the victims said he had witnessed repeated sexual assaults, according to Italian media.

He along with two other seminarians denounced Martinelli to superiors and also in a letter written to cardinals.

The alleged abuse was the subject of 2017 book called "Original Sin" by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi.

Nuzzi said the young seminarian, who lived there between the ages of 13 and 18, was sent back in 2014 after sounding the alarm on the alleged abuse.

The seminarian claimed that Martinelli came to his room to have sexual relations with his roommate -- who was then aged 17.

He claimed he had witnessed such acts up to 140 times and that Martinelli used "power and intimidation" to impose his will on young seminarians.

The Polish man, who says he is gay, accused the priests of double standards, saying: "During the day, they are homophobes and at night they unwind in gay discos."

Pope Francis has apologised for predatory priests but cover-ups in the Vatican have severely damaged trust in the centuries-old institution, and there is still much to be done to protect minors from clerical paedophiles.

In May, the pontiff passed a landmark new measure to oblige those who know about sex abuse in the Catholic Church to report it to their superiors, in a move which could bring countless new cases to light.

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Science & Spiritually Conference 2018, BC – Canada (4), June 16-17, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Text version “Predictions”)

".... Let me tell you what else is in the field. Two things: These are going to be things that exist now in the field and they are upcoming potentials. The reason I give you these potentials is so if they happen, just like the handshake, you might believe a little more in this process.

There will come a time when Big Pharma will fall over because of a growing higher consciousness of the public. [Applause in the audience] There is a consciousness growing here that begins to have a new respect for each other, so that abuse of women will no longer be tolerated. Things that never happened before will begin happening, like bishops and cardinals resigning. [All 34 bishops in the Catholic Church resigned May 2018 after the new wild card pope called them on their reaction to child abuse for years by their colleagues.] All the things my partner brought today [in the seminar] are actually happening now. Why should some of these drug companies fail? Because there will be a strong reaction from your general public when they realize there are companies that have policies that would keep a Human sick or let him die for money. [Applause in the audience] It would be unconscionable, and the potential grows stronger daily that it's going to happen. The trigger? It's coming. When it does, that industry will be in trouble. Not all pharma is this way, dear ones - understand this - but the ones who are will fall. ..."

Moscow holds Taliban talks

Yahoo – AFP, September 15, 2019

Afghan National Army soldiers stand guard and inspect the site of a suicide
car bomb attack by the Taliban in Char Asiab district, south of Kabul, on
September 12 (AFP Photo/STR)

A Taliban delegation held talks with Russian officials in Moscow after US negotiations with the Afghan insurgents collapsed, the Russian foreign ministry said Saturday.

"The Russian president's special representative for Afghanistan... Zamir Kabulov, hosted a Taliban delegation in Moscow," a ministry spokesman said, quoted by RIA Novosti state-funded news agency.

No date for the talks was given.

"The Russian side stressed the need to relaunch negotiations between the United States and the Taliban movement," the spokesman said.

"For their part, the Taliban confirmed their willingness to pursue dialogue with Washington," he added.

Until a week ago expectation had steadily mounted of a US-Taliban deal that would see the US drawdown of troop levels in Afghanistan and the Taliban offer security guarantees to keep extremist groups out.

But last week, Trump revealed he had cancelled an unprecedented meeting between the Taliban and himself in the United States and declared the talks with the militants "dead".

In a tweet on Saturday, Trump said: "The Taliban has never been hit harder than it is being hit right now. Killing 12 people, including one great American soldier, was not a good idea. There are much better ways to set up a negotiation. The Taliban knows they made a big mistake, and they have no idea how to recover!"

With more than 13,000 US troops still in Afghanistan, Trump has been eager to end America's longest war, launched 18 years ago after the September 11 attacks.

But fears are now growing of increased violence with presidential elections set for September 28 in Afghanistan.

The vote, the fourth since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, has already been delayed twice this year.

Government forces and Taliban have been engaged in heavy exchanges across the nation, with the militants vowing to continue fighting and make the US regret walking away from talks.

Russia has been trying to influence the peace negotiations and staged two meetings in Moscow with Afghan political leaders at the start of the year.

Iran says 'blue girl' football fan admitted 'mistake'

Yahoo – AFP, 14 September 2019

Iran has come under increasing pressure to lift a ban on women entering
stadidums (AFP Photo/JONATHAN NACKSTRAND)

Tehran (AFP) - An Iranian football fan who set herself ablaze and died after being arrested for trying to enter a stadium had "confessed her mistake" when she was questioned, the judiciary said Saturday.

Sahar Khodayari, dubbed "blue girl" because of the colours of the team she supported, Esteghlal FC, was reportedly detained when she tried to enter a stadium dressed as a man to watch them last year.

She died of her injuries in a Tehran hospital after setting herself on fire outside a court last week.

Her death sparked outrage online, with celebrities and activists using the hashtag #blue_girl to urge the sport's world governing body FIFA to ban Iran from competitions and fans to boycott matches.

Iranian women spectators have been barred from football and other stadiums in the Islamic republic since 1981, despite international pressure to let them attend.

Iran's Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar on Tuesday asked the judiciary to investigate her death.

The judiciary said, without naming anyone, that a young woman had been arrested when trying to enter a stadium and faced charges of offending "public chastity and insulting" law enforcement officers.

On Saturday, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said Khodayari "had clearly confessed her mistake during questioning, accepted it and expressed regret". He did not give further details.

Esmaili, who was quoted by the judiciary's Mizan Online website, said no sentence had been issued against her since there had been no trial to begin with.

The spokesman also dismissed reports she had been told she would be jailed for six months as "fabricated rumours and hearsay".

Esmaili said such reports "stirred public opinion" and provided material for "foreigners and enemies" of Iran.

Despite the boycott calls following her death, Khodayari's father told Mehr news agency that she did not "sacrifice" herself for any cause.

Iran has come under pressure from FIFA to allow women to attend qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, and was reportedly given a deadline of August 31 to comply.

The sports ministry said last month that women fans would be allowed into the stadium when Team Melli -- as the national team are known -- play their next home qualifier on October 10.

Clerics argue that Iran's ban on women attending sports events is to protect them from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad men.

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Saudi to allow women into stadium for national day

Trump fires hawkish national security chief Bolton

Yahoo – AFP, Sebastian Smith, September 10, 2019

John Bolton denied being fired by Donald Trump, and insisted instead that
he'd resigned (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the firing of hawkish national security advisor John Bolton, a move widely seen as boosting the president's push to negotiate with US foes in Afghanistan, North Korea and other trouble spots.

Trump, who said he'd disagreed "strongly" with Bolton on policy, announced via Twitter "I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning."

A replacement -- the White House's fourth national security chief in less than three years -- would be named next week, Trump said.

Bolton, who had been due to give a press conference at the White House less than two hours later, denied being fired and insisted instead that he'd resigned.

The news, coming days after Trump caused uproar by revealing he was canceling secret talks with Afghanistan's Taliban, stunned Washington.

Bolton is a veteran and controversial figure closely linked to the invasion of Iraq and other aggressive foreign policy decisions. He had been seen as one of the main driving forces in the White House's muscular approach to Iran, Venezuela and elsewhere.

Famous for his large moustache and ever-present yellow legal pad, the hardline former US ambassador to the United Nations had pushed back against Trump's dramatic, though so far stumbling attempts to negotiate with the Taliban and North Korea's Chairman Kim Jong Un.

According to US media reports, the president's extraordinary, failed bid to fly Taliban leaders into the presidential retreat at Camp David last weekend sparked a major row.

National Security Advisor John Bolton was a frequent, controversial presence

alongside US President Donald Trump (AFP Photo/MARK WILSON)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cautioned that Bolton's exit should not be interpreted as heralding strategy changes.

"I don't think any leader around the world should make any assumption that because someone of us departs that President Trump's foreign policy will change in a material way," Pompeo told reporters.

And Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin underlined that Trump and top aides remain "completely aligned" on Washington's crippling sanctions against Iran, known as the maximum pressure campaign.

But when asked if Trump was still open to a high-stakes meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations General Assembly this month, Pompeo said "sure."

Fired or resigned?

As so often in the Trump presidency, the handling of the abrupt reshuffle appeared chaotic.

Bolton joins a stack of senior officials to have come and gone during the Republican businessman's tumultuous first term in office.

Trump, who has a habit of announcing major domestic and international news on his personal Twitter account, revealed the sacking at around midday. He said that he'd informed Bolton of his decision Monday night.

The White House press office, however, seemed unaware. It sent out a message announcing that Bolton would shortly be giving a press conference on terrorism issues alongside Pompeo.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he often disagreed 

with John Bolton (AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Bolton disputed Trump's version of events, saying that the president had not fired him in person, as he claimed, late Monday.

"I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, 'Let's talk about it tomorrow,'" Bolton tweeted.

A Fox News television reporter said Bolton texted him to say: "Let's be clear, I resigned."

Mnuchin, one of the Trump administration's most senior figures, called a reporter's question about whether the national security team was in chaos "ridiculous."

But asked if he was surprised by news of Bolton's ouster, Pompeo laughed. "I'm never surprised," he said.

Anti-war camp boost?

Trump came into office promising to extricate the United States from military entanglements. Bolton was often seen as offering a hawkish counterbalance, which Trump would then take into consideration.

"He has strong views on things but that's okay. I actually temper John, which is pretty amazing," Trump said in May.

Rob Malley, president of the International Crisis Group consultancy, said Bolton's departure could realign White House policy on Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela.

Trump "has had two voices whispering in his ears: the one counseling diplomacy and warning against conflict, the other recommending belligerence," he said.

"With Bolton gone, the second voice undeniably has lost its loudest proponent."

Prominent Republican Senator Rand Paul agreed, tweeting: "The President has great instincts on foreign policy and ending our endless wars. He should be served by those who share those view."

Pompeo said he did not want to discuss palace intrigue in the Trump administration.

However, he admitted what many had been saying for months: "There were many times Ambassador Bolton and I disagreed, that's to be sure."

Speaking at the White House after John Bolton's surprise exit, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo couldn't hide a smile of satisfaction as he becomes the undisputed king of President Trump's foreign policy https://t.co/BQJgGTR5ls pic.twitter.com/tNfZ3jbGAi

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 14 september 2019

World Bank's Georgieva poised to become 2nd female IMF chief

France24 – AFP, 9 September 2019

Washington (AFP) - A top executive at the World Bank, Kristalina Georgieva of Bulgaria, now faces no opposition in her candidacy to lead the International Monetary Fund, the fund announced Monday.

Georgieva, currently the bank's chief executive officer, is all but guaranteed to become the second woman ever to lead the fund.

Georgieva will replace former IMF chief Christine Lagarde, who has been named to lead the European Central Bank.

"The board's goal is to complete the selection process as soon as possible and at the latest by October 4, 2019," the IMF board said in a statement.

Under an unwritten rule, a European has always led the IMF since its creation in the aftermath of World War II while Washington has designated the leadership of the fund's sister organization, the World Bank.

The nominating period closed on Friday, a day after the fund formally lifted the age limit of 65 years for its leadership, clearing the way for the 66-year-old to take up the position.

No other candidates came forward.

The IMF executive board will now hold meetings with Georgieva, the statement said.

She said last month she was "honored" to be nominated to lead the IMF and was taking leave from her work at the World Bank.

The IMF, a global crisis lender, has been buffeted over the last year by the rise of populism in advanced economies and escalating trade conflicts running counter to the fund's mission of promoting international commerce.

Germany asks Polish forgiveness 80 years after WWII outbreak

Yahoo – AFP, Anna Maria Jakubek and Stanislaw Waszak, September 1, 2019

"We want to, and we will, remember. And we will bear the responsibility that our
history imposes upon us," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said
(AFP Photo/Alik KEPLICZ)

Warsaw (AFP) - German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday asked Poland's forgiveness 80 years after Germany's attack triggered World War II while his Polish counterpart denounced Russia's recent "imperialist" aggression against its neighbours.

Poland suffered some of the worst horrors of World War II: nearly six million Poles died in the conflict that killed more than 50 million people overall.

That figure includes the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust, half of them Polish.

"I bow before the Polish victims of German tyranny. And I ask your forgiveness," Steinmeier said at pre-dawn ceremonies in the western Polish city of Wielun where Germany's first bombs fell 80 years ago.

"It was Germans who committed these crimes against humanity in Poland. Anyone calling them things of the past, or claiming that the vile rule of terror of the National Socialists in Europe was a mere footnote of German history, is passing judgement on him or herself," Steinmeier said alongside his Polish counterpart.

Polish Andrzej Duda said the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the outbreak 

of WWII will "go down in history of Polish-German friendship" (AFP Photo/Alik KEPLICZ)

The line appeared to be a reference to the German far-right, whose co-leader Alexander Gauland once called the 12-year Third Reich a "speck of bird poop" on an otherwise glorious German past.

Polish President Andrzej Duda for his part denounced Nazi Germany's attack on Poland, calling it "an act of barbarity" and "a war crime" but also hailed post-war reconciliation.

Duda later on Sunday slammed recent Russian military attacks against its neighbours as "imperialist tendencies" at state ceremonies in Warsaw attended by US Vice President Mike Pence, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, among others.

Sanctions

The Polish leader did not specifically name Russia, but referenced Moscow's actions against "Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 that altered borders."

He urged "the leaders of Europe and the world, NATO and EU members" to guard against appeasing aggressors.

Tadeusz Sierandt, an eyewitness to the bombing of Wielun, holds a picture 

of the destroyed town (AFP Photo/Janek SKARZYNSKI)

"There must be sanctions, resolute actions, it must be obvious that any military aggression will be met with a firm reaction," Duda said.

"Closed eyes are not a good recipe for keeping the peace; it's a good way to encourage aggressive personalities, to give the green light for new attacks."

Polish authorities said they had not invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Sunday's ceremonies because of Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

"80 years after the invasion of Poland by the Nazi army, let us remember the explosion of the Second World War that devastated our Europe," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter.

"The fight for peace and our values is more important than ever," he added.

Nazi Germany's attack on Poland on September 1, 1939 came one week after Berlin and the Soviet Union secretly agreed to carve up Eastern Europe between them by signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Hitler's attacks on Poland on September 1, 1939, led Britain and France to declare 

war on Nazi Germany (AFP Photo)

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans attended a separate dawn remembrance ceremony on Sunday in Westerplatte, on Poland's Baltic coast, where a Nazi German battleship had opened fire on a Polish fort 80 years ago to the day.

'Demand compensation'

Hitler's attacks on Poland led Britain and France to declare war on Nazi Germany. On September 17, the Soviet Union in turn invaded Poland.

After the Nazis tore up their pact with Moscow, two alliances battled it out: the Axis powers led by Germany, Italy and Japan and the victorious Allied forces led by Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States.

Although it has been 80 years since the war started, there are still unresolved matters according to Poland, which says Germany owes it war reparations.

Map showing the start of the German invasion of Poland in 1939. (AFP 

Photo/Jean-Michel CORNU)

A parliamentary commission is currently working on a new analysis of the extent of Poland's wartime human and material losses.

"We have to talk about, remember and demand the truth regarding those losses. We have to demand compensation," Morawiecki said on Sunday at the Westerplatte ceremony.

When it comes to reparations, however, Berlin believes the case is closed.

US President Donald Trump had planned to attend the war commemorations but cancelled at the last minute so that he could monitor Hurricane Dorian.

"We love our Polish friends, and I will be there soon," Trump told reporters at the White House on Sunday, confirming a visit was still in the offing.

King Willem-Alexander starts off the festivities. Photo: Anneke Janssen via HH

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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)

“…  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." ….”