Kryon Berlin Tour & Seminar - Berlin, Germany, Sept 17-22 2019 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

Kryon Berlin Tour & Seminar - Berlin, Germany, Sept 17-22 2019 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)
30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Council of Europe (CoE) - European Human Rights Court - founding fathers (1949)

Council of Europe (CoE) - European Human Rights Court - founding fathers (1949)
French National Assembly head Edouard Herriot and British Foreign minister Ernest Bevin surrounded by Italian, Luxembourg and other delegates at the first meeting of Council of Europe's Consultative Assembly in Strasbourg, August 1949 (AFP Photo)

EU founding fathers signed 'blank' Treaty of Rome (1957)

EU founding fathers signed 'blank' Treaty of Rome (1957)
The Treaty of Rome was signed in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, one of the Renaissance palaces that line the Michelangelo-designed Capitoline Square in the Italian capital

Shuttered: EU ditches summit 'family photo'

Shuttered: EU ditches summit 'family photo'
EU leaders pose for a family photo during the European Summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on June 28, 2016 (AFP Photo/JOHN THYS)

European Political Community

European Political Community
Given a rather unclear agenda, the family photo looked set to become a highlight of the meeting bringing together EU leaders alongside those of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Britain, Kosovo, Switzerland and Turkey © Ludovic MARIN

Merkel says fall of Wall proves 'dreams can come true'


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




"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

… The Shift in Human Nature

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

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

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

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

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Struggling Spain looks to tackle corruption

Deutsche Welle, 31 January 2013


Corruption wasn't openly discussed in Spain for years, but now as many struggle economically the issue is coming to the fore. However, the big question of whether anything will change remains.

Rodrigo Rato is both happy and worried. The former Spanish economic minister and International Monetary Fund director recently landed a job as a consultant to Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica but has also been hauled into court for his mismanagement of Spain's second largest savings bank, Caja Madrid.

Telefonica has found work for a number of other high-profile Spaniards who have gotten into trouble, including Inaki Urdangarin, the son-in-law of Spanish King Juan Carlos, and Eduardo Yaplana, the former head of the provincial government in Valencia and the man many blame for the region's precarious financial situation and dependence on state aid.

Telefonica's entanglement with politics goes even further. Shortly after the conservative party Partido Popular took control of the government, the company hired the husband of deputy prime minister, Soraya Senz.

Daily media coverage

For the past several weeks, the Spanish media has been giving nearly daily coverage to corruption in the country after nearly ignoring the issue for years.

 Martin: 'Something is being
swept under the carpet'
"Over the past few weeks, several scandals have emerged, but Spaniards have remained relatively calm," said Spanish lawyer Esther Martin. "With unemployment hovering at 26 percent, many fear for their jobs and prefer to keep quiet about irregularities in the conduct of their business employers.

"There's a justified impression that something is being swept under the carpet," said Martin.

Tax consultant Carlos Alaiz criticized a recently introduced tax amnesty for Spaniards who agree to return their wealth from abroad.

"This is absurd, given the fact that every other tax evader not only has to take responsibility for such behavior but must also pay the full rate - not the 10 percent tax amnesty," Alaiz said.

Around 730 Spanish politicians are currently involved in corruption cases, according to local media. During the construction boom, payoffs to local governments were the order of the day.

"Spain remains a top address for money laundering," says Paola Del Vecchio, an Italian journalist who has been writing about organized crime for years.

Little trust in government

The corruption scandals come at a time when Spain is experiencing its worst economic crisis since the end of its dictatorship. But Spaniards have little trust in their government's pledge to fight corruption.

 Spaniards take to the street to
protest against politicians
"We've been waiting for months for an answer from the government about what it's doing about the shadow economy, misappropriation of public funds and corruption," said Victoria Anderica from Access info Europe, an organization that campaigns for more transparency in Europe. She would like to see the planned new Spanish Transparency Act, which aims to create stronger public control over economic and bureaucratic processes, also regulate party finances. Currently, only the money movements of selected politicians are monitored.

German financial expert Frank Abegg, who has worked for decades in the Spanish banking sector, said the problem with rising corruption in Spain is the slow pace of the justice system.

"The administration is so slow that the defendants have enough time to cover their tracks before the court proceedings," he said, adding that a case like the one involving a raid of Deutsche Bank without warning would be unthinkable in Spain.

Need for greater transparency

The Spanish media repeatedly criticizes the lack of independence of the country's justice system. They accuse it of being a pawn of politics. And there is currently much debate about the restraint of democratic institutions such as the Court of Auditors.

 Many complain about the independence
of state institutions
"We definitely need more transparency in all areas of public life," said Miguel Cordoba. The economist, who teaches at a private university in Madrid and who is also in charge of the finances of a company, said he believes that many businesses have extremely creative accounting practices. Even large corporations follow a very liberal interpretation of tax rules that border the legal limits.

Spanish author Leon Arsenal said the country's courts can't finalize judgments because of the intertwining of business with the state. "It often comes to bankers being pardoned and many processes being dropped," he said.

Arsenal said he thinks even the country's unions have been bought. That's why he wants to launch a new political left movement as an alternative to Spain's two large parties, the PSOE and PP, which have been in control since the end of the dictatorship.

"We need to tear everything down and rebuild it properly," he said.


Related Article:


HRW condemns Russia's 'worst post-Soviet crackdown'

Jakarta Globe, AFP, January 31, 2013

Russian police officers arrest a gay rights activist who was protesting
 in Moscow, on January 25, 2013

Human Rights Watch on Thursday condemned the Russian authorities under President Vladimir Putin for unleashing the toughest crackdown against civil society since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

"The Kremlin in 2012 unleashed the worst political crackdown in Russia's post-Soviet history," the New-York based rights watchdog said in an English-language statement released in Moscow accompanying the release of its annual world report.

"This (2012) has been the worst year for human rights in Russia in recent memory," the rights group quoted Hugh Williamson, its Europe and Central Asia director as saying.

"Russia's civil society is standing strong but with the space around it shrinking rapidly, it needs support now more than ever."

After returning to the Kremlin for a third term despite unprecedented protests against his 13-year rule, Putin signed off on a raft of laws in what critics saw as a bid to quash dissent.

The new legislation re-criminalised slander, raised fines for misdemeanours at opposition protests and forced non-governmental organisations that receive foreign funding to carry a "foreign agent" tag in a move seen as a throwback to Soviet times.

AFP

Spain's scandal-hit royals pin hopes on prince

France24 – AFP, 31 January 2013

Spain's Prince Felipe arrives at the Reconquista Hotel in the northern Spanish
 city of Oviedo, on October 25, 2012. Losing popularity and besieged by a
corruption scandal that has reached an official in the palace itself, Spain's
royals are looking to the dashing heir to the throne, Felipe, to save their image.

AFP - Losing popularity and besieged by a corruption scandal that has reached an official in the palace itself, Spain's royals are looking to the dashing heir to the throne, Prince Felipe, to save their image.

At 75, King Juan Carlos shows no sign of abdicating as his contemporary Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has done -- but he said in a recent interview that Felipe was "well prepared" to take over when the time comes.

The palace spent last year turning Felipe, who turned 45 on Wednesday, into its most visible public representative. He had more official engagements than any other member of the family in 2012, while Juan Carlos recovered from operations to replace both hips -- one due to a fall during a luxury elephant-hunting safari in Botswana, for which he apologised to the nation.

Felipe spent part of his 45th birthday on Wednesday charming the crowds as he inaugurated a tourism fair in Madrid. In line with the palace's new recession-era regimen, no official celebration was announced.

A typical item on his diary of official engagements, it received less media coverage than the other news story concerning the palace: a corruption case affecting Felipe's brother-in-law, Inaki Urdangarin.

An investigating judge ruled on Wednesday that Urdangarin and an associate must post eight million euros ($11 million) in civil bail, while waiting to see if they will go on trial accused of embezzling public funds.

Separately, the palace reacted to the judge's decision to summon Carlos Garcia Revenga, secretary to the king's daughters Elena and Cristina -- Urdangarin's wife -- to be questioned in the case.

The palace said it was keeping Garcia in his post and would take no action until he goes before the judge on February 23 -- when Urdangarin himself is also due to appear, for the second time.

Juan Carlos won wide respect for helping guide Spain to democracy as a parliamentary monarchy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, and for helping quell an attempted military coup in 1981.


Spain's King Juan Carlos delivers a speech during the Pascua Militar ceremony
 at the Royal Palace in Madrid, on January 6, 2013. At 75, King Juan Carlos shows
 no sign of abdicating as his contemporary Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has done
-- but he said in a recent interview that heir to the throne, Prince Felipe, was 'well
prepared' to take over when the time comes.

It is a hard act for Felipe to follow. A generation after those historic events, the palace faces a challenge to convince the nation that the monarchy is still needed.

A poll in early January by El Mundo newspaper showed support for the monarchy as an institution overall fell to a record low of 54 percent.

Felipe said in a speech in 2011 that he wanted to "constantly adapt and adjust the institution to the times we are living in, working to unite our history with our future, to link our traditions to a cutting-edge spirit and progress".

The towering prince -- who according to Spanish media is 1.97 metres (almost six feet, five inches) tall -- appears smiling and approachable when greeting the public and can give speeches in English with a cut-glass English accent.

His wife Letizia, a former television journalist, and their blonde daughters, the Infantas Leonor, eight, and Sofia, five, are darlings of the glossy celebrity magazines.

Observers say Felipe needs to work his charms still harder to win over a sceptical nation, currently suffering its worst economic hardship since Juan Carlos helped steer the country to democracy in the late 1970s.

Abdication by Juan Carlos would be a risky move currently, "with the Urdangarin case up in the air and with Felipe still not having broken the wall that separates him from the public", said Pilar Urbano, a prominent author specialising in royal matters.

"Letizia represents an opportunity to make the monarchy more sociable. It is still all about balconies, protocol and the throne," she said.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Europol arrests 103 in migrant smuggling network

Deutsche Welle, 30 january 2013



European police have arrested 103 people in 10 countries in a major migrant smuggling sting. Police called it the biggest raid on a migrant smuggling network in the history of the European Union.

"The arrested persons are suspected of being involved in the clandestine smuggling of a large number of irregular migrants into and within the European Union," Europe-wide police agency Europol said Wednesday from its headquarters in The Hague.

The smuggling network specialized in bringing in migrants from the Middle East, especially Libya, Iraq and Syria, mainly through Turkey and the western Balkans, Europol added.

"They were often smuggled in inhuman and dangerous conditions, such as in very small hidden compartments in the floors of buses and trucks, in freight trains or in boats," the agency said.

According to police, migrants sometimes died en route, including one incident when 16 drowned in the river Tisza near the Hungarian-Serbian border in 2009.

Organization 'significantly disrupted'

More than 1,200 police searched 117 houses simultaneously, with officials confiscating a large number of mobile phones, laptops, and bank statements, as well as a semi-automatic rifle with a large amount of ammunition and over 176,500 euros ($240,000) in cash.

Police in Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey and Kosovo made the early-morning arrests.

"We significantly disrupted this main organization," said Nicholas Dove, the head of the organized crime unit of the European Union's Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo.

"This is not a cash on delivery business, this is a cash up front business," said Dove. "Some people who were let down ended up in places where they didn't intend to be."

"Then there's the knock-on effect of people being illegally in countries in Western Europe with no status here. How do they exist? They get involved in street crime. This is hugely damaging to human beings but also to society and the economy," added Dove.

Officials said about 20 members of the organization remained unknown, but pledged to track them down as well.

dr/kms (Reuters, AFP)

Families face battle with GSK over dangerous diabetes drug

Exclusive: Pharmaceutical giant resists claims despite settlement with victims in US

The Guardian, Sarah Boseley, health editor, Tuesday 29 January 2013

GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to payouts in US lawsuits alleging Avandia pills
could cause heart attacks. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Thousands of families in the UK could be deprived of compensation for the death or harm of a relative caused by the diabetes drug Avandia, even though the British maker has agreed to pay billions of dollars to settle similar claims in the US.

The licence for Avandia was revoked in Europe, in September 2010, because of evidence that it could cause heart failure and heart attacks. The drug can still be prescribed in the US, but not to patients at risk of heart problems.

A scientist with the Food and Drug Administration estimated that Avandia could have been responsible for 100,000 heart attacks in the US.

The manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, has admitted concealing data about the damaging side-effects of the drug, and there is evidence of the drug's harmful effects. But, despite this, GSK is not prepared to settle claims in the UK without a court fight.

The history of drug litigation in the UK suggests that families might not easily get  compensation.

Daniel Slade, with the Express company of solicitors in Manchester, has 19 cases on his books and has begun proceedings against GSK in four of them.

The pharmaceutical firm has told the solicitors that it will contest the cases. In just one of the cases it has indicated a willingness to spend £600,000 on its defence, which, the solicitor says, would be a fraction of what the claim is worth.

"It is very disappointing," said Slade. "We anticipate that these claims do have a good prospect of success, but they still have to prove their case in the UK with suitable evidence. They are tasked with having to produce that evidence, including medical expert opinion. It is a burden one would have thought they might not have to go through."

He expected that, if GSK fought in the courts rather than settled outside, as it had done in the US, it would take years for bereaved relatives, or those who have been harmed, to get any sort of payment.

A spokesman for GSK said: "We have every sympathy for people with complications associated with diabetes and those who care for them, but unfortunately we are unable to comment on individual legal cases. We continue to believe that the company acted appropriately and responsibly in its management of Avandia."

Liz Thomas, policy manager at the patient safety charity Action against Medical Accidents, said it had "become increasingly difficult in the UK to challenge large corporations such as pharmaceutical companies, an incredibly expensive form of litigation".

Corporations have a vast amount of money at their disposal to contest legal cases, but legal aid is about to cease for medical negligence cases.

The Avandia cases in Manchester will be fought on a "no win, no fee" basis by Express solicitors.

The cases in the US were settled by GSK extremely quickly, said Thomas. "I would hope they would not take advantage [in Britain] of the inequality of arms."

Avandia was first introduced in the NHS in July 2000. It was given to people with type 2 diabetes whose glucose levels were no longer being properly controlled by the standard drugs – metformin and a sulphonylurea drug. Avandia could be prescribed with those drugs or on its own.

The drug, which generically is known as rosiglitazone, was designed to lessen the body's resistance to insulin. It was available as a standalone drug – Avandia – or in a combination with metformin, and known as Avandamet.

When both drugs were withdrawn by the European Medicines Agency, there were about 90,000 people taking them in the UK.

The first warnings of trouble with Avandia came in 2007, when a prominent US scientist, Steve Nissen, published data from a review of 42 clinical trials which had been carried out on the drug. The trials involved 28,000 patients, and showed that Avandia could cause heart attacks. Further trials, the results of which were published in 2010, found people on Avandia were 27% more likely to have a stroke, 25% more likely to have heart failure, and 14% more likely to die, than patients on an alternative diabetes drug.

Potentially yet more damaging for GSK was its guilty plea to federal charges of concealing data about the drug's side effects. Most of the data on the drug comes from GSK's own trials. In November 2011 GSK agreed to pay $3bn to the US government over the Avandia issue and to end investigations into its marketing of the antidepressants Paxil (Seroxat in the UK) and Wellbutrin.

"This is a significant step toward resolving difficult, long-standing matters which do not reflect the company that we are today," Andrew Witty, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, said at the time.

GSK is also still defending cases in the UK from people who claim to have been badly affected by Seroxat. A group action, involving people who say they suffered severe withdrawal problems when they tried to stop the drug, has been going on for years though many claims have been settled in the US.

The same is true of Vioxx, made by Merck, the painkiller that was withdrawn after it emerged eight years ago that it doubled the risk of a heart attack.


Related Articles:


Drug giants fined $11bn for criminal wrongdoing


"The Recalibration of Dark & Light" – Feb 25, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Big pharma [the drug companies of America] are going to have to change very soon or collapse. When you have an industry that keeps people sick for money, it cannot survive in the new consciousness., Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text version

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)(Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration LecturesGod / 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 (Based in Greece, 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.)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

British queen not likely to follow Dutch example

The Daily Star, AP, Gregory Katz, January 29, 2013

FILE - In this Monday, June 4, 2012 file photo Britain's Queen Elizabeth II
shakes  the hand of her son Prince Charles at the end of the Queen's Jubilee
Concert in front of Buckingham Palace, London. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)
                             
LONDON: One European queen has announced her retirement. Any chance Europe's most famous queen - Elizabeth II of Britain - might join her?

Not likely, experts say.

The spectacle of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands stepping down in April at age 75 so her 45-year-old son can become king is sparking some speculation in Britain about whether Elizabeth might follow suit so her eldest son, Prince Charles, can start his reign.

Elizabeth is 86. Charles, 64, has been heir to the throne since he was three.

The British press poked fun at these concerns Tuesday, with the Daily Mirror featuring a photo of Beatrix with the headline: "Queen Gives Up Her Throne to Son." Then, in smaller type, "Easy, Charles...It's Queen Beatrix of Netherlands."

Others said, "Sorry Charles...it's in Holland, not here!"

But commentators quickly noted that Elizabeth - who seems to be in excellent health - has said in the past that she regards being queen as a "job for life."

At her Diamond Jubilee last summer marking 60 years on the throne, former Prime Minister John Major said the idea that the queen would abdicate was "absolutely absurd." He said she would serve her entire life unless a health crisis made it impossible.

Author Robert Lacey, who has written several books about the British monarchy, said Beatrix's decision would likely firm up Elizabeth's resolve.

"It would reinforce her feeling that the Dutch don't know what monarchy is about, and that she should go on forever," he said. "The crown is a job for life in the British system."

Lacey said the idea of abdicating is particularly unpleasant for Elizabeth because her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 so he could marry Wallis Simpson, a divorced American woman.

The resulting scandal, remembered as a low point for the monarchy, brought her father, King George VI, to the throne.

No one in British history has been heir apparent as long as the now-greying Charles, who is set to become a grandfather when his daughter-in-law, the former Kate Middleton, gives birth this summer.


The Queen was asked for consent on a range of bills, including those affecting
 her estates. There is growing concern in parliament at a lack of transparency
over the royals’ role in lawmaking. Photograph: Sergeant Dan Harmer



Monday, January 28, 2013

Iceland wins Dutch compensation battle over Icesave guarantees

DutchNews.nl, Monday 28 January 2013

Iceland has won its legal battle to avoid paying back the Dutch and British governments for money paid to savers who lost out when internet bank Icesave went bankrupt.

The European free trade association (Efta) court on Monday dismissed all claims against Iceland, saying the directive did not apply to a 'systemic
crisis of the magnitude experienced in Iceland'.

The court also said Iceland had not discriminated between Icelandic savers and those from the Netherlands of Britain. 

High interest rates

The case arose following the 2008 bankruptcy of Landsbanki, which attracted thousands of savers from the Netherlands and Britain by offering high interest rates.

After the bank collapse, the Dutch and British governments effectively paid back savers under the banking deposit guarantee scheme and then asked for the money back.

Although the Icelandic government first agreed, the demand was rejected in two referendums.

Landsbanki's estate has now paid back some 90% of the money and is expected to repay the remainder, Icelandic officials say. Iceland owed €1.3bn to the Netherlands and €2.5bn to Britain.

Cross border banking

According to the Financial Times, the case has been closely watched in Europe because of its implications for cross-border banking.

'It is of considerable satisfaction that Iceland´s defence has won the day in the Icesave case; the EFTA Court ruling brings to a close an important stage in a long saga,' the Icelandic Foreign Ministry said in a statement.


400,000 British and Dutch depositors were initially left
out of pocket when Icesave collapsed

Related Article:


Sunday, January 27, 2013

Tens of thousands gather to back gay marriage in Paris

Google – AFP, Julie Charpentrat (AFP), 27 January 2013 

People take part in a demonstration for the legalisation of gay marriage
in Paris on January 27, 2013 (AFP, Thomas Samson)

PARIS — Tens of thousands of gay rights campaigners packed the streets of Paris on Sunday to call for the legalisation of gay marriage, two days before a key parliamentary debate on the hugely divisive issue.

Waving rainbow flags and carrying banners reading "For equality now, against discrimination always", the demonstrators rallied to promote their cause exactly two weeks after hundreds of thousands descended on the French capital to protest against government plans to legalise gay marriage and adoption.

The proposed legislation, which has come in for strong objection from the mainstream centre-right opposition, the Catholic church and France's five-million-strong Muslim community, is due to be debated in parliament on Tuesday.

Gay rights advocates Gaston and Andree Pelot, both 68, said they had joined Sunday's march to support "our ideas, equality and our (gay) son", adding that gay marriage was "obvious".

Police estimated that around 125,000 people had turned out for Sunday's rally, while organisers put the figure at 400,000. The turnout was higher than at previous marches but still lower than the number of people who protested against same-sex marriage on January 13.

The gay rights rally was backed by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who on Saturday said there was "no doubt" about the outcome of the equality bill. "A law will be passed and with a large majority too," he said.

The proposed legislation stems from a promise by President Francois Hollande in his election manifesto last year.

The Socialist leader has dismissed opponents' calls for a referendum on the controversial topic and is already pencilled in to attend one of France's first gay marriages once the legislation is enacted later this year.

Despite months of protests, opinion polls have consistently shown that most voters support the right of homosexual couples to wed.

A recent Ifop survey found that 63 percent of respondents were in favour of gay unions. But they were highly divided on whether same-sex couples should have the right to adopt, with 49 percent saying they were in favour compared to 51 percent against.



Outrage as Berlusconi praises Mussolini on Holocaust Day

Google – AFP, Gildas Le Roux (AFP), 27 January 2013 

ROME — Italy's gaffe-prone former premier Silvio Berlusconi sparked outrage Sunday with remarks praising wartime dictator Benito Mussolini despite Il Duce's persecution of Jews and allowing thousands to be deported to Auschwitz.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio 
Berlusconi on January 9, 2013 (AFP/File,
Tiziana Fabi)
"The racial laws were the worst mistake of a leader, Mussolini, who however did good things in so many other areas," Berlusconi, who is angling for a return to politics in elections next month, said on the sidelines of a ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day in Milan.

Starting in 1938, Mussolini promulgated decrees known collectively as racial laws that barred Jews from the civil service, the armed forces and the National Fascist Party. The laws also banned intermarriage.

Mussolini's Italy participated in the deportation of Jews to the Auschwitz death camp, and an estimated 7,500 are estimated to have been victims of the Holocaust.

Italy "does not have the same responsibilities as Germany," said Berlusconi, a billionaire media tycoon known for ill-considered outbursts.

On Saturday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany had "an everlasting responsibility for the crimes of (the Nazis)".

The head of Italy's Jewish community, Renzo Gattegna, hit out at Berlusconi's remarks, saying they were "not only superficial and inopportune, but also... devoid of any moral meaning or historical foundation."

Gattegna, head of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, added: "The persecution and the racist anti-Semitic laws of Italy originated well before the war and were applied with full autonomy under the... fascist regime, later an ally and willing and conscious accomplice of Nazi Germany."

He said the remarks showed "the extent to which Italy still has trouble seriously accepting its own history and its own responsibilities".

Centre-left politicians also voiced outrage over Berlusconi's comments.

"Berlusconi's words are a disgrace and an insult to history and memory. He should apologise to the Italian people today," Dario Francheschini, head of the centre-left Democratic Party, said in a Twitter message.

His party is tipped to win the elections set for February 24-25.

Left-wing MEP Debora Serracchiani said in a statement: "It is simply disgusting that even on Remembrance Day Berlusconi goes about rehabilitating the actions of the dictator who dragged Italy into the Second World War."

Antonio Di Petro, head of the small anti-corruption Italy of Values party, dismissed Berlusconi as "nothing more than a caricature" of Mussolini.

The flamboyant, scandal-plagued 76-year-old, who has had three stints as prime minister, heads the centre-right People of Freedom Party (PDL) but has not decided whether to seek a fourth term or settle for a cabinet post if the party wins in February.

The head of the PDL's parliamentary group, Fabrizio Cicchitto, came to Berlusconi's defence, saying: "The fascist dictatorship never attained the horror of that of the Nazis or the Russians."

He said the left's reactions were politically motivated and that "Berlusconi was obviously talking about (Mussolini's) social aid policies and support for families."

Berlusconi's coalition ally, the populist Northern League party, declined to be drawn into the debate. "We are in an election campaign, I understand the controversy, but I do not want to feed it," said the League's head Roberto Maroni.

Berlusconi himself sought to clarify his comments later on Sunday. "My historical analyses have always been based on the condemnation of dictatorships," he said in a statement, noting that he was "a historical friend of Israel."

Berlusconi's long history of gaffes includes an earlier comment about Il Duce: "Mussolini never killed anyone. Mussolini used to send people on vacation in internal exile," he told an Italian magazine in 2003.

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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Davos 2013: world leaders to discuss aliens, super-humans, and immortals

The voice of Russia, Yulia Zamanskaya, Jan 25, 2013        

"The Voice of Russia"
                              
This year, apart from the traditional economic concerns, the program of the World Economic Forum in Davos is scheduled to address a number of highly controversial issues which have been kept classified for decades. Called the 'X factors', these issues include the potential risks of medically induced enhancement of cognitive abilities, prolongation of human life, and discovery of extraterrestrial life.

After reading the Executive Summary of the WEF 2013 one is left with an impression that he has just read the scenario for the next 'X Files' episode. Runaway climate change, rogue deployment of geoengeneering, and digital wildfires are just a few issues that the readers of the Executive Summary can find not only unconventional but also futuristic. Nonetheless, all of these themes are due to be discussed under the rubric of the 'X Factors'.

Developed in partnership with the editors of Nature, a leading science journal, the 'X Factors' category looks well beyond the landscape of 50 traditional global risks and identifies the most significant game-changers of the next decade. Apart from the already mentioned runaway climate change, digital wildfires, and rogue geoengeneering, which seem to be at least minimally realistic, the list of 'X Factors' also includes the possible implications of people living longer, getting smarter, and meeting extra-terrestrial 'Others'. While some remain highly skeptical regarding these issues, the editors of Nature together with the WED team seem to be convinced that in the very near future these risks will not only become very real, but will also profoundly challenge the existing social and scientific paradigms.

In WEF team's opinion, super-human abilities are no longer the preserve of science fiction. Instead, the time of human prodigies is fast approaching the horizon of plausibility. At the time when researchers all over the world are working hard to develop the medical cure to such mental illnesses as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia, it is conceivable that in the not too distant future scientists will identify compounds that will be more effective than existing cognitive pharmaceutical enhancers such as Ritalin and modafinil. While these new compounds will be prescribed only for treatment of severe neurological diseases, it is highly likely that they will also be used off-label by healthy people seeking for an edge in their every-day endeavors. effective new compounds which appear to enhance intelligence or cognition are sure to be used off-label by healthy people looking for an edge at work or school.

Interestingly, WEF experts believe that significant enhancement of cognitive abilities can be attained through hardware as well as drugs. Laboratory studies indicate that direct electrical stimulation through the implanted electrodes can significantly improve memory. Unlike drugs, such cognitive enhancement therapy is less easily available and is thus less likely to be adopted by healthy people. Nonetheless, the scientists suggest that within 10 years time intra-brain devices and sensors will open a new realm of enhanced neurobiology for those who can afford it. In this context, the scientists wonder whether it can be ethically acceptable for the world to be divided into the cognitively-enhanced and unenhanced. Will the humanity accept the idea that significant cognitive enhancement should be available to purchase on the open market or will there be a push for legislation to maintain a more level playing field?

The other question that the experts are asking is what happens if cognitive enhancement program goes awry or if it falls in the wrong hands. Cognitive enhancement drugs and devices have a very wide-ranging effects on various systems of human body since they work by targeting neurotransmitter systems. In this respect, WEF scientists argue that "there is a significant possibility of (un)intended effects on other systems – for example, drugs to enhance learning may lead to a greater willingness to take risks; drugs to enhance working memory may lead to increased impulsive behaviour". Indeed, recent research into the field already suggests that, in addition to improving long term memory, it is possible to use TMS to manipulate or even suspend a person’s moral judgement of right versus wrong. The technology can also be used to “erase” memory and deliberately cause permanent brain damage. In this sense, it is not difficult to see how new cognitive enhancement drugs and technologies can open up a space for their misuse by criminal organizations and terrorist networks.

Another issue that the WEF experts decided to present for discussion this year is the implications of longer life-span among humans. The WEF team suggests that while "medical advances are prolonging life, long-term palliative care is expensive. Covering the costs associated with old age could be a struggle". Indeed, according to official statistics people all over the globe now live up to 35 percent longer than hundred years ago and more funds are needed to provide adequate care for the millions of elderly. However, the problem of funding is not the only concern which is related to longer life-span. The risk of over-populating the planet is yet another issue which the world will soon face.

In this respect, most radical commentators were quick to suggest that the only solution to the problem of longer living humans is euthanasia. The proponents of this view contend that with medical advancements even the weakest and the sickest people will survive and live to their late 90s and possible 100s, which will not only lead to a significant increase in global population, but will also negate the fundamental law of the survival of the fittest. In this context, some suggest that euthanasia might be the only way out from the vicious circle of artificially healthy individuals living unnaturally long lives.

The last and probably the most controversial X Factor that will be discussed during the Davos Forum is the possible discovery of extraterrestrial life. While it is the first time that the Forum addresses the aliens, the issue has recently become a frequent theme of discussion among the world leading politicians and military officials. In December 2012, Russian Prime Minster Dmitry Medvedev mused on topic of aliens after completing an on-camera interview with international reporters in Moscow. Back then, Mr Medvedev jokingly claimed that "I will not tell you how many of them [aliens] are among us because it may cause panic". It turns out, however, that Mr Medvedev's concern with the aliens did not end last December. A shocking Davos Forum agenda aims to bring the topic of aliens beyond the realm of jokes.

WEF experts contend that "given the pace of space exploration, it is increasingly conceivable that we may discover the existence of alien life or other planets that could support human life. In 10 years’ time we may have evidence not only that Earth is not unique but also that life exists elsewhere in the universe." In this context, WEF team urges the global elite to prepare themselves and their nations for such discovery. The scientists suggest that new funding and new brain power will be needed to overcome the challenges that the humanity will face as a result of its encounter with an extra-terrestrial civilization. The world might even need to create artificial-intelligence emissaries to survive an inter-stellar crossing. The discovery of an Earth 2.0 or life beyond our planet might also inspire new generations of space entrepreneurs to meet the challenge of taking human exploration of the galaxy from the realm of fiction to fact.

At the same time, WEF experts do not believe that the discovery of alien life will change the fabric of human society in the short-run. While the discovery would certainly be one of the biggest news stories of the year and interest would be intense, it would not change the world immediately. Over the long run, however, the psychological and philosophical implications of the discovery could be profound. In the opinion of WEF scientists, "the discovery of even simple life would fuel speculation about the existence of other intelligent beings and challenge many assumptions that underpin human philosophy and religion."

All in all, it seems that humanity is heading to exciting times, and Davos may be the first trigger that will unleash a series of most extraordinary worldwide revel worldwide revelations.






"THE NEXT 18 YEARS"–  Dec 2, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: You are looking  at a Quantum event, clearing a filter - Portal pineal , Higher self to step forward and communicate to You, Still remains in 3D but exposure to multi dimensions, Evolution of humanity, Intent, Mayan Calendar, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, 26.000 Years, Milky Way, Nostradamus, 1987, Beginning to a New Time, Channellers/Teachers, Center of Galaxy – Black hole, Bridge of Swords, Pleiadians, Children, Inventions – The discoveries (e.g. : Airplanes - Medicines – Radio ...): These new Discoveries were given all over the planet when Human consciousness was ready for it, New Inventions are coming, the timing depends on how the middle East problems are solved, Biology reaction of quantum energy; new radio of the future, seeing quantum energy, when it is revealed all science books will have to be rewritten, This will be an AHA moment – be possible to communicate with the rest of Galaxy, NASA, Church/religion will be effected the most by these discoveries, The quantum discovery will see the grid, life, gardens and will redefine life, DNA (3 billion pieces) evolving piece DNA are chancing, Gaia/Humanity are linked, new instruments will start to reveal the DNA variance, Evolution revealed: Autistic children have born with the removal of their 3D structure in the brain, Gaia/Spirit are testing these quantum beings  (Evolved DNA), Universe central clock = Rifs,  Globally there will be only 5 currencies, Wars on earth will be declared barbaric, Middle East, Global Unity, .. etc.)


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

“…  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.….”



"... Question Three: Is there life on other planets?

Are you kidding? There's life everywhere. Everywhere! Right now, your scientists are searching for microbial life on all the planets and their moons in your solar system, and they will eventually find it. They expect to find it. They will eventually understand that the seeds of life are everywhere.

How much life might there be? How long has it been "out there"? When science starts to realize the scope of how long life has been in your galaxy, they will begin to see something counterintuitive to evolution - their own Human history. How old is your Universe? Ask your scientists and they will say about 13 billion years. That's OK. Let's use their numbers. How old is your own planet - 4 or 5 billion, perhaps? Correct. But how old is humanity? Why weren't you here with the dinosaurs? You think the earth wasn't ready? Do you think that perhaps that which controls evolution was a little too stupid to make a Human sooner, but the process could make a dinosaur? Have you ever thought about these things?

If you put the earth's entire history into a 24-hour clock, life itself only started in the last hour and humanity, all of civilization, happened the last few seconds. Isn't that odd to you? Therefore, in a Universe that may be 13 billion years old, you arrived in the last few seconds. Did you ever think maybe you're the newest ones on the block? Well, you'd be right.

If the Universe is really that old, do you think perhaps there are civilizations in your galaxy that might be a billion or more years older than you? If that's the case, do you think perhaps they have gone through anything you're going through? Do you think any of them might have had your DNA attributes? Perhaps they also went through what you are going through spiritually? Perhaps they even went into a quantum ascension status? The answer is dozens of them.

You already know them and you've listed them in your publications. The ones who directly seeded you are called Pleiadians. The ones who seeded them might be Octurian and the ones who seeded them may be even Orion. They're everywhere, and they're all here as well. They're looking at you, for you are the ones who are next, and you are passing this marker of the shift ...."

“… Is there life on other planets? The scientists are saying, "It's going to be a long time before we get to the stars, you know? We have to get in this little metal can and put air in it, and then travel in it for years and years before we ever get to the next star." Meanwhile, a Pleiadian can do it in the blink of an eye! What do you think is going on there? Do you even believe me?

Not long ago, if you wanted to communicate to someone far away, you sent a letter. It was carried by a horse. It took a month to get a response. Now you communicate instantly!  Why is this so unbelievable to you about travel?

I will tell you, as long as you stay in 3D, you'll still be getting in little metal cans and air suits and going to planets. As soon as you begin the quantum age, however, you will simply wish yourself there, because you will be entangled with everything and can go with intent. If you don't believe this now, you will later, for what I give you is true. It may be lifetimes and lifetimes from now, but the group that is before me is the group that is going to come back over and over and over. The difference is that you're done coming back in an old energy. This is a new energy. ..”