Solidarity growing among Turkish protesters

Deutsche Welle, 30 June 2013

The protests in Turkey have lasted four weeks now. More and more Kurds are joining in, and sectarian differences are being deemphasized.

"Lice is everywhere, resistance is everywhere!" rang out the slogan from the thousands who had taken to the streets of Istanbul on Friday night (28.06.2013). Some hours earlier, there had been violent clashes in the predominantly Kurdish town of Lice, in the Diyarbakir province of eastern Turkey. The protests were aimed at the construction of a new outpost of the Gendarmerie, a branch of the Turkish armed forces. One person was killed while several more were injured.

More protests followed in Istanbul on Saturday at midday. Organized by the workers' union KESK and the Kurdish BDP party, they chanted slogans including: "We don't want a police station. We want freedom!"

An 18-year-old man was killed
in Diyarbakir clashes

The demonstrators then organized themselves once again - via Twitter and Facebook - on Saturday evening. Before then, thousands of police officers had taken up positions on the city's Taksim Square, which has been the center of the protests until now.

This time the police surrounded the entire square, barring protesters from entering, and keeping their batons, shields, water cannon, and tear gas at the ready. But the clashes were limited - according to the Turkish paper Radikal, some protesters were arrested, and only a small amount of tear gas was used.

'We're all brothers'

Most of the demonstrators, equipped with gasmasks, were holding Turkish flags - but there were also flags of the Turkish province of Diyarbakir, as well as some representing the Kurdish BDP party. The Kurds were marching together with the other demonstrators toward Taksim Square.

"The people are all protesting together," 22-year-old demonstrator Yanki Özdogan told DW. From now on, he added, everything would be different. "When I talk to people I notice that their awareness and their empathy for other people has risen. People have gotten closer."

Protests against the Erdogan government
continued over the weekend

Turks, Kurds, Alawis, Sunnis - old sectarian distinctions are apparently being ignored. "That was never anyone's intention," one Kurdish demonstrator said. "All that happened in the past were provocations. It didn't matter how many divisive statements the politicians made. The people won't lose their solidarity, and that's the important thing."

"We're all brothers," another Kurd added. "We're all equal and free, and want to live equal and free in this country."

Lice - the Kurdish Gezi Park

But Hüseyin Celik, spokesman for Turkey's governing AKP party, tweeted that the clashes in Lice were designed to disrupt the ongoing Kurdish peace process. "Those planning a big conspiracy are trying to create a Kurdish version of Gezi Park. Please be careful, my Kurdish brothers," he said in another tweet. "Big conspiracy" was the same phrase that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan consistently used in speeches to explain the nationwide protests against his regime.

As part of the peace process, meant to end the 30-year conflict between the Turkish government and the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), some PKK fighters withdrew from Turkey at the beginning of May into the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The Kurdish BDP party criticized the progress of the peace process on Friday, and called for an extension of the rights of the Kurds, who make up 20 percent of the Turkish population.

'We are deeply ashamed'

There have also been shows of
solidarity in Germany

"For all these years, we've been deaf to the things happening in eastern Turkey, and we always blamed [the Kurds]," one protesting student told DW. "But the latest events have shown us that the situation wasn't how it was presented to us." The media had been lying to them, another demonstrator agreed. "We are deeply ashamed, and we hope that we can all live together in peace."

Hundreds of intellectuals also showed their solidarity on the weekend. Under the motto "We are concerned!" they took out an ad in a newspaper on Saturday regarding polarization in society. Artists like Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk and pianist Fazil Say endorsed the ad, which said: "We sign the call to end the hate speeches and stop the use of artists as targets." The general oppression has to end, they assert.

Related Articles:

The Internet  - The first Worldwide Tool of Unification ("The End ofHistory")

" ... Now I give you something that few think about: What do you think the Internet is all about, historically? Citizens of all the countries on Earth can talk to one another without electronic borders. The young people of those nations can all see each other, talk to each other, and express opinions. No matter what the country does to suppress it, they're doing it anyway. They are putting together a network of consciousness, of oneness, a multicultural consciousness. It's here to stay. It's part of the new energy. The young people know it and are leading the way.... "

" ... I gave you a prophecy more than 10 years ago. I told you there would come a day when everyone could talk to everyone and, therefore, there could be no conspiracy. For conspiracy depends on separation and secrecy - something hiding in the dark that only a few know about. Seen the news lately? What is happening? Could it be that there is a new paradigm happening that seems to go against history?... " Read More …. "The End of History"- Nov 20,2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

"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)

“…  Government

Let us speak of government. We're not speaking of your government, but of any government - the way it works, how it survives, how it has survived, the way it campaigns, and how it elects leaders. It's going to change.

Years ago, I told you, "When everybody can talk to everybody, there can be no secrets." Up to this point on this planet, government has counted on one thing - that the people can't easily talk to each other on a global scale. They have to get their information through government or official channels. Even mass media isn't always free enough, for it reports that which the government reports. Even a free society tends to bias itself according to the bias of the times. However, when you can have Human Beings talking to each other all at once, all over the planet without government control, it all changes, for there is open revelation of truth.

Democracy itself will change and you're going to see it soon. The hold-outs, the few countries I have mentioned in the past, are doomed unless they recalibrate. They're doomed to be the same as they have been and won't be able to exist as they are now with everyone changing around them.

I mentioned North Korea in the past. Give it time. Right now, the young man is under the control of his father's advisors. But when they're gone, you will see something different, should he survive. Don't judge him yet, for he is being controlled.

In government, if you're entire voting base has the ability to talk to itself without restriction and comes up with opinions by itself without restriction, it behooves a politician to be aware and listen to them. This will change what politicians will do. It will change the way things work in government. Don't be surprised when some day a whole nation can vote all at once in a very unusual way. Gone will be the old systems where you used to count on horseback riders to report in from faraway places. Some of you know what I am talking about. Government will change. The systems around you, both dark and light, will change. You're going to start seeing something else, too, so let's change the subject and turn the page. …”

Obama expresses concern at Egypt violence

Google – AFP, 29 June 2013

Opponents of the Egyptian president burn the content of a Freedom and

Justice Party office in Alexandria on June 28, 2013 (AFP)

PRETORIA — US President Barack Obama on Saturday expressed concern about clashes in Egypt and called on President Mohamed Morsi to be more "constructive" along with the opposition to end the political crisis.

"We are all looking at the situation there with concern," Obama said in South Africa, adding that the US government had taken steps to ensure the safety of its embassy, consulates and diplomats in Egypt.

"We would urge all parties to make sure they are not engaging in violence and that police and military are showing appropriate restraint," he said.

"Everybody has to denounce violence. We would like to see the opposition and President Morsi engage in a more constructive conversation about to move their country forward."

Obama also said that Washington had consistently supported democracy in Egypt, but "it has been challenging given that there is not a tradition of democracy in Egypt".

Egypt was braced for nationwide protests against Morsi on Sunday to mark the anniversary of his turbulent first year in office after violence at rival demonstrations killed three people, including an American.

Morsi, 62, stands accused by his critics of failing the 2011 revolution that brought him to power and of ignoring nearly half of the electorate of around 50 million who did not vote for him last year.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian demonstrators

gather outside the presidential palace in Cairo. (AFP)

Related Articles:

Egypt's Mohamed Morsi: I have made mistakes

Egyptian army 'ready to intervene to stop conflict'

Egyptian police brutality continues under Morsi

"TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE" - The Last 18 years – Dec 8, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

(Subjects: Who is Kryon, God, Love, Great Central Sun, (Old) Soul, Benevolent Design, 1987 - Harmonic Convergence (11:11), 36 years galactic window (Precession), 26.000 years cycle, Mayan Calendar, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, “TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE”  song – Composer, Human Consciousness, Conceptional Thinking, Old and New energy, Middle East, Protest against the new leader in Egypt because he is of an old energy, Syria is a Nightmare, Libya, People of Iran, Israel, Higher Self, You did it !, Change of Paradigm, 2012,  US/Russia, Global Unity, ... etc.)

WeFightCensorship publishes banned articles

IJNet, Margaret Looney, June 28, 2013

At the start of the Chinese New Year, Guangzhou-based weekly Nanfang Zhoumo planned to run an editorial calling for constitutional reforms in China. But the original version never appeared in the paper. Instead, the piece could only be published after extensive revisions from a Propaganda Department official.

That's where Reporters Without Borders stepped in. WeFightCensorship (WeFC), its secure portal aimed at making censorship obsolete, made the original version of the editorial available on a global scale.

Reporters Without Borders launched the site as a way for journalists and bloggers to submit articles, photos, video or audio that were all or partly banned in countries prone to government censorship.

So far, the site has received reports from Belarus, Brazil, China, Cuba, India, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Syria. All reports are published in English and French. The site also accepts articles that were originally published in Arabic, Chinese, Persian or Russian.

Contributors can submit content via a "digital safe" that protects the anonymity of the user. Submissions aren't published automatically, but are first vetted by an editorial committee for accuracy and quality. Currently, the majority of contributions come from a network of 150 correspondents based at RWB's regional desks around the globe, enabling on-the-ground verification of submitted reports, Delphine Halgand, U.S. director of RWB, told IJNet.

WeFC also makes it easy to create a mirror version of the site, so that every piece of banned content published on WeFC will be instantly duplicated. WeFC operates under the "Streisand Effect," which means the more a censor tries to quiet a piece of online content, the faster the Internet community will try to spread it. The more versions of the content are available online, the harder it is to censor the information.

The website also features an Online Survival Kit, offering resources on how digital journalists can best protect themselves online. Here you can learn tips for journalists visiting Iran, how to send encrypted emails and all about virtual private networks.

IJNet Editorial Assistant Margaret Looney writes about the latest media trends, reporting tools and journalism resources.

Related Articles:

The Internet  - The first Worldwide Tool of Unification ("The End ofHistory")

" ... Now I give you something that few think about: What do you think the Internet is all about, historically? Citizens of all the countries on Earth can talk to one another without electronic borders. The young people of those nations can all see each other, talk to each other, and express opinions. No matter what the country does to suppress it, they're doing it anyway. They are putting together a network of consciousness, of oneness, a multicultural consciousness. It's here to stay. It's part of the new energy. The young people know it and are leading the way.... "

" ... I gave you a prophecy more than 10 years ago. I told you there would come a day when everyone could talk to everyone and, therefore, there could be no conspiracy. For conspiracy depends on separation and secrecy - something hiding in the dark that only a few know about. Seen the news lately? What is happening? Could it be that there is a new paradigm happening that seems to go against history?... " Read More …. "The End of History"- Nov 20,2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

"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)

“…  Government

Let us speak of government. We're not speaking of your government, but of any government - the way it works, how it survives, how it has survived, the way it campaigns, and how it elects leaders. It's going to change.

Years ago, I told you, "When everybody can talk to everybody, there can be no secrets." Up to this point on this planet, government has counted on one thing - that the people can't easily talk to each other on a global scale. They have to get their information through government or official channels. Even mass media isn't always free enough, for it reports that which the government reports. Even a free society tends to bias itself according to the bias of the times. However, when you can have Human Beings talking to each other all at once, all over the planet without government control, it all changes, for there is open revelation of truth.

Democracy itself will change and you're going to see it soon. The hold-outs, the few countries I have mentioned in the past, are doomed unless they recalibrate. They're doomed to be the same as they have been and won't be able to exist as they are now with everyone changing around them.

I mentioned North Korea in the past. Give it time. Right now, the young man is under the control of his father's advisors. But when they're gone, you will see something different, should he survive. Don't judge him yet, for he is being controlled.

In government, if you're entire voting base has the ability to talk to itself without restriction and comes up with opinions by itself without restriction, it behooves a politician to be aware and listen to them. This will change what politicians will do. It will change the way things work in government. Don't be surprised when some day a whole nation can vote all at once in a very unusual way. Gone will be the old systems where you used to count on horseback riders to report in from faraway places. Some of you know what I am talking about. Government will change. The systems around you, both dark and light, will change. You're going to start seeing something else, too, so let's change the subject and turn the page. …”

Brazil congressman Natan Donadon jailed for corruption

BBC News, 28 June 2013

Related Stories

• Brazil Senate passes corruption law
• Brazil protesters win concessions
• Brazilians protest near stadium

Natan Donadon was financial director
of the Rondonia State Assembly

A Brazilian congressman sentenced to 13 years in jail for corruption has given himself up after two days on the run.

Natan Donadon is the first serving congressman to be jailed in Brazil since military rule came to an end in the 1980s.

Mr Donadon was convicted three years ago of siphoning off nearly $4m (£2.6m) from the State Assembly in Rondonia, in Brazil's Amazon region.

The Supreme Court threw out an appeal on Wednesday and ordered his arrest.

"For the first time in Brazilian history a congressman is arrested after losing a final appeal," said analyst Ricardo Roqueti from the Max Weber Centre in the capital, Brasilia.

"Other politicians were detained before, but either they were released later or they were struck off before serving a sentence," said Mr Roqueti.

Congress has begun proceedings to expel Mr Donadon, who on Thursday was thrown out of his centrist PMDB party, which is part of the governing coalition,

Mr Donadon gave himself up to federal police agents at a bus stop in Brasilia and has now been taken to the Papuda penitentiary.

His brother, Marcos Donadon, a politician in the Rondonia State Assembly, has been convicted of the same crime.

He was arrested on Wednesday at an airport in Rondonia, reportedly as he attempted to escape to neighbouring Bolivia.

'Heinous crime'

The Brazilian Congress has become a focal
point for anti-corruption protests

Earlier this week, Brazil's Senate approved a proposal that introduces tougher punishment for corruption.

According to the proposed bill, which needs to approved by the lower house of Congress, corruption would become a "heinous crime" and those found guilty of it would not be eligible for parole or amnesty.

Public anger against corruption and impunity has prompted millions of Brazilians to take to the streets in the past month.

The protests began in the city of Sao Paulo when local authorities put up transport fares by 10%.

But the demands for the fare hikes to be revoked turned into a nationwide movement, which turned violent in several cities.

Protesters have been demanding better public health care, transport and state education.

Many complain about the high costs of preparations for next year's football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Huge protests are due to take place on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, where the Brazilian football team face Spain in the final of the Confederations Cup - a dress rehearsal for the 2014 World Cup.

Walmart drops Paula Deen after racist remarks

Google – AFP, 27 June 2013

Cooking show host Paula Deen pictured at Fox Studios in New York

on December 6, 2012 (Getty Images/AFP/File, Slaven Vlasic)

WASHINGTON — Walmart, the world's largest retailer, distanced itself from cooking star Paula Deen, saying it would end new business with her company after she made racist remarks.

"We are ending our relationship with Paula Deen Enterprises and we will not place new orders beyond those already committed," said Danit Marquardt, a Walmart spokesperson, on Wednesday.

"We will work with suppliers to address existing inventories and agreements."

It was the latest body blow to the small empire of the 66-year-old celebrity chef who has styled herself as the queen of US Southern cooking. She also has been dropped by The Food Network, Smithfield Foods, Caesars Entertainment and Home Depot.

Deen is a culinary institution in the United States. In addition to hosting several television shows, she has published more than a dozen cookbooks, opened two restaurants (including Bubba's) in Savannah, Georgia, and launched product lines.

The silver-haired, blue-eyed chef has faced criticism over her remarks in a deposition for a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee. Deen admitted in the document to using racist language in the workplace.

"I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I've done. I want to learn and grow from this," Deen said haltingly in a first video posted on YouTube that was later removed from the video-sharing website.

"Inappropriate and hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable."

In a longer video, Deen said that "your color of your skin, your religion, your sexual preference does not matter."

"I was wrong, yes, I've worked hard, and I have made mistakes, but that is no excuse and I offer my sincere apology to those that I have hurt, and I hope that you forgive me because this comes from the deepest part of my heart," she added, more composed this time.

Lisa Jackson, the general manager of Uncle Bubba's Oyster House, filed a lawsuit against Deen last year claiming she had suffered sexual and racial discrimination at work.

Known for her love of butter and fried fare, Deen is no stranger to controversy.

Last year, fans were outraged when she announced she had Type 2 diabetes and that same day backed diabetes drug Victoza and teamed up with its manufacturer Novo Nordisk in a lucrative deal.

Twitter CEO defends 'principled' data request policy

Google – AFP, 26 June 2013

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo speaks during a discussion on social

media on June 26, 2013 at the Brookings Institution (AFP, Mandel Ngan)

WASHINGTON — Twitter is holding to a "principled" policy on national security data requests and will "push back" in some cases to protect the privacy of its users, its chief executive said Wednesday.

Dick Costolo, appearing at a forum at the Brookings Institution in Washington, declined to comment on whether Twitter had specific requests under the vast data-gathering program called PRISM made public this month.

But he said the popular messaging service maintains its policy of allowing users to be informed of any requests from authorities, both in the United States and abroad.

"We've been very clear about having articulated a very principled policy around access to user data," he said.

"When we receive a valid, legal request in the countries in which we operate we will abide by the rule of law."

He added that for "other requests that may be more broad in scope and not specific legal requests that don't meet our principle... we will push back on."

Twitter was not among the nine Internet firms cited in documents for providing access to the secretive National Security Agency, which seeks to identify potential terrorist threats from abroad.

Costolo steered clear of questions on why Twitter was absent from the list, which includes Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple.

But he noted that Twitter has gone to court in certain cases to fight "gag" orders and to allow users to be in informed of how their own data is used.

"We feel that our users have a right to know when their information is being requested," he said.

"This is not just something we deal with in the US, it's something we deal with in all the countries (where) we operate."

Costolo also defended the messaging platform in the face of criticism from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who branded Twitter as a "troublemaker" inciting protests against his rule.

"The beauty of having this open public platform that allows everybody around you to see and hear what you think is that... that it's this public town square. That's what it is. We don't editorialize what's on it," he said.

"We don't say, 'If you believe this you can't use our platform.' You can use our platform to say what you believe... The platform itself doesn't have any perspective on this. It's a vehicle for people to give their perspective."

Spending spree: Saudi billionaire Prince
Alwaleed bin Talal has announced today
that he is investing $300 million into social
networking site Twitter

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Saudi prince invests $300 million in Twitter... even though political activists have their accounts blocked in his country

Censored: #occupywallstreet

“... In March of 2011, Bloomberg news reported that JPMorgan Chase & Co., arguably the largest corporate bank in the world, “has invested in a fund that has bought about $400 million in Twitter Inc. shares....”

Well connected: Prince Alwaleed leaves
Westminster Abbey after attending the wedding
of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April

US high court gives major victory to gay couples

Google – AFP, Chantal Valery (AFP), 26 June 2013

Gay rights activists react outside the US Supreme Court in Washington

on June 26, 2013 (AFP, Mladen Antonov)

WASHINGTON — In a huge victory for gays and lesbians, the US Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a law denying federal benefits to homosexual couples and cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California.

Cheers rang out among the estimated 1,000 supporters of same-sex marriage who gathered under brilliant sunshine outside the high court in Washington for the historic rulings, which will have a major impact on US society.

In a 5-4 decision, the court first struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal benefits to married gay and lesbian couples by strictly defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

"DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment" of the Constitution, said the majority opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Plaintiff couple Kris Perry (L) and Sandy

 Steier arrive at the US Supreme Court

 building June 26, 2013 in Washington

(Getty Images/AFP, Mark Wilson)

President Barack Obama hailed the DOMA decision, saying in a statement: "We are a people who declared that we are all created equal -- and the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."

The court also said a case on Proposition 8, a 2008 voter initiative in California that prohibited same-sex marriage in the nation's most populous state, was not properly before them.

That 5-4 decision -- which indicated gay marriages would likely resume in California -- enabled the justices to dodge the thornier issue of whether same-sex marriage is a constitutional right throughout the United States.

Twelve US states plus the District of Columbia now recognize same-sex marriage, but about 30 states have decreed that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman.

"Now we will be married and be equal to every other family in California," said Kris Perry, a plaintiff in the Proposition 8 case, alongside her partner Sandy Stier on the Supreme Court steps.

"Thank you to the Constitution ... but it's not enough," added Stier. "It's got to go nationwide. This can't wait decades" for marriage equality to be legalized in all 50 states.

Obama, who left Washington for a tour of Africa just an hour before the rulings were issued, is the first serving US president ever to come out publicly in favor of marriage equality.

But there was outrage among social conservatives.

"The DOMA ruling has now made the normalization of polygamy, pedophilia, incest and bestiality inevitable," said Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis at the American Family Association.

"With the DOMA decision, we have ceased to be a constitutional republic," he said on his Twitter feed.

Gay rights activists react outside the US

 Supreme Court building in Washington

 on June 26, 2013 (AFP, Mladen Antonov)

Fifty-three percent of Americans say same-sex marriage should be legally recognized, according to a Gallup survey in May that echoed a string of similar findings by other polling organizations.

The fight against DOMA was spearheaded by Edith Windsor, a New Yorker hit with a $363,000 estate tax bill after the 2009 death of her lifelong partner Thea Spyer, who she had married in Canada.

Had the couple been straight, the tax bill would have been significantly reduced.

DOMA denied married gay and lesbians a raft of federal benefits that straight couples take for granted, from tax breaks to family hospital visits and the ability to sponsor a spouse for a residence visa.

Prior to Wednesday's rulings, law professor David Cruz of the University of Southern California said it was unlikely the Supreme Court would adopt a broad ruling that struck down all bans on same-sex marriage across the nation.

"Seeing all same-sex couples being able to get married in every state is probably not going to happen immediately ... because of the tradition in the court: the Justices often move in steps, they rule incrementally," he said.

Obama said: "The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts: when all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free."

Related Articles:

US Supreme Court in historic rulings on gay marriage

President Barack Obama  placed the call as he flew to Africa

aboard Air Force One. (Whitehouse.gov / Pete Souza)

About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channelled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack) - “You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.”

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

Inside Anglo: the secret recordings

Exclusive: Tapes reveal the lies and deception that led to the bank bailout

Independent.ie, Paul Williams, Special Correspondent, 24 June 2013

TAPE RECORDINGS from inside doomed Anglo Irish Bank reveal for the first time how the bank's top executives lied to the Government about the true extent of losses at the institution.

The astonishing tapes show senior manager John Bowe, who had been involved in negotiations with the Central Bank, laughing and joking as he tells another senior manager, Peter Fitzgerald, how Anglo was luring the State into giving it billions of euro.

Mr Fitzgerald had not been involved in the negotiations with the Central Bank and has confirmed he was unaware of any strategy or intention to mislead the authorities. Mr Bowe, in a statement last night, categorically denied that he had misled the Central Bank.

The audio recordings are from the bank's own internal telephone system and date from the heart of the financial crisis that brought the State to its knees in September 2008.

Anglo itself was within days of complete meltdown – and in the years ahead would eat up €30bn of taxpayer money. Mr Bowe speaks about how the State had been asked for €7bn to bail out Anglo – but Anglo's negotiators knew all along this was not enough to save the bank.

The plan was that once the State began the flow of money, it would be unable to stop.

Mr Bowe is asked by Mr Fitzgerald how they had come up with the figure of €7bn. He laughs as he is taped saying: "Just, as Drummer (then-CEO David Drumm) would say, 'picked it out of my arse'."

He also says: "If they (Central Bank) saw the enormity of it up front, they might decide they have a choice. You know what I mean?

"They might say the cost to the taxpayer is too high . . . if it doesn't look too big at the outset . . . if it looks big, big enough to be important, but not too big that it kind of spoils everything, then, then I think you have a chance. So I think it can creep up."

Mr Fitzgerald, the Director of Retail Banking, is heard saying: "Yeah. They've got skin in the game and that is the key." 

Mr Bowe's comments in the audio recording reveal that Anglo's strategy was to lure the State in, leaving taxpayers with no choice but to continue to provide loans to "support their money".

The recording also shows Mr Bowe and Mr Fitzgerald laughing as they say how there is no realistic chance of ever repaying the loans.

For the first time, taxpayers get an exclusive insight into the banking shenanigans that cost Ireland our sovereignty.

Related Article

Irish PM promises probe against bankers who duped government with figures 'picked from their arse' - New

Snowden leaves Hong Kong, reportedly bound for Russia

Google – AFP, Dennis Chong (AFP), 23 June 2013

A woman walks past a banner displayed in support of former US spy Edward

Snowden in Hong Kong on June 18, 2013 (AFP/File, Philippe Lopez)

HONG KONG — Former spy Edward Snowden flew out of Hong Kong on Sunday, reportedly bound for Moscow and onwards to a third destination, momentarily escaping the clutches of US justice in a shock development sure to infuriate Washington.

Confirming his departure, the Hong Kong government said it had "no legal basis" to prevent the 30-year-old leaving because the US government had failed to provide enough information to justify its provisional arrest warrant filed on Friday.

"Mr Edward Snowden left Hong Kong today (June 23) on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel," it said in a statement, without confirming his destination.

The former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor was aboard Aeroflot flight SU213, according to the South China Morning Post, which has carried exclusive interviews with Snowden in Hong Kong. The plane was due to land at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport around 5:15pm (1315 GMT), according to flight tracking websites.

The latest interview on Sunday contained new revelations about US cyber-espionage against Chinese targets that drew a stinging response from China's official news agency. The foreign ministry in Beijing had no immediate comment, either about the revelations or about Snowden's plans.

"Moscow will not be his final destination," the SCMP said, citing "credible sources", and raised the possibility of Iceland or Ecuador as Snowden's ultimate port of call.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said he had no information that Snowden was flying to Moscow. Russian media reports said he could be heading on to Cuba.

On its Twitter feed, Julian Assange's WikiLeaks operation claimed credit for helping to arrange "Mr Snowden's political asylum in a democratic country, travel papers and safe exit from Hong Kong", without revealing the final destination. It said he was currently in Russian airspace.

Snowden came to Hong Kong on May 20 to begin a damaging series of leaks on NSA eavesdropping of phones and computer systems that has triggered concern from governments around the world. President Barack Obama's US administration insists the surveillance was legal and had foiled a number of extremist plots.

Snowden's departure could bring US repercussions against Hong Kong but more broadly will be a shock to the Obama administration, which just on Friday had unveiled charges including theft and espionage against him in a bid to force his return from Hong Kong.

White House National Security Advisor Tom Donilon had said the charges "present a good case for extradition under the treaty, the extradition treaty between the United States and Hong Kong".

"Hong Kong has been a historically good partner of the United States in law enforcement matters, and we expect them to comply with the treaty in this case," he told CBS Radio News on Saturday.

The government of Hong Kong, a "special administrative region (SAR)" under Chinese rule that has maintained its own British-derived legal system, said it had informed Washington of Snowden's exit.

"Since the documents provided by the US government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law, the HKSAR government has requested the US government to provide additional information so that the Department of Justice could consider whether the US government's request can meet the relevant legal conditions," its statement said.

"As the HKSAR government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong."

The statement also pressed Washington for answers "on earlier reports about the hacking of computer systems in Hong Kong by US government agencies".

China's official Xinhua news agency on Sunday attacked the United States as an espionage "villain" after Snowden detailed new allegations of NSA activity targeting mainland and Hong Kong interests.

In the latest revelations published by the South China Morning Post, Snowden said the NSA was hacking Chinese mobile phone companies to gather data from millions of text messages.

He said US spies have also hacked the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing -- home to one of six "network backbones" that route all of mainland China's Internet traffic -- and the Hong Kong headquarters of Pacnet, which operates one of the Asia-Pacific region's largest fibre-optic networks.

"These, along with previous allegations, are clearly troubling signs," Xinhua said in a commentary.

"They demonstrate that the United States, which has long been trying to play innocent as a victim of cyber attacks, has turned out to be the biggest villain in our age," it said.

Prior to Snowden fleeing Hong Kong, Xinhua noted that Washington had set the extradition process in train.

"But for other countries, Washington should come clean about its record first. It owes too an explanation to China and other countries it has allegedly spied on. It has to share with the world the range, extent and intent of its clandestine hacking programmes," it said.

Abandoning his well-paid job as an intelligence technician in Hawaii, Snowden came to Hong Kong with a cache of documents detailing the reach of NSA operations around the world.

"The NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cell phone companies to steal all of your SMS data," Snowden said in the Post interview, which the newspaper said was conducted on June 12 and released after it had scrutinised and clarified his claims.

His claims about Pacnet followed a Guardian report in which he claimed the British government's electronic eavesdropping agency GCHQ had gained secret access to fibre-optic cables carrying global Internet traffic and telephone calls, and was sharing the information with the NSA.

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