Under-fire USA Gymnastics coach to quit over athlete backlash

Yahoo – AFP, August 31, 2018

Ex USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar stands to hear his fate as he is
sentenced in February 2018; senior coach Mary Lee Tracy has stepped down
following an outcry over her recent appointment by victims of the jailed
sexual predator (AFP Photo/SCOTT OLSON)

Los Angeles (AFP) - USA Gymnastics coach Mary Lee Tracy said Friday she would resign following an outcry over her appointment by victims of jailed former team doctor Larry Nassar.

Tracy, named as USA Gymnastics elite development coordinator on Tuesday, said she was stepping down after a demand to leave by the organization's chief executive, Kerry Perry.

"In an attempt to move in our journey to more 'transparency' and openness, I need to explain why I have to resign," Tracy wrote on her Facebook page.

"Kerry (Perry) gave me two options, to resign or be removed ..."

Tracy's appointment to the USA Gymnastics post earlier this week had triggered outrage amongst gymnasts abused by Nassar, who was jailed for life earlier this year for his attacks on more than 250 female athletes.

Tracy had drawn ire for comments she made in late 2016 -- when the first allegations of abuse against Nassar had already begun to emerge -- in which she described the doctor as "amazing."

"My Olympians have all worked with Larry,” Tracy said. "He has protected them, taken care of them, worked with me and worked with their parents. He's been amazing."

Aly Raisman, a member of the US 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medal teams who was among Nassar's victims, was among those who lambasted Tracy's appointment this week.

"USA Gymnastics has appointed someone who, in my view, supported Nassar, victim-shamed survivors, & has shown no willingness to learn from the past," Raisman tweeted.

"This is a slap in the face for survivors, & further confirmation that nothing @USAG has changed. What a profound disappointment!"

In her Facebook post on Friday, Tracy appeared to suggest that Perry had demanded her resignation after she attempted to contact Raisman following her comments.

"I tried to contact Aly to apologize and hope we could work together to make our sport better and learn from all of the mistakes of the past," Tracy said.

"I was never informed that I was not permitted to speak to Ali (sic) or any of the survivors!"

White US ex-cop gets 15 years in fatal shooting of black teen

Yahoo – AFP, August 30, 2018

Roy Oliver, formerly with the police force of Balch Springs, Texas -- part of the
Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex -- was sentenced to 15 years prison for the
April 2017 murder of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Chicago (AFP) - A white Texas ex-police officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the shooting death of a black teen, a rare case of a US officer convicted for using deadly force.

A jury found Roy Oliver guilty of murder Tuesday in the killing of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. Oliver shot Edwards in April 2017, when he was a Dallas area police officer. Oliver was subsequently fired from the force.

The same jury on Wednesday handed the 38-year-old Oliver his prison sentence.

It was an exceedingly rare instance of a police officer being incarcerated for a high-profile questionable shooting, following a string of similar cases that stoked outrage but often lead to acquittals or no prosecutions at all.

Oliver had fired five bullets into a car full of teens, striking Edwards and killing him instantly.

Oliver, who was with the police force of Balch Springs - a suburb in the Texas-Fort Worth metroplex - had been responding to a call of underage drinking at a party. Edwards and his friends had been driving away from the event.

At trial, Oliver had argued that he thought his partner was in danger, because the car had been driving towards him.

But the ex-cop's partner contradicted that testimony with his own, saying he did not feel threatened at the time of the shooting.

Oliver's conviction made him eligible for up to 99 years in prison. The victim's family expressed disappointment that the final sentence had not been longer.

"We're thankful for the verdict that we received. Although we wanted more years, this is a start for us, and we can get some kind of closure," Jordan's stepmother, Charmaine Edwards, told reporters on Wednesday.

The jury deliberated for just two days before returning the guilty verdict.

Similar outcomes in other police shooting cases have proven mostly elusive, illustrating the difficulty of prosecuting officers in deadly encounters where split-second decisions are made.

Recent questionable cop shootings, often accompanied by official or eyewitness video footage, have fueled outrage across the United States and given rise to the Black Lives Matter activist movement.

Edwards family attorney Daryl Washington said Tuesday the teen's murder case was "about every African American, unarmed African American, who has been killed and who has not gotten justice."

US cardinals defend themselves over cover-up storm

Yahoo – AFP, August 28, 2018

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano (L), a former Vatican envoy to the United States, says
he told Pope Francis of sex abuse allegations against prominent US cardinal Theodore
McCarrick in 2013 (AFP Photo/VINCENZO PINTO)

New York (AFP) - US cardinals defended themselves Monday against accusations of a Catholic Church cover-up on sex abuse detailed by a conservative bishop who has called on Pope Francis to resign.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, a progressive, expressed "shock, sadness and consternation" at the wide-ranging allegations, which he said "cannot be understood as contributing to the healing of survivors of sexual abuse."

"Together with Pope Francis, we are confident that scrutiny of the claims of the former nuncio will help to establish the truth," Tobin said.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former Vatican envoy to the United States, said Saturday he had told Francis of the allegations against prominent US cardinal Theodore McCarrick in 2013.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington -- who himself faces calls to resign for covering up abuse while formerly bishop of Pittsburgh -- denied any knowledge that his predecessor had been either sanctioned or accused of abuse.

"During his entire tenure as archbishop of Washington no one has come forward to say to him, 'Cardinal McCarrick abused me' or made any other like claim," said a statement from his archdiocese.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the questions raised by Vigano "deserve answers that are conclusive and based on evidence."

DiNardo said he was "eager" to meet the pope "to earn his support for our plan of action" that would make reporting of abuse and misconduct by bishops easier, and improve procedures for resolving complaints against bishops.

Vigano, who was a papal nuncio in Washington between 2011 and 2016, claimed Francis ignored his warnings about McCarrick and lifted allegedly previously imposed canonical sanctions.

In July, the pontiff accepted the resignation of McCarrick, now 88. He has been accused of "gravely immoral" behavior with seminarians and priests.

Vigano's claims have raised speculation of a campaign against the pontiff by conservatives in the Church.

The United States is home to the fourth-largest Catholic population in the world, after Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines.

Updated factfile on major sex abuse allegations relating to the Catholic Church

Updated factfile on major sex abuse allegations relating to the Catholic Church pic.twitter.com/hyq6DaljUz

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 27, 2018

Gymnastics chief expects 1,000 calls to new abuse hotline

Yahoo – AFP, August 23, 2018

Gymnastics global president said a new helpine to report abuse would act as a deterrent
 to potential abusers and he expects the number of calls to shrink as time goes by
(AFP Photo/Ye Aung Thu)

Jakarta (AFP) - More than 1,000 victims of sexual abuse in gymnastics are expected to call a new, global abuse helpline in its first year of operations, the sport's president told AFP.

Morinari Watanabe was speaking at the Asian Games after Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics doctor, was handed a life sentence in January for sexually assaulting women and girls.

Nassar, 55, was accused by some 265 women of sexually abusing them over more than two decades. His conviction led to profound questions for gymnastics about how the abuse went undetected for so many years.

In the wake of the scandal, Watanabe outlined plans to establish a call centre that "an athlete or parent can call" from anywhere in the world.

"I think that in the first year more than 1,000 will call to report sexual harassment," said Watanabe, who heads the international gymnastics federation (FIG).

But he said the helpline would also act as a deterrent to potential abusers, and that he expected the number of callers to shrink as time goes by.

"I hope that the next year (the number) is half and the next year half again," he added.

In the months since Nassar's conviction, other abuse scandals have emerged.

In May a former coach of Brazil's national squad was fired by his gymnastics club after Brazilian TV reported he had sexually abused boys, presenting testimony from more than 40 victims.

Watanabe said changing the culture within gymnastics was key, explaining that coaches and other support staff often had too much power over the gymnasts and their families.

"Coaches must communicate with parents," he added.

The helpline is part of the FIG's plan to create a Gymnastics Ethics Foundation, made up of a safeguarding section, a disciplinary section and a compliance section.

The idea will be put to a vote of the body's national member federations at the next congress, to be held in Baku in December.

Trump ex-lawyer Cohen cuts plea deal: US media

Yahoo – AFP, August 21, 2018

Michael Cohen, former personal attorney for US President Donald Trump, has
 reportedly agreed to plead guilty to charges stemming from his business dealings
and possible campaign finance violations (AFP Photo/Drew Angerer)

New York (AFP) - Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, has agreed to plead guilty to charges stemming from a federal investigation of his business dealings and possible campaign finance violations, US media reported Tuesday.

There was no initial confirmation of the plea deal reported by several media including NBC News and The New York Times, or of the specific charges involved, but Cohen was set to appear in Manhattan criminal court at 4 pm (2000 GMT).

CNN reported that the deal includes prison time for the president's long-time fixer, who played a behind-the-scenes role in making hush payments to women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.

The development came on the same day as a former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, faced a fourth day of deliberations in his tax evasion and bank fraud trial.

A Cohen guilty plea would avoid a high profile trial, but also could require him to cooperate with investigators probing whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in its efforts to sway the 2016 US presidential elections.

Neither prosecutors in Manhattan nor Cohen's attorney would comment on the matter.

Guilty pleas are common in the United States when it appears prosecutors have sufficient evidence for a conviction if the case goes to trial.

The FBI raided Cohen's home and office on a referral from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into whether Trump sought to obstruct the Russia meddling probe.

Cohen -- who once declared he was so loyal he would "take a bullet for the president" -- was involved in efforts to hush allegations from a former Playboy model about an affair with Trump.

He also paid $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels to silence her own claims of an alleged one-night stand with Trump in 2006, just before the election.

Talk of a plea deal comes days after The New York Times reported that Cohen is also under investigation for potential tax and bank fraud, possibly exceeding $20 million via loans obtained by the taxi medallion business he owns with his family.

The conviction of the US president's one-time campaign chairman and the guilty plea by his former personal lawyer have brought Russia prosecutor Robert Mueller sorely needed relief as political pressure mounts for him to wind up the 15-month investigation https://t.co/LJwC2uMH3P

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 22, 2018

Public prosecutor is investigating sexual abuse within Jehovah’s Witnesses

DutchNews, August 16, 2018

The public prosecution department has begun a criminal investigation into sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses community after at least five people have made a formal complaint, justice minister Sander Dekker told MPs on Thursday. 

The complaints are being dealt with by specialised officials in different parts of the country, Dekker said in answer to MPs’ questions. Last month, MPs from across the political spectrum called for an investigation after the church said it would not sanction an independent inquiry into dozens of claims of abuse. 

The church authorities say that measures have been put in place to protect children and very few victims have come forward. 

However, a foundation set up by victims of sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses has already registered 276 potential cases of abuse. 

Dekker said last year that the church should look to the example of the Catholic church to dealing with complaints about sexual abuse. In total, 3,712 people have reported being victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic church to a special hotline set up in 2010. 

There are some 30,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Netherlands.

Pennsylvania report lists more than 300 'predator' priests

Yahoo – AFP, Jennie MATTHEW, August 14, 2018

The report is thought to be the most comprehensive to date into abuse in the US church,
but while prosecutors have filed charges against two priests, the vast majority of crimes
happened too long ago to prosecute under current laws (AFP Photo/JEWEL SAMAD)

New York (AFP) - More than 300 "predator" priests in Pennsylvania are accused of abusing over 1,000 children across seven decades, a grand jury said Tuesday in a devastating report that decried a systematic cover-up by the Catholic Church.

It is thought to be the single most comprehensive report to date into abuse in the US church, since The Boston Globe first exposed pedophile priests in Massachusetts in 2002.

But while Tuesday's report led to charges against two priests, one of whom has pleaded guilty, the majority of those responsible are dead and the vast majority of crimes happened too long ago to prosecute, officials said.

The two-year investigation by a grand jury into all but two Pennsylvania dioceses turned up dozens of witnesses and half a million pages of church records containing "credible allegations against over three hundred predator priests."

More than 1,000 child victims were identifiable, but the "real number" was "in the thousands," the grand jury estimated, given those children whose records were lost or who were afraid to ever come forward.

Victims were often traumatized for life, driven to drugs, alcohol and suicide, the grand jury said. The only recourse was to recommend changes to the law and expose what had happened to make sure such widespread abuse was never repeated.

One cleric raped a seven-year-old girl in hospital after she had her tonsils out, the report said. Another child drank juice, only to wake up the next morning bleeding from his rectum and unable to remember what had happened.

'Abuse, deny, cover up'

A priest forced a nine-year-old boy to give him oral sex, then rinsed out his mouth with holy water to "purify him." Another priest abused five sisters from the same family, including one from the age of 18 months to 12 years.

When the youngest victim of the family told her parents in 1992, a police search of the priest's home found panties, plastic containers of pubic hairs, vials of urine and sexually suggestive photographs of young girls.

The church ignored credible allegations against him for years, and the priest died awaiting trial, Pennsylvania's Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

"The pattern was abuse, deny and cover up," Shapiro said. "As a direct consequence of the systematic cover-up by senior church officials almost every instance of child sexual abuse we found is too old to be prosecuted."

So far only two new priests are being charged with crimes that fall within the statute of limitations. One, accused of ejaculating in the mouth of a seven-year-old, pleaded guilty earlier this month, prosecutors said.

The other allegedly assaulted two boys, one of them for eight years starting from the age of eight. His alleged crimes continued until 2010.

The grand jury called for changes in the law that would scrap the statute of limitations for child sex abuse, give victims more time to file civil lawsuits and tighten legislation compelling people to report abuse they find out about.

"Despite some institutional reform, individual leaders of the church have largely escaped public accountability," the report said.

'Hid it all'

"Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all. For decades."

Church elders were instead promoted and predator priests allowed to remain in ministries for 10, 20 even 40 years after leaders learned of their crimes as the list of victims got longer and longer, Shapiro said.

Between 5,700 and 10,000 Catholic priests have been accused of sexual abuse in the United States, but only a few hundred have been tried, convicted, and sentenced for their crimes, according to the watchdog Bishop Accountability.

Since the abuse crisis became public in the 2000s, the US church has spent more than $3 billion in settlements, according to Bishop Accountability.

The group has documented settlements for 5,679 alleged victims of Catholic clergy -- only a third of 15,235 allegations that bishops say they have received through 2009. One estimate suggests up there were 100,000 US victims.

The Boston Globe won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for work by its investigative team exposing sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. That story was turned into Oscar-winning Hollywood movie, "Spotlight," starring Michael Keaton.

Faced with a growing number of cases worldwide and repeated criticism over the Church's response, Pope Francis in 2013 brought in new legislation covering child sex abuse and pornography and sentences of up to 12 years for priests.

The church in Chile has most recently been rocked by accusations of a wide-scale cover-up of child abuse during the 1980s and 1990s.

Child abuse scandals surrounding the Catholic Church pic.twitter.com/uZvX3g9QXN

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 15, 2018

Former Australian archbishop Philip Wilson, convicted of concealing abuse by a paedophile priest in the 1970s, is to serve his 12 months' sentence in home detention https://t.co/WvdDkboULn pic.twitter.com/rNLlBVnFbL

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 14, 2018

US congressman charged with insider trading ends re-election bid

Yahoo – AFP,  August 11, 2018

U.S. Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), with his wife Mary at his side, holds a news
conference in response to his arrest for insider trading on August 8, 2018
in Buffalo, New York (AFP Photo/John Normile)

Washington (AFP) - A Republican congressman who was indicted on securities fraud charges reversed course Saturday and said he will end his re-election campaign.

Chris Collins, a representative from New York who is loyal to President Donald Trump, was arrested and charged this week.

He, his son and another defendant were indicted for alleged illegal trading of stock in Australian biotech firm Innate Immunotherapeutics, where the elder Collins was a board member.

Collins initially said he would seek to clear his name and continue his bid to keep his seat in the November midterm elections.

But on Saturday he released a statement on Twitter saying his campaign is now suspended and he will try to remove his name from the ballot.

Collins said this was in the best interest of his constituents, his party and Trump's conservative agenda.

Collins was the first member of Congress to endorse Trump for president in 2016.

Under New York law, at this stage in the race Collins' name can be removed from the ballot only if he dies, moves out of New York or is nominated for another office, Politico reported.

The exact mechanisms of removing his name are being worked out, although Collins does own homes in Florida and Washington, Politico added.

Predictions – (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

Kryon.com, June 16, 2018

This live channelling was given in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

Lee Carroll

To help the reader, this channelling has been revisited [by Lee and Kryon] to provide even clearer understanding. Sometime information is even added or condensed. Often what happens live has implied energy within it, which carries a kind of communication that the printed page does not. So enjoy this enhanced message given in Nanaimo.

Greetings, dear ones, I am Kryon of Magnetic Service. The threshold that my partner just passed [Lee went into channel] is one you may feel. It's the same voice, but the energy, for those who can feel it, is vastly different. This threshold opens a door. It is a door in what you have called "the field", where there is no time, no space and not an actual "place". It just is. It's here with every single one of you, and that is where I am as well.

Some say, "The field is the other side of the veil." Some say, "The field is a magic place where your soul can go and relax for a little while before it comes back." Some say, "It's God." All of these descriptions are correct, because in this hero's journey that my partner has described today, each of you has that place in the field. So through this door that has been opened with intent, and through something that is happening in this room, a togetherness, a confluence of energy begins. It is something that can be measured - a coherence of thought and heart is starting to meld together where it's safe. It's safe for a few minutes here. This won't last long, this message. But it's a safe place to be.

Some of you have constructed a box around your belief that says, "Bring on the scientists. Get on with this!" [Lee is in a science conference] I know who you are, dear one, as you sit impatiently through this spiritual portion. Then I tell you again that there is just as much love for you as any other Human on this planet. There are as many angelic, if you want to call them that, beautiful soul energies around you as anyone. It doesn't matter how you receive this message, or even if you wanted it. Spirit respects the fact that you have the free choice to examine these things the way you want to. Some of you will say, "Well, I really don't want to go into the full esoteric at the moment." Dear one, you don't have to. But let me ask you this: What if the things I say next start to ring true? What if they are filled with logic? What would it hurt to open your box of belief for just a moment and listen and weigh and examine? Get ready, because you're going to need it, for what I am about to tell you I also told about 300 people earlier in the week [an earlier group meeting].

A few days ago, there was a handshake and that handshake was with the President of the United States and the leader of North Korea. This handshake was something that was far from expected a few months ago. In fact, it's beyond all odds - all odds - that this would ever take place! I want to tell you about this, because you are going to start to understand the mechanics of prediction. The reason? I told you years ago about the potential of the handshake.

"I am a channeller," my partner says. "I channel Kryon," my partner says. But what my partner has really learned to do is to put himself away and dip into the field with purity. This allows him to see differently and contact that who is Kryon, a friend in the field, and then to report to you what's perceived there. Predictions are not magic. Predictions are not future fortune-telling. You can't do that, dear ones; no one can do that. The reason? Because Human nature has free choice. Free choice creates trillions of free decisions daily. There is no "known" future. But there are a vast number of strong potentials based on what free choice is doing at the moment.

I want to take you back to March 2012 in Dallas, Texas. The channellings that I refer to now are documented, printed, available, and ready for you to read and find. [on this very web page] My partner documents them all and places them on his website. Some of you already know that I spoke about two strong potentials in that channeling, which would now seem to be predictions (since they happened). But they weren't. These things were potentials based upon that which was already happening in the field.

The first item: I told you that you would have a new pope soon. Thirteen months later, the planet received one. We told you that new pope would be a wild card in that he would come with unexpected energies. The old pope didn't even die, if you noticed. In fact, he's still with you! Instead, something happened that was beyond expectation, and you heard it from a chair just like the one I'm in now. That's not predicting, dear ones, because that was in the field. It was already something in progress with a potential. Did you hear that? In progress with a potential.

The second thing I told you about was this: There's a 50% chance that the new leader of North Korea, the son, would not follow in the footsteps of his father. I told you there was a 50% chance of this. Then I started itemizing the reasoning why this might make sense, especially to the Korean leader. I then told you it might take a long time if it manifested at all. I told you the problems would be within the old advisors for his father's family. He had to tread slowly and lightly to do something against all odds. This will all come out someday because of the handshake.

Here was the potential or the prediction of what might happen: Those who had the machine guns in the DM zone would drop them, because this North Korean leader would unify the two Koreas. There would be no nuclear weapons in his land and there would be the beginning of abundance for his people. His people and the world would then give him something he had always wanted and was imbued with from birth - the desire for accolades and more accolades. Like his father before him, he was the premier egotist, and this would be the unexpected way to create a world at his feet. That's what I said. Then I said, "Watch for it, but don't be anxious." I talked about that in 2013, and five more times since then. In August 2017, I itemized my advice for him, point by point. The advice that I gave followed the potentials that were there and those were the very points in the handshake this week in June of 2018.

Now, you tell me what happened. "Kryon, you're going to be famous because you predicted these things!" Dear ones, all I did was look into a field that is being shown to you today [by the scientists at the conference]. And all I did was to show you the potentials that were already there. In other words, he was thinking about these things and talking to others behind the scenes about them. No matter what his advisors told him right up to the brink of sending his missiles, he was always thinking that there might be another way that would gain him ultimate fame. Dear ones, this has been in progress since his father died! Therefore, it was in the field, but not a given, dear ones - a potential.

Next, I want to show you the bias of humanity at this time, something I have spoken of many times. This potential of the handshake is amazing, and it has started to be manifested. What should the reaction be to something that deflects the potential of war, or saves thousands lives? Instead of joy or amazement or celebration, Humans go for the reverse: It can't happen. It's a trick. It's a bad deal.

I want you to start reading the reactions of the press. I want you to read the reactions even from the South Koreans. They said, "Well, we know North Koreans, and that's never going to happen. We know who they are, and we know their nature. Because in the past, they never performed what they said they would. So it's a joke." That is a quote from a South Korean. "It's a joke."

What happened to this comment? "Isn't this a beautiful potential? Look at this amazing thing - against all odds!" Now, your free press, the reporting segment of our culture, has decided not only to report it, but to let you know it's probably not going to happen! They say: "Nay. Maybe yes, maybe no. We'll see. We expect the worse." And this continues and continues, and all it shows you is the monstrous bias of the dark side that wants to pull anything good back to what the past gave to you.

In Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, the hero always believes that they will move toward the goal. They are not steeped in the past, nor are they invested in dark things. Humanity has crossed the threshold into the unknown when it passed 2012, but carries with it the burden of an old, dark Human nature. What would the heroic old soul say about what is taking place? "Let them all spin the dark all they want to, but we got to see something against all odds and it was in the field - in the field! Send them light so they may very well do what the handshake was all about."

Dear ones, it is not naive to expect good things in the future, if you are actively sending light there and shaping a reality that you can actually visualize.

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

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

I want you to watch Iran. It's not like the isolation of North Korea. It's hooked to a major belief system and to Middle Eastern history. It's hooked to a major person with control, and it is tied into the grand problem of the Middle East and especially Israel. Things will start to change. Watch this. It's in the field. It's being discussed and there are "wild cards" coming.

Let me close with this: I'm going to give you the same concept that I gave those few on their way to the beautiful garden a few days ago [channelling on the way to Butchart Gardens in Vancouver Island]. There are things in your field for you that will save your life unless you look back and say, "Impossible!" Some of you have an old habit where you look at your life and say, "Well, for others, but not for me." Sometimes you pull on your old logic and further say, "Well, it's never happened before, so why should it happen now?" Dear ones, that exactly reflects the earlier teaching of the day. Don't let the past predict your future. If you do, then you are actually creating your own demise.

What is in the field for you? What is it you can see and imagine? Have you heard this question from the scientists this week - not a channeller, but the scientists? Did you hear that the visualization of your health from your consciousness goes inside and is seen by your own cellular structure? Does this science sound like Kryon? Did you hear that the field is there to push it forward? Do you believe in homeopathy? Do you see how it works? For example, you have a tincture that is too small to be recognized by any part of the body as a chemical change, yet the body sees the signal from the tincture and corrects the issue! Dear one, homeopathy is not something unknown on the planet. It's everywhere! So understand this: The principles of homeopathy are NOT homeopathic principles. They are Universal principles of the field.

So, how about consciousness homeopathy? What's the difference between putting a tincture together to create a signal for healing and life extension or putting strong consciousness together that does the same? This is here and already has been proven. It's just means changing the mechanics a little. With the new energy that I have told you is here, and the amount of love that is pouring to you that is greater than ever before because of what you're doing, old soul, this is doable for you. More than doable. It awaits manifestation.

What did you come here for? Perhaps there are issues - I know who's here. Perhaps there are issues that you have been working on a long time? Did you know that in the field, for you, they are already corrected and solved? Did you know that some of the situations you're in, which seem untenable, are solved? The "Woe is me, what am I going to do?" is being heard, dear ones, and is correctable. It's such an elegant solution if you want it. It assigns consciousness the role of a homeopathic remedy, like property. Premise: If you expect it, see it, and claim it, it's real. If you cognize it, it belongs to you. It's there. It has your name on it. But nothing is going to happen unless you rise above the fray of an old consciousness that says, "It can't be." Yes, it can!

With this particular group of old souls, dear ones, I tell you you're here for one reason: You're here to hear the science of consciousness. Every single process and every single chart and every single word you're going to hear supports what I just said to you. Don't even begin to separate the spiritual from the scientific. Your studies into the science of the way things work, are the studies of God, who designed it and made it work. Use your consciousness to go to places you haven't been before, whether you like channeling or not. Understand that there is room for the love of God and science as well. So we say for this weekend, until you hear from me tomorrow evening, "Let the science begin!" [Let the conference continue]

And so it is.

KRYON

Related Article:

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

Dutch scientists’ names pop up in bogus scientific journals

DutchNews, August 8, 2018

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Over Dutch 500 scientists have published articles in bogus scientific journals or attended fake conferences, the Volkskrant reports. 

The paper bases the allegation on the findings of international investigative journalism collective ICIJ which earlier exposed the names of people using tax havens. 

The paper was given access to the collective’s database of articles pulled from the Indian-based OMICS which publishes some 700 scientific journals and Turkish WASET, a company that organises conferences and publishes the papers presented there. 

Unlike reputable journals, the journals published by OMICS ask a fee for publishing and, according to the journalists, the articles are not peer-reviewed or otherwise checked, the paper writes. 

The Dutch scientists found to have published articles in the bogus journals or had conference papers published include virologist Ab Osterhaus (Erasmus MC) and chairman of the association of phycisians KNMG Rutger Jan van der Gaag. 

In most cases they are not the main author and their names do not come up more than once. According to the Volkskrant, the scientists were ‘well-intentioned’. 

‘We could not get our paper on autism published anywhere, Van der Gaag told the paper. ‘I still think it was important to publish. But we failed to look at the journal properly.’ The authors of the paper paid $800 dollars to have it published in one of the bogus journals, the paper said. 

The paper cites the need for scientists to distinguish themselves in competitive fields. The pressure to publish and the fact that some papers don’t pass muster for the more prestigious journals gives the bogus companies their chance, the paper writes. 

Both companies – which have faced legal scrutiny in the United States-  deny any wrong-doing.

HSBC to pay $765m US fine over crisis-era conduct

Yahoo – AFP, Roland JACKSON with Elaine YU in Hong Kong, 6 August 2018

HSBC said it is hiring 'more frontline staff' in its strongest businesses after an
overhaul that saw 50,000 jobs axed

Britain's Asia-focused bank HSBC on Monday revealed a $765-million US fine over the lender's actions in the run-up to the subprime crisis, as it also logged rising first-half profits.

HSBC said it has agreed to pay the large US penalty over its conduct in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), a type of investment derivative that bundled home loans into securities and was sold to investors before the 2008 financial meltdown.

"HSBC reached a settlement-in-principle to resolve the Department of Justice's civil claims relating to its investigation of HSBC's legacy RMBS origination and securitisation activities from 2005 to 2007," the lender announced in a results statement.

"Under the terms of the settlement, HSBC will pay the DoJ a civil money penalty of $765 million."

The London-headquartered giant is the latest global bank to reach a US settlement over conduct in the run-up to the notorious subprime crisis which sparked a worldwide recession.

However, the deal was agreed in July and therefore was not included in HSBC's first half results, which cover the six months to June.

Brexit, trade war headwinds

HSBC posted advancing first-half profits and expressed optimism over the outlook -- despite headwinds from rising costs, the China-US trade war and Brexit.

Pre-tax profit rose almost five percent to $10.7 billion in the six months to the end of June compared with a year earlier.

Net profit or earnings after taxation gained 2.5 percent to $7.173 billion, boosted by high-growth markets -- particularly in Asia and the Middle East.

"We haven't yet seen any impact on our business or through our customers," chief executive John Flint told reporters when asked about the impact of the China-US trade spat.

"It's still too early to tell and in terms of estimating potential impact it's difficult because we don’t quite know what the substance of the trade war will be.

"We've got some tariffs in place and some coming, but the full impact is very difficult to estimate.

"It is possible that it will shave China's GDP growth by a modest amount but (it is) too early too start predicting."

Turning to Britain's looming departure from the European Union next year, the bank chief stressed that its cost estimate for a so-called hard Brexit remained unchanged.

The lender had warned late last year that a chaotic Brexit could cost it up to $300 million.

It had also outlined tentative plans to switch 1,000 jobs to Paris from London owing to Britain's departure from the European Union due in 2019.

"Our role has been to ensure that we are in a position to secure customers' ... needs across the UK, Europe and the network that we serve in 67 markets across the world," added Flint on Monday.

"Our planning from the outset has been based on what is euphemistically called a hard Brexit, and therefore the cost guidance that we have given in that regard remains absolutely consistent with what we have talked about in the past."

Costs outpace revenues

Revenues were up four percent at $27.3 billion in the reporting period -- but operating expenses grew seven percent to $17.5 billion.

In late morning deals, HSBC shares fell 0.53 percent to 712 pence on London's rising FTSE 100 index.

"The market has reacted cautiously to the numbers ... because the group reported costs rising significantly faster than income," noted Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Steve Clayton.

After wide-ranging cutbacks that saw 50,000 jobs axed in an overhaul announced in 2015, the bank added on Monday that it was now hiring again as it seeks new growth areas.

Flint said in June that he plans to invest $15-17 billion primarily in growth and technology projects, with a particular focus on accelerating growth in Asia.

HSBC, founded in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865, sees its focus firmly in Asia, although it has been based in Britain since 1992.

South Korea women hold record mass rally against 'spycam porn'

Yahoo – AFP, 4 August 2018

Organisers said a record 70,000 people joined Saturday's march

Tens of thousands of South Korean women staged a mass rally in Seoul Saturday to protest against spycam porn, urging tougher punishments for peeping Toms as anger over the growing scourge boils over.

Since May, the monthly demonstration in Seoul has shattered records to become the biggest-ever women's protest in South Korea where the global #MeToo movement has unleashed an unprecedented wave of female-led activism.

The primary cause of the protests are so-called spycam videos in a tech-savvy country where news of men caught secretly filming women in schools, offices, trains, or even toilets have made headlines on a daily basis.

Organisers said Saturday's event drew 70,000 participants, ten thousand more than the previous month's rally, despite an unprecedented summer heatwave that has pushed the mercury above 37 degrees.

"Women's toilets in this country are infested with spycams! Please please crack down on the crimes," the women chanted in unison at the city's Gwanghwamun Plaza which routinely hosts mass rallies.

Some waved banners with slogans such as: "We can't live like this anymore" and "South Korea: the nation of spycams."

Asia's fourth-largest economy takes pride in its tech prowess, from ultra-fast Internet to cutting-edge smartphones.

But these advances have also given rise to an army of tech-savvy perverts, with videos widely shared in internet chatrooms and on file-sharing sites, or used as adverts for websites promoting prostitution or gambling.

The number of such spycam crimes reported to police has surged from around 1,100 in 2010 to more than 6,500 last year, with the offenders ranging from school teachers and college professors to church pastors and even a court judge.

The protestors are demanding that the government toughen punishments for offenders -- most of whom are fined or receive suspended jail terms -- and shutter websites hosting the footage.

Most participants at Saturday's rally hid their faces with hats, sunglasses or surgical facial masks. Some South Koreans who have previously joined protests in support of women's rights have faced online bullying and harassment.

The South remains deeply conservative and patriarchal despite economic and technological advances.

The crimes have become so prevalent that the South's female police officers inspect women's toilets in public venues including subway stations on a regular basis with special detectors for spycam videos that may be hidden inside stalls.

Although all manufacturers of smartphones sold in the South are required to ensure their devices make a loud shutter noise when taking photos -- a move designed to curb covert filming -- many offenders use special apps that mute the sound, or turn to high-tech spy cameras hidden inside eye glasses, lighters, watches, car keys and even neckties.