United Nations Declaration (Articles 1 - 30):

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Incoming UN chief names three women to top posts

Incoming UN chief names three women to top posts
Nigerian Minister of the Environment Amina Mohammed, seen in 2015, will be the UN's number two official (AFP Photo/Mireya ACIERTO)

Sustainable Development
"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -
"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ … 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 Declaration of Human Freedom

Archangel Michael (Via Steve Beckow), Feb. 19, 2011

Every being is a divine and eternal soul living in a temporal body. Every being was alive before birth and will live after death.

Every soul enters into physical life for the purpose of experience and education, that it may, in the course of many lifetimes, learn its true identity as a fragment of the Divine.

Life itself is a constant process of spiritual evolution and unfoldment, based on free choice, that continues until such time as we realize our true nature and return to the Divine from which we came.

No soul enters life to serve another, except by choice, but to serve its own purpose and that of the Divine from which it came.

All life is governed by natural and universal laws which precede and outweigh the laws of humanity. These laws, such as the law of karma, the law of attraction, and the law of free will, are decreed by God to order existence and assist each person to achieve life’s purpose.

No government can or should survive that derives its existence from the enforced submission of its people or that denies its people their basic rights and freedoms.

Life is a movement from one existence to another, in varied venues throughout the universe and in other universes and dimensions of existence. We are not alone in the universe but share it with other civilizations, most of them peace-loving, many of whom are more advanced than we are, some of whom can be seen with our eyes and some of whom cannot.

The evidence of our five senses is not the final arbiter of existence. Humans are spiritual as well as physical entities and the spiritual side of life transcends the physical. God is a Spirit and the final touchstone of God’s Truth is not physical but spiritual. The Truth is to be found within.

God is one and, because of this, souls are one. They form a unity. They are meant to live in peace and harmony together in a “common unity” or community. The use of force to settle affairs runs contrary to natural law. Every person should have the right to conduct his or her own affairs without force, as long as his or her choices do not harm another.

No person shall be forced into marriage against his or her will. No woman shall be forced to bear or not bear children, against her will. No person shall be forced to hold or not hold views or worship in a manner contrary to his or her choice. Nothing vital to existence shall be withheld from another if it is within the community’s power to give.

Every person shall retain the ability to think, speak, and act as they choose, as long as they not harm another. Every person has the right to choose, study and practice the education and career of their choice without interference, provided they not harm another.

No one has the right to kill another. No one has the right to steal from another. No one has the right to force himself or herself upon another in any way.

Any government that harms its citizens, deprives them of their property or rights without their consent, or makes offensive war upon its neighbors, no matter how it misrepresents the situation, has lost its legitimacy. No government may govern without the consent of its people. All governments are tasked with seeing to the wellbeing of their citizens. Any government which forces its citizens to see to its own wellbeing without attending to theirs has lost its legitimacy.

Men and women are meant to live fulfilling lives, free of want, wherever they wish and under the conditions they desire, providing their choices do not harm another and are humanly attainable.

Children are meant to live lives under the beneficent protection of all, free of exploitation, with unhindered access to the necessities of life, education, and health care.

All forms of exploitation, oppression, and persecution run counter to universal and natural law. All disagreements are meant to be resolved amicably.

Any human law that runs counter to natural and universal law is invalid and should not survive. The enactment or enforcement of human law that runs counter to natural and universal law brings consequences that cannot be escaped, in this life or another. While one may escape temporal justice, one does not escape divine justice.

All outcomes are to the greater glory of God and to God do we look for the fulfillment of our needs and for love, peace, and wisdom. So let it be. Aum/Amen.


Pope Francis arrives for historic first US visit

Pope Francis arrives for historic first US visit
Pope Francis laughs alongside US President Barack Obama upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, on September 22, 2015, on the start of a 3-day trip to Washington (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb)


Today's doodle in the U.S. celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech on its 50th anniversary (28 Aug 2013)

'Love is love': Obama lauds gay marriage activists in hailing 'a victory for America'

'Love is love': Obama lauds gay marriage activists in hailing 'a victory for America'
The White House released this image, of the building colored like the rainbow flag, on Facebook following the supreme court’s ruling. Photograph: Facebook

Same-sex marriage around the world

"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. …

Merkel says Turkey media crackdown 'highly alarming'

Merkel says Turkey media crackdown 'highly alarming'
Reporters Without Borders labels Erdogan as 'enemy of press freedom'

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Friday, April 27, 2012

Brooklyn DA refuses to release details of Orthodox sex abuse suspects

Refusal to grant FOI request marks admission by Charles Hynes that suspected Orthodox child abusers receive special treatment

guardian.co.uk, Zoë Blackler in New York, Thursday 26 April 2012

Charles Hynes's refusal comes as New York judges ruled for a mistrial
 in the case of Baruch Lebovits (above). Photograph: New York Daily
News/Getty Images

Brooklyn district attorney Charles Hynes has refused a freedom of information request for details of child sex abuse prosecutions in the Orthodox Jewish community, amid questions over the veracity of his arrest figures.

The refusal coincides with the collapse of his most vaunted prosecution after appellate court judges ruled on Thursday for a mistrial in the case of Baruch Lebovits, sentenced in 2010 to a maximum 32-year jail term.

Lebovits was convicted in March 2010 of abusing a 16-year-old boy. The DA's office said it is prepared to retry the case. But victims' advocates say his mistrial is a major setback in their efforts to encourage other child sex victims to risk community censure and come forward. Advocate Joel Engelman said the decision was "extremely demoralising".

The Guardian reported last month that the DA was facing accusations that he has failed to tackle up the cover-up of abuse in Brooklyn's Orthodox community – the largest Orthodox community in the world outside Israel. Rabbinic leaders are accused of hampering efforts to uncover abuse, and many victims face intimidation and threats to prevent them pressing charges.

The Guardian and the Jewish Forward paper had submitted freedom of information (FOI) requests for details of cases. But this week Hynes's office informed the Forward that it was denying its request, because the close-knit nature of the Orthodox community meant disclosing the names of defendants would reveal the identities of the victims. The DA's spokesman, Jerry Schmetterrer, confirmed that the Guardian's request would also be refused on the same grounds.

The statement refusing the FOI request marks the first admission by Hynes that suspected child abusers from the Orthodox Jewish community receive exceptional treatment.

Hynes's policy clarification follows recent claims to have radically increased prosecutions through his Kol Tzedek outreach effort. Kol Tzedek, which features a victims' hotline staffed by a culturally sensitive social worker, aims to encourage reporting of sexual assaults and to break the cover-up of child sex abuse by the Orthodox Jewish community.

The DA credits the initiative, which began in April 2009, with a surge in arrests. In January, the DA said the tally now stood at "over 90" arrests, a figure confirmed again this week by his spokesman.

Of the 38 cases closed by November last year, 23 had concluded in guilty pleas and six in trial convictions with nine dismissals and acquittals, Schmetterer said. Fourteen of the convictions resulted in jail time. But at least nine of the arrests ascribed to Kol Tzedek were in fact made before April 2009.

The Guardian has learned of five: Stefan Colmer, extradited from Israel in 2008, Yona Weinberg, indicted in 2008, Emanuel Yegutkin, arrested in January 2009, Moshe Spitzer, arrested in March 2009, and Baruch Lebovits, whose landmark conviction was overturned this week and who was indicted in 2008. The DA's spokesperson confirmed in writing last month that all five men were being counted as Kol Tzedek arrests.

The Jewish Week knows of a further four arrests inaccurately credited to Kol Tzedek: one convicted of attempting to kidnap an Hispanic girl, arrested in 2007; another in mental health facility and unfit to proceed, arrested 2008; a third who violated his probation and was reconvicted in 2009, first arrested 2002; and Yehuda Kolko, whose case in 2008 saw him plead guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment, not a sex crime. Kolko is currently being prosecuted for criminal contempt.

Schmetterer refused to answer questions from the Guardian. "I have nothing to say to you," he said. "You have the (FOI) letter. I have nothing to add."

The FOI response – set out in a letter signed by assistant district attorney Morgan Dennehy – appears to explain an apparent misinterpretation of a civil rights statute previously used by the DA to explain why case information was being withheld from public scrutiny.

Earlier responses from the DA's office have cited New York Civil Rights Law 50B, which protects the privacy of sex crime victims. 50B prohibits the release of documents that could identify a victim. It does not, however, restrict the release of case files in which the victims' names or other revealing information has been redacted, said Martin Guggenheim, professor of clinical law at NYU. "To my knowledge," Guggenheim said, "the law permits the disclosure of reports so long as the public official does so in a manner that ensures that the identity of the victim cannot be obtained from the report."

Hynes's argument – that the "unique" circumstances in the Orthodox community prohibits release of any and all information, since to name the defendant is to name the victim – apparently explains his over-stringent response to 50B.

Dennehy's letter goes on to say that sex crime victims from the Orthodox community, if identified, face unique challenges that will make them likely to withdraw co-operation "making the prosecution of the defendants extremely difficult". It would also prevent victims of unreported crimes coming forward in the future if they feared their names would become known. Under New York's FOI law, documents which could "interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings" are exempt from disclosure.

Roger Canaff, a former sex crimes prosecutor in the Bronx, said he thought the reason for the DA's silence was justified.

"There are some situations where releasing suspect information could lead to unfairly revealing victim information," Canaff said. "I can imagine a situation where that could happen. So for the sake of the victims I think it's OK to make an exception.

"I haven't dealt with it myself, or seen it anywhere else, but I can understand an office being concerned with that. I can't say whether that's what is going on here, or something else, but I think it's a plausible explanation."

Community activist Isaac Schonfeld, an Orthodox Jew from Borough Park, said the DA's position was illogical because if the everybody in the community really did know everybody else's business, the victims' identities woul already be known. "I don't find the argument compelling," Schonfeld said.

"We have this wonderful compassion in our community. Rather than channelling that into covering up [child abuse], we should be using it to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the problem, and giving the victims tools to deal with it rather than just sweeping it under the rug."

"The DA should be challenging the community to bring these issues into the open and to bring the perpetrators into public view," he added.


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