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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Monday, August 20, 2012

Mormons in the spotlight as a faith goes mainstream

Mitt Romney doesn't want his religion to become a political issue – but there's no stopping a growing curiosity about it. All sides agree this presidential election brings a vital moment for a once-persecuted faith

guardian.co.uk, Paul Harris,  Saturday 18 August 2012

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing in Salt Lake City in 2009.
Photograph: George Frey/Getty Images

They are calling it the "Mormon moment". As Mitt Romney, a former Mormon bishop as well as a former governor of Massachusetts, runs for the White House, the transformation of Mormonism from persecuted and obscure frontier faith to significant world religion seems complete.

If Romney were to become president of the United States it would turn a practising and devout Mormon into the most powerful man in the world. The mere fact of his nomination run in the Republican party has already shone an intense media spotlight on the faith and its spiritual home amid the valleys and high desert mountains of Utah.

That spotlight is uncovering a complex set of sensitivities and affiliations. Many Mormons, while welcoming a chance to spread their beliefs, are deeply nervous about all the attention. Their faith, founded in the 1830s in upstate New York, was, after all, forced west by persecution and hatred.

"I am torn. I love that people are talking about my religion," said Craig Janis, a young Mormon professional sitting in a trendy coffee shop in downtown Salt Lake City. "That's good for the church. But a lot of Mormons can be very defensive. There is a persecution complex."

Whatever the wishes of some, there is no stopping the conversation now. Mormonism is one of the world's fastest growing religions and now has 14.4 million members. It requires young members to serve abroad, giving it a 55,000-strong worldwide missionary force at any one time.

With its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Mormonism is rapidly becoming part of the US mainstream. Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid is a Mormon. So is rightwing firebrand Glenn Beck. The main hit show on Broadway is The Book of Mormon. In some ways, a Romney presidency would just be the cherry on the cake. Many compare it to John F Kennedy's 1960 presidential win, which marked a breakthrough for Roman Catholics.

For Janis, however, that would not be a welcome development. The young lawyer and technology entrepreneur does not want to see a Romney presidency. Defying the stereotype of Mormons as a politically homogenous group , Janis is both a practising Mormon and a fervent Democrat. He has no time for Romney. "He bends so far to the right," Janis said.

Nor is Janis alone. Mormonism generally, with its keen focus on the family, is a Republican stronghold: one recent survey showed 74% of Mormons are Republican-leaning. But it is not a straightforward issue. "You are going to get a much higher percentage of black Americans voting for Barack Obama than you will Mormons voting for Romney," said Jeremy Lott, editor of the website Real Clear Religion.

In Utah last year, a state organisation was formed called LDS Democrats – the LDS referring to the faith's full name, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – and it has grown to 2,000 members. This year they will for the first time travel to the Democratic party's national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Obama will be nominated for re-election.

Members of the LDS Democrats are a broad political church. Social issues such as abortion and gay marriage are part of the debate, but opposing them is not the disqualifier that it might be in more liberal parts of America.

"We want people who are socially conservative and who are socially liberal," said LDS Democrats' vice-chair Crystal Young-Otterstrom. With her young daughter on her lap, she laughed as she described the group's mission in the heart of Mormon country: "We are making converts, so to speak."

Democratic Mormons like Janis and Young-Otterstrom are as religious as their Republican counterparts. But they have drawn a different lesson from Mormonism's past and theology.

They look at its history of persecution – inspired largely by its early members' embracing of polygamy – and its long, hard trek across the continent. In the settlement and cultivation of the hard desert soil of Utah into a flourishing state, they see the triumph of communal values. In the bustling modern metropolis of Salt Lake City, and its many quiet, prosperous suburbs, they see the fulfilment of Democratic values. After all it is a Mormon's religious duty to relieve poverty.

"It is a misnomer to believe that this valley was settled with rugged individualism," said Steve Olsen, a former Mormon bishop, like Romney, and author of a book aimed at Mormons, Why You May Be a Liberal (And That's Okay). "It was settled with community spirit, unselfishness and people working together."

Of course, other Mormons disagree. Rather than opposing Romney from the left, they attack him from the right. Examining the same Mormon history and theology, some see Mormonism as a natural home for conservative libertarianism. The one thing these groups agree on is that Romney would be a disaster. "I think Obama is driving this country off a cliff at 100 mph. Romney would slow us down to maybe 95," said Connor Boyack, who recently founded his own libertarian thinktank in Utah. He too has a book out, Latter Day Liberty, in which he uses Mormon scripture to espouse anti-big government beliefs. Sitting in Starbucks in the Utah city of Orem – and, as a devout Mormon, scrupulously avoiding the coffee – Boyack can't disguise his contempt for Romney. "I think he's horrible. I say that without hesitation. As a person I am sure that he is a good husband and father and a shrewd businessman. That's not a statement on his character. It's a statement on his public policies. They are horrible," he said.

Would he vote for Romney? "Certainly not," he replied.

But perhaps no one should be surprised that a more nuanced picture of the faith is emerging as Mormonism emerges into the mainstream alongside Romney's presidential campaign. After all, no community of millions of people can be a homogenous bloc backing a co-religionist. Especially when it comes to Romney, who – fearful of angering the Republican evangelical right – makes little reference to his faith.

Yet Mormonism has deep abiding characteristics that does unite members. Nearly all Mormons have an overwhelming focus on family, believing the family unit to be sacred and eternal. They believe it extends after death, hence the controversial practice of baptising the dead. Salt Lake City and other Mormon-heavy communities seem full to bursting with young couples with large broods of children settled into suburban life. "About the one sort of cult that the Mormons don't mind being called is a cult of the family," said Lott.

This, perhaps coupled with religious restrictions on caffeine and alcohol, appears to have created a highly productive work ethic that has meant Utah has emerged as an attractive place for companies to relocate. The centre of Salt Lake City has sprouted new skyscrapers that tower over the delicate spires of the city's Temple, the true spiritual home of the faith. It is also a tight-knit community in which the church plays a huge role.

Tithing – where a percentage of income is given to church charities – is very common. Mormons are supported by an activist church, generous in its welfare programmes and which provides a cheap higher education at Salt Lake City's Brigham Young University: something debt-laden non-Mormon college students in America are intensely envious of. All of that, coupled with its history of persecution, has sometimes led to accusations of an insular culture whose self-reliance can be seen as defensiveness. "Sometimes there is not a lot of love for Mormons in the world," said Young-Otterstrom.

The rest of America is certainly curious but not always kindly. The Mormon habit of wearing sacred undergarments, which look a little like old-fashioned long-johns, has become the butt of "magic underpants" jokes.

The teachings of Mormonism are also likely to raise a few eyebrows as they become better known. Mormonism describes a history in which Christ visits America and in which Native Americans are the descendants of a lost tribe of Israel. Added to that is the controversial history of the church, which saw founder Joseph Smith murdered by a mob and which once discriminated against black people. In the face of this, it is perhaps no surprise that Romney has rarely spoken of his beliefs in terms of Mormonism, but rather in terms of devotion to Jesus. In 2007, before his first run for the Republican nomination, Romney sought to kill the issue. He gave a heavily touted speech in which he said: "I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavour to live by it." But that was the only moment in the speech he said the word "Mormon". And the 2012 campaign has shown there is a huge difference between Romney's no-doubt-sincere private commitment to Mormonism and his public one.

Despite Romney's reticence, Mormonism is clearly growing in the collective consciousness of an America that once sought bloodily to exterminate it. And the church knows that the Romney run is an opportunity. "Mormonism is the most ambitious religion that I have ever encountered. I think that the view of the church when it comes to Romney's run is that it will be worth it, win or lose," said Lott.

The church has been assiduously preparing for the spotlight. Since 2010 it has spent millions of dollars on a publicity campaign called "I am a Mormon" that is aimed at highlighting the ordinary Americanness of its members. Websites have been set up to counter myths – especially related to polygamy, which the church banned more than a century ago.

Some local congregations have been organising outreach sessions with non-Mormons, often in states far away from Utah. And all the time the church is insisting that it does not want to get involved in the rough and tumble world of US presidential politics.

"We hope our members will take the time to be informed on issues and candidates and will participate in the political process," said Eric Hawkins, a senior church spokesman. "However, how they choose to do this is a completely private matter, and will not be directed by the church."

There is a good reason for that. Mormonism's focus on the family led it to get involved in the fight over gay marriage in California. That stance led gay activists to picket and protest outside Mormon temples across America. Suddenly people who are often known simply for being unnaturally nice and polite were being called hate-mongers. It was a lesson in how mixing religion and politics can backfire rapidly.

No wonder the church refuses in 2012 to get involved even on behalf of one of its own. "The church is strictly politically neutral and does not participate in partisan politics by endorsing political candidates," Hawkins said. Those conspiracy theorists who fear Romney is some sort of Mormon Manchurian candidate have little supporting evidence.

As the church grows it is likely to become more politically diverse. That is already being shown by the recent successes of Mormon writer Joanna Brooks, whose 2012 autobiography The Book of Mormon Girl has been a huge critical success. Brooks's story of her faith and avowed feminism has seen her appear on everything from The Daily Show to Fox Business to NPR and the BBC.

Brooks has shown that it is possible to be a religious Mormon and a feminist, just as Boyack can mix his faith with libertarianism and Olsen can combine his with being leftwing. Mormonism, despite its old image of bearded prophets leading multiple wives through the wilderness, has always been flexible.

Indeed its supreme adaptiveness is often cited as a reason for its position as America's homegrown faith. When polygamy proved a political hurdle, the practice was dumped. When civil rights arose and society changed, so too did the Mormon attitude to race. Like so many American social movements, it ignored its past, embraced the future and moved on. Many suspect it will eventually do that with gay rights, its current millstone.

Janis hopes so: "Gay rights is a very important thing to me. As a religious minority myself, any threat to another minority and their ability to act according to their conscience is a real problem for me."

Indeed, when contemplating the prospect of a Mormon president in the shape of Romney, Janis does not really see the future of the faith. Instead, he sees a throwback: a conservative white male with rightwing opinions on everything from attacking Iran to tax breaks for the rich to gay rights.

"I remember the last time we had a Republican president in the shape of George W Bush. He was the most unpopular person in the world. Having a Mormon as the new most unpopular person in the world would worry me," he said.


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