Colombia's President Santos receives Nobel Peace Prize

Yahoo – AFP, Pierre-Henry Deshayes, with Gael Branchereau in Stockholm, December 10, 2016

Nobel Peace Prize winner Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos poses with
 his award in Oslo on December 10, 2016 (AFP Photo/Haakon Mosvold Larsen)

Oslo (AFP) - Colombia's peace deal between the government and the Marxist FARC rebels is a model for war-torn countries like Syria, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.

The peace accord, signed on November 24 to end five decades of conflict, is a "model for the resolution of armed conflicts that have yet to be resolved around the world."

"It proves that what, at first, seems impossible, through perseverance may become possible even in Syria or Yemen or South Sudan," Santos said during a lavish ceremony at Oslo's City Hall, decked out in red, orange and white roses and carnations imported from Colombia for the occasion.

After a first peace deal was rejected in a popular vote on October 2, the rebels and government negotiated a new accord to end the conflict, which has killed more than 260,000 people, left 45,000 missing and forced nearly seven million to flee their homes.

"The Colombian peace agreement is a ray of hope in a world troubled by so many conflicts and so much intolerance," he said.

Yet in an interview with AFP just hours before Saturday's prize ceremony, Santos acknowledged that the hardest part of the country's peace process was yet to come.

The period ahead "is a more difficult phase than the (negotiation) process itself, and will require a lot of effort, perseverance and humility," he said.

"A lot of coordination efforts will also be needed... to bring the benefits of peace to the regions that have suffered the most in the conflict," he added.

He also said he could offer no guarantees there would be a peace deal in place with Colombia's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), before the end of his mandate in 2018.

"I will do my best but to establish a time frame is always counter-productive in negotiations of this sort," he said.

In a speech at the ceremony, Berit Reiss-Andersen, deputy chairwoman of the Nobel committee, urged "all sides in Colombia to carry on the national dialogue and continue on the road to reconciliation.

"Hopefully, a similar negotiated disarmament agreement with the ELN guerrilla will soon be in place as well."

The Nobel prize consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a cheque for eight million Swedish kronor (824,000 euros, $871,000), a sum Santos promised to donate to the victims of the war.

The 2016 Nobel Prize laureates (AFP Photo/Paz PIZARRO)

Dylan's snub

Later on Saturday, another ceremony will be held in Stockholm where the Nobel laureates in the sciences, economics and literature will be honoured -- a ceremony marked by the notable absence of this year's literature laureate, Bob Dylan.

The first songwriter to win the prestigious award, he has declined to attend the glittering ceremony due to "pre-existing commitments".

The no-show has created a stir in Sweden, where it has been perceived as a slight towards the Swedish Academy that awards the literature prize and the Nobel Foundation.

Announced as the winner on October 14, Dylan waited almost two weeks to publicly acknowledge the accolade, a silence one Academy member termed "impolite and arrogant".

Dylan did ultimately say he was honoured to win, but then informed the Academy in mid-November that he would not be travelling to Stockholm to accept his prize.

"A slap in the face," remarked editorialist Lena Mellin at one of Sweden's biggest dailies, Aftonbladet.

"Anyone who has ever received a prize, even if it's just for being the best neighbour in the apartment building, knows that the least one can do is go and accept it," she wrote.

On social media, opinions were mixed.

"If it were me, I would probably... collect a Nobel Prize and $900,000. But it's Bob, and that's part of what makes him Bob," wrote fan Evan Sarzin on the singer's Facebook page.

"He is 75, give him a break," argued another, Karen Lunebach.

The singer-songwriter has sent a thank-you speech to be read at the gala banquet at Stockholm's City Hall, attended by around 1,300 guests and the Swedish royal family.

And just before that, American rock star Patti Smith will sing Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" during the formal prize ceremony at Stockholm's Concert Hall.

According to the Nobel Foundation, his prize should be presented to him in person sometime in 2017, either in Sweden or abroad.

Have a look at @JuanManSantos Nobel Diploma! #NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/vXoU54m6rq

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) December 10, 2016

Thousands attend funeral of slain Honduran environmentalist

Yahoo – AFP, Noe Leiva, 6 March 2016

People attend the funeral of murdered indigenous activist Berta Caceres and call

for justice in La Esperanza, Honduras on March 5, 2016 (AFP Photo/Orlando Sierra)

La Esperanza (Honduras) (AFP) - Thousands of mourners paid their final tributes Saturday to Berta Caceres, the indigenous activist killed on Thursday, demanding justice for the renowned environmentalist.

The 45-year-old head of the Civic Council of Indigenous and People's Organizations (COPINH) was gunned down in her hometown of La Esperanza, 125 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of the Honduran capital Tegicigalpa, in what her family has called an assassination.

Mourners from across the country attending the funeral in La Esperanza chanted "Justice, justice!" "Berta lives!" and "The struggle continues!" as her coffin was taken to a church service before its burial.

Caceres's brother Gustavo, one of the first to find her body, told AFP that at least two masked men entered the back of the house where his sister was sleeping early on Thursday.

She got up to investigate the noise and confronted the men, who fractured her arm and leg before shooting her at least eight times at point blank range, he said.

A bullet also wounded Gustavo Castro Soto of the organization Friends of the Earth Mexico, who had been sleeping in the next room, when he came out to see what was happening. The attackers fled after he pretended to be dead.

Relatives mourn over murdered indigenous activist Berta Caceres' coffin during her

 funeral in La Esperanza, 200 km northwest of Tegucigalpa, on March 5, 2016 (AFP

Photo/Orlando Sierra)

Caceres lived in the house, which belongs to her mother, until moving out two months ago.

"Now we understand it was a way to protect her family," Gustavo Caceres said.

A mother of four who would have turned 45 Friday, Caceres rose to prominence for leading the indigenous Lenca people in a struggle against a hydroelectric dam project that would have flooded large areas of native lands and cut off water supplies to hundreds.

In 2015, she won the Goldman Environmental Prize, considered the world's top award for grassroots environmental activism.

She persevered in her activism despite numerous death threats.

Caceres was arrested in 2013 for illegal possession of firearms in what critics say was harrassment. She was acquitted in 2014.

Caceres's killing has drawn international condemnation, including from the United Nations, the United States and many environmental activists.

The activist's family has accused the authorities of trying to mask her death as a random murder, insisting that she was assassinated because of her activism against environmental destruction by large mining and hydroelectric companies.

They also accuse the government of responsibility in her murder for failing to provide protection and investigate the threats against her.

Thousands attend funeral of slain Honduran environmentalist https://t.co/l8TsqOA6CL pic.twitter.com/yERuJY4i3E

— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 5, 2016

Oscar winner Inarritu presses for change in native Mexico

Yahoo – AFP, February 24, 2015

Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, winner for the Best Picture award for
"Birdman" poses in the press room during the 87th Oscars on February 22,
2015, in Hollywood, California (AFP Photo/Frederic J. Brown)

Mexico City (AFP) - Film director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, fresh from his Oscars triumph for "Birdman," spoke out again Tuesday against corruption and impunity in his native Mexico, saying they had reached "intolerable levels."

Public reaction here has been intense since Inarritu accepted the Oscar for best picture on Sunday with an anguished plea that Mexicans "find and build the government that we deserve."

It was widely interpreted as a knock against President Enrique Pena Nieto, who quickly responded with a defense of his government's efforts to help individuals find a path to success.

"The government that we deserve" is a trending topic on Twitter in Mexico, and a forum for criticism of Pena Nieto's government.

Inarritu didn't let up Tuesday, expanding on his Oscars remarks in an interview with MVS Radio.

"I think the level of dissatisfaction, of injustice, of corruption, of impunity have reached intolerable levels," he said.

"I don't know what the solution is. I wouldn't dare to say because I am not a political expert. But I do have desires and feel that all Mexicans feel the same despair over the distressing situation we're living through now," he said.

Mexico is still reeling from the disappearance and presumed massacre of 43 students from a teacher's college in the southern state of Guerrero last September, a case blamed on corrupt police and drug traffickers but still unresolved.

"We all agree on the things that must change once and for all," said Inarritu, adding that Mexicans should fight together for "a life that is more worthy (...) more secure, with more guarantees and with more rights."

Besides the best picture award for "Birdman", Inarritu himself also took home Oscars for best director and best screenplay. The film also won the Oscar for best cinematography, which went to fellow Mexican Emmanuel Lubezki.

Controversy-Hit Samba School Wins Rio Carnival Title

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Feb 19, 2015

Members of the samba school Beija-Flor perform on the second day of the
 parades of the special groups of the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro, at the Sambodromo
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 16 February 2015. (EPA Photo/Luiz Eduardo Perez)

Rio de Janeiro. A Brazilian samba school shrugged off a controversy over alleged funding by an African strongman president and went on to claim its 13th win at the Rio Carnival championship on Wednesday.

The Beija-Flor school, whose name means hummingbird, has denied media reports it was bankrolled to the tune of nearly $5 million by the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema.

Obiang Nguema and his son are facing allegations of money laundering and corruption. The leader holds an iron grip over tiny, oil-rich Equatorial Guinea and critics have labeled him a ruthless dictator.

Hailing from the Rio suburb of Nilopolis, Beija-Flor scored 259.9 points to land its 13th title and see off rivals Salgueiro by 0.4 points.

Known for its creativity, the Beija-Flor team will now bring the final curtain down on this year’s carnival festivities at Saturday’s Parade of Champions, comprising the top six schools.

The Portela school came third, and last year’s grand champions, Unidos da Tijuca, were in fourth place.

The press service for Beija-Flor, whose theme was a “strong, joyful and colorful” Africa, told AFP they had merely received “cultural support and imported fabrics” from Equatorial Guinea, which is located on the Atlantic coast in central Africa.

After results were announced, Beija-Flor supporters burst into wild cheers at the Sambadrome in downtown Rio, where Sunday and Monday night the top 12 samba schools had battled it out for glory.

“I am very emotional, very happy,” Rayssa Oliveira, one of Beija-Flor’s beauty queens, told Globo television.

The jury considered various aspects of each team’s performance in carefully choreographed parades at the Sambadrome in front of crowds of some 72,000 people.

The jurors award points in categories ranging from the highly decorative school floats, the quality of their massed ranks of percussionists and how well the roughly 4,000-strong team move in sync with each other while singing their school song.

The record of carnival celebrations dates back to 1723 – but the first samba school was not formed until 1928.

Agence France-Presse

Related Article:

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Colombia's FARC rebels invite Miss Universe, Paulina Vega, for peace talks

Colombia's FARC rebels have invited newly crowned Miss Universe Paulina Vega to attend their peace negotiations. The beauty queen hasn’t responded as yet.

Deutsche Welle, 7 Feb 2015

Miss Universe Paulina Vega was invited by rebels of Colombia's Marxist FARC movement, who believed her presence was of utmost importance in negotiating peace with their government in Havana, Cuba's capital.

"We welcome your willingness to travel to Havana and we invite you to materialize your visit to update you about the development of the peace talks, the progress and the enormous contributions that you and the majorities who desire peace can make," the organization's peace delegation wrote on its website.

An inane answer about peace lead FARC to use soft power strategy: engage Miss Universe to beauty-up peace talks image http://t.co/8RmVfdMoJL
— RicardoDuarteDuarte (@DuarteDuarte) February 7, 2015

It is however unclear how the beauty queen, also a Colombian national, could help establish peace between the guerilla and the government in Bogota, who have been involved in an armed struggle since the 1960s.

Perhaps they want to add a bit of glamour? FARC rebels invite Miss Universe to attend peace talks: http://t.co/2E9e747lLU
— Julia Symmes Cobb (@JSymmesCobb) February 7, 2015

The beauty queen had still not responded to the rebels' invitation.

The 22-year-old Vega is a business student and model from Colombia's Baranquilla. She was named Miss Universe this January and had expressed her willingness to travel to peace talks in Havana in several interviews.

Representatives of the guerillas and the Colombian government have been speaking in Cuba's capital Havana and have agreed on land reforms, an end to illegal drug trade and political participation for former guerillas until now.

mg/rc (Reuters, AFP)

President Juan Manuel Santos said Colombia was now 

"closer than ever to secure peace"

Related Articles:

Colombia ready for truce talks with Farc - President Santos

"2015" - Jan 10/11, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

US-Russia duo land in Mexico after balloon journey

Two hot air balloon pilots have touched down in Mexico, completing a record-breaking flight across the Pacific Ocean. The six-day adventure smashed world records unbeaten for over three decades.

Deutsche Welle, 31 Jan 2015

 View of earth from the Two Eagles Balloon

The helium-filled balloon piloted by the American Troy Bradley and Russian Leonid Tiukhtyaev landed safely in the sea just off the Baja coast near La Poza Grande on Saturday.

"The pilots made a controlled descent to a gentle water landing about four miles (6.5 kilometers) off the ... coast. The balloon is stable and still inflated and the pilots are fine," the Two Eagles balloon team announced.

Meanwhile, at mission control in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the balloon team and pilots' families exchanged hugs and relieved smiles as they watched the landing on a giant screen.

Relief and joy. Two Eagles gas ballon pilots are out of the ballon capsule after successful water landing, Baja coast pic.twitter.com/SijuFt62u0
— Marla Brose (@marlabq) January 31, 2015

Historic flight

Bradley, 50, and Tiukhtyaev, 58, set off on their epic voyage from Saga, Japan, on Sunday morning. By Friday, they had broken consecutive distance and duration world records by flying for over 137 hours and traveling more than 8,383 kilometers in a gas-filled balloon.

According to the Two Eagles team, the duo's six-day journey was eventually timed at 160 hours and 37 minutes at a distance of 10,696 kilometers (6,646 miles). They are the first crew to attempt a trans-Pacific balloon crossing since 1981 - when the distance record was set. The flying duration record of 137 hours was set by a trans-Atlantic balloon flight in 1978.

Mission control director Steve Shope said he was "really pleased" with the numbers. "These are significant improvements over the existing records," he said. "We didn't break them by just a little bit. They were broken by a significant amount."

Bradley and Tiukhtyaev managed to keep
 their spirits up during the grueling journey

The record-shattering trip wasn't without its challenges, though. Difficult weather conditions off the western coast of the United States meant that the team had to abandon their original plan to land in Canada, and instead veered south towards Mexico for the descent.

The two men traveled in an unpressurized carbon-fiber flight capsule, described as being smaller than a king-sized mattress, and took turns piloting the balloon in shifts of four-to-six hours. They had to stay rugged up in cold-weather gear and use oxygen masks to be able to withstand the conditions at an altitude of over 4,700 meters (15,500 feet).

Organizers cautioned that the new world records would not be made official until they had been certified by US and International Aeronautics Associations.

nm/mkg (AP, AFP, dpa)

Mexico to give equality prize to Pakistan's Malala

Google – AFP, 25 November 2013

Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai addresses the European Parliament

 assembly on November 20, 2013 after receiving the EU's prestigious Sakharov

human rights prize (AFP/File, Patrick Hertzog)

Mexico City — Mexico said Sunday it will award its 2013 International Prize for Equality and Non-Discrimination to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban for championing girls' rights to education.

The award seeks to recognize Malala's efforts for "the protection of human rights" and especially her fight to protect the right to education without discrimination on "grounds of age, gender, sex and religion," Mexico's official National Council to Prevent Discrimination said in a statement.

The award ceremony is planned for early 2014.

The 16-year-old, who survived a gunshot wound to the head in 2012, has become a global ambassador for the rights of children.

She is currently living in Britain, where she underwent surgery after the attack.

Malala, who since age 11 has written a blog about girls' right to education, has written an autobiography, addressed the United Nations and set up a fund to help girls around the world go to school and promote universal access to education.

Last week, she was awarded the European Union's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize at a ceremony significantly held on World Children's Day.

Pakistan's teenage activist Malala Yousafzai is awarded with the
Sakharov Prize  for Freedom of Thought by European Parliament
chief Martin Schulz in Strasbourg, eastern France, on November 20,
2013 (AFP, Patrick) 

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The brave girl who had to face armed assassins because she stood up for her right to educate herself

Aisha North, Feb 8, 2013

The manuscript of survival – part 265 - (Constant Companions channeled through Aisha North)

Aisha North

As you have noticed, there are many stirrings in the undercurrent now, and some of the light is already starting to penetrate the fog that has enveloped mankind for such a long time. At the moment, this will seem to be mere pinpricks of light in a huge ocean of darkness, but do not let that fool you. As we have talked about so many times, this layer of darkness that still seems to cover most of your planet is only an illusion, a thin film of confusion covering up the new reality. And now, this reality will start to become more and more visible. Not only to you, but also to others out there, people who look upon themselves as no more than an ordinary citizen, but who will soon start to realize that they too have the power to change not only their own life, but also the lives of so many others.

And they will do so in a peaceful way, for we do not speak of a violent upsurging, far from it. For have you not witnessed already how the power and might of an armed scoundrel is not match for the power of the light? We refer of course to the story of the brave girl who had to face armed assassins because she stood up for her right to educate herself (From Aisha: I think they refer to the story of Malala Yousafzai). If you look closely at her story, you will see how the light penetrating her has been seeping into thousands, if not millions of others already. So she is indeed a shining example on how one of these pinpricks of light can blow away a huge area of fog and darkness, and how the forces of ill intent are no match for the light, for those bullets being aimed at her did not kill the light, it only made it that much stronger.

So let that be a lesson to you all on how nothing and no one can stop the light, no matter how hard they try. For the force of anger and hatred is not match for the love and compassion that is starting to grow on your planet now. And even if these forces of the old are trying their hardest to instill the old fear into you all, they will not succeed, no matter how many weapons they fire off, or how many people they beat to a pulp. For they cannot beat you now dear ones, you are the ones who have won this battle for the souls.

For in your soul, the light is growing stronger and stronger, and with it, the power you carry. And through your example, just like the girl who took the bullets in order to let the light shine out to the whole world, the change will come, step by step, person to person. For you are also brave, and even if you will never have to face the same hardships as this girl, you too will have to conquer the world with your actions. For you are indeed the bravest of the brave, and you have walked through fire to get where you are today. And doing that, you have liberated not only yourself, but thousands upon thousands of your fellow men and women. For you have hacked a trail trough that dense jungle of fear and darkness, and following in your footsteps are the rest of humanity. With a few exceptions of course, and they will clamor and cry as loud as they can in order to make you all believe that they still outnumber you. But they do not, and that is what you will all see as the days keep getting lighter and lighter, and those pinpricks of lights grow ever brighter and ever bigger.

So fear not, as fear has been diminished to such a state it is but a shadow of itself. That shadow is still touching the hearts of many around you, but that shadow is also thinning out, and it will be replaced by light in even the sturdiest of hearts. For light has no boundaries, only the fear has that now, so light is spreading out faster and faster, and the courage it inspires in you all is growing with it. So stand tall and proud, and know that you too has been a part of that journey from the darkest abyss and to this, the threshold of everlasting light. And know too that your actions will never go unnoticed, as you have all been instrumental in this about turn of the human race. So look around, and we think you will find these shining examples starting to emerge in every corner of your world, even in the places where you least expect them to. For, as we said, the light has no boundaries, certainly not one set by any human, and no line on the map or no wall, no matter how high it is, can keep it out. So again we say rejoice, for the morning has broken, and the day is about to start. And this day is one that will last forever.

European Union wins Nobel Peace Prize

Deutsche Welle, 12 October 2012

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has unanimously awarded the European Union the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts for peace, reconciliation, and democracy over the past six decades.

Friday's announcement was considered a surprise to some, but a Norwegian broadcaster had reported the announcement an hour before it was officially made.

Making the announcement in Oslo, the head of the Nobel Committee, Thorbjorn Jagland, said the European Union's efforts toward "the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe" since the end of World War II had earned the 27-nation bloc the prize.

Jagland highlighted the reconciliation and continued good relationship between Germany and France as a key point in the decision to recognize the EU.

"Over a seventy-year period, Germany and France had fought three wars," he said. "Today, war between Germany and France is unthinkable."

Conditions of democracy placed on countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal before they were allowed to join the EU, and the opportunities for EU membership afforded to Central and Eastern European countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall, were also highlighted in the EU's track record.

The committee also illustrated the EU's continued commitment to democracy with the admission of Croatia as a member next year, and the discussion of membership for Turkey, which "has also advanced democracy and human rights in that country."

Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said on Twitter that he was "deeply touched and honored" that the EU had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

mz/tj (Reuters, AFP)

Related Articles:

Opinion: EU is a worthy Peace Prize winner

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“2011 and Beyond” - What you are seeing, and why - Jan 16, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“…  We told you there'd come a time on the planet when there'd be only five currencies because the continents would decide to put countries together, not separate them. Do you know who was the model? It's the United States. What an experiment you had! Imagine: Could you take many different states that were governed separately, yet didn't have any visible borders, and give them one currency? It worked. It has worked for well over 100 years. Against all odds, it worked.

Fifty years ago, with the end of the last world war, the Europeans saw what the USA did and emulated it. It has become the European Union. After the war, they postulated, "What if we took many of the countries of Europe, ones who have warred with each other since the beginning of recorded civilization, and we unified them? We will take away the borders and give them one currency." They were laughed at! Yet today, you're seeing it.

Today, their monetary system is more valuable than yours! Where am I going with this? Listen - here is an attribute, a postulate, an axiom of this new earth energy: Separatism kills. Unity is the survival of humanity. You will start putting things together and not taking them apart. And the more you put them together, the more you will unify. Then slowly you'll realize that the goal is to put things together, not tear them apart. What has the European Union created? I'll tell you. It isn't the Euro. It has created a group of countries that will never go to war with each other again! They can't. They trade with each other. Think about it. That's what we're talking about. …“

"The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text-Version)

Europe

Let's talk about Europe - Eastern and Western Europe. Look at the history. I want you to look at the history of the Europeans. What do you know about them? What did you study in school about them, American? You had to learn all those dates and facts. You sit in a country that's barely 200 years old and you had to memorize all the battles and all those conquerors and all those army specifics for hundreds of years! Fourteen hundreds, 1300s - all the way to the present century they seemed to be conquering each other on a regular basis. They warred with each other like the tides of the ocean, constant and predictable. When they got tired of that, they conquered other continents. The small country of Spain alone is responsible for conquering all of South America, middle America and well up into North America. Millions today are speaking their language who never did before they arrived.

The armies of Napoleon spread across parts of Europe like water flowing in a river, conquering everything in its path. There are some cities today in Europe that still don't know which country they belong to! This is because their borders kept changing so often! Now, that's history. I want you to look at it carefully. Still, there would be those who say, "This is just what men do. They create borders and cultures and they go to war. That's Human nature."

Fifty years ago, this new energy started to arrive. Oh, the alignments go slow, dear Human Being, but it was here. It was starting; it was beginning. Fifty years ago, something happened in Europe and you didn't hear much about it back then. Some very clear thinkers got together after World War II and said, "If we don't do something different and out of the box of today's thinking, it's all going to happen again because this is what we do. Men make war." Even the young country called America was involved in war. America itself almost split apart before that, because that's what men do. They split good things apart. It was obvious to these wise men that they could try something, something that might work - a uniting instead of separation. And so they formed an idea. Let me tell you what it was.

They said to themselves, "What if we could get as many countries as we can to agree to become a collection of 'country states'? If we start this now and go at it slowly, we could eventually have a system where we would trade together to the point where the borders come down, no checkpoints and no passports. All these cultures and former enemy countries would all trade evenly together, and for that to happen we might even have a common currency. Look at the United States, for this is how it works there. Europe would never go to war with itself again. It couldn't, since it would be allied financially."

Of course, they were laughed at! Everyone who heard it said it couldn't' be done and that there were just too many issues to solve. Those who objected said, "No, no, no. That's not what we do. We have too many different cultures. There's some with strong currencies, there's some with weak currencies. There are too many objections. Imagine going from one country to another without being inspected at the border? That won't work. Who are you to suggest something of this nature?" And the forward thinkers said, "We are unifiers. And we think it's a good idea so we will have strength and will never war again." That was two generations ago, 50 years.

Today, you have the European Union of States. There are more all the time, way past the original number of countries. Some are "standing in line" to be accepted! The borders are gone and the checkpoints are missing and the currency called the Euro is the strongest currency on Earth - stronger even than yours [the USA]. Now, let me tell you what did that. It's a consciousness shift that even 50 years ago was developing. Through two generations, it slowly allowed for free thinkers to unify things that had never been unified before. The result? These countries will never conquer each other again, because "history" ended at that moment. They started a new paradigm for Europe and one that has no historic profile known to man. The old history of the area is gone, and it will not repeat itself.

Those in the old Eastern Bloc of Europe, where there is still to this day very little unity, will still say, "History will again repeat itself. We are victims of it. It's only a matter of time." But not all of them feel this way. There are some who are starting to feel a unity of spirituality within their own cultures that they were never allowed to speak of before. So they are free thinking, out of the box of the old paradigm. It's new.

There are those who are standing on podiums and in pulpits and are proclaiming, "History is ended. It's the end of suffering. It's the end of dictatorships. It's the end of those who would put us in a low place. Instead, it's the beginning of discovering who we are." And although they don't say it in these exact words, they are discovering the creator inside - that which is the unity of God. So it's a full circle back to what the Angel told Muhammad, isn't it? For unity was the key to peace, and still is. It is a sacred principle and will never change.

Who would have thought this would have happened? The United States is what it is because 200 years ago the founders said, "Let us make a group of state countries without physical borders in a system that's never been tried. It's one of unity - the UNITED States of America." Oh, it had its tests, but the unifiers won. And it is why this country is what it is and is seen and respected for what it is and for what it's done. So young, it is, but representing the new energy, it is.

Your Declaration of Independence was channelled. Did you know that? It was collective effort channelling by those who had asked God for help. Go read it and feel that which is sacred inside, for it unifies and does not separate.

Archangel Michael: The Declaration of Human Freedom

“.. South America and the New Energy

South America is starting to consider the same thing. My partner was just there and I allowed him to see the energy of the potential future in that land.

I would like to paint history for you regarding South America. There was a time when every single country had a dictator. Less than 15 years ago, they had failing economies and currencies that were worthless. Trouble and strife and killings were the norm. Marauding drug lords openly killed in the streets and corruption was everywhere. Even the politicians created fear and many disappeared overnight, never to be seen again. Today it isn't that way. Today, there is an ongoing stability as one country after another brings a new, positive, stable energy to their cultures. So, without a concentrated effort by any kind of multi-national leadership or direction, how could this have changed in only 15 years?

Within the entire continent, there's only one dictator left. What's happening? If you think that's amazing, there is a move afoot that you're not going to hear about yet. But they're discussing it right now, so let me tell you what they're thinking. "What would happen if we took these countries and eliminated the borders?" Sound familiar? They're talking about it. In back rooms where nobody is reporting it, they're saying, "What about a plan of eventually having one currency from the top of Columbia to the bottom of Chile? And we would be strong and we would be unified." And dear ones, I'm here to tell you, that it's going to work, and it might not take 50 years. Soon the one dictator will be gone, and the unification can begin.

There's a shift happening on this planet. ..”

Mexico honours Dutch artist

RNW, 3 February 2012

Dutch artist Jan Hendrix has been awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest Mexican decoration awarded to foreigners.

(Photo: FLickr / Manuleica)

Jan Hendrix, who has been living and working in Mexico since 1978, was awarded the decoration for his achievements in art and architecture.

Hendrix’s visual and graphic art has been on display in galleries around the world. The Dutchman has also collaborated with numerous architects and authors, including W. G. Sebald, Gabriel García Márquez and compatriot Bert Schierbeek.

KLM CEO Peter Hartman was awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle because of the long-lasting relationship between the North American country and the former Dutch national airline, which has been flying to Mexico without interruption for more than 60 years.

Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima received the Order in 2009 during their state visit to Mexico.

Four Freedoms Award for Brazil's Lula

RNW, 1 February 2012

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
(Photo: Wikipedia/Wilson Dias) 

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is this year’s winner of the International Four Freedoms Award. He is to receive the prize for years spent combating social and economic injustice in Brazil.

The award will be presented by the Roosevelt Foundation on 12 May in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in the Dutch town of Middelburg. The awards are presented annually in New York, London or the Netherlands alternately.

The foundation called Lula’s long battle against poverty a continuing source of inspiration for ethnic groups and world leaders. He was a trade union leader before serving as president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.

The four other winners this year are the Arabic news station Al-Jazeera for freedom of speech, Turkey’s Archbishop Bartholomew for freedom of worship, Indian activist Ela Ramesh Bhatt for freedom from want and Iraqi Energy Minister Hussain al-Shahristani for freedom from fear.

Related Article:

Dutch PM hands out Four Freedoms Awards

International prize for Dutch diplomat

RNW, 2 July 2011

(Photo: Community of Democracies)

Dutch diplomat Caecilia Wijgers has been honoured for her commitment to promoting democracy in Cuba.

The Dutch foreign ministry announced on Saturday that Ms Wijgers received the first Palmer Prize for Diplomats during a ministerial conference on democracy in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

The Palmer Prize was created to honour diplomats who under difficult circumstances continue to fight for democracy in the country where they have been stationed. Between 2005 and 2009, Ms Wijgers fought for freedom of speech and free access to information for civil society, journalists and human rights activists in Cuba. She was the then deputy ambassador to Cuba.

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RNW honoured for commitment to human rights

RNW, 25 March 2011, by RNW News Desk

(Photo: RNW)

José Zepeda of Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) is to be awarded an honorary doctorate from the Autonomous University of Encarnación in Paraguay in recognition of his commitment to human rights in Latin America.

According to the university, Mr Zepeda, head of the Latin American department at RNW, has played an important role in the spread of free speech. "His work has made him a unique personality. He has paid great attention to events in our country and contributed to the strengthening of our democracy."

In the 1960s the young José Zepeda fled from the junta of Augusto Pinochet in Chile. He arrived in the Netherlands and joined the Latin American department of RNW. He subsequently became head of that department, a role he has held for many years.

Criticism

RNW gives a lot of attention in its broadcasts to human rights, freedom of expression and press freedom. In the past, that has led to sharp criticism from the dictatorial regimes that used to call the shots in Latin America. RNW has always allowed the opposition in those countries to express their opinions, something that was often denied in their own countries. For this work RNW has received various prizes and awards down the years.

José Zepeda has succeeded in getting important political leaders in front of the RNW microphone, such as President Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Evo Morales of Bolivia. Mr Zepeda also gives lectures at universities and training centres.

RNW Editor-in-Chief Rik Rensen recalls: "We were once at a conference in Bogota with sixty partners. An elderly woman came over to embrace Mr Zepeda and said: "This is the voice that connects my village with the rest of the world.”

Jose Zepeda says he’s delighted to receive this honorary doctorate. Since he came to the Netherlands a lot has changed in Latin America. The dictatorial regimes of yesteryear have given way to democracies. But according to Mr Zepeda, RNW still plays an important role in the region: "The Latin American democracies are fragile. Some of the neo-populist governments have authoritarian tendencies. In some countries, press freedom remains weak. In Mexico it’s disturbing how many journalists are murdered by organized criminals because they’re investigating corruption or the murder of women. "

Plans for the future

In the near future, RNW will be turning its attention to the drugs problem in Latin America. A Spanish version of our site about sex education, Love Matters, will be launched under the title 'Hablemos de Amor'. RNW, in partnership with other Dutch and international organisations, is also holding a special event in The Hague on 3 May to mark World Press Freedom Day.

Mr Zepeda says “the 86-year-old Cuban poetess Ilse Bullit sent us a New Year greeting with the words: ‘I listen to you every day. You are my eyes to the world.’ That’s a heavy responsibility."

The honorary doctorate will be presented on 30 May in Paraguay.