Coming home? 132,000 descendants of Spain's exiled Jews seek nationality

Yahoo – AFP, Alvaro VILLALOBOS, October 2, 2019

In 1492, the Spanish crown ordered the country's Jewish community, which numbered
at least 200,000, to either convert to Catholicism or be burned at the stake (AFP Photo)

Madrid (AFP) - More than 500 years ago, they faced a bleak choice: convert to Catholicism or be burned at the stake. The only other option was exile.

For Jews living in Spain at the time, 1492 was a year burned into historical memory when their community of at least 200,000 people were forced into exile.

Now, more than five centuries later, over 132,000 of their descendants have taken advantage of a limited-term offer of Spanish nationality that expired on Monday.

It is a long, complex and costly process involving a lot of paperwork. So far, only 6,000 people have been granted citizenship under the scheme.

The law, which was passed by parliament in October 2015, sought to address what the government has described as a "historic mistake" by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

Known as Sephardim -- the Hebrew term for Jews of Spanish origin -- many of the exiles fled to the Ottoman Empire or North Africa and later to Latin America.

Under the legislation, those able to prove their Jewish heritage and their "special connection" to Spain were able to apply for citizenship, with the justice ministry saying it received 132,226 applications.

More than half of them were filed in the past month, when the ministry received some 72,000 applications.

'Taken something from my family'

"They said you didn't need a lawyer but without one, it would have been impossible," said Doreen Alhadeff, a resident of Seattle who obtained Spanish nationality for herself and two grandchildren.

Like all applicants, she had to provide proof of her Sephardic origin. This can be done through genealogical documents or through the local Jewish community.

Those documents then had to be taken personally to Spain to be approved by a local notary -- a process Alhadeff says cost her around $5,000.

"I felt they had taken something important away from my family, and I wanted to get it back," said the 69-year-old.

She remembers while growing up hearing Ladino, a 15th-century language fusing Hebrew and Spanish that is still spoken by Sephardim today.

For Jews living in Spain, 1492 was a year burned into historical memory when a 

community of at least 200,000 people were forced into exile (AFP Photo/GERARD JULIEN)

Others are still waiting to see if their application will be accepted.

Among them is the French writer Pierre Assouline, who has written many books, including one about his Sephardic origins entitled: "Return to Sepharad" -- Hebrew for Spain.

He filed his application nearly four years ago, along with a letter from Spain's King Felipe VI -- but the process is taking longer than expected.

"It's surprising and disappointing," he said.

Most applications came from Latin America, with around 20,000 from Mexico, 15,000 from Venezuela and 14,000 from Colombia, the justice ministry said. Another 4,000 came from Argentina and 3,000 from those in Israel.

Reconnecting with their roots

"We knew since the start that it was going to be a law with some complications regarding the means of proof," admitted Miguel de Lucas, head of Madrid's Centro Sefarad, a meeting place for Jewish communities in the Spanish capital.

But, he added: "It's better to have a law with some complications than no law at all."

Maya Dori, an Israeli lawyer who has lived in Spain for 17 years, has been deeply involved in the process, helping about 500 people from countries as far apart as Uruguay, Panama, Costa Rica, England and Turkey.

In helping people track down their ancestry, she had seen many "going on a personal journey, reconnecting with their roots and discovering many things about their families".

In her own case, it took seven years to get citizenship under a previous law dating back to 1924.

Unlike the recent legislation, applicants under that law had to relinquish any other citizenship and were required to live in Spain.

It is not only an attachment to historical ancestry that has provided a draw, says Gonzalo Manglano, head of the Cervantes Institute in Istanbul.

He points to the lure of a European passport for those from countries like Turkey.

"Both things carry a lot of weight," he said.

Although those applying under the new law did not have to be practising Jews, they needed to pass a Spanish language test as well as answering questions on Spain's culture and society.

A similar scheme is running in Portugal which does not require a language exam.

Isaac Querub, president of Spain's Federation of Jewish Communities (FCJE), hailed the legislation as a success, saying the Sephardim could no longer be thought of as "stateless Spaniards".

"Thousands of Sephardim have reclaimed their Spanish nationality and thousands more are in the process of doing so. Spain has closed a historical wound with an enduring act of justice," he said in a statement.

"Spain, as the King (Felipe VI) said (in 2015), has missed them and the Sephardim will never forget that."

French embraces its feminine to end male linguistic dominance

France24 – AFP, 28 Feb 2019

The conservative Academie Francaise, which polices the language and has long
resisted change, said it had no objection to the feminisation fo job titles AFP/File

Paris (AFP) - The official guardians of the French language ended centuries of male linguistic dominance Thursday by allowing feminine words for all professions.

The notoriously conservative Academie Francaise, which polices the language and has long resisted change, said there was now "no obstacle in principle" to the wholesale feminisation of job titles.

French women doctors could soon be referred to as "docteures" and teachers as "professeures" in its official dictionary, which currently lists "presidente" as the wife of a head of state rather than a female leader of a country.

Despite more than half a century of feminism, the language of French working life has remained resolutely male.

Most jobs titles are automatically masculine, apart from a few notable exceptions such as nurse and child-minder.

The male-dominated Academie had previously fiercely opposed change, branding attempts at "inclusive writing" in government documents as an "aberration" that put French "in mortal danger".

And it found a powerful ally in Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, a sometime novelist who has called for a clampdown on bids to make French more female-friendly.

He insisted last year that the "masculine (form) is a neutral form which should be used for terms liable to apply to women".

But in a historic about-turn Thursday the male-dominated Academie, whose mostly elderly members wear an ornate uniform and sword, approved a report advocating change compiled by three of its four active female members.

One, novelist Dominique Bona, had pointedly complained that it was no accident that the masculine was "chosen as the dominant gender" in French.

'The dominant gender'

The "Immortals", as they are known, had been expected to cogitate for at least a week on the vexed issue but instead waved the report through by "a large majority" in a matter of hours.

"The Academie considers that all developments in the language aimed at recognising the place women have in society today can be envisaged," it declared.

It also opened the door to a more organic usage by saying that it "did not wish to dictate the rules by which titles should be feminised", saying it would be an "insurmountable task".

It said the debate about the use of the -eure ending in docteure, for example, "does not constitute a threat to the structure of the language as long as the final 'e' was not pronounced".

Writer and academy member Frederic Vitoux, who heads the Commission for the Enrichment of the French Language, said before the decision that he believed the reform would pass.

"For some professions it is simple," he said. "We have never had to asked ourselves should we be able to say 'actress'. But for others professions there are objective difficulties, because they cause confusion or don't work with the root of the word.

"How, for example, can we say a female doctor (medecin in French) without confusing it with 'medecine' (the science of medicine)?" Vitoux asked.

However, French speakers in neighbouring Belgium and Switzerland have long ago found ways around the problems.

The official language body in French-speaking Canada ruled on the issue in 1979, urging feminisation wherever possible. A female doctor there can be called "une medecin" or "une docteure".

'Implicitly sexist'

Although French people have feminised professions informally for years, the end of the long official block comes as attempts to bring gender-neutral "inclusive writing" to state documents has sparked impassioned debate.

As it stands, a mixed-gender group of readers, for example, will always be masculine as long as there is one man in the room.

Campaigners for "inclusive writing" -- who believe the language is implicitly sexist -- say in these situations the French word for readers, "lecteurs", should be written as "lecteur.rice.s".

But inserting full stops into words has horrified the purists and been sent up by others as complicated and confusing.

In 2015, France's High Council for Equality Between Women and Men issued a guide urging public bodies to use feminine forms for jobs like "firefighter" and "author" where applicable.

Some critics such as philosopher Raphael Enthoven object to what they see as France's prescriptive approach to the language, which is spoken by some 275 million people worldwide.

They say usage should be allowed to evolve naturally over time.

As well as pronouncing on what is and is not permissible French, the Academie Francaise compiles the country's official dictionary.

However, its ability to perform the task has been called into question, with critics pointing out that its membership of 35 does not include a single linguist.

Germany's integration commissioner proposes multilingual subtitles for Merkel, Gauck speeches

Arabic subtitles should be added to Christmas and New Year's speeches by Germany's president and chancellor, according to integration commissioner Aydan Özoguz. She has suggested six language subtitles to help refugees.

Deutsche Welle, 23 December 2015

Özoguz suggested Wednesday that multilingual subtitles be added to video downloads of the speech to be televised at Christmas from President Joachim Gauck and then Chancellor Angela Merkel's New Year's address.

The Social Democrat (SPD) Özoguz, who is states' secretary for integration in Merkel's grand coalition cabinet told the German news agency DPA that Germany's large intake of refugees was "THE topic of the year 2015.

Ozoguz visiting a refugee camp in
Jordan with German Vice-Chancellor
Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) in September

"Therefore it would be good, if the refugees could also comprehend how we in this country [traditionally] experience the situation - for example, the addresses given by the federal chancellor and president at Christmas and New Year's," Özoguz said.

"Perhaps a few other EU heads of state will listen more closely," Özoguz quipped, referring to leaders of other EU nations.

Appeals from German leaders

Gauck, the ceremonial head of state, told Germany in September as migrant inflows reached 10,000 per day, that "hearts" in Germany were open to building extra accommodation and schools, teaching the German language and law, and providing vocational training, even if "our capabilities are finite."

Addressing issues, Gauck in
Frankfurt in October

Merkel survived a backlash from conservative ranks by telling voters "we will somehow manage this" and then winning over her Christian Democratic (CDU) party's main conference by pledging a decline in migrant numbers through a multi-pronged approach, including providing funds for refugee camps in the Middle East.

Video database

Özuguz said online video databases provided by Germany's regional and federal broadcasters should also offer subtitled translations of the speeches to be given by Merkel and Gauck.

Referring to key languages used by new arrivals from crisis and war regions, Özugun suggested Arabic [for Syrians], Farsi [for Iranians], Pashtu [for Afghans], Tigrinya [for Eritreans], "or also English and French."

Multilingual online advice for migrant newcomers on living in Germany has been boosted by Deutsche Welle, which operates in 30 languages - alongside offerings by other media outlets and institutions.

Arabic already available

Reacting to Özugoz' remarks, Deutsche Welle management on Wednesday said Merkel's New Year's speech would be translated into Arabic for DW's Arabic satellite service to the Middle East. Since last week, this Arabic-language satellite signal could also be easily received in Germany and other parts of western Europe via Astra 1M.

Gauck's televised Christmas address would be translated into Englisch, DW added.

Silent majority urged to speak up

Reacting to a number of arson attacks across Germany on hostels intended for - or already used by - asylum seekers, Federal Justice Minister Heiko Maas on Wednesday urged the "silent majority" to show more civil courage.

Maas (R) and prominent German TV
 presenter Dunja Hayali highlighted
asylum rights in August

People who spoke out "resolutely so that our societal debate is not poisoned by incitement and hate," were needed, Maas told the "Saarbrücker Zeitung newspaper, referring to xenophobic sentiment emerging at far-right rallies and in social media.

Counteracting this rhetoric was a task for everyone "in our everyday lives, whether in the commuter train, at work or at the sports club," Maas said.

A radical minority should not be allowed to destroy free and open society, he added.

ipj/jm (dpa, KNA, epd)

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The Netherlands, Poland to launch Russian language news agency

DutchNews.nl, July 21, 2015

The Netherlands and Poland are launch a Russian-language news agency in order to counter Russian propaganda, website EUObserver reported on Tuesday. 

Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders told reporters in Brussels the project will ‘give the tools and the capacities for Russian language [media] and Russian social media to work on the basis of objective information’, the website said. 

There is broad support among EU foreign ministers for the initiative, Koenders is quoted as saying.

A fund-raising conference will be held in Warsaw in September and the Netherlands will host a follow-up conference later, EUObserver said. The aim is to have the agency up and running by next year. 

The initiative follows a report on counter propaganda commissioned by the Netherlands from the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), in Brussels in the wake of the MH17 disaster. 

The plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine, probably by pro-Russian rebels. However, Russian officials and media have consistently published conspiracy theories blaming Ukraine.

Catalans defiant as Spain blocks independence vote

The Spanish government has taken legal action to stop a November referendum in the northeastern region. The move has angered many ordinary Catalans who believe Madrid has meddled too much in their affairs.

Deutsche Welle, 14 Oct 2014

The Placa George Orwell in central Barcelona is not as glamorous as its name might suggest. Drab buildings surround the small square and on a weekday morning, its bars and cafes are mostly deserted, as trucks drive into it to unload merchandise. But the scene is brightened by the many flags hanging from the windows of the apartments that look down onto it. Most of these are the red-and-yellow striped senyera of Catalonia, but there are also several estelada, the same flag but with a white star, representing the region's independence movement.

"We all have the right to vote," says Laia Badia, a student who is crossing the square on the way to class. "We have that right and that has to be respected."

She is referring to a non-binding referendum on Catalan independence which was scheduled by the regional government to be held on November 9. The Catalan flags on show are part of the civic campaign in favor of the vote, as are posters on walls across the city bearing the Catalan language slogan "Ara es l'hora" -- meaning "now's the time."

But the central government in Madrid opposes the northeastern region's referendum, deeming it illegal. In late September, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy appealed to the Constitutional Court to block the vote, following through on a pledge to do so. The court immediately accepted the appeal, meaning the referendum was automatically suspended.

Catalonia's premier caved on the
referendum - for now

The Catalan regional government, which has led the referendum project, responded on October 14 by announcing it would not hold that vote. Instead it said it would stage an alternative ballot, which it claimed would not violate the law. Catalan premier Artur Mas described it as "an advance referendum" before a definitive one that would take place in the future, possibly in the form of regional elections.

'A heavy blow'

Pro-independence Catalans such as Badia are adamant that somehow they should be able to express their opinion on November 9. They are also angry about the legal obstacles the Spanish government has put before them.

"One way or the other, we're going to vote," she says. "If those who are in Madrid don't let us vote, even though it's our right to give our opinion, it would be a really heavy blow."

The Catalan regional government and other nationalist political groups formulated the referendum's two questions in December. The first is: "Do you want Catalonia to be a state?" If the answer to that is yes, a second question follows: "Do you want that state to be independent?" According to Mas, these questions will remain intact for the alternative referendum he is planning.

Polls suggest that roughly half of Catalans would answer "yes" to both questions, although around 80 percent are in favor of being able to vote on independence.

Conflict over taxes and language

In recent years, pro-independence feeling in Catalonia has been swelling and on September 11, its national day, an estimated 1.8 million people took to the streets of Barcelona to demand the right to hold the referendum. Those who want to make the break complain that the Spanish state takes large amounts in tax revenues from Catalonia -- Spain's wealthiest region -- without reinvesting enough in its infrastructure. They also say Madrid meddles in Catalan affairs, such as stifling the use of the regional language through a new national education law.

Many Catalans oppose independence

Many Catalans therefore watched in envy when Scotland held its own independence referendum in September with the blessing of the British government.

Pau Estrada, a young computer programmer, who would vote "yes" to both of the referendum's questions, was in favor of going ahead with the original referendum plan, even though doing so would have defied the Constitutional Court and the central government.

"We have to exercise our democratic right," he said. "If the majority of people want to [vote], then we have to do so, even though that may be seen as civil disobedience."

Declaration of independence

While Catalan regional leader Mas has been under pressure from Madrid not to proceed with the original referendum plan, pro-independence parties have lobbied for him to follow the civil disobedience route. The central government has hinted that if Catalonia did take such a course of action, it might consider suspending some of the region's autonomous powers.

The Catalan Republican Left (ERC), which supported Mas' Convergence and Union coalition as it paved the way for the November referendum, suggested an even more radical path after the original plan was ruled out. ERC's leader, Oriol Junqueras, tweeted that Catalonia's pro-independence parties should form a united front in the regional parliament "in order to make a declaration of independence and start the constituent process for the Catalan republic."

Josep Ramoneda, a Barcelona-based writer and broadcaster, does not see a clear solution to the stand-off between Madrid and Catalonia. "I think it's going to be very difficult to end the impasse," he said. However, he believes that Mas will probably call early regional elections, using them as a barometer of public opinion on the independence issue.

"It's a story which for the moment probably won't have a winner and a loser," Ramoneda said. "Instead, the whole situation will just get more complicated. I think we're going to see things get more and more bogged down rather than seeing them simplified."

Crime-fighting London Jews claim model for Muslim cooperation

Yahoo – AFP, James Pheby, 12 Oct 2014

The work of the 25-strong "Shomrim" patrol in London has caught the eye of US

Secretary of State John Kerry, who praised the neighbourhood patrol group's
"remarkable courage" (Photo by leon Neal, AFP file)

The unusual sight of crime-fighting Orthodox Jews pounding the streets of a tough London neighbourhood after dark has captured the attention of grateful locals, but their ongoing protection of local Muslims has seen their profile go global.

The work of the 25-strong "Shomrim" even caught the eye of US Secretary of State John Kerry, who praised the neighbourhood patrol group's "remarkable courage".

Members of the Haredi Jewish community in Stamford Hill formed the group -- named after the Yiddish word for guards -- in 2008 in response to high crime levels.

Members of the Haredi Jewish community

in Stamford Hill formed the group -- named

after the Yiddish word for guards -- in 2008

in response to high crime levels (Photo by

leon Neal, AFP file)

Police initially feared vigilantism but now cooperate closely with the volunteers, who helped in 197 arrests last year and even apprehending the area's "most wanted burglar".

It is Shomrim's role in helping protect the area's large Muslim population, however, that has secured its place in the community and garnered international praise.

The group was called upon by local councillors in Hackney, north London, following the murder of soldier Lee Rigby by Islamic extremists in the British capital in 2013.

"There was a spike in anti-Muslim hate crime. All over England, mosques were being firebombed," explained Shulem Stern, a young man sporting the "payot" haircurls and "kippah" skullcap associated with the Haredi faith.

"The councillors thought: 'We've got Shomrim in the local area, who don't we utilise them'?"

They continue to protect local mosques as Muslim communities across Britain are back in the spotlight following the rise of the Islamic State organisation in Syria and Iraq.

"In many ways they're a really well organised neighbourhood watch," explained police Superintendent Andy Walker. "They are very much the eyes and ears of the police."

'Remarkable courage'

From his car parked outside a warehouse owned by one of the group, Shomrim volunteer Chaim Hochhauser shows off the stab vests provided by police, highlighting the everyday danger faced every day by these unlikely crime fighters.

Shomrim also receive regular advice sessions from local officers, and use their new knowledge to help to defend the main local mosque.

"Their doors are open all the time, so anyone who wants can walk and do what they want, chuck in a firebomb," explained Hochhauser.

The arrangement was lauded by Kerry when he launched the annual US report on International Religious Freedom in July.

"Their courage goes unremarked, but that makes it all the more remarkable. Believe me, that's the definition of courage," the top US diplomat said.

However, Stern insisted there was nothing remarkable about their work.

"The local Muslims and local Jewish people do so much business together. In religious aspects as well there are loads of similarities," he said.

Members of the Jewish 'Shomrim' security patrol team are pictured in north

London on August 27, 2014 (Photo by leon Neal, AFP file)

"Also, because we're visible and suffered a long history of hate crime, we're very alert to anything unusual."

Rise in anti-Semitism

"The (Haredi) community is not known for being too inclusive, but where necessary they will help the wider community," said Michael Desmond, the leader of the local council who recently hosted an event honouring the group.

"We are both sons of Abraham after all," added Ian Sharer, an Orthodox Jewish councillor.

Local Muslim councillor Dawood Akhoon, who worked with Sharer to bring the two communities together, said the Muslim response had been "really good and positive".

"It's part and parcel of each of our faiths, we have to take care of our environment and out neighbours," he told AFP.

Ties between the two communities came under renewed scrutiny in July, when anger at Israel's operation in Gaza led to a spike in anti-Semitic incidents across Britain.

But Shomrim insist that any problems, such as the recent appearance of swastikas graffitied on local walls, originate from outside the area.

"I want to make this clear, none of the suspects that we've dealt with have been local Muslims," said Stern.

Councillor Sharer added: "To the incredible credit of the Muslim community, there has not been one incident in this area. That's down to one word: respect."

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

(Subjects: Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Muhammad, Jesus, God, Jews, Arabs, EU, US, Israel, Iran, Russia, Africa, South America, Global Unity,..... etc.) (Text version)

" ..... Abraham, Father of the Jews

I want to honor Abraham [Abram], born in Ur, which is now part of modern Iraq, and I want to honor his sons, not all born of Sara. The one I wish to speak of is Ishmael. Abraham is Jewish... the great Jewish prophet. Ishmael is his son. There's no way that you could say Ishmael was not Jewish, and he is even to this day. Ishmael was born in Hebron. So in addition, he is very Israeli. Ishmael is a Jew.

Now some would argue, due to how the Jewish lineage is computed by men [mother's side]. But Spirit looks at the DNA and the Akashic lineage, so spiritually, Ishmael is a Jew. He came in to be part of the lineage of the Jews.

He fell from favor even with the Jewish people early on for political reasons. Then Ishmael went on to become that which is the ancestor of all Arabs... the father of Arabia. Therefore, you could say that the Arabs are with Jewish blood, that of Abraham flowing through them. But early on, the Jews cast Ishmael out. So although you have the one God and monotheism, and you have the principle of the love of God and the unity of God, there was a split. The truth was mixed with untruths and, even to this day, there would be a billion Human Beings who would say it was Ishmael and not Isaac who was almost sacrificed at the Temple Mount. They would also say that he is not a Jew.

So what is the truth here? Human Beings were not built to unify. In an older energy on the planet from those days, and even the days that you were born in, the energy laid upon you is for you to separate, not unify. And that is why we call it the old energy. Oh, they were wise men and women who knew better, but it is the old energy that separates and divides, and it is the old energy that has created the divisions of hatred within millions of those who are actually "all Jews."

Muhammad's Beautiful Message of Unity

Let me tell you about Muhammad, the prophet. Muhammad is of the lineage of Ishmael, who is of the lineage of Abraham. Therefore, Muhammad had Jewish blood, so that was his lineage but not necessarily his culture. But his Akashic lineage was from Abraham. [Abraham is the founder of Islam, according to the Quran.]

Muhammad had a beautiful meeting, more than one, with an angelic presence. The angels talked to humanity back then in basic 3D ways. But how many of you have put together that most of the angels in that time who spoke to Human Beings talked to those of Jewish lineage? Like Muhammad, like Moses, like Jesus, like Abraham. For this was part of a set-up of history, part of what makes the Jewish lineage important to the core Akash of humanity, and we have spoken before, "As go the Jews, go Earth." Indeed, there is something there to look at which is important, and it is going to change soon. For in our eyes, the "Jews" are all those in the Middle East.

Muhammad's information from the angel was this: "Unify the Arabs and give them the God of Israel." And he did! The information he had was beautiful and was written down later for his followers. It was all about the incredible love of God and the unity of man. Muhammad the prophet was a unifier, not a separatist.

Long before Muhammad, there came Jesus - Jesus the Jew. He became responsible for what you would call Christianity today. All of his disciples were Jewish. The Rock, Peter the fisherman, who started the Christian church, was Jewish. And we tell you these things to remind you that there's a unity here. Perhaps there is a reason, dear ones, why the 12 layers of DNA have Hebrew names? Indeed, it's in honor of the masters and the lineage, including that of Muhammad, of Ishmael, of Isaac, of Abraham and of Jesus. All of them, part of the original spiritual language [Hebrew].

"Oh," you might say, "there was Sumerian and before that there was Lemurian. There was Sanskrit and Tamil, and many other older languages." Correct, but we're speaking of a language of today - one that you can relate to, that has power, and that is spoken today by the pure lineage of the masters who walked the planet.

So what did humanity do with all this? What did they do with all this sacred information from these Jewish masters? They went to war, because Humans separate things. They don't put them together. So here we are with one beautiful God, creator of all there is, and millions who believe that very thing, yet they are going to war with each other over ideology about what God said, which prophet was best, and which group is in God's favor. That's ancient history, thousands of years old. But it shows exactly what the old energy is all about. ..."

Spain's new king visits sensitive Catalonia region

Yahoo – AFP, Daniel Bosque, 26 June 2014

Spain's King Felipe VI reviews troops and Guardia Civil during a military

 ceremony at the Palacio de Oriente or Royal Palace in Madrid on June 25,

2014 (AFP Photo/Dani Pozo)

Girona (Spain) (AFP) - Just a week into his reign, Spain's King Felipe VI visits one of the country's most politically sensitive regions Thursday: Catalonia, where an independence drive has raised tensions with Madrid.

Catalan leaders' plan for a referendum on independence from Spain has put them at odds with the national government, which insists such a move is illegal.

Now some are looking to Felipe to help ease the row.

Supporters of an independant state of
 Catalonia and Republicans display a
huge Catalan flag as they celebrate the
 abdication of Spanish king Juan Carlos in
 central Barcelona on June 2, 2014 (AFP
Photo/Quique Garcia)

"All the new king can do to facilitate dialogue, especially given the intransigence of the national government, will be positive," said the Catalonia regional government's vice-president Joana Ortega.

"But I insist we have to look for a solution where one should be found, in the political sphere."

The king, who speaks good Catalan, heads along with his glamorous ex-newsreader wife Queen Letizia to one of the region's most independence-minded towns, Girona, to preside at a royal prize-giving.

Given the hostility of the pro-independence movement to the national institutions, it is seen as a trial of fire for Felipe, who was sworn in as successor to his father Juan Carlos on June 19.

As crown prince, Felipe's titles included Prince of Girona, after which Thursdays prizes are named. Now he is king, the title has passed onto his eight-year-old daughter and heir, Leonor.

But the town hall recently approved a motion declaring that Girona dissociated itself from the princely title.

Unity, diversity

Proud of their distinct language and culture, a growing number of Catalonia's 7.5 million citizens resent the redistribution of their taxes to other parts of Spain and believe the region would be better off on its own.

Felipe is due to coincide at a dinner after Thursday's prizes with Catalonia's president Artur Mas, leader of the current autonomy drive, but no formal meeting is scheduled between them.

Mas did not applaud Felipe's investiture speech, in which the king defended the "unity of Spain" as well as its diversity.

President of Catalonia's regional

 government Artur Mas gives a press

conference at the Palau de la Generalitat,

 in Barcelona, following the abdication of

 Spain's king Juan Carlos on June 2, 2014

 (AFP Photo/Quique Garcia)

Mas has said he will "wait and see" how things go with the new king. He maintains his call for an independence referendum on November 9, which the government has branded illegal.

Analysts have hailed Felipe as a breath of fresh air after recent scandals for the Spanish monarchy, but they caution that in Spain's parliamentary democracy the king's political powers are limited.

A Spanish judge ruled Wednesday that King Felipe's sister, Princess Cristina, and her husband should face fraud charges, opening the way to an unprecedented criminal trial.

"The king does not govern, he reigns," said political scientist Joan Botella.

"He can contribute to changing people's state of mind. That is probably what a large part of the Catalan and Spanish public is hoping. We will see if he manages to do it."

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Ukraine and Russia - rival brothers

Deutsche Welle, 16 March 2014

Russia and Ukraine face off in the Crimea dispute. It is not the first conflict between the two countries. A review of 1,200 years of history.

Common origins

Around 860 BC east Slavic tribes and Norman Vikings found Rus', the first state in the settlement area of the East-Slavs. The term Rus' stands for the ethnicity as well as for the state. The Rus' state is a federation of principalities with Kyiv in the center.

Slavic brothers on separate paths

During the 12th century the Kyiv Rus' disintegrates into rival states. They succumb to the Mongol's invasion in the first half of the 13th century - the Mongols subdue the north eastern part of Rus' and the grand duchy of Poland-Latvia controls the south-western areas.

Moscow's rise

Ivan the Terrible was the first
Russian tsar

The grand duchy of Moscow starts its "gathering Russian countries" policy from the 14th century onwards. Step by step, they come to control the principalities of the former Kyiv Rus' state. Moscow's rulers are able to free themselves from the Mongolian hegemony. In 1547, Ivan IV, better known as the Terrible due to his brutality, is crowned as the first Russian tsar.

Alliance of the 'fraternal nations'

With the treaty of Pereiaslav of 1654, the Ukraine on the left bank of the Dnieper, which includes Kyiv, joins the Russian tsarist empire and becomes Russian Orthodox. At first the Ukrainian parts on the right bank of the Dnieper remain with Poland-Latvia and become Catholic. Later, the major part of the western territories becomes gradually Russian due to Poland's divide.

Russian expansion in the south

Catherine the Great strengthened
Crimea's ties with Russia

During several wars Russia is able to conquer large parts of southern Ukraine from Turkey. Crimea becomes Russian in 1783. Catherine the Great settles loyal Zaporozhian Cossacks and settlers from central Russia in the new territories to strengthen Russia's supremacy.

Ban of the Ukrainian language

In 1876 tsar Alexander II signs the Ems Ukaz during his stay in the German spa town of Bad Ems - distributing literature in Ukrainian is now banned. For a long time, Ukrainian is just seen as a Russian dialect.

First Ukrainian nation state

On January 22, the government of central and eastern Ukraine declares its independence with German support. Germany wants to weaken its Russian enemy. The Ukrainian People's republic with Kyiv as capital is the first Ukrainian nation state. The western part of Ukraine with the capital Lviv becomes Polish.

Founding of the USSR

Soon the Ukrainian People's republic is history. Bolsheviks occupy Kyiv in 1919. They found the Socialist Soviet Republic with Kharkiv as capital. The Bolsheviks actually govern from Moscow. Four Soviet Republics, Ukraine, Belarus Russia, formally merge to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922.

The holodomor

In the 1930s, Stalin's dictatorship ends in disaster: the forced collectivization of agriculture and the ruthless requisition of crops leads to millions of Ukrainians starving in the winter of 1932/33. The Ukrainians call the millionfold starvation "holdomor."

The return of the western territories

The Soviet Union annexes parts of Poland on the basis of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. The western Ukraine is "united" with the Soviet East Ukraine. Like in the current Crimea crisis Russia just "met the request of the fraternal people."

Khrushchev's 'gift'

Krushchev handed Crimea back to Ukraine

In 1954, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Pereiaslav treaty, Party Chairman Nikita Khrushchev hands the Crimea over to Ukrainian authorities. The alleged generous gift is not just altruistic. Crimea hasn't yet recovered from the war and its situation is desolate.

Breakaway of Ukraine

On July 16, 1990, the parliament in Kyiv declares its independence. Leonid Kravchuk, the chairman of the parliament is the most prominent advocate of independence. Meanwhile, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev fails to prevent the USSR's decline. In December 1991, the Soviet Union is no longer.

The Crimea problem

In January 1991 the majority of ethnic Russians in Crimea vote in a referendum for an autonomous Crimea Republic in the Soviet Union. But the disintegration of the USSR renders the referendum null and void. After that, the Crimean parliament passes a constitution but the Ukrainians don't recognize it.

The orange revolution

In 2004, the Russia-friendly candidate Viktor Yanukovych is declared the winner of the presidential elections. After reports about irregularities, demonstrators take to the streets for weeks and trigger new elections. The pro-western politician Victor Yushchenko wins the elections. Due to the lack of reforms the Ukrainians turn away from pro-western politicians and Yanukovych is elected president in 2010.

The gas dispute

Russia's Gazprom delivers gas to central Europe via Ukraine on the basis of a treaty from 2002. It allows Ukraine to keep some of the gas for itself. In 2005, Moscow raises the price fourfold after the victory of the "orange revolution" and the pro-western orientation in Kyiv. The Ukraine refuses to accept the price increase and the Kremlin-directed Gazprom temporarily stops gas deliveries to Ukraine.

The Black Sea Fleet issue

Russia's Balck Sea Fleet has
14,000 soldiers

In 2010, after a long tug-of-war, Russia and Ukraine sign an agreement allowing the Russian Black Sea Fleet to remain in Crimea: Russia rents the major part of the port of Sevastopol and pays an annual rent of 100 million dollars. Ukraine also receives a 30-percent discount on the gas price. According to their own statement the Russian Black Sea Fleet consists of 14.000 soldiers.

The second revolution

Shortly before the planned signing of an association agreement between the EU and Ukraine, pressure from Moscow on Kyiv increases. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to convince Ukraine to join his alternative, the "Eurasian Union." At the end of 2013, Ukraine's President Yanukovych suspends the agreement with the EU and announces a strengthening of relations to Russia. That causes protests in Kyiv which lead to the downfall of Yanukovych

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"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. …”