Saturday 9 September 2017

Post No. 1,070 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 179 [Note: Content Warning - reader discretion is advised!]

Exhaustion from my day job has resulted in the breadth of collation for this week’s Gnwmythr’s News being cut back: my apologies, but I have to pay the rent and bills, and anticipate the pressure will ease up in a month or so.
Information and Summary/Analysis:
Note: I am NOT a journalist, and make NO claims to objectivity or freedom from bias. Furthermore, I do not hold copyright to any of the articles I link to, nor do I claim authorship, except for those links to material I have written for this and my related blogs, and my commentary in these posts. (I try to make sure quotes are shown using quotation marks.)
The purpose of posting these news links is not only to inform; it is also to
   stimulate a connection to:
    - nonBPM units that need to be cleared, and
     - BPM units that need to be strengthened,
    so that you can do the clearing / strengthening that is required.
That only works if you don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by this, so take it in small chunks if you need to, but remember to actively clear and heal! … including yourself.
As part of that, note that there are key uncooperatives to be cleared (rescued): you should ONLY address those that are within your ability – if you get a sense (e.g., through meditation) or are told by your BPM Guides/Higher Self to back off, do so, and content yourself with clearing the smaller nonBPM units within your capability – which will weaken those uncooperatives. More importantly, there are many people doing this sort of work, and others are quite likely to be able to clear the uncooperatives concerned.
That is also one of the many reasons it is OK to take a break or cut back this work if you need – in fact, doing so will help you deal with the next point, which is …
… the energies we use and manifest in our daily lives contribute to the larger soup of energies that influence world events, so it pays to address those as well, to the extent that one can, or to at least stop oneself projecting them into the psychic soup.
The reminders / explanations about Sunday’s meditation-clearing are here;   see also here,   here,   here,   (here and also here and here are interesting),   here, here,   here,   and   this post reminds us to be patient and persistent, like a “speeding oak”.
There are some notes at the end of this post about other options for those who do not like this way of working.
 Finally, one of the biggest concerns I have about spirituality in the world now is that the concept of agape type love has been perverted into both a quest for emotional warm fuzzies, and an excuse to avoid doing the hard work of improving oneself and all that one does. On that, it may help to consider the simplification that one cannot love perfectly until one has learned how to perfect. (And one of the concerns I have about those resisting change is that they are so shallow / superficial /stupid that they thing their actions have ONLY the meaning of their [limited] conscious intention … )
The themes that come to mind for my work this week, after I review all this news, are:
(a)   based on my interpretation of information here and here with Saturn in Sagittarius contributing to finding an authentic balance (until 20th December, 2017), Uranus in Aries contributing to fresh and possibly radical starts (until some date in the Year 2018), and Pluto in Capricorn contributing to a transformation of power and business (and careers) (until some date in the Year 2024), conditions are ripe for a change for the better in world politics;
(b)   there is an enormous need to clear nonBPM energy – the thought forms, unattached energy and scars of the collective unconscious created by millennia of violence, including spirit rescue, and healing the warped views, seemingly “inherent” biases, and other damage created. Also, remember that:
           1. the counter to fear is genuine  EQ and clear thinking, expressed through calm, de-escalating speech,
           2. where problems exist, advocating for BPM responses, and being as BPM as one can be, are constructive solutions,
           3. peace is powerful, but it is a process requiring patient, persistent and nuanced nurturing, and a blend of conventional spiritual work, clearing nonBPM units, and physical world activism;
(c)   viewing the overall emotional state of the world from an elemental point of view, this week we need:
           emotionally (astrally), more BPM Earth;
           mentally, more BPM Æther;
           a plot of the elemental influences on a causal/spiritual level follows, and shows a need for more BPM Water;
(d)   I’ve created a bindrune for this week’s work, which is:
(e)   dealing with the 45th President of the USA (aka the USA’s CEO) requires:
           1. eroding (i.e., slow, patient and persistent clearing of the little bits one can SAFELY cope with – remember, you are but one of many) the nonBPM influences feeding his arrogance and mind-set, and strengthening the USA’s CEO’s BPM Guides and giving them whatever BPM help they need to present a BPM alternative – for which my “changing the personality of oppressors” post is useful – with a view to promoting what would seem to be a change of heart,
           2. lifting the nonBPM influences from the shoulders of the USA’s CEO’s marginal supporters, allowing them to “come to their senses”, which may result in them feeling bewilderment/shame, and simultaneously strengthening the BPM influences around them (e.g., their BPM Guides) to counter them backsliding,
           3. to address the others, physical world activism (especially education) is required. As well as doing what one can there, help those who are doing this work (e.g., sending them “positive vibes”) and look for nonBPM blockages that can be cleared (e.g., setting up a BPM vortex above meetings to draw away external nonBPM influences/energies/units, so that the audience can listen as they are, without any obsession/possession);
   (f)   the major events this week are:   as attraction to violence continues to be inadequately addressed, there are risks of mass atrocities in Burma, Syria and Burundi;   the ongoing tensions in and about the Korean Peninsula;   natural disasters – particularly the floods in South Asia, as the cyclones in the Caribbean;
   (g)   limited thinking, and, in particular, failure to accept and calmly deal with nuances;
   (h)   attempted control of harmless aspects of how other people live for the sake of one’s own personal comfort;
I also take this opportunity to emphasise that it is absolutely VITAL that this psychic / metaphysical / spiritual work be performed non-violently and as is for the Highest Spiritual Good – which is part of being BPM – on all levels and in all ways. Always remember (see here): Do you fight to change things, or to punish? See also here, here, here, here, here, and my comments about “authentic presence” in this post.
News and other matters from this past week follows:
   news items are presented in the following sections (there is overlap, and items may appear more than once):
    - Permanent and Thematically Arranged News,
    - Location Based News,
    - From a Range of Other Sites;
   opportunities/good news are shown in green;
   comments are shown in purple; and
   WARNING: some of these links may contain triggers around issues such as violence, sexual assault, discrimination, etc.
Permanent Issues and Thematically Arranged News:
  • Permanent issue: may all actual and potential BPM Leaders be kept BPM safe, including keeping them undetectable to the nonBPM and keeping all their Significant Others inviolable against being used for indirect  psychic attack, and may they have all the BPM resources (including an assured income, given the power that nonBPM forces have in the structures of the material world), opportunities and assistance (including so-called “good luck”) for them to be BPM effective at influencing the world’s direction, development and unfoldment, all as is for the Highest Spiritual Good;
  • Permanent issue: may all humans recognise, irrespective of the appearance of difference, the essential shared humanness of other people, the inherent resilience, the dynamic power, the strength of BPM collaboration, and the opportunities of having a diverse, inclusive and welcoming population, and may all people choose fairness, when such decisions are before them;
  • Permanent issue: may all actual and potential BPM Violence Interrupters (and Interrupters of hate / fear / anger) of be kept BPM safe, and may they have all the BPM opportunities and assistance (so-called “good luck”) for them to be BPM effective at containing and stopping – along the lines of the Cure Violence model - the spread of violence (and hate / fear / anger), all as is for the Highest Spiritual Good;
  • Permanent issue: may all humans choose to live modestly – to forgo outdoing others, or trying to have more than they need - for the sake of an easier, more manageable life, if they cannot do it for the sake of the planet;
  • Permanent issue: may all humans be in better communication with the better parts of their nature;
  • Matters warranting particular attention:
        -   “an artificial intelligence arms race [between Russia and China], and not the nuclear stand-off on the Korean Peninsula, will likely cause the next world war, Elon Musk has said”;
        -   an article pointing out that not only are neo-Nazis NOT new to the US city where a woman was killed recently, that city actually led the way in the appalling pseudo-scientific abuses (including 70,000 forced sterilisations – some on rape victims because the victims were considered promiscuous) committed by scientists and politicians in the name of eugenics … and Hitler followed their lead;
        -   facebook has admitted it sold $100,000 worth of ads - used to promote divisive social and political messages - to fake accounts linked to Russian 'troll factory' during the US election;
        -   the DPRK has tested its sixth, and largest so far, nuclear device – with stage-managed suggestions and claims that it was a hydrogen bomb and that more “gift packages” are to come, to the irritation of China (which, incidentally, is also practicing for attacks from “across the sea” … ), the table  thumping of the USA, the concern of the UN and the world generally, Russia’s caution that imposing tougher sanctions would be counter-productive and threats of military action could trigger "a global catastrophe", and a South Korean’s call for regime change … ;
     from my interim post on this during the past week: One matter that has come up in analyses this week is that the DPRK's leader apparently wants to reunite the Korean Peninsula: I haven't heard that previously of this particular person, and it is concerning. The only way that is spiritually acceptable for a reunification of the Korean Peninsula is under a genuine democracy - and just in case China's President Xi wants to come out with the "one nation, two systems" rubbish, that has failed in Hong Kong, owing to China's restriction and undermining of democratic essentials, leaving just a token show of democracy, and not real freedom, which includes the freedom to safely dissent. If there was such a reunification, then it would be possible for the USA to withdraw its forces - subject to a credible guarantee that China would not invade, of course. That would deal with China's desire for a buffer against US forces on its border - which is why it hasn't taken the action that it can, which would inevitably lead to the DPRK being a failed state as it collapses. In the meantime, the presence of US forces, the conduct of joint military exercises, and the closeness of military forces to their border (the so-called "DMZ") is essential - after all, it was the DPRK that started all this by invading South Korea. I had been thinking that just signing a peace treaty would be a great step forward (difficult, given the political games of the DPRK), but, if reunification is the DPRK's aim, that won't suffice. If reunification wasn't the DPRK's aim, then a formal peace to the Korean War would open the door to a military de-escalation - it would, after all, protect both sides, and I am aware that, yes, the DPRK started this, but the instant that US-led, notionally UN-commanded forces crossed into North Korea after driving them out of South Korea, they changed the fault of aggression to one that was one both sides. So what is the long term solution? Partition for the foreseeable future ...
        -   this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists Burma, Syria and Burundi;
  • With regard to democracy (which requires  protection of minorities and the vulnerable – and remember Gandhi’s question about whether one is fighting to change things, or to punish, and the list of 198 methods of nonviolent action), freedom and governance (e.g., here, here, here and here, and see also here):
     Note: I have a section specifically for the 45th US President below
       -   analyses this week include:   a criticism that US Democrats “got comfortable and gave up their lead in digital campaigning” during the Obama years, whereas Republicans invested heavily in using the Internet to build political support … now, liberals in Silicon Valley want to shift the balance of power;
        -   of concern this week:   a group of far-right protesters connected to an extremist found guilty of religious vilification has stormed and forcibly shut down a council meeting to protest against its decision to scrap Australia Day;   Azerbaijan's ruling elite have operated a secret $2.8 billion slush fund to pay off European politicians and make luxury purchases;   “Leading sheep breeders from across the country have been shocked to find out that an anonymous focus group was watched covertly by Chair of Australian Wool Innovation … through a one way mirror”;   US prosecutors have asked a judge to revoke the bail of a convicted pharmaceutical company head and jail him in because of an escalating pattern of threats and harassment, including recent threats allegedly made against Hillary Clinton which required "significant expenditure of resources by the US Secret Service";
        -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in: Cambodia (1st), Cambodia (2nd);
        -   in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:   Chinese regulators have launched a crackdown on individuals and firms raising funds by offering their own digital currencies - see also here;   Spain is fighting Catalonia’s move for a referendum on independence;
        -   other events in the grey or neutral area have occurred or are developing in: Kenya;
        -   and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:   after a stunt to insult Islam by a far right wing Australian Senator, an official dress code is being considered for Parliament;   Australia’s Senate has determine that the neoliberal government’s proposed language test for citizenship is too extreme (not to mention xenophobic and very “shades of the White Australia Policy” … );   concerningly, senior staff inside the (Commonwealth) Department of Infrastructure have compared some behaviours to the satirical TV programme Utopia;   Australia will deport a 50 year old woman with an intellectual disability after rejecting the mother’s visa application … because the mother has a disabled child;
  • With regard to the 45th US President (who I consider seriously dangerous, even if his administration looks like a Schoolyard Squabble Squad) this week:
     I deliberately avoid using the 45th US President’s name for valid psychic reasons: however, to both simplify my typing and remind people that he is dangerous (actually, I consider him evil), I will use either “the USA’s CEO” or “Voldemort II” (or a combination – and the “II” is because the Harry Potter series had Voldemort I) or a variation thereof – in this section, at least - as an alias.
        -   an interviewee is of the view that the USA’s CEO’s ideology Is white supremacy;
        -   a speculation that the USA’s CEO may be moving into a “freelance presidency, unmoored from party ties - the kind of deal-maker in chief some … supporters hoped for when they voted for him last year”;
        -   the USA’s CEO has decided to scrap a programme that protects young undocumented immigrants ("Dreamers") - despite strong support for it ... and he could yet change his mind on that (which is an invitation to do work to achieve a change of mind, but in such a way that Republican annoyance is retained);
        -   the nominee of the USA’s 45th President for the role of USDA's Chief Scientist is not a scientist;
        -   (see the “matters warranting particular attention” section for missile and threat of war related links);
  • With regard to violent extremism (VE) (aka, terrorism - e.g., Da’esh) (ALL people advocating hate or discrimination in response to violent extremism are actively doing the work of violent extremists. This will be countered, in part, by the sort of approach advocated by “Cure Violence”, and, in part, by addressing real and perceived disempowerment and acknowledging the variety in what provides genuine, BPM fulfilment as a counter to fanaticism as a source of meaning. I am deliberately avoiding the use of specific names of violent extremist groups as much as possible to reduce the publicity they get – I’m not a primary news source, and thus consider I can do so):
        -   according to this Wikipedia page, there have been 12 violent extremist attacks in Iraq and 2 in Afghanistan (out of a total of 29);   prevention has or may have occurred in UK (of far right extremist terrorism), France;
       -   the UN has said that marginalisation and perceived abuses of power are pushing Africa’s youth towards extremism;   the Rohingya militants are being described as terrorists by the government, and the International Crisis Group says the militants have trained abroad and are led by Rohingya living in Saudi Arabia, but a group spokesperson has said the group has no links to jihadist groups and only exists to fight for Rohingya people to be recognised as an ethnic group. Their weapons appear to be mainly homemade but the ICG report suggested they were not completely amateur and showed some evidence of help from veterans of other conflicts, including people from Afghanistan. On the other hand, the Burmese government, including both the prior military dictatorship and the current partial democracy, have been guilty of flagrantly breaching the R2P principles for decades … ;
  • With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration):
        -   a compensation deal from the Australian Government worth $70 million, the largest human rights settlement in Australian legal history, for 1,300 current and former illegally-detained detainees who were negligently housed and protected in the refugee gulags has been approved by Victoria's Supreme Court, just as a trial against the Commonwealth and security companies Transfield and G4S was due to start;   as regulations and controls block attempts to help refugees in the Mediterranean, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station is relocating from Malta, where it has been rescued 40,000 people since 2014, to the waters off Myanmar, where 87,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh;   a 106-year-old Afghan woman, who is severely disabled and can barely speak, part of a family whose harrowing journey (with the woman carried by her son and grandson through mountains, deserts and forests), made headlines in 2015, is facing deportation from Sweden after her asylum application was rejected (the woman's "high age" is not grounds for asylum), and is claimed to have had a stroke upon being told the bad news;   “Without the medical care she so desperately needed, I doubt she is still alive”;
        -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in: Libya;
  • With regard to human (and other) rights and discrimination (incidentally, I consider it vital to identify people who are bigots as they clearly have flaws in their powers of observation and thinking – shown by the fact that NOT all people act hatefully without education/lobbying/the restraint of laws):
        -   on homophobia/transphobia (including heteronormativity, cisgender-normativity and the suppression of the religious freedom of those religions that support Equal Marriage) this week (noting that trans kids are the same as cis kids of the trans kids’ true gender) – and I am going to note that Australia’s current “debate” about the Equal Marriage postal survey IGNORES the FACT that there have been DECADES and CENTURIES of distortions, lies, attacks and hate speech against LGBTIQ people – in the current debate gives equal air time within the debate, then it is UNFAIRLY biased against the “no” case:   a gay couple who – for religious reasons – are against Equal Marriage(this couple have been fortunate enough to miss the abuse that others have coped, and thus seem to me to be oblivious of the wider implications of this. I also note that many LGBTIQ people who are against Equal Marriage are actually against the traditional forms of marriage for EVERYONE, on the basis that it is religious and reduces women to property);   an Australian neo-Nazi group is behind recent homophobic acts (and that they have been emboldened to do more than talk is a direct consequence of the postal survey on Equal Marriage);   a critique of the worst arguments against Equal Marriage;   a high-profile Equal Marriage advocate has criticised the tone of both sides of the Equal Marriage debate;   some rebels in conservative religions are supporting Equal Marriage (and there are religions which support Equal Marriage!);   the postal survey has survived a legal challenge - which raises the prospect of similar measures on other matters – such as going to war … ;   the Australian “Government and Opposition are working together to quickly introduce new laws to protect people from vilification and misleading and deceptive conduct during the same-sex marriage campaign” (why wasn’t this done first? Waiting for the court decision while abuse is being allowed is unacceptable);   a clinic in India is helping transgender people;
        -   on white supremacist and other forms of racism this week:   an indigenous man who spent the last year walking across Australia has now reached the capital, and has now delivered his message on the need for justice;   the experiences of those who had to live under the notorious White Australia Policy;   a British PR  company has been expelled from the UK public relations trade body as a result of claims it stirred up racial tensions in South Africa (the CEO's resignation supported the claims – see also here), and may now collapse;   Australia’s Senate has determine that the neoliberal government’s proposed language test for citizenship is too extreme (not to mention xenophobic and very “shades of the White Australia Policy” … );   the family of a famous Australian indigenous artist is continuing their quest to recover copyright to his works;   a dictionary may help save a critically endangered indigenous language;   in one Australian state, a mother “has slammed a "racist" and "harmful" Queensland Government advertisement which featured her son without her knowledge, and is now calling for greater discussion about institutionalised racism” – and the state government concerned has unreservedly apologised;   seven indigenous Canadian tribes have declared a state of emergency as a result of a worsening drug crisis;   a backgrounder on an indigenous treaty for my home state;   an idiot has tried to sell their postal survey vote on eBay (and should be jailed for attempting to do so … );
        -   on male supremacist and other forms of sexism this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):   an Australian state government has, appallingly, mailed the address and contact details of a victim/survivor of domestic abuse to her abuser, forcing her and her children to flee;   Britain's best-selling cycling magazine has been forced to apologise to a rider featured in its latest issue with the caption of "token attractive woman";   the cultural glass ceiling;   a neochristian church has apologised to the victims of domestic violence;   some of the nuances around "period leave" (which I consider essential for some women);   the abusive twists put on the term “Ms” – and the lack of life experience resulting in stupid opinions;
        -   other sexism matters have also occurred in: my home state (police podcast), the technology industry, Australian schools;
        -   on religious rights (including Islamophobia) this week:   stupidity from the lamb advertising industry has caused religious offence;   “three far-right nationalists who staged a mock beheading to protest against the building of a mosque in [a rural city in my home state] have been found guilty of inciting serious contempt of Muslims” (i.e. religious vilification);
        -   on workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human (and other – e.g., animal) rights this week:   some children in state care have been living in squalor;   the experience of a stutterer;   a blind football (grid iron) player in the USA has executed a perfect “snap” in his official game debut;   a car ride service driver has discriminated (they’re not doing too well on these sorts of matters … ) against woman in a wheelchair;   a tabloid magazine has been found guilty of breaching the privacy of a member of the UK’s royal family;   the Australian sports commission has taken action to better ensure children in sport are protected from child abuse;   a mother forced to give up her disabled son for adoption (because she was unmarried) and then lied to (that her son had died), has now been reunited with him;
        -   other workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in: Burma (1st), Burma (2nd), Burma (3rd), India, the “gig economy”;
  • With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing:
        -   police in my home state have started a podcast on the forms of sexual assault, and what to do about it;   the crime of “sextortion”;   a fugitive drug criminal has been arrested after 23 years on the run;   crims are not the sharpest tools in the box ... ;   the US police officer who assaulted and unlawfully arrested a nurse after she refused, in accordance with hospital policy, to let him take a blood sample from an unconscious patient without a warrant has been fired from his second job as a part-time paramedic over threats to retaliate by bringing transient patients to the hospital and taking the "good patients" elsewhere (this does not end or resolve the situation: the unlawful arrest and assault are separate matters);   a call to consider changing the laws so that police and the courts have some discretion when it comes to license suspensions from speed camera results (having a good record should be a mitigating factor);   the family of a murder victim is calling for the coroner to investigate whether church-police collusion within Victoria Police contributed to a major DNA bungle that derailed the cold case investigation into her death;   “more children [are] sexting at [a] younger age”;   after a jury’s swift conviction, an Australian state prosecutor has been asked to explain their tardiness in bringing the case to trial;   an Australian who was convicted in China, but returned to Australia’s to finish his jail sentence is arguing that the Chinese system is extreme, and should not be applied to his parole deliberations (there are extreme aspects of punishment in China, so this argument is not without merit, but it could be argued that the possible impact on international relations also needs to be taken into consideration … unless the conviction would not have occurred, or the sentence would not have been so harsh, in Australia … );
       -    other crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in: the cyber world;
  • With regard to press aka the media, and freedom of expression (keeping in mind that claims of presenting “both sides” of a debate can be WRONG if the other side is RUBBISH –as is the case on LGBTIQ issues: having an “equal say”, or a “right to respond” MUST be assessed in the context of what is happening overall in society – NOT solely in one limited incident. Also, funding is an issue … ):
        -   media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: Cambodia, India, China, the internet;
  • With regard to overcrowding and “modern” lifestyle issues (is YOUR smart phone free of conflict  minerals, environmental harm and child labour? [IT manufacturers are making some effort in on those – in response to activist pressure.] Do you suffer from FOMO or addiction? Are you having second thoughts about technology? Is your social media making you miserable or envious? Are you being duped by modern mantras? Are you “failing” at being well? Does your AI use ethics? Does your corporation misuse mindfulness as a distraction from working conditions? Are you afflicted by management  fads? Do you understand embedded emissions? Do you want a bigger, flashier home/car than people had 50 years ago – which means you are actively abusing the environment and society’s cohesion and contributing to the problem of financialisation? Are you accursed with the “new is always good” groupthink of the computer world? Do you abuse workers by insisting on busy-ness? Are you raising a Prince Boofhead? Keeping in mind that, although I am a Pagan now, but have been a Buddhist, maybe the lesson of Buddhism that one must first recognise that one causes much of one’s own suffering is applicable … ):
        -   on climate change and other environmental matters this week:   refer also to the section on disasters, this week;   some Australians are – stupidly - not taking the dangers of heat waves seriously;   as Australia’s energy market regulator blames the loss of coal generators (rather than its own pricing strategy), the Commonwealth government shows its hypocrisy;   a seafood factory and local fruit and vegetable farmers are working together to reduce food waste by combining "seconds" in novel ways;   “a trial using cured compost, processed poultry manure pellets and clean seed has almost doubled ginger production in a test plot”;   “a Western Australian mixed farmer is adding a monocultured algae that can be used as fertiliser to the mix of crops cultivated on his property”;   Australia is bracing for an 'elevated' bushfire risk this summer;   a bushfire in the USA is threatening giant sequoia trees that have stood for thousands of years;   from mid-next year, shoppers in one Australian state will no longer be able to get single-use plastic shopping bags, including degradable and biodegradable bags, at the supermarket but will be able to cash in their cans and bottles;   an Australian Year 4 student’s campaign to rid her home town and the Great Barrier Reef of single-use plastic straws is quickly gaining momentum, and has been taken up by more than 10,000 students;   the habitat of urban backyards could be a useful part of wider efforts to protect Australia's native animals - e.g., plant native species, keep pets under control;   “a rescue plan is underway to try to save one of Australia's smallest native birds, the Mallee emu wren, … after … bushfires destroyed much of its habitat”;   a major power company “has ceased installations of household batteries in [an Australian city] as part of a trial "Virtual Power Plant" and is flagging a change of battery technology, but won't confirm if it is experiencing problems with its current product”;   the only underground nuclear waste repository in the USA, in a salt formation 800 m below a New Mexico desert, is running out of room and will reach its capacity in less than a decade. Citing the delays in expanding storage and other reasons, Russia has suspended its commitment to get rid of its own excess plutonium;   calls for monitoring of the risks to bats posed by modern buildings with large expanses of glass or mirrored surfaces, which are a "blind spot" for the otherwise remarkably adept high speed flying mammals;   in a temporary resumption of the discontinued practice, some canefields will be burned to help manage an invasive species of ant (burning canefields at harvest were quite a spectacular sight in my teenage years – the taipans and other snakes fleeing the flames were less appealing … );   the use of human biosolids for agriculture (which has, incidentally, been done in modern systems for decades: it has also been done in a cruder fashion for millennia, but the modern approaches are safer);
        -   other environmental matters have occurred in: Africa (good news);
        -   on technology and science matters this week:   the woman put in charge of leading a 10-year revolution in artificial intelligence at one of Australia's top universities says the technology industry, which is lacking diversity, needs to embrace diversity or else alienating entire groups of consumers;   "social cooling" — a society of increasing social conformity and rigidity, in which we self-censor or second guess what we do online for fear of repercussions (some of which may simply be deciding to be decent, but beyond a point of balance it becomes problematic);   Chinese regulators have launched a crackdown on individuals and firms raising funds by offering their own digital currencies - see also here;   the problem of emotionless “chatbots”;   non-exploding lithium-ion batteries are a bit closer;   about 143 million US customers of a credit report agency may have had information compromised in a cyber security breach;
        -   on economic and financial matters this week:   a questioning of the evolution - in the Anglo business world - towards executive bonuses as being normal;   the USA’s opioid crisis is significantly reducing the number of job seekers – to the concern of employers and economists;   “low-paid, unskilled workers who rely on the gig economy to make a living are missing out on mandatory employer superannuation”;   “buildings with highly flammable non-compliant cladding may not be covered by insurance companies”;
        -   other economic and financial matters have occurred in: Africa (good news), the cyber world;
        -   on affordable housing and homelessness matters this week:   a warning to not waste the current, time limited lifeline from Australia’s Reserve Bank to the mortgage stressed;
        -   on health and medical this week:   an article on why some people give up being vegan (basically health reasons: there are a number of changes that some individuals need to make, but what suits one person won’t necessarily suit another, and what suits at one stage of life may not suit at another);
        -   on other matters in the category this week:   a call has been made for cities to be designed with more mixed-use land zones and reduced dependence on cars (that requires consideration of safety and comfort on public transport, in my view), but without trying to force the compact European city form (which depends on many unique historic, cultural, geographic and climatic variables) on the unique qualities of Australian culture and how people choose to live – which includes rejection, on the whole, of apartment living, nor the naïveté of trying to retrofit established cities to the “activity centre” model;   Bulgaria, which, following collectivisation under Communist rule and the drain of young people from rural areas to cities, has lost one fifth of its population since the 1990s, is now projected to have the fastest-shrinking population in the world;   another story on the use of flammable cladding non Australian high rises;      “more children [are] sexting at [a] younger age”;   following an accident which led to a hip replacement, a call has been made for the speed and weight of mobility scooters to be limited - but see also this response;
  • With regard to education:
        -   UNICEF says conflict and widespread poverty have stalled progress on education rates over the past decade;   a push to allow girls the option of wearing pants or shorts to school, which increases physical activity by girls (they sit out over fears their skirts will fly up) has had success in one Australian state, but other states are refusing to catch up with the early-mid 20th Century;
  • With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
        a video about “Cure Violence” in South Africa;   the graffiti in a laneway in my home city has been given an upgrade with street art portraying the horrors of war;   US officials have decided not to punish United Airlines over an infamous incident in which a passenger was dragged, bleeding and with damaged glasses, off an overcrowded plane because there was "no evidence that United violated the passenger's civil rights and not enough evidence that it violated rules regarding bumping passengers" ... (really???);   26,000 guns have been handed in during Australia’s first un amnesty since the Port Arthur massacre;   an Irish auction house’s decision to sell Nazi "memorabilia" – because to not do so “would be censorship”, and without distancing themselves from Nazi policies - has been described as "tasteless";   two US social media giants are being urged to sharpen up their response to hate speech encroaching on people's newsfeeds on the grounds that they are not meeting community standards;
  • With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
        the destruction caused by flooding in Bangladesh (including the loss of over 100,000 homes) has led to concerns over disease, as 40 million people seek to rebuild their lives; a magnitude 8.1 earthquake – and associated tsunami – have hit Mexico, killing at least 58 people;   following Tropical Cyclone (aka “hurricane”) Harvey in the USA, concerns have developed over flood damage to toxic waste sites – and some emergency workers are suing a chemical company;   as the US state of Texas recovers from Tropical Cyclone (aka “Hurricane”) Harvey, an even more powerful Tropical Cyclone (Irma) is bearing down on the Caribbean and the USA (Florida is evacuating a million people – except sex offenders and people with outstanding warrants … ) … and has destroyed 90% of the buildings in Barbuda, killed at least twenty people (including a surfer … ), and is being followed by two more Tropical Cyclones as it threatens Haiti (this is also a situation calling out for psychic – and physical – work to minimise the death and destruction: subject to work, I will aim to get such calls out during the week in future [I’d prefer – and find it easier - to do so by email]) - see also here, which explains the storm surge (up to 15 m);   following Tropical Cyclone (aka “Hurricane”) Harvey, the US city of Houston still has more than 50,000 displaced people and over 100 roads closed, and undocumented residents have been left destitute and fearful;   “the recent floods in Houston and Mumbai, and the December 2015 floods in Chennai are previews of what a disaster could look like when climate change and ill-advised land-use change collide”;   with profound apologies for using a social media link, an article on communal responses to health care needs – including disaster relief;   the need to plan for pets during emergencies;
  • With regard to peace and/or spirituality generally (including survival after death), development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense) and the occasional nice story (are you crippled by the fear of being single or asexual or off-grid or in any other way a rebel / innovator / non-conformist / true to yourself, or believe in management  fads and fashions? Do you distract yourself and fill your time to avoid finding real meaning? If so, you have a spiritual problem, and a need to constructively remedy that):
        “Religion is not just mythology: The idea that religion is mythology is the bastard child of Protestantism and atheism”;   an interesting documentary on survival after death;  a couple of interesting (but limited by lack of basic spiritualist knowledge) videos here and here on Tibet’s State Oracle –with reminders of the need for discerning thought and personal responsibility, and the possibility that powerful entities can manifest into this world, some harmful (more actively than “just” misleading), some beneficial;   at high-level forum, the UN has stressed the importance of education in building a ‘culture of peace’.
Location based News:
  • With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
        -   African nations have established a world lead on the accounting of natural capital (water, forests, fisheries, rivers, wildlife, etc) which is a critical asset, especially for lower income countries where it makes up a significant share of total wealth, but is not captured in traditional economic measures like GDP;
        -   the UN has said that marginalisation and perceived abuses of power are pushing Africa’s youth towards extremism;
        -   $106 million in humanitarian aid is being sought for drought-hit Kenya;
        -   “the plight of medics who ‘saved’ Nigeria from the Ebola pandemic in 2014 but who have not yet been paid”;   suspected cholera cases are complicating an already complex crisis in northeast Nigeria;
  • With regard to China (may her growing middle class bring a love of peace and freedom), East and South East Asia and the Pacific (noting the risks of atrocities in North Korea and Burma):
        -   on China, including Hong Kong, the DPRK (North Korea) South Korea (which need to accept their partition), Taiwan, and the free but invaded and occupied nation of Tibet:
        -   Chinese regulators have launched a crackdown on individuals and firms raising funds by offering their own digital currencies - see also here;   a move apparently linked to China's hosting of this week's BRICS summit, Chinese censors appear to be stifling online discussion of North Korea's latest missile launch;   “a New York-based property tycoon who has accused top Chinese officials of corruption has applied for political asylum in the US”;
        -   other events concerning China have occurred or are developing in: Australia;
        -   a TV reality programme seems to show that most Koreans want reunification - which is a problem;
        -   the decision by Hong Kong's public broadcaster to stop a 24-hour stream of the BBC World Service, replacing it with state-controlled media from China, has been met with anger;
        -   elsewhere in Asia:
        -   “tens of thousands more [Rohingya] have crossed by boat and on foot into Bangladesh in the last 24 hours as they flee violence in western Myanmar”, according to the UNHCR;   “Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has called on her fellow laureate and Aung San Suu Kyi [current, unofficial leader of Burma] to condemn the "shameful" treatment of [Burma’s] Rohingya minority” - but Aung San Suu Kyi has refused to do so, blaming the Rohingya instead;   see the violent extremism section for assessment of Rohingya “militants”;   despite the Burmese government’s attempted censorship, at least one witness account confirming the genocidal activities has emerged;
        -   as part of the increasing crackdown on dissent, Cambodia’s opposition leader has been charged with treason over allegations of “US collusion”, on the basis of a speech he gave in Australia four years ago … ;   the editor of a Cambodian newspaper shut down by an alleged tax bill has been prevented from leaving that nation;   Australia has been urged to speak up for democracy in Cambodia, as a “red line has been crossed”;
        -   the recent death of a 17-year-old is no more remarkable or tragic than the deaths of the thousands of other people who have been gunned down in the Philippines in the past year - except that the moments leading up to it were filmed on a CCTV camera, and, as a result, the teenagers' death has pricked the conscience of a nation that has grown complacent to the killing of suspected drug users;
        -   “Islamist groups [have protested in Indonesia] against persecution of [Burma’s] Rohingya Muslims”;
        -   and in the Pacific:   Pacific region leaders will attempt to form a collective voice on such varied topics as climate change, illegal fishing and labour mobility as they gather for the annual Pacific Islands Forum - and the exorbitant $8,000 journalist visa fee will be waived;
  • With regard to the conflict in Iraq (noting that Iraq was once a peaceful and prosperous society, before the UK / USA / CIA backed revolution – see here, and that it needs an emphasis on a secular society and citizenship – but also here, although based in Syria and here):
        -   the Iraq Body Count project reports 73 civilians violently killed in the last week;
  • With regard to the Libyan civil war:
        Libyan refugee detention centres are “like hell”;
  • With regard to South and Central America:
        -   as part of investigations, in conjunction with French and US police, into what police say is "strong evidence" of vote-buying, Brazilian police have searched the nation's Olympic committee and the home of its chief, who headed Rio's successful bid to host the 2016 Games;
        -   following the recent establishment of peace with FARC, Colombian government and ELN rebels have now agreed to a temporary ceasefire;   in another good news item, one of Colombia's most powerful drug gangs, which has had over 1,500 members of the gang were arrested and its second-in-command killed in the last few months, has said it wishes to submit itself to justice;
  • With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
       -   on India:  
       -   “India's announcement that it plans to deport its Rohingya population is an attempt to curry favour with Buddhist-majority Myanmar ahead of an official visit by [its] Prime Minister”;   a prominent left-wing Indian journalist critical of Hindu nationalist politics has been murdered by gunmen on a motorcycle;   Indian police are investigating the deaths of dozens of newborns at two hospitals;
  • With regard to the conflict in Syria, where Assad’s regime has, in my opinion, lost all claims to legitimacy, and it is time to consider partition (see here, here, here and here):
        the Assad Dictatorship has achieved a major military breakthrough against violent extremists in the east who had besieged more than 90,000 people for three years, which also marks a new phase in the conflict and an intensification of the battle for eastern Syria, where US-backed forces are also fighting violent extremists;   the UN's special enjoy to Syria says opposition forces “must be prepared to face the reality that they did not win the six-and-a-half year war against” Dictator Assad;   Israel has attacked a suspected chemical weapons factory in Syria;   UN investigators have documented the use of chemical weapons and other crimes against civilians in Syria;
  • With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and North Africa, the Middle East Eye and other sources have:
        -   on Israel and Palestine:   Israel has attacked a suspected chemical weapons factory in Syria;   Israel’s corruption scandal may now involve the Prime Minister’s wife.
Other News:
  • “large solar storms, responsible for the northern lights, may have played a role in the strandings of 29 sperm whales in the North Sea early in 2016”.
General Comments/Information
(Dear Reader, please remember, I expect you to think when reading this blog, and I reserve the right to occasionally sneak in something to test that)
Many others are very capably doing this type of work – for instance, the Lucis Trust's Triangles network (which has been running for many decades),   the Correllian Tradition's 'Spiritual War for Peace' (see also here, here, and here), the Hope, Peace, Love and Prosperity Spell (also from the Correllian Tradition, in around 2007 or 2008),   the Healing Minute started by the late, great Harry Edwards (running for decades);   the “Network of Light”  meditations;   and   also see here, here and here – even commercial organisations (for instance, see here), online groups (e.g. here and here – which I do not know the quality of) and even an app.    Thus, if you don't like what I am suggesting here, but want to be of service, there are many other opportunities for you – including secular opportunities: e.g., see here, here and here.   Again, activism in the physical world is also required - see here, here and here, here, and, of course, here.
(Please note that I now specifically have a role for (absent) healers on Saturdays, as explained in the Psychic Weather Report posts. Anyone who wishes to be protector has a role every day :). At all times, on all levels and in ways, BOTH must ALWAYS be BPM in the way they perform such roles.)
If I am ever late getting my Psychic Weather Report up any week, there is a default plan.
I apologise for publishing these posts twice, but Blogger keeps changing my formatting.
No signature block for these posts. 
 

 


 

 
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