Post No. 802 – Psychic Weather Report No. 0058

As a preliminary matter, I will be joining in a ritual to end mass killings at noon on Tuesday 29^th December –for more, see here.

There is an introduction / reminder / explanation about these posts here (and also see here for some investigation into evidence of the effectiveness of this type of work, which shows variability [and mentions causes] and cycles in the energetic/consciousness response). I have a simplified blogiography of posts related to this work here, a list of themes I have identified here, and my changing the personality of oppressors post, which I am contemplating expanding to include some key people to work on, is here. It is also worth contemplating that one of the greatest weaknesses of those who oppose Balanced Positivity is the inherent pain, suffering and negativity of their aims and means – from the personal slights, insults and traumas left by the petty tyrant, autocrat, dictator/monarch or the ruthless (some at least are not; some are BPM) oligarch or politician, through the social dislocation of the economic ideologue to the long-lasting trauma, injury, death and desolation of society caused by those who use violence or war as a means to achieve power or impose their will. It may take time, but people WILL eventually realise what is not good, and will take action – which is why slavery is no longer ubiquitous, and why the march to freedom and democracy is underway – tentatively, and with backsliding and mistakes along the way, but inexorable nevertheless.

Also, as you read this, consider this: how does one outflank an idea, or attack an emotion in the rear? It is as well to consider what those who are unbalanced could do to good ideas and emotions, as well as considering BPM ways to outflank or ‘attack in the rear’ bad ideas/emotions.

As a first point, it is also recommended that you read yesterday’s summation of world events. The key themes were:

   (a)   based on my interpretation of information here and here with Saturn in Sagittarius contributing to finding an authentic balance (until 20^th 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. This need includes rescuing those who have been trapped by that history, and healing the warped views, seemingly “inherent” biases, and other damage done by the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual violence committed on scales large and small in that timeframe;

   (c)   viewing the overall emotional state of the world from an elemental point of view, this week we need Æther;

   (d)   although it may not seem evident, the world has made steps towards a better state. Part of the problem is better reporting – consider how modern journalism would have presented the story of the D-Day landings in France during World War Part Two, where the approx. 6,000 allied deaths came with the deaths of around 10 – 15 thousand French civilians – largely at the hand of allied bombing;

   (e)   unenlightened (nonBPM) self-interest is a too-often subtle, ubiquitous and ruinous matter – particularly when it crops up in politics, but also in the media;

   (f)   objectivity / detachment is crucial to gathering factual evidence and making properly informed decisions. One can only be truly objective, however, when one is calm enough to contact – most often through deep meditation – one’s Higher Self, and are able to separate the lessons one needs to learn personally from the issue of what is for the Greater Good or the Highest Spiritual Good (which are two separate matters – and one needs to understand that distinction as well, in order to be BPM effective);

   (g)   one of the biggest steps in improving the world is to accept the factual BPM evidence one is facing, and what that means – to, to quote from the former Japanese Emperor – and possible war criminal? - Hirohito “endure the unendurable”;

   (h)   any nation which tries to influence the conduct of another, whether through control (including war or actions such as cutting off essential services), bullying (including building artificial islands), or inducement is as guilty as any individual of the spiritual crime of control – and will, as with any individual, reap the whirlwind from the wind of their actions;

   (i)   trying to change the world to be better is a complex task: this diagram applies to that, just as much as it applies to the business world it was developed for;

   (j)   learn from mistakes – not for the sake of assigning blame, or because – as the comedians put it - Nature loves variety, but so one can both do things better in future, and be a wiser, better informed human being;

   (k)   change is not always inherently good;

   (l)   psychic energy – particularly residuals – is something that MUST be addressed, whether it is in the context of the personal (e.g., spiritual growth), societal attitudes (e.g., endemic racism), crime (e.g., the history of violence at Kananook Station), or changing the world;

   (m)   fear of difference must continue be effectively BPM addressed, wherever and whenever it occurs;

   (n)   accountability and communication remain crucial needs – from the personal al the way up through the political to the epoch-making.

   Specific energy related suggestions are also provided below, in the Section discussing R2P recommendations for Sudan:    - From an energetic point of view, based on the above and the following divinations for this situation: rune Oss (and detailed runic examination below), Yi Jing hexagram 4 with moving line 6 (illustrated below), elemental energy as shown below, all acting through the Magickal Principle of Harmony, that nation needs more Air and Earth, Tyr / Tiwaz, Ing / Ingwaz and Ethel / Othala, to remind all who are doing wrong what real, BPM communities and social justice are;

This week’s assessment:

Overall, BPM energy is high in Antarctica still – which is a pleasant relief, and also in the North Atlantic Ocean, where a ridge extends to North America, the Arctic and Russia. A connecting ridge between south and north BPM energy passes through East and South East Asia. On the other hand, there is a trough of low BPM energies extending from the Pacific through South America to the South Atlantic Ocean and then Central and North Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and West Asia / the Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian sub-continent.

NonBPM energy is surprisingly low overall: has the so-called “season of goodwill” actually had a beneficial impact? There are centres of relatively intense nonBPM energy over South America and East Asia, with the latter extending ridges through Russia to Europe, the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa, and to South East Asia.

The contention between the forces of Balanced Positive-Spiritually Mature (BPM) and imbalance (nonBPM) is most significant this week in South America, East and South East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, West Asia / the Middle East, the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa.

My approach this week will be (incidentally, if you disagree, feel free to use your own interpretations, or your own divinations):

• Sunday - clear nonBPM units from and send BPM energy to Antarctica, the Indian Ocean and Australia;
        I have also obtained the following divinations for this day’s meditation, clearing and healing work: rune Mann / Mannaz acting through the Magickal Principle of Harmony, all of which tells me to focus on building BPM sense of community;
• Monday - clear nonBPM units from and send BPM energy to the South and North Atlantic Oceans, North America and the Arctic;
        I have also obtained the following divinations for this day’s meditation, clearing and healing work: rune Ior (which, in the Saxon system, has associations of cleverness – in particular, a clever water beast like the beaver, acting through the Airy Magickal Law of Distance, all of which tells me to focus on cunning BPM connections despite physical distance;
• Tuesday – as stated above, I will be joining in a ritual to end mass killings at noon on Tuesday 29^th December –for more, see here.
   - clear nonBPM units from and send BPM energy to South and Central America;
        I have also obtained the following divinations for this day’s meditation, clearing and healing work: rune Calc, Yi Jing hexagram 29 with moving lines 2, 3 and 6 (illustrated below), elemental energy as shown below, all acting through the Earthy Magickal Law of Strength and Common Sense, all of which tells me to focus on carefully resolving inward-focused nonBPM Fire (e.g., resentment), Earth (e.g., discrimination against “others”/”outsiders”) and Air (e.g., self-pity): this should be viewed as a quest, or mini-quest, perhaps, with challenges and, if complete successfully, an enticing reward;
• Wednesday - clear nonBPM units from and send BPM energy to North Africa, West Asia / the Middle east, the Mediterranean Sea and Europe;
        I have also obtained the following divinations for this day’s meditation, clearing and healing work: rune Ear, acting through the Airy Magickal Law of Distance, all of which tells me to focus on renewing BPM connections to BPM supporters/allies; 
• Thursday - clear nonBPM units from and send BPM energy to the Indian sub-continent, Central Asia and Russia;
        I have also obtained the following divinations for this day’s meditation, clearing and healing work: rune Dӕg / Dagaz, acting through the Magickal Principle of Harmony, all of which tells me to focus on transforming disharmony to BPM harmony;
• Friday - clear nonBPM units from and send BPM energy to East and South East Asia;
        I have also obtained the following divinations for this day’s meditation, clearing and healing work: rune Eolh / Algiz, Yi Jing hexagram 41 with moving lines 4 and 6 (illustrated below), elemental energy as shown below, all acting through the Fiery Magickal Law of the Taijitu, all of which tells me to focus on seeking help from Spirit, but with appropriate protection and caution;
• Saturday - clear nonBPM units from and send BPM energy to the Pacific;
        I have also obtained the following divinations for this day’s meditation, clearing and healing work: rune Nied / Naudhiz, acting through the Magickal Principle of Magickal Distance, all of which tells me to focus on having one’s needs met at a distance – i.e., having developed nations address climate change which is destroying the Pacific (and elsewhere).

Tuesday

Friday

Irrespective of this assessment, however, please join us in trying to make sure that the Shield of Hope area formed by (part or all of) the South Atlantic Ocean, Southern and Eastern Africa (including both sources of the Nile), the Indian sub-continent (including the Himalayas) and the Indian Ocean, shown outlined in gold on this week’s energy map, consistently has BPM energy at or above 7 by the time Neptune leaves Pisces, on around 30^th March, 2025 (a date which has an eclipse the day before). If you wish to do a little more coordinated action on a positive strategic front, I'm also planning on routinely sending BPM energy to Hong Kong, Tunisia, and Mexico, which show potential as "outposts of the BPM” and I wish to encourage their change for the better, and through the Red Sea and Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

[1] BPM = Balanced Positive (spiritually) Mature. See here and here for more on this.

[2] Please see here, here, here and my post "The Death of Wikipedia" for the reasons I now recommend caution when using Wikipedia. I'm also exploring use of h2g2, although that doesn't appear to be as extensive (h2g2 is intended - rather engagingly - to be the Earth edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy").

[3] I apologise for the formatting: it seems Blogger is no longer as WYSIWYG as it used to be, and there are a lot of unwanted changes to layout made upon publishing, so I often have to edit it immediately after publishing to get the format as close to what I want as possible.

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr, Pagan Energy Worker, Wéofodthegn

(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix Lux … aka Morinehtar … would-be drýicgan or maga ... )

My "blogiography" (list of all posts and guide as to how to best use this site) is here, and my glossary/index is here.

I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue (see here and here), and it grew ... See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "Pagans for Peace" project (and join me for a few minutes at some time between 8 and 11 PM on Sunday, wherever you are, to meditate-clear for peace), and here for my bindrune kit-bag. I also strongly recommend learning how to flame, ground and shield, do alternate nostril breathing, work with colour, and see also here and be flexible.

The real dividing line is not between Christianity and Islam, Sunni and Shia, East and West. It is between people who believe in coexistence, and those who don’t.

Tom Fletcher, Former UK Ambassador to Lebanon

• If your “gut” (your instinct/intuition) is telling you something is wrong, but logic and the available evidence is saying otherwise, the proper conclusion to draw is that you need better, more personally credible evidence. Your “gut” could be wrong, right, or missing the nuances / “shades of grey” . So could the available evidence.
• All of the above - and this blog - could be wrong, or subject to context, perspective, or state of spiritual evolution ...

Tags: activism, discrimination, divination, energy work, magick, meditation, nonviolence, peace,  psychic weather,  runes, society, violence, war, Yi Jing,

First published: Sunnudagr, 27^th December, 2015

Last edited (excluding fixing typo's and other minor matters): Sunday, 27^th December, 2015

Post No. 801 – For Sunday evening’s meditation-clearing

For everyone’s convenience, I’ve shifted the reminders / explanations about Sunday’s meditation-clearing to this post. I have a simplified blogiography of posts related to this work here, a list of themes I have identified here, and my changing the personality of oppressors post, which I am contemplating expanding to include some key people to work on, is here. (Also, see here for some investigation into evidence of the effectiveness of this type of work, which shows variability [and mentions causes] and cycles in the energetic/consciousness response … and also here is interesting.) A range of information on emotions is here, and suggestions on how to work with emotions is here.

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. 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.

Also, in the same way that activists used to argue that “the personal is political”, the energies we use and manifest in our daily lives contribute to the larger soup of energies that influence world events. If you want to, for example, improve the communication of nations, improve yours. To help stop abuses of power, be always ethical in your conduct. Want peace? Then work in an informed, understanding, intelligent and nuanced way for peace in yourself and your life.

Finally, remember that many others are 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' (begun in 2014, and the website was recently updated to include many more activities), 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 (held at 10Am and 10PM local time each day, and one can pay to be officially registered. This also has been running for decades);   and   also see here and here, and even commercial organisations are getting involved (for instance, see here). No doubt there are many others, so, if you don't like what I am suggesting here, but want to be of service, there are many other opportunities for you.

Now, the themes – short, medium and long term - that come to mind for my work this week, after I review all this news, are (and no apologies if this repeats the themes of any previous weeks – in fact, given the size of this task, that is to be expected):

(a)   based on my interpretation of information here and here with Saturn in Sagittarius contributing to finding an authentic balance (until 20^th 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. This need includes rescuing those who have been trapped by that history, and healing the warped views, seemingly “inherent” biases, and other damage done by the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual violence committed on scales large and small in that timeframe;

(c)   viewing the overall emotional state of the world from an elemental point of view, this week we need Æther;

(d)   although it may not seem evident, the world has made steps towards a better state. Part of the problem is better reporting – consider how modern journalism would have presented the story of the D-Day landings in France during World War Part Two, where the approx. 6,000 allied deaths came with the deaths of around 10 – 15 thousand French civilians – largely at the hand of allied bombing;

(e)   unenlightened (nonBPM) self-interest is a too-often subtle, ubiquitous and ruinous matter – particularly when it crops up in politics, but also in the media;

(f)   objectivity / detachment is crucial to gathering factual evidence and making properly informed decisions. One can only be truly objective, however, when one is calm enough to contact – most often through deep meditation – one’s Higher Self, and are able to separate the lessons one needs to learn personally from the issue of what is for the Greater Good or the Highest Spiritual Good (which are two separate matters – and one needs to understand that distinction as well, in order to be BPM effective);

(g)   one of the biggest steps in improving the world is to accept the factual BPM evidence one is facing, and what that means – to, to quote from the former Japanese Emperor – and possible war criminal? - Hirohito “endure the unendurable”;

(h)   any nation which tries to influence the conduct of another, whether through control (including war or actions such as cutting off essential services), bullying (including building artificial islands), or inducement is as guilty as any individual of the spiritual crime of control – and will, as with any individual, reap the whirlwind from the wind of their actions;

(i)   trying to change the world to be better is a complex task: this diagram applies to that, just as much as it applies to the business world it was developed for;

(j)   learn from mistakes – not for the sake of assigning blame, or because – as the comedians put it - Nature loves variety, but so one can both do things better in future, and be a wiser, better informed human being;

(k)   change is not always inherently good;

(l)   psychic energy – particularly residuals – is something that MUST be addressed, whether it is in the context of the personal (e.g., spiritual growth), societal attitudes (e.g., endemic racism), crime (e.g., the history of violence at Kananook Station), or changing the world;

(m)   fear of difference must continue be effectively BPM addressed, wherever and whenever it occurs;

(n)   accountability and communication remain crucial needs – from the personal al the way up through the political to the epoch-making.

Specific energy related suggestions are also provided below, in the Section discussing R2P recommendations for Sudan:    - From an energetic point of view, based on the above and the following divinations for this situation: rune Oss (and detailed runic examination below), Yi Jing hexagram 4 with moving line 6 (illustrated below), elemental energy as shown below, all acting through the Magickal Principle of Harmony, that nation needs more Air and Earth, Tyr / Tiwaz, Ing / Ingwaz and Ethel / Othala, to remind all who are doing wrong what real, BPM communities and social justice are;

News and other matters from this week include the following (opportunities/good news are shown in green; comments are shown in purple; WARNING: some of these links may contain triggers around issues such as violence, sexual assault, discrimination, etc).

• permanent issue: may all actual and potential BPM [1] 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, all as is for the Highest Spiritual Good;
• with regard to democracy, freedom and governance:   Russia is continuing to silence  dissent;   in Spain, the conservative governing party won the most votes on Sunday, but lost its majority in parliamentary elections that underlined the fragmentation of Spanish politics and left the nation’s future leadership unclear;   criticism of the legislative process around a law connected to the Internet;   the Secretary-General expressed concern over the growing political uncertainty in Haiti, following the publication of the results of the 25^th October elections, and called for the urgent intensification of dialogue to ensure the transfer of power through elections, maintain stability and preserve the country’s democratic gains;   a call for Burma’s parliament to reject a proposed law that would shield former presidents from prosecution for crimes committed during their terms in office;   personality politics – which is an appalling distraction and worse - in Australia;   a call for Australia to focus its foreign affairs attention on its local region;   the Seychelles National Party has applied to the constitutional court to annul the second-round presidential election results, in which international election observers reported vote buying, tally inconsistencies, and interference by both parties;   criticism of privatisation of public transport;   nearly 8,000 people have signed a petition to the Australian government, asking it to ratify the United Nations’ Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), which would require Australia to accept UN inspections of asylum seeker detention centres;   Yahoo has promised to alert its users if it thinks their accounts have been attacked by “state-sponsored actors” – hackers working on behalf of governments;   an analysis of Jacob Zuma’s hold on power in South Africa;   a review of seven major international conferences to be held in 2016;   the notorious Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism is now being used to constrain Uganda’s ability to earn income for governance through taxation – and, according to the cited article, developing nations are the most frequent target of ISDS actions;
• with regard to Da’esh and violent extremism generally (and I consider ALL people advocating hate or discrimination in response to violent extremism to actively be doing the work of violent extremists. This PARTICULARLY includes those cretins [including in the media, and Amnesty International]who use that acronym ISIS, which is actually the Greek name of the Egyptian Goddess Aset – and others - and actively perpetuates the patriarchal and sacrilegious evil that Da’esh are trying to accomplish in this world – which 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):   in 2015, Da’esh lost 14% of its territory, the Syrian government lost 16% and the Kurds tripled their territory;   a critique of the new Saudi-led coalition;   a group of Muslims on a bus in Kenya attacked by violent extremists protected Christians by refusing to be split into groups;   speculation that the USA may begin to describe Da’esh’s crimes against the Yazidis as genocide;   Indian police chiefs claim that al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), founded by al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, is being backed by the Pakistan establishment to carry out attacks in India (this is a major claim: I sincerely hope there is comprehensive, objective proof of it, and that it is not based on historical enmity);   US President Obama says that, despite serious challenges, Da’esh is likely to be defeated;   concerns that counter-terrorism laws are eroding the role of the judiciary – who are a key part in our democratic system;   a 16 year old has been convicted of terrorism offences in Canada;   Indonesia has arrested 11 suspected  terrorists, but missed one;   the need for unity amongst local forces opposing Da’esh;   an analysis of successes and challenges in the “three pillar” fight against Da’esh, including changes as a result;   France claims to have foiled a terrorist attack;  concerns that the USA may have implemented a ban on Muslims, but see also this article on the USA’s “no fly” list, and also here;   Da’esh’s use of the fear of discrimination in its propaganda – and the prediction that the United States would increasingly tear itself apart by abandoning cherished principles;   an analysis which finds that Da’esh’s governance is quite bad (“Why the Islamic State is so Bad at Being a State”);   a somewhat nit-picking criticism of the term “radical Islam”;   an interview which includes the view that human security is more important than national security;   Bangladesh has arrested 7 suspected terrorists;   police from a district the state of Chhattisgarh in central India have claimed that around “1,500 villagers” have “arranged” the surrender of 70 alleged Maoists in the “biggest event of Maoist surrender [to] date”;  a (very) detailed analysis of the Taliban;
• with regard to refugees:   the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its partners are urging Hungary to refrain from policies and practices promoting intolerance, and fear and fuelling xenophobia against refugees and migrants;   grave concerns over what appears to be gross mismanagement at higher levels of Australia’s bureaucracy which led to one man’s death;   persecution, conflict and poverty have driven a staggering one million people to seek safety in Europe in 2015, according to estimates by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM);   the money-hungry attitudes of enemies in Syria towards refugees;   a plea for “measured” debate on refugees;   the food security situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon significantly worsened since 2014, according to an assessment of the refugees’ vulnerability carried out by the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF);   the continued stupidity of Australia’s immigration department;   nearly 8,000 people have signed a petition to the Australian government, asking it to ratify the United Nations’ Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), which would require Australia to accept UN inspections of asylum seeker detention centres;   an article on Eritrea, which is the 3^rd largest source of refuges going to Europe;
• with regard to human rights and discrimination (including associated violence / crime):   neighbouring nations have called on Venezuela to release political prisoners;   continued discrimination against LGBT people – including LGBT children – in Slovenia and Malawi;   excellent analysis of the stupidity around whether Hermione Granger is white or black;   more on the assaults of “fat shaming” bigots – who are cretins who have actually physically attacked women trying to do something about their weight;   much though I detest Christmas, this response by Brunei is rather pathetic – and discriminatory;   abuse of the elderly in aged care homes in the USA;   more Black Lives Matter  protests -and see also here;
• with regard to crime, judicial matters and policing:   criticism of attempts to investigate sexual assaults by so-called “peacekeepers” in Africa;   after Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Bob Paulson made a refreshingly open admission that there are unwanted racists in the RCMP, a call for improved accountability;   concerns that counter-terrorism laws are eroding the role of the judiciary – who are a key part in our democratic system;   a 16 year old has been convicted of terrorism offences in Canada;   a call for careful reflection on the purpose of having a juvenile limit in the criminal system before changing the age at which one becomes an adult, despite public pressure – but see also here, for a story about heinous conduct by someone despite being young which raises questions about some of the assumptions the juvenile limit is based on, and here;   more on the assaults of “fat shaming” bigots – who are cretins who have actually physically attacked women trying to do something about their weight;   this story about violence at a railway station raises questions about the safety of public transport (the lack of which is a major reason I won’t travel on it), but the station concerned (which is NOT Seaford, despite the heading) has such a horrible feeling energetically that I have refused to use it back in the time when I was still using public transport – in fact, I stopped going there long before Sarah MacDiarmid disappeared there. It is one of those locations that is nasty – just wrong – energetically, and I haven’t been able to do anything about it;   more violence on public transport – this time by ticket inspectors (and this does count as violence, and is a MAJOR contributor to why I won’t use trams);   the nature of sexual assaults in Mumbai is more complex than the media portrays, with over half being charges brought by parents against couples who elope;   Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is using multicopters equipped with large nets to catch in mid-air unauthorised unpiloted aerial vehicles (UAVs) that may threaten public safety;   a Secret Service agent’s gun, badge, radio, and flash drive were stolen from his car Monday in broad daylight in downtown Washington – which have led to calls for paring back Secret Service responsibilities to focus on its core duty of protection of the president and other top officials, and sufficient funds to restore staffing to required levels;   Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into allegations that two Burmese men, convicted of murdering two UK tourists, were tortured by Thai police;
• with regard to media and freedom of expression:   some suggestions for journalists on ways to avoid Islamophobia;   the former president of one of China's top financial media groups has been jailed for corruption;   international journalists have called on Egypt to release imprisoned journalists;
• with regard to overcrowding and “modern” lifestyle issues (is YOUR smart phone free of conflict  minerals?):   a challenge to marketers to move beyond stereotypes;   the US military is preparing for a century of wars based on energy, climate emergencies and competition for resources (has some concerning comments about interventions);   a review of multiculturalism in several nations;   a debunking of some of the myths around penalty rates;   China has chosen to name and shame (and ban) its worst tourists (sadly, I know a few Australians who are lucky that hasn’t been done by Australia);   Yahoo has promised to alert its users if it thinks their accounts have been attacked by “state-sponsored actors” – hackers working on behalf of governments;
• with regard to education:   a school in the UK is focusing on taking in only students who are the victims of bullying or exclusion;   he UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that violence and attacks against civilian populations in north-eastern Nigeria and its neighbouring countries have forced more than 1 million children out of school;   a young Syrian woman, Muzoon Almelleha, is paralleling the work by Malala Yousafzai to improve education for girls;
• with regard to the conflict in Afghanistan (noting that Afghanistan was once a peaceful and modern society, even allowing women in miniskirts, before the Russian invasion – see here):   the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, has commended the National Unity Government for advancing its political agenda, including the implementation of the terms of the September 2014 agreement, as well as for continuing to put into place the building blocks for long-term economic improvement. As Afghanistan continues to confront countless challenges, it will be important that the Government demonstrates increasingly its effectiveness (see here for example of problems). The Special Representative added that it would also be time for the international community to make critical decisions on the level and type of assistance that it will continue to offer – especially given that events elsewhere in the world today are competing for international attention and limited resources, and called on donors to invest in Afghanistan’s reconstruction and security;   a call the US government’s investigation into airstrike on a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital to be treated as a criminal matter;   the Taliban may be close to overrunning the strategic town of Sangin - but see this, from later in the week;   India has given Afghanistan four attack helicopters, which will help address the lack of air power (one of the major reasons the Taliban are making gains after international forces left that nation) and may cause friction with Pakistan;   the Taliban may extend their fighting into winter to attempt to “expose the weakness” of the Afghan government;
• with regard to Africa (where I am still looking for a comprehensive local source of news, one akin to the Middle East Eye or The Hindu) generally, in addition to mentions elsewhere:   the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) says that on 19^th December its attack helicopters destroyed an Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) camp;   security forces in Burundi are being accused having killed dozens as part of a violent repression;   a new report on Mali issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) looks at grave violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law committed on 20^th and 21^st May 2015 in the village of Tin Hama, in the Gao region, and a second report, issued jointly by the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and OHCHR, documented violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law committed between 16^th and 21^st May 2014 in Kidal by armed groups and the national defence and security forces, and noted that almost no measures were taken or made public by the Malian authorities or armed groups to identify those responsible for these abuses;   claims that the killing of hundreds of Shia Muslim members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, by Nigerian army soldiers in mid-December, 2015, was “wholly” unjustified, and a call for the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the government to be sufficiently independent and impartial to hold those responsible to account;   the UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reports that the Electoral National Authority (ANE) announced earlier today that the presidential and legislative elections will be held on 30^th December instead of 27^th December in order to address logistical issues and complete the training of electoral agents;   scores of people have been reported killed in an explosion at an industrial gas plant in southern Nigeria;   an analysis of the two decades long conflict in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been the deadliest conflict since World War Part Two with up to 45,000 people dying every month, and 400,000 women being raped every year;
• with regard to China and East Asia:   an “orphanage for the elderly” in China;   China has rejected a UN tribunal’s arbitration on the disputed South China Sea, saying it had no jurisdiction over the case and that China would not accept any third-party settlement of territorial disputes, preferring direct negotiation. On the other hand, this review suggests the best approach all round is to focus on the aspect of protection of sea communications, and that the world’s interests will be best served by “a China active within the maritime domain; a China that has acknowledged its responsibilities to protect global communications and the rules-based order on which it too depends, and a China that prioritises trade flows over the creation of an extended maritime fortress”;   Vietnam is modernising its military in preparation for a potential war with China;   China’s military capabilities are increasing, including a rail-mounted intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM);   security has been increased around foreign embassies in China;   the former president of one of China's top financial media groups has been jailed for corruption;   a review of Communist China’s economic history, and its potential economic impacts in 2016;   consideration of potential outcomes (from a US-bias) if the Koreas are reunited;   Japan's foreign minister will visit Seoul to meet his South Korean counterpart for talks aimed at a resolution to the row over Japan’s use of sexual slavery in World War Two;
• with regard to the conflict in Iraq (noting that Iraq was once a peaceful and prosperous society, before the USA / CIA backed revolution – see here):   following a change of tactics, Iraqi forces have reached the centre of Ramadi, and expect to liberate the city soon;   a summary map of the military situation in Iraq;
• with regard to the Libyan civil war:   the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have started delivering approximately 1,300 tons of food aid to Libyan communities in the east and west of the country, but they need another $50 million in funding;   the UN has endorsed the Leon-gate cursed Libyan deal;   Da’esh is accelerating its efforts to become established in Libya, following tactics used elsewhere (assassination of local officials, etc);
• with regard to Russia (see also Syria):   a critique of the problems of Western analysis of Russia;   Russia is throwing a tantrum over criticism by Amnesty International;   with regard to Russian anger over Turkey shooting down one of its jets, much as it had done to a Syrian jet and helicopter (although the circumstances – i.e., just a few seconds over Turkey and clearly heading out when shot down - do suggest Turkey was after blood), is part of the anger due to this event being counter to Russia’s aim of demonstrating its military capabilities (aka “testing its equipment” – which is a phrase that always brings to mind, for me, Germany’s involvement in the Spanish civil war)?;
• with regard to Sudan and South Sudan:   the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reported the arrival of the first group of some 150 members of SPLM-In Opposition in the capital Juba to start work on implementing the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, signed in August this year;   the plight of civilians in South Sudan;   an analysis of the USA can do to help peacekeeping in South Sudan;
• with regard to the conflict in Syria:   cluster munitions are being used by Russia and the Syrian government;   Russian air strikes are stopping humanitarian aid;   the money-hungry attitudes of enemies in Syria towards refugees;   an overview of the prospects for peace in Syria;   Syria is ready to take part in peace talks in Geneva, and hopes that the dialogue will help it form a national unity government, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem has said during a visit to Beijing;   a UN-brokered deal currently at a delicate stage of negotiation could see thousands of Syrian rebels and their families leave areas in and around the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus;   a key rebel leader has been killed;
• with regard to Turkey:   the co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HDP) in Turkey is to visit Russia, reportedly in an attempt to ease tensions between the two countries;   Turkey and Israel have restored diplomatic relations;   security operations in south east Turkey have now killed well over 100 civilians;   an analysis of the increasing risk in Turkey of a return to the mass killings of conflict in the 1980s and 1990s;
• with regard to the conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:   the European Union has extended sanctions against Russia;
• with regard to the war in Yemen:   Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, noted that, unfortunately, there were numerous violations of the cessation of hostilities, which affected the progress of the recent talks in Switzerland. Despite this, the parties made progress - identifying a framework for negotiations, defining a set of relevant confidence-building measures relating to prisoner release, improved social services, improving the flow of humanitarian aid to Taizz and other Yemeni governorates, and agreed to a negotiating framework for a comprehensive agreement to end the conflict. As, however, the cessation of hostilities is essential to the success of talks, the Special Envoy has elected to adjourn the talks until the middle of January 2016 to ensure adherence to the ceasefire. The Special Envoy judges that additional bilateral consultations will be required in Yemen and in the region in the coming weeks;   a call for investigations of apparently unlawful attacks by the Saudi-led coalition;   six people are on trial in the United Arab Emirates for providing supplies to the Houthis in Yemen;   Saudi forces have shot down two out of three (later three out of four) ballistic missiles fired into its territory from Yemen, and intend to respond;   the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has stated that the Human Rights Office in Yemen has estimated that more than 2,700 civilians have been killed and more than 5,300 injured since the start of the conflict, and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Kyung-wha Kang said that around 7.6 million people in Yemen need emergency food assistance to survive. At least two million people are malnourished, including 320,000 children who suffer from severe malnutrition;   is the UN giving favoured treatment to the Saudi-led coalition when condemning atrocities?   the Houthis have vowed to fight on;   a review of the war in Yemen;
• with regard to natural and other catastrophes:   the Paraguayan military is using amphibious vehicles to help with flood relief;   a landslide in China has left 85 people missing, with at least one death and one extraordinary case of survival – and occurred as a result of warnings being ignored;   according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), crop and livestock production prospects in Southern Africa have been weakened by the El Niño weather phenomenon that has lowered rains and increased temperatures;   storms have killed at least six people in the USA;   malnutrition is being described as a silent emergency in Papua New Guinea;

Also from the Daily Briefings of the United Nations (UN) (and other sources):

• the Secretary-General has taken note of the summit held between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan on 19^th December 2015 in Bern, Switzerland, organised under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, and rusts that the summit offered the two sides the opportunity to discuss the practical steps to reduce the ceasefire violations and the civilian casualties and to agree on ways to move the peace process forward;

From other sites (note that articles from these sites may have already been provided):

• Human Rights Watch also has:   Human Rights Watch has issued a set of guidelines to protect migrant construction workers Gulf Cooperation Council nations, and called for them to ab adopted;   repeated use of cluster munitions in Syria and Yemen during 2015 has been met by growing international support for the treaty banning the deadly weapons;
• the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) also has:
     a call for revision of the basis for implementing R2P;
    - an occasional report, aiming to give background, offer analysis, track international response and suggest necessary action, for five nations in immediate crisis (“mass atrocities are occurring and urgent action is needed”: Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Lake Chad Basin, and Burma), one nation at imminent risk (“the situation is reaching a critical threshold and the risk of mass atrocity crimes occurring in the immediate future is very high if effective preventive action is not taken”: Burundi, South Sudan and the Central African Republic), and five nations for which there is serious concern (“significant risk of occurrence, or recurrence, of mass atrocity crimes within the foreseeable future if effective action is not taken”: Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya);
     Recommended actions from the occasional report for the nation of Sudan, where 1.2 million have become refugees, the Government side has consistently failed to honour African Union (AU)-brokered agreements and UNSC resolutions calling for a cessation of hostilities, and the armed forces of which have committed war crimes, including extrajudicial killing, forced displacement, widespread sexual violence and "scorched earth" tactics, the armed rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) has also perpetrated war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks on civilian-populated areas, alleged recruitment of children and attacks on UN personnel, and the response of the international community to mass atrocities in South Kordofan and Blue Nile has been grossly inadequate (I will work through other nations from the report in coming weeks) are:
      - after more than 10 years and 60 resolutions it is time for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to review its entire approach to endemic conflict and ongoing atrocities in Sudan, to immediately expand the arms embargo on Darfur to include South Kordofan and Blue Nile, and to mandate the establishment of an independent international commission of inquiry for South Kordofan and Blue Nile and actively support efforts to bring ICC indictees to justice;
      - the UNSC and the African Union (AU) must ensure the government and SPLM-N facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance, as stipulated in the 2011 Framework Agreement and 2012 cooperation agreements;
      - nations with major investments in Sudan, including China, Qatar, Iran and Saudi Arabia, should press the government to fulfil its commitments;
      - the government and SPLM-N, in accordance with UNSC Resolution 2046, must cease armed hostilities and address the underlying causes of the conflict;
      - the government must stop obstructing the AU-UN hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID) to and allow them to uphold their mandate, including investigating gross human rights violations;
      - mediation efforts should be facilitated between the government and armed groups operating in Darfur;
      - From an energetic point of view, based on the above and the following divinations for this situation : rune Oss (and detailed runic examination below), Yi Jing hexagram 4 with moving line 6 (illustrated below), elemental energy as shown below, all acting through the Magickal Principle of Harmony, that nation needs more Air and Earth, Tyr / Tiwaz, Ing / Ingwaz and Ethel / Othala, to remind all who are doing wrong what real, BPM communities and social justice are;
• the Early Warning Project blog has:   an analysis of the increasing risk in Turkey of a return to the mass killings of conflict in the 1980s and 1990s;
• the Institute for War and Peace Reporting also has:   Azerbaijan and Armenia have done more talking, accusing and shooting, while Armenia contemplates what it might gain from the increasing tensions between Turkey and Russia;
• the International Crisis Group has:   a review of what could be next for Venezuela, including recommendations for constructive responses to the current divisiveness and petty vindictiveness;
• the Middle East Eye also has:
     Greece is expected to join 200 nations that recognise Palestine as a nation;   human rights organisations in Israel re being subjected to increasingly vicious attacks;   an assessment that Israel and Hezbollah (in Lebanon) are unlikely to go to war, as no nation in the region wants war on  another front;   concerns over Israeli killing of Palestinian teenagers;  Israeli restrictions in Hebron;   an investigation of far-right Israelis celebrating the death of a Palestinian toddler;   Turkey has said that Israel would allow products and aid material from Turkey into the besieged Gaza Strip if a deal is reached to improve ties between Ankara and Tel Aviv;
     Iran claims that direct diplomatic efforts are being made to open a dialogue with Saudi Arabia;   Russia will build two nuclear reactors in Iran;
     Tunisia has extended its state of emergency for another two months;
     the United Arab Emirates(UAE)  use of mercenaries;   Bulgaria is selling weapons to the UAE and Saudi Arabia;
     Morocco is adopting green energy sources;
     turmoil has reduced the number of visitors to Bethlehem;
     Germany has delivered the first of four attack submarines to Egypt (what were you thinking?);   international journalists have called on Egypt to release imprisoned journalists;
     an opinion piece which is critical of the “techno-narcissism of predatory neoliberal capitalism is locked into an endless war with the bastard monster of its own creation”;  
• Also on West Asia / the Middle East:
     the UN Secretary-General is greatly concerned by the firing of rockets within the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s (UNIFIL) area of operations towards Israel, which is a serious violation of resolution 1701 (2006), and also noted the retaliatory mortar attacks by the Israel Defense Forces in Lebanon;   Turkey and Israel have restored diplomatic relations;   an article on Heartbeat , a peace project based on young Israeli and Palestinian musicians;
• The Hindu also has:   the National Disaster Response Force is seeking its own air wing;   an editorial opining that the initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Booker Prize-winning writer Arundhati Roy by the Bombay High Court appears to be an excessive reaction to adverse comment;   a call for careful reflection on the purpose of having a juvenile limit in the criminal system before changing the age at which one becomes an adult, despite public pressure – but see also here, for a story about heinous conduct by someone despite being young which raises questions about some of the assumptions the juvenile limit is based on, and here;   the nature of sexual assaults in Mumbai is more complex than the media portrays, with over half being charges brought by parents against couples who elope;   a University Professor has been dismissed for sexual abuse;   a Village Defence Committee member has allegedly killed a woman and her son in Jammu’s Rajouri district, the second such incident in a week, sparking protests and demand to disarm the armed civilians in the State;
     a call for urgent steps to be taken to restore the Indian Parliament’s role as a deliberative body rather than as one prone to disruptions;   India’s Prime Minister has made a surprise visit to Pakistan to meet his counterpart – see also here;
     the Nepalese government has yielded to pressure, and will change the constitution in a move which lead to the end of India’s blockade of its neighbour - but see also here;   some possibly inflammatory comments regarding border forces;
     the Indian government has adopted an ambitious target of becoming 90% paperless;   a call to keep political interference out of intelligence work;   following the COP21 climate change conference in Paris, “will India now leave the “fake horse race”, as many see it, in which climate responsibility and development are treated as separate competing entities, and move to a green growth trajectory away from fossil fuels?”;   following India’s Smart Cities Mission, a call for a Liveable Cities Mission;   a call for people to work / study from home one day per week to minimise pollution;
     India will build a naval base in the Seychelles, as a series of agreements are reached with Russia on defence, nuclear power and oil;   claims that 3 Indians who were conned by an employment agency were beaten by their Saudi employer, which has strained ties between the nations;
     Sri Lanka’s President has visited a camp for refugees;
     criticism of the recent World Trade Organisation agreement in Nairobi, which abandoned the Doha agreement principles in favour of the developed world;   the Indian floods and a fungal disease will have a harsh impact in southern Indian aquaculture;   questions over the viability of a bullet train project;  
• Also on the Indian sub-continent:
     India has given Afghanistan four attack helicopters, which will help address the lack of air power (one of the major reasons the Taliban are making gains after international forces left that nation) and may cause friction with Pakistan;   Indian women fighting to stop female genital mutilation;
• the BBC also has:   more than 50 Indonesian companies are being punished for their role in causing the haze that blanketed South East Asia earlier this year;   Japan has boosted its spending on defence;   the US victims of the Iran hostage crisis are to receive compensation 36 years after their ordeal;
• Spiegel International also has:   an analysis of Pakistan’s responses to a terrorist attack one year ago that killed 130 children;

and from a range of other sites:

• the US city of Minneapolis has developed an integrated programme to address youth homelessness;
• things the CIA got wrong and right when it arranged a group of experts to try to predict the year 2015 from the Year 2000;
• the Council on Foreign Relations' (CFR) eighth annual Preventive Priorities Survey has identified preventing further intensification of Syria's civil war as what should be the top priority for U.S. policymakers in 2016 - based on US interests;
• the historical changes in Australia’s population following the white invasion – showing that whites didn’t outnumber the original people until more than half a century after arrival, and even then the total population was lower than pre-invasion figures for at least another decade;
• a review which finds that:
     the elimination of inter-nation war is close to being achieved - “All the world’s larger powers seem at last to have accepted that there is no longer, if there ever was, any cleansing virtue or inherent nobility in war”;
     with regard to civil wars “after an upward spike in the late 1980s and very early 1990s … there has been a major trend decline in these kinds of conflicts within states, in the number of genocidal and other mass atrocities, and in the number of people killed as a result of them ... a general decline of the order of 50 per cent or more in all these respects is now, despite the instinctive perceptions of most of us to the contrary, broadly accepted within the research community” and “A number of factors seem to have contributed to this, including reductions in global poverty … the success of non-violent resistance in a number of countries … and the increasing normative weight of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle” and “the best explanation of how and why this has happened seems to be institutional more than economic, political or normative: the huge upsurge in activity in conflict prevention, conflict management, negotiated peacemaking and post-conflict peacebuilding activity that has occurred over the last two decades”;
  but “Now for the much less good news. A great deal of this effort and achievement in dramatically reducing deadly conflict and violence, both between and within states, has been overshadowed in recent years by the re-emergence of extreme religiously motivated violence driven by non-state actors”. On this, “The enormous problem faced by policymakers in confronting actors like [Da’esh] and Boko Haram — and al-Qaeda and the Christian fundamentalists of Kony’s Lords Revolutionary Army before them — is that none of them now … are behaving in a way that makes them remotely susceptible to the toolbox of diplomatic and other peacemaking and peacekeeping measures, both non-coercive and coercive, which have very often made the achievement of sustainable peace settlements possible in the other contexts described above”, and options are further discussed for dealing with this.

(No signature block this week because of the length of this post.)