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 and other world leaders post 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, it is absolutely VITAL that this psychic / metaphysical /
spiritual work be performed non-violently – 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.
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); the “Network
of Light” meditations; 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 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. 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 more Earth;(d) the addiction to power is prominent this week: less obvious, but underlying that to some extent, is the problem of people thinking they know what is best for others – and BOTH are fed by such abuses of power in family, social and education situations throughout the world. If you want a better world, be prepared to reasonably (in the legal sense of the word) let those you love learn from their mistakes;(e) pre-judging others – whether on the basis of racism, sexism / gender roles, social stereotypes, the utter evil of gossip, or media-fed misconceptions about religion – also continues to plague the world at all levels: to stop this, stop such problems – especially gossip – wherever it occurs, and it will be as eventually inevitably successful as stopping money, munitions and other resources flowing to terrorists;(f) naïveté is also a significant issue: don’t be glib, let alone stupid (i.e., unthinking, or shallow thinking): remember, things are not always as they seem, so don’t be distracted by superficial niceness, or put off by gruffness;(g) as ever, a key test of one’s commitment to ethics remains what one is prepared to go without, or sacrifice – which applies on not only the personal level, but also the national level, exemplified (as a failure) by Australia’s failure to be generous towards East Timor over resources in the Timor Sea (despite many Australians – including me – urging it to be so). Such tests and failures (sometimes more bluntly described as hypocrisy!) are continuing;(h) there comes a time when talk needs to be backed by action, or the talk becomes empty;(i) the fuss being made by human rights activists over things like privacy MATTER;Specific energy related suggestions are also provided below, in the Section discussing R2P recommendations for Syria : From an energetic point of view, based on the above, the nation of Syria needs all people of power to remember the importance of everyday human beings, and become genuine about putting their needs first, which is a requirement for the emotion of Water.
I also take
this opportunity to repeat that it is absolutely
VITAL that this psychic / metaphysical / spiritual work be performed non-violently – 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 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, and may they have all the BPM opportunities and assistance (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 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;
- with regard to democracy, freedom and governance (e.g., here and here): the politics of fear led governments around the globe to roll back human rights during 2015, and civil society is under more aggressive attack than at any time in recent memory; Australia’s Invasion Day celebrations have led to some good commentary on the nation, inclusion and society: here (actually from last year, apparently), here (and here), here, here, and here; an analysis of the shaky state of democracy in Tunisia, which has led to riots; a review of the “Arab spring”, and an opinion that it is too soon to evaluate this; arbitrary disqualification of reform candidates and arrests of dozens of political activists and journalists are restricting the rights of Iranians to run for office and damaging prospects for free and fair parliamentary elections on 26th February, 2016; the US Treasury considers Russian President Vladimir Putin to be corrupt; Malaysia’s attorney general says nearly $700 million channelled into Prime Minister Najib Razak’s private accounts was a personal donation from Saudi Arabia’s royal family, and cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing - although Saudi Arabia will now investigate those claims; a surprising outcome from Donald Trump’s US Presidential campaign is that conservatives are starting to think about anti-poverty programmes; the Secretary-General has expressed concern over the recent postponement of the elections in Haiti, which were scheduled for 24th January; the Central African Republic’s Constitutional Court has cancelled the first round legislative vote held in December over "irregularities", but confirmed that two former premiers will vie for the presidency in a run-off this month; Burundi has appeared before the East African Legislative Assembly to argue against a move to have it suspended from the East African Community and the African Union; the Democratic Republic of Congo's ruling party has formally chosen President Denis Sassou N'Guesso to run for another term; perceptions of corruption in the Australian government and public sector increased in 2015 for the fourth year running, as a bribery trial involving an Australian company gets under way in the USA; an anti-corruption group in Vanuatu said it is collecting evidence of alleged bribery during last week's snap election; a critique of Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister – see also here; concerns that an election in Thailand in 2017 without a constitution would entrench the military rulers; Zanzibar's main opposition party said on Thursday it would not take part in a planned rerun of last year's elections in Tanzania's semi-autonomous islands which were scrapped after alleged irregularities; although it has performed some reforms, as it has missed making some needed reforms, Morocco’s government faces challenges at the coming elections; a protest movement is fighting Poland’s transformation into a nationalistic, Catholic and anti-Western creation;
- with regard to violent extremism (aka, terrorism - e.g., Da’esh) (and, incidentally, 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 the acronym ISIS, which is actually the Greek name of the Egyptian Goddess Aset – and others (see also here) - and actively perpetuates the patriarchal and sacrilegious evil that terrorists 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): an opinion piece that US Presidential candidate Donald Trump and terrorists are opposite sides of the same coin; a call for Ecuador to stop misusing charges of terrorism against community activists; a Sikh man was forced out of Donald Trump’s rally in the US state of Iowa after he displayed a banner that read “Stop Hate”; Europol has reported more terrorist attacks are being planned against “soft targets”; the use of attacks against “soft” targets in Pakistan indicate a terrorist group’s “diminished capability and divisions”; a review of Australian data retention; a review of pressure to improve the UK’s respect for human rights with regard to surveillance of travellers, as criticism grows over its attempted anti-radicalisation programme; terrorist attacks have occurred in North Cameroon, Libya, Syria, Nigeria, Yemen, Mali, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and potential attacks were prevented in France, India and Tunisia; another allegation of racial profiling in the USA; an attempted defence of the use of racial profiling (which admits it is used in Australia); a review of approaches to preventing terrorism in south east Asia, and a review of the use of social media; police in Senegal have detained 900 people as part of a security operation following terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso and Mali; a review of US approaches to resolving domestic terrorism incidents; an accused terrorist recruiter has been killed in Rwanda; accusations of extrajudicial killings by the Philippine military and military-backed paramilitary forces in 2015, under the guise of “combatting terrorism”; an English language Arab-American newspaper has been dispelling stereotypes and combatting Islamophobia since 1984; an influential Imam in Saudi Arabia has claimed that Saudi Arabia and a terrorist group follow the same form of Islam, and went on to support a conspiracy theory about the rise of the terrorist group; the profound problem of the USA viewing nations only from the point of view of terrorism;
- with regard to refugees: one of Australia's leading doctors has challenged the Prime Minister to prosecute him for speaking out about what he calls "torture-like conditions" in Australia’s refugee gulags; an opinion that Europe’s colonial wars and racism have created the refugee crisis, and that current responses lack perspective; refugees in Wales will no longer have to wear wristbands after it led to abuse; British street artist Banksy has painted a mural outside the French embassy in London appearing to criticise the use of tear gas against refugees in the port city of Calais; Sweden's Prime Minister has described as a "terrible crime" the murder of a female employee at a centre for young refugees, by a refugee; the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its partners have appealed today for more than half-a-billion dollars this year to help hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee conflicts in Nigeria and the Central African Republic (CAR) and the host communities providing them with shelter and other basic services; in a move straight out of previous totalitarian regime’s playbook, Denmark has approved cruel changes to refugee laws – including taking valuables from refugees (isn’t that theft? It has very disturbing parallels to events in the 30s and 40s … see also here); an assessment of the UK’s Labour party on refugees; UN, humanitarian and development agencies in Iraq have appealed for $298 million in ongoing assistance for nearly 250,000 Syrian refugees in Iraq, and also appealed for $393 million to help the most vulnerable and marginalized Afghans, which funding is expected to provide food as well as access to health care, nutrition, drinking water and sanitation to an estimated 3.5 million people; a critique of current discussions on refugees; the heads of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) today called on governments to scale up their efforts to help refugees integrate and contribute to the societies and economies of Europe; some methods being used to fight the utter evil of gossip in relation to refugees; violence against refugees – over 1,000 attacks last year - in Germany has now included an attack with a grenade – which fortunately did not explode; the recent mass sexual assaults – predominantly by refugees - in Cologne have brought cultural clashes to the fore, highlighting the need to ensure refugees respect women’s rights and accept women in active roles and positions of power;
- with regard to human rights and discrimination (including associated violence / crime): a group of vigilantes in Indonesia have destroyed a community described as “a deviant sect”, as a government Minister says gay and lesbian students should be banned - see also here, and this call for global priority to rights for trans people; the neochristian Pope Francis has asked Protestants and other Christian Churches for forgiveness for past persecution by Catholics (it has gone the other way as well, at times); the current Australian of the Year has said religious discrimination is active in Australia; a homophobic assault in Melbourne; a random act of kindness has grown into a movement for inclusivity in Turkey; Mozambique is trying to dodge the effects of its legalisation of same sex/same gender sex; a call for Kyrgyz authorities should ensure that a current appeals hearing is fair and leads to an effective remedy for torture; two activists in Kazakhstan have been convicted and sentenced to prison on the vague and overbroad charge of “inciting national discord” over writing they posted on facebook; a Texas grand jury has cleared Planned Parenthood of misconduct over allegations of selling foetal body parts for profit and charged the filmmakers behind the accusations with tampering with government records; some US-based solutions to human trafficking; a trial of 17 young Angolan activists is dragging on excessively; Canada’s new government is doing better on indigenous affairs – see here for a review of the previous Canadian government’s failures; child marriage has dire life-long consequences—often completely halting or crippling a girl’s ability to realise a wide range of human rights; an anti-workplace bullying site; Afghan women have demanded action over street harassment, which is reaching epidemic levels; criticism of the Australian government’s inaction on indigenous policies by a respected indigenous leader; South Africa’s anti-witchcraft law has been ruled unconstitutional, but Pagans are having to campaign for changes for the proposed replacement law; a soldier kicked out of the US military for being gay has received an honourable discharge and thus social welfare benefits, which may open the door for the 10,000 others affected by this discrimination;
- with regard to crime, judicial matters and policing: vigilantes are attacking a teenager who has been charged with assault and his family; the problem of sexual assaults by police; US President Barack Obama has said he will ban the use of solitary confinement for juvenile and low-level offenders in federal prisons, citing the potential for “devastating, lasting psychological consequences” from the use of the isolation as punishment (it amazes me, sometimes, just how backward the USA is on some matters); another US Presidential candidate has been telling outright lies to support the USA’s gun culture, as a man who was afraid of being shot accidentally shot a woman in a cinema; a call for police and prison abuses in Brazil to be stopped; piracy and maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea dropped by nearly a third in 2015, while Somali piracy remains contained, according to a new report, which notes that maritime crime in Southeast Asia continues to rise; the uncertain legal status of security staff, and the problem of inadequate training;
- with regard to media and freedom of expression: journalists are being assaulted by all sides in the civil war in Yemen; a top editor in Kenya has been sacked for criticising the government; an English language Arab-American newspaper has been dispelling stereotypes and combatting Islamophobia since 1984; a criticism of laziness in, and excessive focus on the USA by, the Australian media – see also here;
- with regard to overcrowding and “modern” lifestyle issues (is YOUR smart phone free of conflict minerals? I was recently pleasantly to find IT manufacturers now making at least some effort in this regard): a former user’s insights into the facebook sect; facebook is continuing to fight legal directions around privacy; my home city of Melbourne will become less liveable as a result of climate change, and exorbitant rents; the inventor of the world wide web has said there should be an option to disclose the identity of cyberbullies (keeping in mind the problem of vigilantism); some women in Pakistan are earning an income by establishing tree nurseries for reforestation programmes; a review of Indonesia’s family planning programmes –which have been a key tool in reducing global poverty and in empowering women, an undisputed path to development for poor countries; an article on the unforgiveable – and I write that as someone who works in the industry, someone who supports the improved training and resources the Australian water industry has been doing for some years now - lead contamination problem in a US city. This sort of issue has happened before – and not only in the US (see here, for instance): isn’t it time water Authorities stopped trying to privatise such duties, or at least did so with cognisance of their duty of care, and a comprehensive technical understanding of what is involved?;
- with regard to education: criticism of the Gulf states’ use of money to influence higher education;
- 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): a critique of the reasons behind finding a political solution for peace in Afghanistan that includes the Taliban;
- with regard
to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other
sources) also has:
criticism of Kenya’s handling of the recent terrorist attack on an African Union army base staffed by its soldiers in Somalia;
the Secretary-General has welcomed the decision by the Federal Government of Somalia on a model for the electoral process to establish a new, bicameral Federal Parliament in 2016, based on inclusivity and representation. The new Special Representative for Somalia, Michael Keating, said that the Somali Cabinet’s decision on the electoral model “may be a watershed moment, marking the growing political maturity of a federal Somalia”;
the 26th session of the African Union Summit will start in Ethiopia later this week with security concerns on the continent high on the agenda, as the UN urges it to address the South Sudan crisis; and Ethiopia is accused of using its role as a gatekeeper to the AU to suppress civil society;
an escalation of a simmering conflict between old civil war foes is occurring in Mozambique;
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that poverty, injustice and the lack of job opportunities were mainly responsible for inter-communal and intra-communal conflicts in Nigeria; Nigeria's former highest-ranking airforce officer is being questioned as part of an investigation into the alleged diversion of funds intended to fight terrorism;
Tanzanian President John Magufuli has suspended the head of a national electronic identification-card project and four other officials, opening the way for a corruption investigation into a public procurement process;
the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dr. Mamadou Diallo, has said he was deeply concerned by the material and protection needs of the civilian population, and the gaps that remain, despite concerted response, and stressed that the protection of civilians must be the primary goal for the Congolese civilian and military authorities, the UN forces and the humanitarian family;
an excellent review of the situation in Burundi – which eerily parallels where it was 15 years ago, when the great Nelson Mandela was pointing out that peacekeeping troops would not solve what was a political solution, but would enable efforts to find peace to continue; claims of mass graves; 17 people including foreign journalists have been arrested; the African Union is hopeful of approval to deploy peacekeepers;
the USA is pressing on with its economic interests in Rwanda, even as it continues to express disappointment at the recent changes to the country's constitution which allow President Paul Kagame to run for a third term;
new allegations of child sex abuse by European (Georgian) troops in the Central African Republic;
a critique of the possible reasons The Gambia is moving towards being an Islamic Republic;
Senegal has hailed the discovery of offshore gas reserves estimated at 450 billion m3 as a game changer for the west African nation;
more on the ongoing problems of racism in South Africa; - with regard to China and East and South East Asia: North Korea has detained a US tourist; one Swedish legal aid activist has been released, but another is still in detention; India will increase maritime surveillance near the Malacca Strait, possibly in response to China’s now permanent naval (submarine) presence in the Indian Ocean; an assessment of the oil-based tensions in the South China Sea, and demand for oil is behind China’s growing involvement in West Asia / the Middle East;
- with regard to the Indian sub-continent, The Hindu and other sources
have:
on the eve of India’s 67th Republic Day, President Pranab Mukherjee warned against the forces of violence, intolerance and unreason; concern over misuse of Constitutional powers; a call for more openness (and better management of archiving) in government; employment will now be assessed annually, and eventually quarterly, rather than once every 5 years; concerns over the escalation of corruption from the bottom of the bureaucratic hierarchy to its higher echelons in recent decades; suicides have highlighted the need for better regulation of higher education; Prime Minister Modi will review monthly the performance of government Ministers, but this article warns that impulse to centralise authority in the Prime Minister or Chief Minister’s office needs to be tempered by a spirit of accommodation for the political ambitions of others as an interview with a recently sacked academic raises questions about the governing party’s commitment to bettering India and governing transparently and fairly; the Supreme Court has criticised a proposed state welfare system;
improved weather forecasting will aid farmers;
India will increase maritime surveillance near the Malacca Strait, possibly in response to China’s now permanent naval (submarine) presence in the Indian Ocean;
Maldives leader Mohamed Nasheed is in the United Kingdom, following his release for 30 days to receive medical treatment, and has warned his country’s leadership against abandoning traditional allies in the Indian Ocean and building a foreign policy “that would alienate or disturb Indian security and safety”;
a call for safeguards against “majoritarianism” in Sri Lanka’s new constitution; a call for The Sri Lankan government to fulfil its commitments to the United Nations Human Rights Council by ensuring that foreign judges and prosecutors play a significant role in the mandated accountability mechanism for wartime abuses; the human face of those left behind the “the (tens of thousands) disappeared” in Sri Lanka;
India is courting separatists from southern Nepal;
emerging and developing economies have gained more influence in the governance architecture of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); - 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): a summary of recent military events in Iraq;
- with regard to the Libyan civil war: Libya's internationally recognised Tobruk-based parliament has rejected a UN-backed national unity government, in a major blow to international efforts to end the country's political schism; Libyans fear foreign military intervention would cause a disastrous escalation; terrorists in Libya are seeking trafficking routes to Europe;
- with regard to Russia (see also Syria): a review of the death by polonium-210 poisoning by ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, Russia’s claimed “licence to kill”, and other similar crimes; the US Treasury considers Russian President Vladimir Putin to be corrupt;
- with regard to Sudan and South Sudan: the United Nations remains committed to developing the exit strategy of the African Union–United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on the basis of concrete and tangible achievements against benchmarks, but the UN Secretary-General has expressed concern over the parties’ deadlock over the issue of the establishment of 28 states, and their failure to meet the 22nd January deadline to establish the Transitional Government of National Unity in South Sudan; talks between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North have broken off with no sign of progress toward an agreement; the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has reported that the number of civilians seeking refuge in the vicinity of its Sortoni team site, in North Darfur, has increased to almost 14,770 people, an increase of more than 50 percent in just 24 hours, reportedly as a result of intensified bombings on Monday afternoon; Sudan will reopen its border with South Sudan for the first time since the latter seceded in 2011, and South Sudan will move its soldiers back from the border; a UN panel has recommended an arms embargo and other sanctions on South Sudan, as its leaders are killing its people; the main opposition group in South Sudan has agreed to “work with” Uganda on regional issues, and both will work on consolidation of peace in the region through the implementation of Agreement on Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS); a former UN official says the UN needs to do more to protect refugees from Darfur;
- with regard to the conflict in Syria: a review of diplomatic efforts towards finding peace in Syria; the response of one Syrian to US President Obama’s “State of the Union” address; an opinion that US President Obama’s focus on the Iran nuclear deal is why he has not made more effort to help Syria; Russian air strikes have killed dozens more Syrian civilians; the success of the upcoming Geneva peace talks must be measured against substantial and measurable progress being made in ending the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, ceasing unlawful attacks against civilians and releasing arbitrarily held detainees, a coalition of 15 Syrian, regional and international non-government organisations have said; the UN’s Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, told reporters in Geneva today that due to intense disagreements – still ongoing - about who would be invited to the intra-Syrian talks, the start of the talks has been delayed, and will now start on 29th January. He also issued a video message to the Syrian people in advance of the launch of the Intra-Syrian talks, telling them that five years of this conflict have been too much, the Syrian people have seen enough conferences - two of them have already taken place, and Khalas (enough): this one cannot fail; the US has urged groups to attend the peace talks, as Russia and Turkey continue to obstruct peace;
- with regard to Turkey: a random act of kindness has grown into a movement for inclusivity in Turkey; a review of the complex, tortuous relationship between the USA and Turkey; an article on the human face of the violence in south eastern Turkey; Turkey’s announced military base in Qatar was part of a strategic alliance where Turkey pledged to protect Qatar;
- with regard to the conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east: the World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that it will extend its emergency operation in eastern Ukraine to provide food to more than 260,000 people affected by conflict until the end of June; a review of the “fragile” ceasefire;
- with regard to West Asia / the Middle East,
the Middle
East Eye and other sources have:
in a “cult of personality” type move, Algeria’s President has taken direct, personal control of its intelligence services;
as Israel approves 153 new “settler” homes, an explanation of its settlement bloc concept and the effect it is having on the region – and the illegality of its actions; Israel’s failure to silence the BDS movement in Canada, and US Customs has reminded that items made in the West Bank or Gaza can NOT be labelled “made in Israel”; a critique of Israel’s “justice” system; the violence continues: see here, for instance; an Israeli soldier has been – deservedly - jailed for randomly killing a camel; Israel has banned thousands of Palestinians from their jobs in the occupied West Bank; the UN Secretary-General has spoken to the Security Council about the Middle East, and said that 2016 has begun much like 2015 ended: with unacceptable levels of violence and a polarized public discourse across the spectrum in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. Following that, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu showed political ineptitude when he accused the UN’s Secretary-General of encouraging terrorism. The Secretary-General’s remarks at the Security Council meeting on the Middle East Peace Process has provoked a lot of reactions, some of it negative, but he stands by every word that he used: nothing, absolutely nothing justifies terrorism, including the stabbings, vehicle attacks and shootings by Palestinians targeting Israeli civilians which he condemns. If we want to see an end to this violence, however, security measures will not be enough: we MUST address the root causes -- the underlying frustration and failure to achieve a political solution. After nearly 50 years of occupation -- decades after Oslo -- Palestinians – especially young people -- are losing hope. Israelis, Palestinians and the international community need to read the writing on the wall: the status quo is untenable, it undermines the security of Israelis and the future for Palestinians; the UN Secretary-General has spoken at the event marking the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust: he paid respects to the 6 million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the millions of others who were killed alongside them, and said that the Holocaust was a colossal crime and that the evidence is irrefutable. Those who deny it only perpetuate falsehoods and make a mockery of the pain; the Israeli government says it plans to restart its “law of return” (Aliyah) programme in Ethiopia; France will recognise Palestine if there is no progress on a two state solution;
an Egyptian poet has been jailed for blasphemy – for advocating for animal rights; an Egyptian government Minister has called for the murder of 400,000 people; an excellent review of the Egyptian revolution, and the ways it may have been successful (to which I would add that the Muslim Brotherhood should have stuck to their agreement not to pursue the Presidency);
Moroccan police have attacked and beaten peaceful teacher-trainee protesters, causing dozens of injuries. Some of the protesters had serious head injuries that required emergency medical attention;
a review of Iranian-Arab tensions; as the President and the Ayatollah clash over a key election process, an analysis of the image of a division between pragmatism and hardliners in Iran suggests that it is a myth which supports the “supreme leader” and the Revolutionary Guard; a critique of the possible political reasons behind Khamenei’s - evil - holocaust denial; human rights abuses in Iran;
a critique of modern colonialism;
the risk of cyber war in the Middle East;
a review of US-Pakistani relations; - with regard to the war in Yemen: after the Houthis were expelled from southern Yemen, demands for autonomy or independence have re-emerged; journalists are being assaulted by all sides in the civil war in Yemen; Jamie McGoldrick, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, spoke to the press after traveling to the Taizz and Ibb Governorates to see the humanitarian situation there, and said that everywhere he went he saw the trauma the conflict is causing to the women, men, and children, who have been living in this enclave and under these conditions for months and appealed to authorities and groups to work with the United Nations to establish a mechanism that will allow regular and sustained access of goods into the city of Taizz; more than half of the total population of Yemen – some 14.4 million people – are food insecure, as ongoing conflict and import restrictions have reduced the availability of essential foods and sent prices soaring, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said; extreme evasiveness of the part of a UK government Minister after details of a report from a credible source criticising the Saudis for violating international law in 119 sorties are leaked;
- with regard to natural and other catastrophes: the growing problem of the Zika virus, the stupidity of calls for women to avoid pregnancy and the problem of intransigence of the catholic church; a record cold snap has killed dozens in East Asia;
- UNICEF is launching a $2.8 billion appeal today
to reach 43 million children in humanitarian emergencies worldwide;
the Secretary-General General addressed the Investor Summit on Climate Risk, and said that investors and businesses that redirect resources to low-carbon, climate-resilient growth will be the economic powerhouses of the 21st century, with those failing to do so being on the losing side of history; - the Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, has spoken at an interactive General Assembly discussion of the Human Rights up Front initiative, saying that one of its fundamental aims is prevention of conflicts and atrocities, which have an intolerable scale of suffering. It is imperative, he said, that we do far better at prevention, taking action early rather than waiting for disaster to occur;
- current and recent (last couple of years) UN Mediation Support Unit activities includes: participation in a technical workshop to discuss the mediation architecture of the Economic Community of Central African States; assistance to the Bangui Forum Preparatory Commission and the Bangui Forum process; support in Libya in the areas of cease-fires and security arrangements, confidence-building measures, power-sharing, gender mainstreaming, and constitution-making process; support assist MINUSMA's mediation team in Mali; a constitutions expert provided strategic and technical advice in Somalia on the management of Parliament and the initiation and management of the constitutional review process; support of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development- led talks on South Sudan, advising on areas ranging from security arrangements to civil society and inclusion; expertise in the areas of process design, security arrangements and legal and political affairs in Yemen; training to Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe senior officials and staff on negotiating ceasefire agreements for Ukraine, and work with the UN Department of Political Affairs Europe Division to explore other ways of supporting the implementation of the Minsk Peace Agreement; and capacity-building of religious leaders, civil society and local officials on mediation and conflict prevention in Central Asia, including in the context of natural resource conflicts and counter-terrorism;
From other sites (note that
articles from these sites may have already been provided):
- Human Rights Watch also has: a call for Germany to use its one year role as chair of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to reinforce its underpinning principles of human rights and rule of law, thereby promoting long term human security; criticism of the inaccurate and unjustifiable ordeal of “virginity testing” for rape survivors; allegations that both the Somali government and terrorists placed civilians at excessive risk from conflict-related and other abuses during 2015;
- the Global
Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
(R2P) also has:
- 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, and Burma/Myanmar), 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”: Lake Chad Basin, Burundi, 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”: South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya);
Recommended actions from the occasional report for the nation of Syria, where five years of war have killed 250,000, created 1 million refugees / internally displaced people, left 13.5 million in need of aid, massacres, war crimes and a wide range of breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) have occurred - sometimes as a matter of policy, all sides are too weak to win militarily and international efforts – including the UN Security Council (UN SC) – have been ineffectual, and the government of Syria has not only manifestly failed to uphold its Responsibility to Protect, it bears primary responsibility for the ongoing commission of mass atrocity crimes:
- all forces must facilitate immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access to civilians trapped or displaced by fighting;
- the international community must intensify efforts towards finding a potential political solution to the conflict while increasing assistance to populations already affected by the civil war;
- the UNSC needs to (a) take proximate steps to end atrocities in Syria, including imposing an arms embargo and referring the situation to the International Criminal Court, (b) take expeditious action to end the use of chemical weapons and other indiscriminate and illegal weapons and (c) hold all perpetrators accountable, regardless of position or affiliation;
- Russia, Iran and Hezbollah must cease enabling the crimes of the Syrian government, and nations opposed to the rule of President Bashar Al-Assad must withhold support to armed groups who commit war crimes or target minority communities;
- all foreign states participating in airstrikes in Syria must ensure all necessary precautions are taken to avoid civilian casualties and uphold IHL;
- From an energetic point of view, based on the above, the nation of Syria needs all people of power to remember the importance of everyday human beings, and become genuine about putting their needs first, which is a requirement for the emotion of Water. - the US-based and -centric “War on the Rocks” blog (which I have found may also have other articles that I have concerns with - and thus do not provide links to, unless I want you to think … :) ) also has: an article on how the USA has been “seduced” by a series of “easy” wars; the CIA’s battle between secrecy and effectiveness; praise for the USA’s “softly softly” approach in the recent incident where some of its military were detained after entering Iranian waters;
- the Justice in Conflict blog has: a new tribunal will examine possible war crimes committed by the victors in Kosovo, in a major move to address the problem of “victor’s justice”; a review of hybrid tribunals;
- the Institute for War and Peace Reporting also has: an outbreak of the H1N1 virus (“swine flu”) has alarmed Armenians, despite government assurances that there is no danger of an epidemic; a new law introduced by the Georgian government aims to slow the mass rate of migration out of the country’s underdeveloped highland regions;
and from a range of other sites:
- this story on a World War Part One memorial in the USA contains a staggering comment that some African-American soldiers, who had fought incredibly bravely under French command, were lynched – in their uniforms! There are some good comments about the social changes and legacy of those terrible years;
- Azerbaijan will cut defence spending by 40%;
- the head of the UN nuclear test ban treaty organisation says archenemies Iran and Israel are “the closest” of the eight holdout nations to ratifying the treaty;
- a dangerous nostalgia is rising in Russia.
Regular sources include the Daily Briefings
of the United
Nations, Human Rights Watch, the Global Centre
for the Responsibility to Protect, “War
on the Rocks”, the Early
Warning Project blog, the Justice in Conflict blog, the Political Violence at a Glance blog, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the International Crisis Group, the Middle East Eye, The Hindu, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, the BBC, Spiegel International, The Conversation, John Menadue’s blog, Wikipedia’s current events portal,
Wendell Williams’ blog, George Monbiot’s website, the Campaign Against Arms Trade, the “Cure
Violence” blog, the Inter Press Service Agency (IPS), and others.
No signature block this week owing to the length of the
post.)
