Post No. 896 – For Sunday evening’s meditation-clearing

For everyone’s convenience:   the reminders / explanations about Sunday’s meditation-clearing are here;   a simplified blogiography of posts related to this work is here,   a list of themes I have identified here;   my changing the personality of oppressors and other world leaders post is here;   (see here for some investigation into evidence of the effectiveness of this type of work … and also here and here are interesting);   a range of information on emotions is here, and suggestions on how to work with emotions is here;   this copy of a speech to one of the Parliament of World Religions has excellent, helpful insights on generational transmission of harm, the cost of war, and ways to heal our hearts;   and   this post reminds us to be patient and persistent, like a “speeding oak” (and I like the comment about a sudden “shift” being just another form of apocalyptic thinking).

Now, the purpose of posting these news links (and, incidentally, these posts are the equivalent of a re-tweeting service, or, at best, a commentary site: I am NOT a journalist, and make NO claims to objectivity or freedom from bias or trying to cover all [there are often more than two] sides of an issue – see here) is not only to inform:   it is also to stimulate a connection to nonBPM units that need to be cleared and BPM units that need to be strengthened, so that you can do the clearing / strengthening that is required.   That only works if you don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by this, so take it in small chunks if you need to, but remember to actively clear and heal! … including yourself.

Further to that, 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.

Also, it is absolutely VITAL that this psychic / metaphysical / spiritual work be performed non-violently and as is for the Highest Spiritual Good – which is part of being BPM – on all levels and in all ways. Always remember (see here): Do you fight to change things, or to punish? See also here, here, here, here, here, and my comments about “authentic presence” in this post.

Finally, remember that many others are very capably doing this type of work – for instance, the Lucis Trust's Triangles network (which has been running for many decades),   the Correllian Tradition's 'Spiritual War for Peace' (begun in 2014, and see also here and here), the Hope, Peace, Love and Prosperity Spell (also from the Correllian Tradition, in around 2007 or 2008),   the Healing Minute started by the late, great Harry Edwards (held at 10 AM and 10 PM local time each day, and has been running for decades);   the “Network of Light”  meditations;   and   also see here and here – even commercial organisations are getting involved (for instance, see here), and there are online groups (e.g. here and here – which I’m not members of, and thus do not know the quality of). 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. I also point out that more than just psychic work is required – activism in the physical world, even if it is “only” writing letters to politicians / the media will help, as will a whole range of other stuff. To stimulate some ideas on this aspect of service, see here , here and here, and, of course, here.

(Please note that I now specifically have a role for (absent) healers on Saturdays, as explained in the Psychic Weather Report posts. Anyone who wishes to be protector has a role every day :) , including – perhaps particularly - the first permanent issue I list below. At all times, on all levels and in ways, BOTH must ALWAYS be BPM in the way they perform such roles.)

If I am ever late getting my Psychic Weather Report up any week, the default plan is to build up energy in the “Shield of Hope” on Sunday, send energy to West Asia / the Middle East on Monday, and then extend that to include Europe on Tuesday, the USA on Wednesday, East and South East Asia on Thursday and Africa on Friday.

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 more Æther;

(d)   dealing with frustration is a major problem – a challenge, and thus an opportunity, on both a personal and – perhaps more importantly – a social level;

(e)   head-in-the-sand-it is also an ongoing problem – one found with those who want to go back to a previous era when people who were different, or had problems, were invisible and suffered in silence, but it also applies when people are assessing harm / potential harm;

(f)   proportionate responses to events can be made more difficult to achieve by some emotions – and also enhanced by other emotions, such as BPM love. Clear thought and spiritual insight are, however, at least equally – if not more – important;

(g)   the façade of being asked to do something, and yet being bound by restrictive rules, is a problem – it can be an abuse of power, or it can be something aimed at ensuring justice and fairness. Either way, the response for those in such situations must be to focus on human dignity;

(h)   civil society is a good thing: it needs to be acknowledged as such;

(i)   don’t escalate blame for human rights issues and problems: find solutions and win hearts and minds to make them happen;

(j)   friendship is a good thing – as long as it is not abused or taken for granted;

(k)   patience is not merely  virtue, it is often a necessity, an essential;

(l)   accountability for the use of power – so long as it does not also become an abuse of power – is generally good;

(m)   where problems exist, advocating for BPM responses, and being as BPM as one can be, and constructive solutions - as is clearing nonBPM units;

I also take this opportunity to repeat that it is absolutely VITAL that this psychic / metaphysical / spiritual work be performed non-violently and as is for the Highest Spiritual Good – which is part of being BPM – on all levels and in all ways. Always remember (see here): Do you fight to change things, or to punish? See also here, here, here, here, here, and my comments about “authentic presence” in this post.

News and other matters from this 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;
• Events warranting particular attention (for events such as Orlando, Brexit and Dallas), or fitting into too many categories:
     concerns over another –two - police killings of black people in the USA, with US President Barack Obama making an impassioned plea for the USA to do more to address the combative relationship between local police forces and the black and Hispanic communities they serve, before a terrible – especially for the Black Lives matter movement, most of whom don’t want more violence – mass murder of US police officers in Dallas during a protest. I wonder if this was predictable? Certainly I wouldn’t have been surprised if rioting broke out (as happened in the 1960s, when the great Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s appeal for some concessions on civil rights was ignored the year before major riots), but this … well, maybe it will finally lead to some realistic change of the USA’s idiotic  gun laws;   an analysis with some very good, common sense perspective, including “Black Lives Matter did not make black people upset; video footage of black people being shot dead in cold blood and broad daylight did that”;
     considerable hindsight in the UK over the Iraq war … which quite a few people saw at the time, actually … and the connection for Australia, from a former intelligence officer-now MP, and need for a similar review here;   a call for balance when assessing the Chilcot report into the UK’s misguided and dishonest participation in the Iraq invasion, with useful reminders of events such as the Rwandan genocide;   the role of torture in getting false information – which is one of the primary risks of torture – that led to the Iraq war;   an excellent assessment of the options for taking legal action against Tony Blair, who, with his mate George Bush, rushed into invading Iraq, despite a lack of evidence;   the failure of judgement shown by the decision to invade Iraq;   the historical evidence that the lessons will not be learned … ;   one of the still missing bits;
• With regard to democracy, freedom and governance (e.g., here and here):
     an excellent analysis that the recent allegedly surprising political trends are actually foreseeable. The article includes this: "A revolution is sweeping across the developed world, as an increasingly disillusioned lower and middle class find themselves threatened and disenfranchised by the economic forces unleashed by the rise of technology and an increasingly global economy. It is being driven by a real and growing chasm in the distribution of wealth and the backlash, initially at least, is showing up at the polls in the form of protest votes directed against the established order. The old divide between left and right has begun to blur, allegiances are dissolving and the political establishment, which for years turned a blind eye to the growing undercurrent of resentment, now faces its very own moment of truth. The past four decades have witnessed a dramatic decline in job security across the Western world as lower skilled and lesser paid jobs have shifted to developing countries." Whether this is good or not depends on how much fear and hate contaminate the “revolution” – if that is limited, this change could potentially be quite good, allowing genuine equity to develop. Interesting that this goes back to around the time that “economic rationalism” was getting its tentacles into so much of life …  - see also here, and here;   an opinion piece which also mentions the problems of economic rationalism, and sums recent political results as "economic theory can't match lived experience";   one of the newer, smaller political parties in Australia has empathy as one of its values;   a warning that the notorious and now re-elected Pauline Hanson could stir up violence with her comments - see also here, and here for a call for calm rebuttal of her nonsense;   an opinion piece that, although Hanson is back, Australia has grown, with clarifications around debate vs bigotry;   the problem with spending on infrastructure is that it has to be on the infrastructure that is actually needed;   a credit downgrade for Australia may not be so bad;   excellent commentary about the latest trend in political insults – and what it shows about those who use it;   the rise of the “angry voter”, which includes “British journalist George Monbiot wrote in the Guardian that the Brexit vote was "the eruption of an internal wound inflicted over many years by an economic oligarchy on the poor and the forgotten." He described it as a "howl of rage against exclusion, alienation and remote authority. That's why the slogan 'take back control' resonated. If the left can't work with this, what are we here for?" “;   the power struggle triggered inside the European Union by Brexit;   the sequence of land reform and political reform;   an assessment of the reasons the media (such as Murdoch’s malign bias) have less impact than expected;   the next for careful consideration and planning before going to war;   an admission of the obvious” the “experts” DON’T know everything;  the need to educate voters in some situations … possibly more than the article considers;   the failures of self-regulation;   an assessment of the western Balkans;   an assessment of the pattern of military escalation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border around Nagorno-Karabakh, with recommendations;   a call to reject both current elites and extremist politicians;   majoritarian mania;
     Russia has been revelling in Brexit, viewing any divisions in Europe as opportunities to re-assert its influence in its former Iron Curtain satellites;   ageist attacks after Brexit have been deplored – and some, such as calls for upper age limits on voting, clearly ARE deplorable;   Papua New Guinea has been accused of threatening the peace on Bougainville;   shortcomings in Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme;   partisanship has led to a breakdown of the US congressional oversight system;
     civil society organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have urged the country’s political class to participate in dialogue to ensure forthcoming polls are peaceful;
     some nasty (violent)  behaviour and errors during the Australian Commonwealth election;   a young candidate;   an examination of the genuineness of the leaders of political parties;   fractures in Australia's political "traditions";   a transphobic Chinese language neoliberal party campaign has had an influence on at least one electorate (this means both major party campaigns used lies);   what was avoided in the recent Australian election;
  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 (see also here), which is actually the Greek name of the Egyptian Goddess Aset – and others (see also here and here) - and actively perpetuates the patriarchal and sacrilegious evil that violent extremists 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. I also am inclined, personally, to include here the last two millennia of neochristian and colonialist social engineering, which has led to suppression of women, child abuse, the Crusades, the Inquisition, etc, as violent extremism, but that would take too much explaining. As a final point, I am deliberately avoiding the use of specific names of violent extremist groups as much as possible to reduce the publicity they get – I’m not a primary news source, and thus consider I can do so: any names that are needed are in the articles I have provided links to):
     violent extremist attacks have occurred in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Congo, Yemen, Afghanistan, Taiwan, Iraq, Libya, the UK, Nigeria, Thailand, Bangladesh, Turkey, Israel, Somalia, Indonesia, and 8 others in Iraq and 4 in Syria; may be being planned/developing in Nigeria, central Africa; prevention has or may have occurred in India, Nigeria; and actions have occurred against violent extremists in Libya, France, India;
  arrest of one of its citizens, the United Arab Emirates has warned its citizens not to wear its national dress overseas;   a Paris attacks suspect was allowed to leave France because Belgium did not tell police in time that he was involved in violent extremism;   Israel and Kenya will share intelligence about violent extremists;
     an assessment that the attacks in Bangladesh and Turkey may have been a response to losses by a violent extremist group in Iraq;   shock over the elite background of violent extremists in Bangladesh;   appalling attempts to use the actions of violent extremists against the Yazidis for political point scoring;   claims that decades of oppression have led to violent extremism in Bangladesh;   one woman’s surprisingly good (in a BPM sense) assessment of what shariah is;   every death caused by the armed forces in a disturbed area, whether the victim is a dreaded criminal or a militant or a terrorist or an insurgent, should be thoroughly enquired into … to address any allegation of use of excessive or retaliatory force beyond the call of duty (India’s Supreme Court, this week);   a call for greater global coordination against violent extremists – especially around not feeding their narratives;
• With regard to refugees:   allegations that refugees who cannot pay people smugglers are sold to the illegal organ trade;   problems in the poor nation of Niger because of the number of refugees;   Italy will allow refugees to work;   allegations that guards at Australia’s refugee gulags have been paid to keep quiet;   a racist murder of a refugee in Italy;   Germany’s version of Acland and Barkly Streets or Lygon Street - a successful cultural melting pot;   moves towards a regional approach to the refugee crisis in central America, as people flee violence;   Israel’s internal refugees;
• With regard to human rights and discrimination (including associated violence / crime):
     access to appropriate medical treatment for trans kids may finally get easier in Australia;   the experience of receiving homophobia;
     a racist murder of a refugee in Italy;   growing racism in post-Brexit UK has led to a highlighting of Poland’s problems with racism;   concerns over a prolonged delay in commencing an investigation into child abuse of indigenous children;
     more stupidity from strangers on gender issues;   a reminder than men also suffer from sexism (an argument I used successfully when I was an Equal Employment Opportunity rep.);   “You don’t have to be a bad person to benefit from male privilege, and recognizing your privilege doesn’t mean saying you don’t deserve good things”;   Germany is catching up with the rest of the world on rape laws;   a comic has a young black female as the new version of a hero;
     the UN Human Rights Office has expressed alarm at two major acts of mob violence directed against Burma’s Muslim community in the space of just eight days;   ageist attacks after Brexit have been deplored – and some, such as calls for upper age limits on voting, clearly ARE deplorable;   the head of France’s telecommunication will face charges of workplace bullying over 19 suicides. This is a worldwide problem, which I blame on the simplistic training / attitudes many business leaders have to running their organisations, attitudes with their foundation in economic rationalism and the like;
• With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing:   the problem of false positives and the emotional trauma committed by police using drug sniffer dogs;   an artificial intelligence robot has been developed in The Netherlands to try and reduce court costs ... which leaves me concerned;   France has sentenced two former Rwandan mayors to life in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity committed in the African country in 1994;   a court case involving a jailed Rwandan politician is being hamstrung by the lack of rules for video conferencing;   another Indian police officer has committed suicide in response to alleged workplace harassment;   stalkers;   amongst this weekly debunking of US presidential candidate Trump’s claims is a good explanation of why Hillary Clinton was not prosecuted;
• With regard to press aka the media, and freedom of expression (keeping in mind that claims of presenting “both sides” of a debate can be WRONG if the other side is RUBBISH –as is the case on LGBTIQ issues):   South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has condemned its own public broadcaster for practicing censorship by not broadcasting images of violent anti-state protests;   growing pressures on media in Algeria;
• With regard to overcrowding and “modern” lifestyle issues (is YOUR smart phone free of conflict  minerals and child labour? I was recently pleasantly to find IT manufacturers now making at least some effort in this regard. Do you suffer from FOMO? Are you being duped by modern mantras? Does your AI use ethics? Does your corporation misuse mindfulness as a distraction from working conditions? Do you understand embedded emissions?):
     a call to be prepared for the “new normal” of climate emergencies;   the potential for more renewable products from eucalypts;   there is a growing risk of overfishing to feed the world’s growing population and growing per person consumption;
     the addiction of social media – which is, in my view, its biggest problem, and the reason I have resisted it for so long. I’m on LinkedIn for my day job, and MAY go on Google+ for my personal business (almost no one looks at websites anymore … SIGH … ), but will NOT join facebook, which also has many privacy and other legal and human rights issues;   questions after a drone manufacturer gives users the ability to opt out of a safety feature keeping drones away from locations such as airports;   valid criticism of a science show;   malware has hit smartphones;
     at least 12 people have died of dehydration and exhaustion while sitting in a traffic jam in Indonesia;
• With regard to education:   are schools failing to future-proof children?;   one trans kids story in school;   the appalling failures behind the closure of the Aurukun school;
• 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 Yellow House in Jalalabad;   an assessment of Norway’s involvement in Afghanistan, which shows the importance of keeping civilian aspects of a situation and civilian involvement at the forefront of military thinking;
• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) also has:
     civil servants in Zimbabwe have gone on strike over unpaid salaries;  Zimbabwe’s attempts to shut down “What’s App” failed to stop protests;   Zimbabwean women are being trafficked to West Asia (aka the Middle East) as sexual slaves;   Zimbabwe has tried to blame western embassies for the violence;
     abuses committed by Nigeria’s military in aid caps;
     peacekeepers are preparing for possible violence in the DR Congo;   concerns over the illegal gold trade in the DR Congo;  only the USA appears to be trying to get the DRC’s President to stop abusing power;
     calls for a UN peacekeeping force in Burundi to stop the violence and human rights abuses;
     the Central African Republic’s considerable progress over the past two years risks being reversed unless national authorities demonstrate commitment to inclusive and transparent governance, and to addressing the root causes of the crisis afflicting the;
     concerns over Somalia’s stability;   African Union troops will leave Somalia in 2 years’ time;   an assessment that Somalia is changing for the better, but the changes are not being noticed and need to be encouraged;
     an assessment of central Mali as “an uprising in the making”, with recommendations that, to prevent the security situation deteriorating further and to enable the state to re-establish its presence and regain legitimacy: the Malian government reforms local police (taking a lead for instance from recent projects in Niger - particularly recruiting women and men from different ethnic groups), identify priority actions (specifically in the justice, education and natural resources management), name a high representative for the central regions, avoid using community self-defence groups and strengthen the capacity of the security services while severely and publicly punishing security service abuses against civilians; elites take on the crucial role of mediating (and in doing so, set aside intercommunal divides and individual disputes), avoid supporting armed movements and self-defence groups, promote – in partnership with the state – the development of a local police force, support local conflict resolution initiatives; and other recommendations for Mali’s main partners, in particular the European Union, and the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA);
     human rights groups are using Ethiopia’s recent election to a non-permanent United Nations Security Council seat to push for a humanitarian agenda inside the east African nation;
     the UN has ended its mission in Liberia, transferring security to that nation;
     divisions in Kenya’s opposition;
      call for a unity government in Mozambique;
     intrastate conflicts are causing massive refugee problems in Africa;
     The Gambia and Tanzania have banned child marriage;   The Gambia has sacked officials accused of corruption;
• With regard to China and East and South East Asia:   protests against a proposed new incinerator because of concerns of air and water pollution;   China’s propaganda includes warning itself to be ready for military violence, ahead of military exercises in the South China Sea as an international court case approaches completion – and more tit-for-tat exchanges in the East China Sea;   claims China is not following the “one nation, two systems” arrangement in relation to the kidnapped Hong Kong booksellers;   floods in China have killed over a hundred people;   a critique of Chinese and US attitudes and associations towards oceans which finds they have the potential to get along;   the USA has sanctioned North Korea’s leader for human rights abuses;   the UN Secretary-General has encouraged China’s leaders to make the space for civil society;   a missile defence system has been deployed to South Korea;   the UN Secretary-General has welcomed China's efforts towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as its support to other countries in their own implementation;   recommendations for achieving peace in the southern Philippines;
• 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):
     thousands are fleeing the latest military offensives (UN daily briefing);   more on alleged war crimes by Shia militia;
     and the Iraq Body Count project reports 96 deaths on Thursday and Friday alone;
• With regard to the Libyan civil war:   claims the UN-backed deal is unworkable;   the West is supporting a rebel General who opposes both violent extremists and the unity government;
• With regard to the Russia (when is the ordinary, everyday Russian going to get a fair go, and not be crushed by powerful, self-serving idiots?):   Russia has been revelling in Brexit, viewing any divisions in Europe as opportunities to re-assert its influence in its former Iron Curtain satellites;  a critique of Russia’s military which finds that its supposed numerical advantage has often been a myth, and thus it is more predisposed to “asymmetric warfare” (i.e., what has happened in Ukraine) than has been expected;   an interview which argues that “Russia's aggressive foreign policy is an expression of weakness rather than strength, but we should still treat the country as a significant power. Russia is currently not very interested in dialogue, but we should flood it with offers of dialogue and engagement. Russia seeks to be unpredictable, but we should try all we can to make our relationship more stable, transparent and predictable. Russia has violated international law, but we should be demonstratively observant of international agreements and accords. Russia is acting like an adversary of the West, but we should still constantly look for ways to engage constructively”;   an assessment of NATO's focus;   an assessment of Putin;
• With regard to South and Central America:   the controversial - accused of taking bribes from oil company Petrobras - Brazilian politician who led the impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff has resigned from his post as speaker of the lower house of Congress;   moves towards a regional approach to the refugee crisis in central America, as people flee violence;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     a call for renewable energy in India to focus on small villages, rather than big cities;   the need to do more for differently abled people in India;   the railways have been held liable for the deaths of people on a train roof;   the monsoon is helping the planting of pulses;
     every death caused by the armed forces in a disturbed area, whether the victim is a dreaded criminal or a militant or a terrorist or an insurgent, should be thoroughly enquired into … to address any allegation of use of excessive or retaliatory force beyond the call of duty;   India’s ongoing, active homophobia;   the Union Cabinet has chosen not to act on the most significant and progressive recommendation of the 7^th Pay Commission (that no more pay commissions should be set up and instead a more performance-linked appraisal system must be put in place);
     the Naga people have not given up their expectation of independence;
     “Africa has great admiration for the political support it has received from India’s leaders. But it has anything but admiration for India’s glad-eyeing of its resources, for the latent racism of large sections of its people”;
     continuing floods and landslides have killed dozens in India and Pakistan;
• With regard to Sudan and South Sudan:
     concerns that eroding faith in the peace process has led to violence in South Sudan – see also here;   ongoing challenges in South Sudan;   fighting in South Sudan as rebels warn of a return to war and economic woes continue;
• with regard to the conflict in Syria:   government artillery has killed over 40 people;   the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria has expressed alarm at reports of deteriorating humanitarian conditions and the urgent need for medical evacuations in the towns of Madaya, Foah, Zabadani and Kefraya, where more than 62,000 people are besieged (UN daily briefing);   war crimes in Syria;   the Syrian army is allegedly holding a ceasefire – but is still attacking Aleppo;   a speculation on a more interventionist USA under its next President as the Syrian opposition claims the USA is handing control to Russia, and has failed to provide air support of a key attack by them;
• With regard to West Asia / the Middle East, the Middle East Eye and other sources have:
     Israel has, after SIX YEARS finally allowed Turkish groups to send humanitarian aid to Gaza. Whilst it is good that Turkey and Israel have discussed the killings and other abuses from the time six years ago when Israel attacked Turkish ships in international waters to stop humanitarian aid, but no-one else has been included in those talks, and the pain and anger and outrage and all other emotions remain. This illustrates one of the downsides of diplomacy: if it is done “sensitively”, which basically means with “consideration” for the political fallout that wrongdoers may experience, the direct and indirect victims are left with nothing but enhanced distrust – which is an exacerbation of problems that are becoming apparent recently, but can easily be traced back to the secretiveness of treaties that contributed so much to World War Part One: that must change – diplomacy must, as with justice, not only be done, but be seen to be done, which requires transparency;   an Israeli politician was summonsed by UK police over war crimes committed during the 2008 – 09 conflict in Gaza, when she was Israel’s foreign minister, while the politician was in the UK last week. Unfortunately, talks between Israel and the UK resulted in diplomatic immunity … ;   the US has criticised Israeli plans to build hundreds of new homes in existing settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem;   continued blockades of Muslim villages for Eid by Israel;   an assessment that Gaza is in a desperate situation;   Israel’s internal refugees;
     the prevailing calm in Lebanon is not the same as stability;   the Israeli artillery shelling – and cover up – 20 years ago of people sheltering in a UN area in a Lebanese village (the Qana  massacre);
     in Gaza, a Christian has been helping his blind Muslim neighbour go to prayers during Ramadan for many years;
     Bahrain has been accused of a cyber war against dissenters, and Europe has condemned Bahrain’s campaign of repression;
     claims Egypt is making overtures to a violent extremist group in Turkey to irritate Turkey;
     a quarter of century after the Lebanese civil war ended, efforts are still underway to find and identify 17,000 missing people;
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:   continuing floods and landslides have killed dozens in India and Pakistan;   food aid has started arriving for more than 100,000 people in the Highlands region of Papua New Guinea who have been enduring hunger for nearly a year due to El Nino-driven drought and frost;   floods in China have killed over a hundred people;   floods in Ethiopia have dealt a devastating blow to recovery from drought;
• With regard to peace and/or spirituality generally, and the occasional nice story:   the limits / specific suitabilities of “positive thinking”;

and from a range of other sites:

• greyhound racing in NSW will be banned because of animal cruelty (live baiting);
• the use of sky diving to create low-gravity environments for scientific experiments;

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” (a very US-focused site which also has articles I have concerns about, but also a surprising number of ems),  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), the Lowy “Interpreter” blog (which occasionally has good links about what is happening in the Pacific), and others.

No signature block for these posts.