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 non
BPM 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.
There are some notes at the end of this
post about other options for those who do not like this way of working,
opportunities for healers, and the default plan for any time I am late getting
my Psychic Weather Report up.
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;
(d) ideology – economic, as much
as religious, atheistic or political – must NEVER be allowed to compromise
freedom, particularly democracy, which is the best expression of freedom that we currently have. Any
argument in favour of reduced participation (e.g., support for monarchies) is a
hearkening back to the “good old days” of being immature CHILDREN, and thus
also is patronising, harmful and regressive;
(e) the application of mental
ability (“intelligence” in the thinking sense) must be balanced by TRUE emotional
intelligence and have the wisdom of being nuanced;
(f) where we shared in creating
problems, we must in fairness share in solving them;
(g) the prejudgement of bigotry
remains a stain on humanity;
(h) the contagion of violence
needs to be addressed as exactly that: a communicable disease – and likewise
hatred;
(i) the overwhelming (e.g. climate
change, world poverty / thirst / hunger) must be faced with courage, and manage to
the best of one’s ability. On a smaller scale, perhaps, so too must the
problems faced by nations, groups and individuals – corruption, tests of
ethical integrity, and so on;
(j) access to credible (which is
dependent on good communication), real, good quality information is as vital as protection
of our privacy;
(k) something being familiar or comfortable does
NOT make it right (a message for, in particular, those vicious women who
are the female genital mutilators of Sierra Leone);
(l) there is often a compelling case for
intervention: when that intervention is stuffed up, the mistakes need to be
honestly admitted and addressed, to avoid compounding the original problem (a thought for
Libya, in particular). The failure to take a needed intervention creates
further problems (a thought for Syria, where a no-fly zone years ago may
have been crucial);
(m) the addiction to personal power remains
problematic;
(o) peace is powerful, but it is a process
requiring patient (not impatient!), persistent and nuanced nurturing,
and a blend of conventional spiritual work, clearing nonBPM units, and physical world activism;
(p) where problems exist, advocating for BPM responses, and being as BPM as one can be,
and constructive solutions - as is clearing nonBPM units;
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, or fitting into
too many categories:
a call for globalisation to be managed to protect
democracy;
- With regard to democracy, freedom and governance (e.g., here and here):
- a warning of declining involvement of the public service in policy matters; an assessment of the cracks
in Fiji’s democracy; the importance of a middle class for good governance – particularly in developing
nations; a call for foreign aid to be based on partnerships; a criticism
of macroeconomics; a call for inclusive nation building;
the problem of “made up” threats; an analysis of territorial
disputes –
which tends to “state the obvious”, in my view, but that might be helpful to
someone; an examination
of the role and selection of the UN’s Secretary-General; the Prime Minister of Norway underlined that effective
international cooperation is essential to address poverty, conflicts,
climate change, migration and terrorism; African leaders have urged action on the
Global Goals, saying ‘This is no longer a time for promises’; a warning for those
who possess confidential information not to dismiss the views of outsiders; a critique
of Australia’s proposed Foreign Policy White paper, which includes commentary
about the possible shift from geo-politics to geo-economics; the problem of surveillance
capitalism; evidence shows that
attempting to extend the “no-jab-no-payment” to school attendance does not
work; a rebuttal
of the ideology that privatisation is a “must”;
- 69 of the world’s 100 biggest economic
entities are corporations (the US corporation Walmart is bigger than
my nation … ); opposition figures
have been in jail in Eritrea for 15
years; corruption
in Morocco; despite protests and concerns about the chilling effects of special courts to
allow companies to sue sovereign nations a trade agreement between
Europe and Canada will stand;
- West
African nations have been urged to protect
whistleblowers;
-
secular
candidates and grassroots activism are likely
to be significant in Jordan’s coming elections; a proposal to
remove age limits so the existing Ugandan president can stay on has been rejected;
US President Obama has used his
farewell UN address to castigate strongmen and populists; Rome has dropped its bid to host a future olympics, on the grounds of it
being financially responsible to host such an expensive event;
-
the extremely concerning
Americanisation of Australia’s health system;
concern over
Australia’s “drift” from a defensive to an offensive military defence
policy; Australia has a poverty, not a welfare problem – see also here; last
week’s labour force figures produced the best unemployment rate for three years
(possibly because of people giving up the
search for jobs) but also a record
level of underemployment, at around 9%;
a call for the Australian government to make a positive statement about
refugees or risk being sidelined
from the debate; a call for a new review
of Australia’s intelligence gathering, and opinion piece saying that such a
review must, to be credible,
tackle anxiety around information-gathering, privacy and security; the ABS has compounded
its lack of credibility by “accidentally” releasing thousands of names
linked to businesses;
- 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 the
USA,
USA (2nd),
Pakistan,
India,
Somalia, Saudi
Arabia, Libya, Somalia,
Libya
(2nd), Nigeria,
DR
Congo, Kenya,
and, according to this
Wikipedia page, 4 attacks in Iraq; prevention has or may have occurred in Turkey, the
USA, Saudi
Arabia; and actions have occurred against violent extremists in Niger, Nigeria
(see also here),
the USA; allegations
that Canada cooperated with Syria in the torture of three Canadians; an experiment in Germany has found evidence
of job discrimination
against women with Turkish names - and even more if they wear an Islamic
headscarf;
- the UK's Liberal Democrat Party has passed a
motion at its annual conference demanding that the British government’s Prevent
strategy be scrapped, calling for an alternative
that is “inclusive” and “community-led”;
Chad’s President has urge a global push
against violent extremism;
- a criticism
of the proposal to allow the families of victims of the 9/11 atrocity to sue
Saudi Arabia – including that such a precedent is a double edged sword. The
bill has been vetoed
by US President Obama, but the veto is likely to be overturned; a review of a
book which gives a wide-ranging and important examination of the law governing
the use of force in counter-violent extremism (on that, I’m currently re-reading Geoffrey Robertson’s Crimes Against Humanity – The Struggle for
Global Justice [Penguin, ISBN
0-14-025029-8]); “Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan among
others—hope to have it both ways. They use the presence of terrorists to win
sympathy abroad and discredit peaceful foes at home, even while fighting back
vigorously enough to look plausible but not forcefully enough to solve the
problem”; Da’esh does not publicise all its executions on
social media –and may be experiencing a decline in numbers because of its
military losses; an analysis of why
violent extremists in Nigeria are now being defeated; Iraq’s Prime Minister has called for global
cooperation against violent extremism;
the declining
rights of the wounded;
- With regard to refugees (noting the New
York Declaration):
a call for genuine
refuge for the world’s displaced; an
anti-refugee party in Germany is making political
gains; Slovakia is also taking hard
anti-refugee
line; some proposals for fiddling
around the edges of refugee resettlement schemes; the cycles of racism and bigotry
towards immigrant and refugee groups in Australia; Germany’s Chancellor has “admitted” a need
to better prepare
people for refugees; discussions on the strengthening of
self-reliance in food security and nutrition to
support greater dignity and protection of refugees; world leaders have adopted the New York Declaration, which
expresses their political will to protect the rights of refugees and migrants, to save lives and share responsibility
for large movements on a global scale; a rebuttal
of the bigoted and hypocritical rubbish which is Australia’s (anti-)refugee
policy, and a critique
of the survey which – using negatively worded questions – indicated a
disturbingly high proportion of Australians apparently do not want Muslim
immigration
(apart from the immigration issue, don’t these people realise it is ALLOWED for
people to change their religion, and that some Australian Muslims are people –
born and bred here – who converted? I’ve met at least one such person who was a
decent human being!); the
main African nations which are the sources
of refugees; a call for the Australian
government to make a positive statement about refugees or risk being sidelined from the
debate – and to start promoting a regional
approach to the current refugees – see also here; although pledges of increased refugee
intakes have increased, they are a drop in the ocean, compared to the need; the UN continues to be concerned about retaliation
by Australia against those who cooperate with the UN’s special rapporteur on
refugees; hundreds of refugees may have drowned
off Egypt; the President of El Salvador
has urged the international community to meet the complex challenges posed by refugees
with courage,
and to strengthen the activities of regional and global organizations dealing
with the issue - especially to ensure the protection of the human rights of all
people on the move; children in refugee
gulags are harmed; more refugees have drowned in the
Mediterranean Sea; the neochristian
Catholic Church’s Pope has castigated the media for inciting
fear;
- With regard to human rights and discrimination (including
associated violence / crime):
-
a 12 year old boy attempted to stop the (homophobic) hate of thousands of people; the experience of a non-binary 10 year
old; a gambler has been homophobic; “rights
‘cannot be referred to a referendum, in which a majority view would prevail
over the wishes of any minority.’ Doing so would defeat the political purpose
of ‘rights’. ”; most Australian
voters support
a free vote if a plebiscite is not held for Equal Marriage; a teacher has made homophobic
remarks (and
should be removed while the investigation is carried out); a call for continued
efforts for LGBT rights;
significant numbers of heterosexual couples are finding ways to protest
against the legal warning that celebrants are obliged to state; the hypocrisy,
repression and anti-pluralism behind Indonesia’s Anti-LGBT push; blatant
lies in homophobic brochures in Australia;
-
the successes
of a trial “Justice Reinvestment” programme; some US military
and ex-military personnel are supporting
protests during the US national anthem as being
patriotic; a Queensland restaurant
has been indulging in racism; European embassies in Britain have logged
dozens of incidents of suspected hate
crime and abuse against their citizens since the vote to leave the European
Union; the cycles of racism and bigotry
towards immigrant and refugee groups in Australia; Australia’s Indigenous Affairs Minister has held
a workshop
with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders leaders on the Redfern Statement,
which called for urgent action to reverse half a billion dollars in federal
funding cuts, a review of the way federal funding is distributed, inclusion of
a specific Closing the Gap target for reducing Indigenous imprisonment and
reestablishment of the Department of Indigenous Affairs with it "managed
and run by senior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander public servants"; the rich diversity
of Australia’s indigenous population; a
US court has found black people may be justified
in fleeing from a police stop and frisk;
- women have
participated for the first
time in an Indian festival; the successes of a trial “Justice Reinvestment” programme; Indians have reacted with outrage after
passers-by watched a woman being stabbed more than 20 times on a busy street in
the capital, Delhi; a group of female
genital mutilators has pressured Sierra Leone into releasing a
suspect; a matrilineal society in Indonesia; the continuing struggle against
child marriage; a national women’s
sports coach has been stood down for allegedly exposing
himself; a
Nigerian has become head of a city;
cyberbullying and sexting by a boy led a girl to commit suicide; Saudi women are pushing for basic human rights;
-
a
statement
by the UN Commissioner on nations refusing to allow access; a call for Vietnamese authorities to drop
all charges and unconditionally release a prominent land
rights activist facing trial for peacefully exercising her rights; Human Rights Watch and the International
Commission of Jurists have reported that Indian authorities have detained a Kashmiri
human rights activist after stopping him from traveling to the United
Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva;
Azerbaijan is acting brazenly
to silence dissent; the Paralympics
are changing the way the differently abled are viewed
- see also here; a rebuttal
of the myth that most child abusers were themselves abused as children –
however, as the article itself states, there is very great need to take care
with data; the
International Criminal Court has announced that it would start considering
environmental destruction, misuse of land, and land grabs as crimes
against humanity; a call for
Pakistan to not
execute a man with a mental disability;
the diversion of fish for animal food in the West has left millions of
Africans food
insecure; a labour rights activist
has been made a scapegoat
in Thailand for that nation’s poor work practices; young carers are alarmed by the Australian
Government's recent welfare announcement, and fear
they are being depicted as a burden on society; a South African Paralympic shot-putter has
hit out at South African Airways for refusing to allow him to board with his prosthetic leg; the Paralympics have brought the problem of too few wheelchairs in
Ghana into focus; the ICC has reported
Kenya for noncooperation; the
problem of declining job opportunities; African
leaders have urged action on the Global Goals, saying ‘This is no
longer a time for promises’; the need for land rights reform in India;
an examination
of the caste-base desire for impunity leading to a push back against laws aimed
at protecting Dalits;
A play has been written about the notorious
miscarriage of justice against Lindy and Michael Chamberlain over the killing of their daughter by a dingo. Apart from the
notoriously incompetent investigation, this case showed massive public bigotry
against the Chamberlains because – in my opinion - they were members of a
minority religion, and because Lindy Chamberlain didn’t display her grief
publicly.
That latter point is one I find particularly grating – and, at that time I knew
someone, no longer a friend for many reasons including this, who was a
hypocrite who said she would have, in those circumstances, cried in front of
the cameras, and yet at many other times had specifically said she would never show emotions in front of news
cameras. I’m tempted to write “you can’t have it both ways”, but it’s more
complex than that: how people behave under extreme stress – and being hunted by
a media pack constitutes extreme stress - is complex and difficult to predict
(as another example, the rictus caused by fear of dying can cause some people
to look as if they are smiling).
There is another aspect to this as well: the racism shown towards the
indigenous trackers who had identified dingo tracks – racism shown by police
and prosecutors in Australia’s still notorious north, which equates in many
ways to the notoriety of the USA’s south – and, on that, last night I
re-watched the film “Mississippi
Burning”,
and again thought how the USA never healed after its civil war, probably
largely because the only man who could have done that, Abraham Lincoln, was
murdered at the time he could have done that healing – leading to, so far, a
century and a half of racist hate. (I’m going to spend some time thinking about
other civil wars, and try to identify what it is that leads to one nation to
heal [e.g., England, after its civil and many succession wars], and others to
not.)
In the case of the Chamberlains, the fact that attitudes changed after more evidence emerged of dingo attacks showed that there
was disbelief of the original trackers, and that I hold largely to racism,
based on my knowledge of living in the north of Australia at that time, and the
violent racism which was still present then – and still is, although in the
equally odious and deadly nonphysical forms. (I also know of other dingo
attacks at that time, such as a friend who cooked on bus tours and wound up
bailed up on tables physically fighting off a pack of dingoes a year or two
before this attack.)
In all these cases, a key question is: what causes the hate? As one character
in the film says, people aren’t born hating – well, I would qualify that as most people aren’t born hating (some
are contaminated by past life experiences, including being executed, tortured,
abused, etc), but the point remains that it is mostly taught – and that
reflects the view that violence is a contagious disease. That obviously raises the point of how to treat that
disease (see here for one excellent, informed and credible
example), but it also raises the points that (a) hate is also contagious, and
(b) good things can also be contagious.
As an example of the latter, I’ve often noticed that if I drive courteously,
others will often start to do the same.
So, we have the basics of this blog (clearing nonBPM units, and strengthening/creating BPM units), “being the example oneself”
(including advocating for BPM behaviour/options), and at least one other model
based specifically on this notion. What else? Hiding or suppressing things (as
was done in the notorious old days of the 1950s and the white picket fence
mentality) is harmful, but, in terms of active possibilities, look again at this link, and ponder … and please let me know if you come up with
any other ideas :)
- With regard to crime, judicial
matters and policing:
the problem of underfunding
“public defenders”, and the damage that does to the USA’s justice system; the successes of a trial “Justice Reinvestment” programme; Chicago police
have begun de-escalation training;
the International Criminal Court has
announced that it would start considering environmental destruction, misuse of
land, and land grabs as crimes
against humanity; the US police
officer associated with the “zero tolerance” policies has retired (which is good,
as his policies led to minorities distrusting police and, quite possibly,
increased death rates for black men); Victorian police have been warned
against shooting at moving cars despite an increase in the number of
offenders driving at officers while trying to flee; some police officers in my home state have
been suspended
for allegedly giving information to criminals;
cyber criminals have attacked a security
blogger who exposed their cash based activities; yet another police shooting death of a
black man in the USA has led to protests, and debates about police procedures
and the management of body camera footage, whereas another police killing where
the footage was released quickly and the officer charged has not seen
protests; a US court has found black
people may be justified
in fleeing from a police stop and frisk;
questions
about whether the neochristian Catholic Church sees itself as above the law;
- 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):
Azerbaijan is acting brazenly
to silence dissent; the Washington Post
has called for the prosecution of whistleblower Edward Snowden despite
using him as a source for their Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting on the
National Security Agency (NSA), arguing that only one of Snowden's leaks (that the NSA was collecting domestic
telephone metadata) was justifiable - and noting that reforms on that were
owed to Snowdon, but condemned him for leaking information about
"defensive" international intelligence operations and the NSA's
internet-monitoring program PRISM, stating "That [program] was both
clearly legal and not clearly threatening to privacy" … this is the first
paper in US media history to call for the criminal prosecution of its own
source – see also here,
for an excellent assessment of the broad issues, and here; increasing control of the internet,
including social media, to shut down dissent; Bahrain is censoring
the internet; the neochristian Catholic
Church’s Pope has castigated the media for inciting
fear;
- With regard to overcrowding and “modern” lifestyle issues (is YOUR smart phone free of conflict minerals, environmental harm 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?):
-
natural noises are disappearing
from the oceans; the International Criminal Court has announced that it
would start considering environmental destruction, misuse of land, and land
grabs as crimes
against humanity; smog from forest clearing fires in south
east Asia is estimated to have killed 100,000 people last year; protests against a new mine in Turkey
have been banned; Sweden is trying to move society back from the throwaway mentality to the old idea of repairing
things; the first of two thresholds
has been crossed towards making the Paris agreement
binding; underground vacuum pipe collection of municipal refuse from city areas; the difficulty of meeting goals for managing climate change;
- a review
of a new set of cyber-regulations for banks (in the USA); a Tesla car has been found to be vulnerable
to hacking; driverless
buses may go into service in Finland;
malware
infected USBs have been delivered to households; playlists are
now superceding albums (this is OK by me, as I have wanted a way to make my own
lists of songs for decades);
an assessment
of the pros and cons of online management of medical data; shock after a
teenager murdered her mother because the teenager had been sent to an internet
addiction centre; the problem of surveillance
capitalism; Amazon has been found
guilty of repeatedly trying to airmail
dangerous goods;
-
the harm
to health of some jobs and of unemployment (which has a particularly bad impact on mental health – more so if in
a nation which has harsh policies around unemployment); practical support
to dairy farmers in my home state; the problem of declining job opportunities;
-
the successes
of a trial “Justice Reinvestment” programme; an article on better housing to improve
density which fails
to mention the psychological problems associated with living closer, not to
mention the option of controlling population growth … ; the diversion of fish for animal food in the
West has left millions of Africans food
insecure; the celebration of the
lack of isolation associated with this job is an illustration of one of our MAJOR
problems: the inability
to cope with solitude; some
evidence that turmeric in
food is beneficial; public
transport in my home city is getting more overcrowded; the distribution of population growth;
- With regard to education: the education department in my home state is
being sued by survivors of child abuse committed by a
former teacher; a teacher has made homophobic
remarks (and
should be removed while the investigation is carried out); concerns that testing is ruining the joy of
reading; lower
inflation may give bonus
funds for education in my nation;
- 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 US government undermined
its own efforts to tackle abuses and corruption in Afghanistan by allying with
abusive warlords as part of its counterinsurgency policy, according to a US
government oversight agency; a US air
strike has killed
8 Afghan police personnel; the
experience of Afghani’s fleeing
the fighting;
- With regard to Africa, the Africa
Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) also has:
-
at least 20 people have been killed in fighting
between rival rebel groups in the Central African Republic – see also here;
-
a warning
that the Democratic Republic of Congo government’s decisions about its next
presidential election will be critical for the country’s future; violent protests in the DRC about the
current president’s attempts to hold on to power have resulted in at least 50
deaths, leading to UN criticism
of the response and Europe considering sanctions;
-
“In the past 10 months, Ethiopian
security forces have killed at least 500 protesters and detained tens of thousands of people
during largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations. In one August weekend
alone, security forces gunned down at least 100 protesters”;
-
opposition figures have been in jail in Eritrea for 15
years;
-
Mugabe has unleashed thugs on
protestors; there is a possibility
that Zimbabwe is heading towards civil war (this obviously requires the usual clearing of nonBPM
and strengthening of BPM units to reduce fracturing of the military and
Mugabe’s addiction to power, but such work also needs to include getting
Zimbabwe’s neighbouring nations prepared for intervention – possibly military –
for humanitarian / R2P reasons);
-
corruption
in Morocco;
-
a proposal to remove age limits so the
existing Ugandan president can stay on has been rejected;
-
the diversion of fish for animal
food in the West has left millions of Africans food insecure;
-
drought has left millions of Malawians starving;
-
the Paralympics have brought the problem of too few wheelchairs in
Ghana into focus;
-
a group
of female genital mutilators has pressured Sierra Leone into releasing a suspect;
-
a Nigerian has become head of a city;
continuing disputes
over the killing by the Nigerian army of hundreds of people;
-
a group of African nongovernmental organizations and international groups
with a presence in Africa have called on the African Union to stop
considering leaving the ICC;
-
increasing control of the internet, including social media, to shut down
dissent;
-
West African nations have been urged to protect
whistleblowers;
- With regard to China and East and South East Asia:
-
risks of a banking
crisis in China are growing; Japan
has increased its military
activity in the South China Sea; declining interest
in marriage in China; China has jailed
a prominent human rights lawyer for 12 years;
a military
opinion piece on China’s actions in the South China which ends by summing “China
plays Go (a game of position), while America tends to be a poker player —
daring its opponents to call its bets”;
shock
after a teenager murdered her mother because the teenager had been sent to an
internet addiction centre;
-
for almost four months Cambodia's acting Opposition leader has chosen to
stay within the relative safety of his party's headquarters in Phnom Penh,
rather than risk arrest outside on charges many consider politically-motivated;
-
smog from forest clearing fires in south east Asia is estimated to have killed
100,000 people last year;
-
an assessment that North Korea is
close to mass production of nuclear weapons;
-
questions are being asked over why so
few women are involved in Burma’s peace talks;
-
a matrilineal society in Indonesia; the hypocrisy,
repression and anti-pluralism behind Indonesia’s Anti-LGBT push;
-
a labour rights activist has been made a scapegoat
in Thailand for that nation’s poor work practices – see also here,
on the problems caused by the imbalance in power between governments (and
organisations?) and workers;
-
Papua New Guinea's diversity has been celebrated
at the 60th Goroka
Show;
What does one do about the mass killings of Philippines
President Duterte?
Well, firstly, remember that the Philippines is a sovereign nation and a
democracy which has elections and elected him; and also that it is a nation
facing quite a few challenges – some of them the legacy of the violent invasion
and occupation by former imperial powers (Spain, the USA and Japan). In the
lives of the voters of that nation, crime – particularly violent crime –
associated with the drug problem is an extreme problem: under such
circumstances, people tend to focus on the obvious symptom – as happens
elsewhere as well (for instance, the racist-based xenophobia of my nation) –
and want that symptom suppressed. It’s a little like the fight against bigotry:
the struggle has focused on racism, then sexism, then homophobia and
transphobia, then disabilities, and so on – and at some stage people will start
to realise that this is dancing around the issue, stamping on the flame of the
current focus point rather than addressing the underlying fire of bigotry.
In the case of the Philippines, the underlying problems despair, poverty and
social disconnection: the drug problem will ALWAYS be there, until the causes,
not the symptoms, are addressed – and that is difficult, much bigger than
killing thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of drug addicts
(the lack of increased funding, incidentally, for rehabilitation strongly
suggests that rehabilitation is not perceived as a viable solution).
In the meantime, what can other nations do? Share their evidence which led to
that knowledge – not just the expert opinions, because to do that smacks of
past colonialism: share the evidence, and let the Philippine people draw their
own conclusions. Duterte is an opportunistic political-power-addict who is
creating a massive amount of negative karma for himself, but he is not the real
issue – that is the voters of the Philippines who are living with the outcomes
of the drug problem every day.
Oh, and once that’s done, do the same in the other nations that also need
that education, albeit less urgently needed than the Philippines: the USA,
Australia, etc.
- With regard to the conflict in Iraq (noting that Iraq was once a peaceful and
prosperous society, before the UK / USA / CIA backed revolution – see here, and that it needs an emphasis on a secular society and citizenship – but also here, although based in Syria and here):
- Iraq’s Prime Minister has called for global
cooperation against violent extremism;
-
and
the Iraq Body Count project
reports 16 people killed in the last week;
- With regard to the Libyan civil war: more protests
against the UN-backed “Government of National Accord”;
- With regard to Russia: the “Fancy Bears” group responsible for
leaking the World Anti Doping Agency's (WADA) private medical records is
claimed to have has strong links
to the Russian secret service that leads all the way to the Russian presidency; one politician in Russia is standing
up to Putin, whose SSR Russia party appears to have won recent elections –
which had a very low turnout - easily; Russia is continuing to suppress
human rights;
In my work travels this week, I wound up too tired to
drive safely one day, and stayed overnight in a motel. I’d grabbed my “go pack”
(adapted from the “go bag” on boats, with stuff you’ll need if the boat is
sinking and you need to get off in a hurry), as usual, but nothing to read (my
work lap top won’t take DVDs), and I wound up watching … TV. Briefly. In the
course of cruising through the channels, I came across a programme on
extremists in Russia, one of whom made an admission about wanting to go back to
the days of the USSR (explained as being because of the economic advantages of
most people having jobs), and it brought to mind something I’d realised
recently: there is no going back for some things …
I used to live on a small boat (24’ – 8 metres, a bit too small, really), and
have regretted moving off for many reasons. However, my life has moved on as a
result of that decision, and the option of moving back onto a boat is no longer
a viable option for me – I may get back into sailing in some way, but it is
unlikely I will live aboard again. I have to move – appreciate and enjoy what I
had, and focus in the here and now on managing change.
The same principle applies also for other individuals, groups, nations, and the
world.
One of the criticisms of the evil John Howard, former Australian Prime Minister
responsible for the growth and subsequent domination of the politics of fear,
is that he wanted to go back to the 50s – the era of white picket fences when
there didn’t seem to be problems (because they were hidden): that won’t happen.
We also can’t, in this timeline, undo World War Part One, the counter cultural revolution of the 60s, outlawing of
some forms of bigotry (notice I am listing some good things as well – change
isn’t all bad :) ), or the invention of the PC, Internet and automation.
The latter three are likely to cause dramatic changes – such as erosion of employment – unless the changes are managed
constructively.
That is something I would like to say to the people on that programme about
Russia last night: there are some changes you can’t fight (some you can – DDT
and thalidomide show that), and it will be healthier and more constructive for
them to focus on trying to make this new world a better world, than focusing on
convenient targets of hatred.
- With regard to South and Central America: following the
peace deal, Columbia is now looking to boost its food
productivity;
- With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian
sub-continent), The
Hindu and other sources have:
-
Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists have
reported that Indian authorities have detained a Kashmiri
human rights activist after stopping him from traveling to the United
Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva;
a side
effect of the curfew in Kashmir is that Indian intelligence cannot reach
its informers; women
have participated for the first
time in an Indian festival; an editorial on India’s outreach
to its neighbours; India may be moving
towards a harder
response to violent extremism; an
opinion piece calling for equality
in preference to developing a uniform civil (law) code; Indians have reacted with outrage after
passers-by watched a woman being stabbed more than 20 times on a busy street in
the capital, Delhi; the need for land rights reform in India;
cyberbullying and sexting by a boy led a girl to commit suicide; calls for restoration
of a check dam to prevent seawater ingress (this also shows the need to manage population growth
and other increasing pressures on/demands for water); an examination
of the caste-base desire for impunity leading to a push back against laws aimed
at protecting Dalits;
-
growing tensions between India and Pakistan over a recent violent extremist attack –
see also here, here, here, here, and here;
-
in a rare move of support for transgender
people, Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights has issued
a forceful call for an investigation after an
unidentified assailant violently attacked a transgender woman;
-
nuns
in Nepal who have studied Kung Fu;
- With regard to Sudan and South Sudan:
-
Sudanese
authorities have yet
to provide justice to victims of a violent crackdown on anti-austerity
protesters in Khartoum in September 2013, according to the African Centre for
Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), Amnesty International, and Human Rights
Watch; a US court has ruled victims of
the bombing of the USS Cole can get Sudanese
assets;
-
South Sudan is shopping
around for troops from other nations to deploy; the USA will help
South Sudanese who reportedly want to return home to help rebuild their nation;
- with regard
to the conflict in Syria: Australian aircraft were involved in a
US-led coalition operation which, in a terrible “friendly fire” incident, killed dozens of Syrian soldiers who were apparently mistaken for violent
extremists, and has put the ceasefire at risk … and the ceasefire has subsequently been ended; aid trucks have been hit by air attacks,
leading to a cessation
of all aid and condemnation
of the Syrian government. There is a dispute over who
did the attack,
which shows that Russia is sensitive to this issue; Syria
(and Russia?) has attacked rebel areas, in defiance of the USA; Syria may be
trying to flex its military
muscle against Israel – see also here; the
experiences of one rebel in Syria, which show why the hate is escalating – and usually does;
a critique
of Turkey’s occupation of northern Syria from the point of view of
international law – which requires return to civilian governance; the USA has called for planes to be grounded … a few years
too late for it to be effective – the time for this would have been as part of
the response to the use of chemical weapons, as soon as the use of barrel bombs
was discovered, if not at the time of the initial response. Had this been done,
the situation would still have been terrible, but the forces opposing Assad
would be in better shape, and it is possible Russia would not have been
involved – and all without the US dirtying its hands … much; more attacks in Aleppo
- see also here; the UAE will take in a few
of the many Syrian refugees;
- with regard to Turkey: protests against a new mine in Turkey have
been banned; 45 students who protested 4 years ago have
been jailed; the current purge
is causing a “brain drain”; a critique
of Turkey’s occupation of northern Syria from the point of view of
international law – which requires return to civilian governance;
- with regard to the conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in
the east: Ukrainian hackers have stolen
online data from an Australian company;
- With regard to West Asia / the Middle East,
the Middle
East Eye and other sources have:
-
claims Israel is trying to silence
Arab voices in Israel; the challenges
faced by a Palestinian Paralympian – including losing all his family in a Israeli
military assault; criticism
of the US-Israeli military aid deal; Palestinians
still long for peace, but will never accept ‘temporary solutions,’ according to
President Abbas; the “Quartet” has said Israel’s ongoing settlement building to eroding the chances of a two state solution; an English church has been smeared
for a display about life for Palestinians;
-
human rights non-government organisations (NGOs) in Egypt have been accused
of receiving foreign funding to 'sow chaos', with their assets frozen and their
directors possibly now facing life sentences;
-
secular
candidates and grassroots activism are likely
to be significant in Jordan’s coming elections;
-
Saudi hospital staff have gone on strike over months of unpaid
work; Saudi women are pushing for basic human rights;
-
a Baloch (a people in Iran) politician will seek asylum
in India; a Lebanese-born US citizen
was lured
to Iran and jailed; women in Iran
are courageously defying a bigoted fatwa by publicly riding bicycles;
-
hundreds of migrant workers in Qatar have been unpaid
for months;
-
Bahrain is censoring
the internet;
- With regard
to the war in Yemen: claims one
third of Saudi-led air strikes have hit civilians;
- With regard to natural and other catastrophes: the
diversion of fish for animal food in the West has left millions of Africans food insecure; drought
has left millions of Malawians starving;
- With regard to peace and/or spirituality generally, and
the occasional nice story:
broad cooperation, such as that shown by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria, is also the key to achieving the UN Sustainable
Development Goals; the United Nations has launched a mobile application to provide a global forum for industry, governments and
individual citizens to collectively realise the Sustainable Development Goals;
and from a range of other sites:
- in
a backward
step for alleged evolution, renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has noted
the parallels between the physical gestures of US presidential candidate Trump
and alpha male chimps. If this is in
fact why people are voting for Trump, we, as a species, need to rethink
our education systems and how allegedly “special” or “superior” over animals our
species is;
- one of my favourite TV shows – back when I used to watch them – was “Outback Café”: others are also now
promoting the advantages of indigenous
foods and flavours;
- a resurgence of the Jewish community in Portugal.
(Dear Reader, did you note and reject any use by me of
pejorative terms? If not, please re-read this and do so – remember, I expect
you to think)
Now, some relocated notes and other
comments/information.
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), there are online groups (e.g. here
and here
– which I’m not members of, and thus do not know the quality of) and even
an app. 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.
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
gems),
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.
