The – exhausting – demands of my day job
have resulted in this week’s Gnwmythr’s News being less comprehensively
researched than I wish: my apologies, but I have to pay the bills and rent.
Information and Summary/Analysis:
Note: I am NOT a journalist, and make NO claims to objectivity or
freedom from bias. Furthermore, I do not hold copyright to any of the articles
I link to, nor do I claim authorship, except for those links to material I have
written for this and my related blogs, and my commentary in
these posts. (I try to make sure quotes
are shown using quotation marks.)
The purpose
of posting these news links is not only to inform; it is also to
stimulate a connection to:
- nonBPM units that
need to be cleared,
and
- BPM units that
need to be strengthened,
so that you
can do the clearing / strengthening that is required.
That
only
works if you
don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by this, so take it
in small chunks if you need to, but
remember to actively clear and heal! … including yourself.
As part of that, note that there are key
uncooperatives
to be cleared (
rescued):
you should
ONLY address those that are within your ability – if you get a
sense
(e.g., through meditation) or are told by your BPM
Guides/
Higher
Self to back off, do so, and content yourself with clearing the smaller
nonBPM units within your capability – which
will weaken those
uncooperatives. More importantly, there are many people doing this sort of
work, and others are quite likely to be able to clear the uncooperatives
concerned.
That is also one of the many reasons it is OK to take a break or cut back this
work if you need – in fact, doing so will help you deal with the next point,
which is …
… the energies we use and manifest in our daily lives contribute to the larger
soup of energies that influence world events, so it pays to address those as
well, to the extent that one can, or to at least stop oneself projecting them
into the psychic soup.
The reminders / explanations about Sunday’s
meditation-clearing
are
here;
see also
here,
here,
here,
(here and also here and here are interesting),
here,
here,
here,
and
this
post reminds us to be patient and persistent, like a “speeding oak”.
There are some notes at the end of this post about other options for those who
do not like this way of working.
Finally, one of the biggest concerns I
have about spirituality in the world now is that the concept of agape type love
has been perverted into both a quest for emotional warm fuzzies, and an excuse
to avoid doing the hard work of improving oneself and all that one does. On that, it may help to consider the
simplification that one cannot love perfectly until one has learned how to
perfect. (And one of the concerns I have
about those resisting change is that they are so shallow / superficial /stupid
that they thing their actions have ONLY the meaning of their [limited]
conscious intention … )
The themes that come to mind for my work
this week, after I review all this news, are:
(a) based on my interpretation
of information here and here with Saturn in
Sagittarius contributing to finding an authentic balance (until 20th
December, 2017), Uranus in Aries contributing to fresh and possibly
radical starts (until some date in the Year 2018), and Pluto in
Capricorn contributing to a transformation of power and business (and careers) (until some date
in the Year 2024), conditions are ripe for a change for the better in
world politics;
(b)
there is an enormous need to clear nonBPM energy – the thought
forms, unattached energy and scars of the collective unconscious created by
millennia of violence, including spirit rescue, and healing the warped views, seemingly “inherent” biases, and other
damage created. Also, remember that:
1. the counter to fear is genuine EQ and clear
thinking, expressed
through calm,
de-escalating speech,
2. where problems exist,
advocating for BPM responses, and
being as BPM as one can be, are constructive solutions,
3. peace is powerful, but it is a process
requiring patient, persistent and nuanced nurturing, and a blend of
conventional spiritual work, clearing nonBPM units, and
physical world activism;
(c) viewing the overall emotional state of the world, this week I will
continue working with Wolfsangle:
;
(e)
dealing with the 45th US CEO / President, for whom I use the
alias Voldemort II, requires:
1. eroding (i.e., slow,
patient and persistent clearing of the little bits one can SAFELY cope with –
remember, you are but one of many) the nonBPM influences feeding his
arrogance and mind-set, and strengthening Voldemort II’s BPM Guides and giving them whatever BPM help they
need to present a BPM alternative – for
which my “changing the personality of oppressors” post is useful – with
a view to promoting what would seem to be a change of heart,
2. lifting the nonBPM
influences from the shoulders of Voldemort II’s marginal supporters, allowing
them to “come to their senses”, which may result in them feeling bewilderment/shame, and simultaneously strengthening the BPM
influences around them (e.g., their
BPM Guides) to counter them
backsliding,
3. to address the others,
physical world activism (especially
education) is required. As well as
doing what one can there, help those who are doing this work (e.g., sending them “positive vibes”) and look for nonBPM blockages that can be
cleared (e.g., setting up a BPM
vortex above meetings to draw away external nonBPM influences/energies/units, so that the audience can listen as they
are, without any obsession/possession);
(f) (no
specific themes this week)
News and other matters
from this past week follows:
news items are presented in the following
sections (there is overlap, and items may
appear more than once):
- Permanent and Thematically Arranged
News,
- Location Based News,
- From a Range of Other Sites;
opportunities/good
news are shown in green;
comments are shown in purple; and
WARNING: some of these links may contain triggers around issues such
as violence, sexual assault, discrimination,
etc.
Permanent Issues and Thematically Arranged News:
- Permanent issue: may all
actual and potential BPM Leaders
be kept BPM safe, including keeping them undetectable to the nonBPM and keeping
all their Significant Others inviolable against being used for indirect psychic
attack, and may they have all the BPM resources (including an assured income, given the power that nonBPM forces have
in the structures of the material world), opportunities and assistance (including so-called “good luck”) for
them to be BPM effective at influencing the world’s direction, development and
unfoldment, all as is for the Highest Spiritual Good;
- Permanent issue: may all
humans recognise, irrespective of the appearance of difference, the essential
shared humanness of other people, the inherent resilience, the dynamic power,
the strength of BPM collaboration, and the opportunities of having a diverse,
inclusive and welcoming population, and may all people choose fairness, when
such decisions are before them;
- Permanent issue: may all
actual and potential BPM Violence
Interrupters (and Interrupters of
hate / fear / anger) of be kept BPM safe, and may they have all the BPM
opportunities and assistance (so-called
“good luck”) for them to be BPM effective at containing and stopping – along the lines of the Cure
Violence model - the spread
of violence (and hate / fear / anger),
all as is for the Highest Spiritual Good;
- Permanent issue: may all
humans choose to live modestly – to forgo outdoing others, or trying to have
more than they need - for the sake of an easier, more manageable life, if they
cannot do it for the sake of the planet;
- Permanent issue: may all
humans be in better communication with the better parts of their nature;
- Matters warranting particular attention:
-
thousands have marched in the USA against
a white supremacist rally (with a tiny minority again being violent or offensive idiots – others actually helped the people
they were protesting against escape violent attacks); in a clumsy attack, which portends more
sophisticated methods, right wing extremists have been using fake Twitter
accounts and images of battered women from anti-domestic violence campaigns to
attempt to smear anti-fascist groups in the USA; a somewhat clumsily written examination
of violence and non-violence in the context of the tragic events at Charlottesville
which shows the violent rhetoric and the presence of weapons are grounds for
concern – “nonviolence is not simply the
absence of physical violence” (also, the ACLU will no longer defend hate groups
that protest with guns);
-
a warning that the child-centred parenting movement has gone too far, and “weak parenting”
of boys is creating a generation of entitled brats (“Prince Boofheads” – some of whom I have had
the misfortune of interacting with) who think they are owed the
world and can lash out in violence when they do not get their way (recommended cures are: show your son that
you love him whether he wins or loses, let your boys experience adversity [I have a friend who had an idiot helicopter parenting
woman try to interfere when he was doing this], foster a relationship
with a supportive, charismatic adult, let him take responsibility for his
contribution to disappointing outcomes, be your own hero - don't live
vicariously through your son, NEVER put up with intimidating or violent
behaviour — even if it seems trivial, seek professional help if violence,
mental illness of substance abuse are interfering with development [I heard the author interviewed on radio, and he also
commented about parents trying to pressure schools into adopting the same
slackness, which listeners indicated was a major problem with education]);
-
my former state MP has passed away,
and is being remembered for her fierce
advocacy against family violence and gender constraints (we corresponded occasionally, and
connected on a few matters – such as a preference for being barefoot: she will
be missed);
-
this week’s atrocity alert
at R2P lists Yemen, Central African Republic and Philippines;
- With regard to democracy (which requires protection of minorities and the vulnerable – and remember
Gandhi’s question about whether one is fighting to change things, or to punish,
and the list of 198 methods of nonviolent action), freedom
and governance (e.g., here, here, here and here, and see also here):
Note:
I have a section specifically for the 45th US President below
- analyses
this week include: in response
to Voldemort II’s Marie
Antoinette, an EXCELLENT
article on one of the major ideas associated with a progressive tax system: the
idea of "equal marginal sacrifice"; a review of the economic and related policy
changes of the UK’s Labour and Australia’s Labor Parties in recent decades; a consideration of whether Parliament
should have the say on going to war (the issue to me is different for aggressive and “defence
at a distance/pre-emptive defence” and close, immediate and genuinely defensive
wars: I consider the former should be subject to Parliamentary approval, but
not the latter);
-
of concern this week: Parliamentary Democracy has been ended
in Venezuela; more mid-20th
century sexism/male supremacist rubbish in New Zealand; after being criticised for excessive pay,
Australia Post's CEO quit and received $11
million ... ; concerns
over excessive accumulation of leave in government departments in one
Australian state (do they have enough staff so people can
take leave?); the
number of staff affected by the acoustic attack at the US Embassy in Cuba has increased to 16, as
Canada says it is not
automatically assuming the Cuban government was behind the attack;
-
other concerning events have occurred or are developing in: US
aid;
-
in the grey/mixed [good and bad
aspects] or neutral area this week:
the USA is taking action
to attempt to prevent interference in future elections (hmm … ); a US Democratic politician is being tried
for corruption;
-
other events in the grey or neutral area have occurred or are developing
in: Brazil;
-
good news this week includes: a federal judge
in a US state has again thrown out the state's controversial voter ID law, which
required voters to show one of several approved forms of photo ID to cast a
ballot;
-
and other matters in my home
nation this week: the AMA has warned
of junk health insurance policies, but there are bigger issues; a former neoliberal MP has called for the
Australian neoliberal Party to “at last
take female representation in Parliament seriously"; random drug
checks on welfare recipients have moved closer; the public debate
over moving citizenship ceremonies away from
Invasion Day at one local Council in my home city has had some
interesting ideas (“Mourning Day” in the
morning; changing the celebration to the anniversary of federation – ideas which
I heard on the radio [nice to have a car with a
working radio :) ]) and some stupid
responses; the Sex Party is aiming
to broaden
its appeal by renaming itself the Reason Party; more than 100 people have rallied for a
royal commission into the Department of Veterans' Affairs in response to the
rising tide of veterans committing suicide; a review following multiple deaths at a show
ride will lead to creation of the position of Public
Safety Ombudsman, and the crime of industrial manslaughter; “unemployment
benefits [are] not enough for recipients to afford basic needs”; the alleged mastermind behind a (phoenixing based) tax-evasion scheme
has been ordered
to pay $8.5 million to the ATO;
- With regard to the 45th US
President (who I consider seriously dangerous, even if his
administration looks like a Schoolyard Squabble Squad) this week:
I
deliberately avoid using the 45th US President’s name for valid
psychic reasons: however, to both simplify my typing and remind people that he
is dangerous (actually, I consider him evil),
I will use either “the USA’s CEO” or “Voldemort II” (or a combination – and the
“II” is because the Harry Potter series had Voldemort I) or a variation thereof
– in this section, at least - as an alias.
-
a review
of predicted concerns regarding Voldemort II “as a [US] national security
threat”;
-
disturbing parallels
between Voldemort II’s regime and those of the 1920s in the USA – including
good insight into the non-historical, white supremacist purpose of the statues
being removed, and the rebranding of the KKK;
after reaching out to the establishment with a speech setting out his
case for extending the war in Afghanistan, Voldemort II has ripped
open the wounds of Charlottesville with evasive, revisionist rantings,
conflation and outright lies to his supporters; “the
United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has urged
the US government to reject racist speech and ideology and criticised its
"failure at the highest political level" to unequivocally condemn the
racist violence in Charlottesville earlier this month”;
-
a conservative lawyer’s thoughts
on Voldemort II and other conservative lawyers who continue to support
Voldemort II; a critique of why
Voldemort II’s possible pardon of a recently convicted law enforcement officer
would be contrary
to the intention of the US Constitution;
-
Voldemort II’s fellow Republicans have rebuked
him after his threat to shut down the US Government if Congress did not agree
to fund constructing his propose Mexican border wall rattled "markets and
cast a shadow over congressional efforts to raise the country's debt ceiling
and pass spending bills; Voldemort II's
continuation of business activities is costing heaps;
-
where Voldemort II went
wrong (e.g., he could have got an
infrastructure spending plan up and running);
-
the wife of a US administration official has earned the comment "the Marie Antoinette for our age" – see also here, for an excellent response;
-
the effect of physically
threatening men like Voldemort II on women has been made clearer;
-
other matters relating to US CEO Voldemort II: Afghanistan,
the
US military;
- With regard to violent
extremism (VE) (aka, terrorism - e.g., Da’esh)
(ALL people
advocating hate or discrimination in response to violent extremism are actively doing the work of violent extremists. This will be countered, in part, by the sort of
approach advocated by “Cure Violence”, and, in part, by addressing real and
perceived disempowerment and acknowledging the variety in what provides
genuine, BPM fulfilment as a counter to fanaticism as a source of meaning. I am
deliberately avoiding the use of specific names of violent extremist groups as
much as possible to reduce the publicity they get – I’m not a primary
news source, and thus consider I can do so):
-
violent extremist attacks/acts have occurred this week in Finland,
Belgium,
and, according to this
Wikipedia page, there have been 11 attacks in Iraq, 4 attacks in
Afghanistan, and 2 attacks in Syria (out of a total of 37); prevention has or
may have occurred in Australia, Lebanon, the Netherlands; and actions (Note: there are many
others that don’t reach the media I read) have occurred this week against
violent extremists in Spain;
- a guide
for venue operators and event organisers on prevention of violent extremist
attacks has been released;
- concerns
over Australia’s possible response to the growing violent extremist threat in
the Philippines; an examination of the challenges
to security as violent extremists lose territory;
-
other violent extremist matters have also occurred in: US
aid;
- With regard
to refugees (noting the New York Declaration):
-
Papua New Guinea has told Australia its
refugee gulag in PNG cannot be shut in two months and the refugees left
behind;
- With regard to human (and other) rights and
discrimination (incidentally, I consider it vital to identify people
who are bigots as they clearly have flaws in their powers of observation and
thinking – shown by the fact that NOT
all people act hatefully without education/lobbying/the restraint of laws):
-
on homophobia/transphobia (including
heteronormativity, cisgender-normativity and the suppression of the religious
freedom of those religions that support Equal Marriage) this week (noting that
trans kids are the same as cis kids of the trans kids’ true gender) : the (union busting) head of an major
Australian company will support Equal Marriage; the vicious lies and
attacks on LGBT people that were expected as a result of the Equal Marriage
campaign in Australia have commenced; white powder in a package to one of the
leading anti-Equal Marriage groups led to an evacuation (this sort
of utter bl***dy stupidity, if it came from a pro-Equal Marriage advocate as
suspected [and, sadly, likely] is UTTERLY
unacceptable, and is EXTREMELY
damaging to achieving Equal marriage); legalising
Equal Marriage will reduce LGBT suicide; there was a record
surge in numbers of people enrolling and
updating their details before the rolls closed; the postal survey is not the plebiscite that the
neoliberals went to the elections on;
before announcing an increased military mission in Afghanistan – which
shows military violence has defeated
nation building , Voldemort II specifically excluded
LGBT troops when thanking members of the military (although not mentioned in the article, I
heard the start of his speech);
a nuanced, objective critique
of those who attempt to use the bible to justify the hate that is homophobia; the image of a US pop star was used without
permission by the anti-Equal Marriage campaign, but her image was removed
and an apology issued to the understandably angry star, who is pro-Equal
Marriage; in a FactCheck rebuttal,
Australia is identified as one
of three "advanced, English speaking" nations that have not even
partially legalised Equal Marriage - the other two are Hong Kong, which is
constrained by China, and Singapore, which has not legalised gay sex and still
issues tender documents that refer to "he". Not particularly
edifying, even if the claim was indeed overstated ... ; Voldemort II has now ordered the US military
to implement
his act of transphobic hate;
- on white supremacy and other forms of racism
this week: more white
supremacist abuse
in sport; the damaging myth that Captain
Cook “discovered” Australia – and the staggering
reactions of some (white) people to that fact; two statues of pro-slavery
confederate generals have been covered; a testament to
the extraordinary efficacy of transgenerational storytelling in Aboriginal
cultures is demonstrable
recollection by Aboriginal peoples of meteorite
falls, postglacial sea-level rise and volcanic eruptions that occurred several
thousand years ago; false
reports are being made to distract police so drug
(alcohol) smugglers can get their evil into indigenous communities where it
is banned; “resistance is growing to the cashless welfare card in one of the
Federal Government's original trial sites, with a key [indigenous] community leader who signed up the East
Kimberley turning against the controversial scheme” ("It didn't do what I thought it was
going to do … I'm seeing there is more drinking, there's a lot of
sly-grogging”); the need for more people of colour to be audacious (and, again, the appalling white supremacy in sport);
-
on male supremacy and other
forms of sexism this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone): why salary parity shouldn’t
be overlooked (“I can’t tell you the
number of CEOs I’ve coerced into doing a pay gap analysis who’ve sworn
beforehand, hand on heart, that they wouldn’t have a gender pay gap, and then
it’s a huge moment when they find out they have. And when they deep dive into
the data and find out what’s causing it, they get the biggest shock of all”); an examination
of what “greater gender diversity will create a stronger insurance industry”
means; the effect of threatening
men like Voldemort II has been made clear;
“a Toronto orchestra has shut down
after "fat-shaming" volunteer singers”;
-
other sexism matters have also occurred in: Australian
politics, New
Zealand politics;
-
on workers’, children’s, privacy,
and other forms of human (and other – e.g., animal) rights this week: “exploitation or breaching your visa: The limited choices of the food delivery
worker”; the report of a review
into the RSPCA has recommended
that it stop undertaking animal activism against legal activities (commercial farms, duck hunting, etc),
and focus on the prevention of cruelty to companion animals (and “emergencies”
at commercial sites) the comment about exceeding its authority is valid, but
it is a narrow minded perspective … ; a well-known
Australian businessperson is continuing to act against modern slavery - see here
for the experience of someone who was enslaved after coming to Australia; the Royal Commission into Institutional
Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has found that the Navy failed
in its duty of care by allowing widespread abuse of recruits; “unemployment
benefits [are] not enough for recipients to afford basic needs”; the advocacy of a man who found out he was
fathered by a priest has led to the Irish Catholic church approving a document
in May outlining the "principles of
responsibility regarding priests who father children while in ministry. … If,
contrary to this obligation [of celibacy], a priest fathers a child, the wellbeing of his child should be his first consideration"; complaints
about Australia’s disability insurance scheme, conceived under the previous
government and now being “managed” by neoliberals, have increased 700 per cent; “US
healthcare provider Aetna has apologised after letters sent to thousands of
patients publicly displayed their HIV status” how does
anyone do something so blatantly stupid?); a US state law that allowed injured
undocumented workers to be arrested and potentially deported rather than paid
workers' compensation benefits will be reviewed;
-
other workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human or other rights
matters have also occurred in: Australia,
the
cyber world, Burma;
- With regard to crime, judicial
matters and policing:
-
a police officer’s experience of PTSD; the new Post Sentence Authority in my home
state will replace
the parole board on serious sex offenders who are considered an unacceptable
risk to the community; a committee
investigating “the failings” of the family
law system has decided not to call senior judges (allegedly over a possible
breach of the principle of separation of powers) but said it will “still be
critical of the sector” … is there an element of pre-judgement here?; in breach
of legislation and a WHO agreement, “big tobacco” has been helping police manage
illegal tobacco; an investigation is
underway into abuse
of school cheerleaders in the US;
another execution
in the USA, of a white supremacist who committed multiple racially motivated
murders, using an experimental anaesthetic (and another flawed soul is sent to rebirth with a bit
more damage … );
-
other crime, judicial and
policing matters have occurred in: Australia,
Australia
(2nd), El
Salvador;
- With regard to press aka the
media, and freedom of expression (keeping in mind that claims of presenting
“both sides” of a debate can be WRONG if the other side is RUBBISH –as is the case
on LGBTIQ issues: having an “equal say”, or a “right to respond” MUST be
assessed in the context of what is happening overall in society – NOT solely in
one limited incident. Also, funding is an issue … ):
-
“Cambridge University Press, the
world's oldest publishing house, has reversed a decision to censor content in China”; tech
companies COULD distinguish between free speech and hate speech if THEY CHOSE TO;
-
other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: Cambodia – see also here, Burundi;
- With regard to overcrowding and “modern” lifestyle issues (is YOUR smart phone free of conflict minerals, environmental harm and child labour? [IT manufacturers are making some effort
in on those – in response to activist pressure.] Do you suffer from FOMO or addiction? Are you having second thoughts about technology? Is your social media
making you miserable or envious? Are you being duped by modern mantras? Are you “failing” at being well? Does your AI use ethics? Does your corporation misuse
mindfulness as a distraction from working conditions? Are you afflicted
by management fads? Do you understand embedded emissions? Do you want a bigger, flashier
home/car than people had 50 years ago – which means you are actively abusing
the environment and society’s cohesion and contributing to the problem of financialisation? Are you accursed with the “new is always
good” groupthink of the computer world? Do you abuse workers by insisting on busy-ness? Are you raising a Prince Boofhead?):
-
on climate change and other
environmental matters this week:
the recorded changes
that have happened to one Australian city’s weather; researchers have been shocked
by the extent of coral bleaching in the Pacific; use of electric cars in Australia for long
distance trips is limited
by limited recharge options, and is expensive;
entry of toxic mine water into an Australian city’s water catchment has increased
now the mine has closed (which, if it means pumping and treating the water
stopped, is NOT a surprise, despite the article’s surprise); the reasons people have not
taken up solar in one northern Australian city; “mining giant BHP Billiton will sell its US shale assets
after pressure from (activist) shareholders to
offload the underperforming business”;
an artificial reef in Sydney harbour will
hopefully revitalise marine life as it restores natural habitats; my home state will set its renewable
energy target of 40 per cent by 2025 in law; a major oil company has been accused
by University researchers of misleading the public over what it knew about
climate change; the need
for poorer households to be able to access solar power; local and state
governments in Australia are choosing to work
together on brave new actions rather than wait for
the national neoliberal government;
increased risk of landslides as the permafrost in mountainous areas –
such as the Alps - melts
(I read this
the day after watching this film); the USA has made another
backdown from support for climate change measures; collaboration for "water wise" cities; “the human right
to water extends to ecosystems”; claims
of an 'environmental nightmare' after thousands of salmon escaped
from a US fish farm – with claims that this due to high tides at the
eclipse not stacking up, as have been higher tides recently; calls for better protection
of snow leopards;
-
other environmental matters have occurred in: Ethiopia,
Brazil, the Pacific;
-
on technology and science
matters this week: research
shows the NBN rollout was politically motivated and socioeconomically biased
from the beginning (sop tell; me something I don’t know) and the
rollout has failed, having been reduced to an engineering-only project with a
strong political sideshow: it needs
a first generation of "telecommunication planners" to work
alongside transport planners, social planners, economic planners, water
planners and energy planners to save it;
new guidance on passwords and passphrases (I actually use multiple passphrases and
at least one formula);
concern that there is no
protection against people being denied health insurance on the basis of
genetic tests;
-
other technology and science matters have occurred in: the
“free speech” debate;
-
on economic and financial
matters this week: “humble chief executives are in high demand — but good luck finding one”;
if the problem of not
changing performance targets and workload was addressed, more people could work part time; insight into how the saviour of a series of
steel mills works, including using renewable
energy to cut costs;
-
on affordable housing and
homelessness matters this week:
unscrupulous bank policies have contributed to Australians having
unacceptable levels of housing debt;
China has cut
back on overseas investment; my home state
has taken action to help renters and first home buyers; a brief history of Australia's home
ownership obsession (always high rates, partly because of
hangover from feudalistic land ownership requirements for voting, but
featuring, from the turn of the 20th century, feeding residents from the backyard
– which should still be done, in my view. The rot
set in during the 1980s, when deregulation of banks led to the idiotic idea of
houses as a way of building wealth, rather being a place to live, whereas "in
the 60s and 70s … home ownership was a democratic ideal"); a “hempcrete”
house;
-
on health and medical this week: Australia’s
first dementia-friendly
garden provides “a sensory experience that also reduces anxiety”; as early
intervention was key to treating postnatal depression, and the first 1,000 days
of a child's life is critical, pregnant women will soon have access
to free mental health assessments during and
after pregnancy; experts say
that the evidence on the existence and effects of FODMAPs
is accepted internationally, and possibly affects up to 15 per cent of the
population; doctors are being investigated
for allegedly helping parents avoid vaccinating children, and are facing “the
toughest penalties possible” (good);
concerning inaccuracies
around mental health problems and the effects of their medications in films;
-
on other matters in the
category this week: a certification
scheme has started to ensure meat comes from animals raised and killed
humanely; residents of a new housing
estate in Queensland have realised that the single road access they have could
be their deaths
in a bushfire; a call for my home
state to be better
prepared for population growth – including higher density living (which I have concerns about: we also to
consider controlling population growth). Also, investor-driven
'vertical slums' will inevitably entrench disadvantage;
- With regard to education:
-
improved online testing looks promising; students at a school studied the wrong
maths syllabus for seven months; some families in my home state are fighting
changes to homeschool regulations over concerns (disputed by the government, who allege the opposition is being
misleading) that the changes do not allow adequate protection against
bullying – particularly when students with a disability are being integrated (there is, as I
understand it, a lot of evidence that integration is good [now – not
necessarily when the children referred to in the article were attending school]
for the differently-abled student, and I am aware of the good work many schools
do on bullying [although not always as good as it should be, and the homophobic
cut backs in recent years have crippled it], but there are always exceptions to
the rule, and allowing flexibility is a good thing. My concern is also that
such situations reflect a “mini me” approach to parenting, when it should be
based on love and helping the child to develop to make their own choices –
i.e., are homeschoolers wanting their kids to share bigotries?); a report argues that abstinence education is
both ineffective and unethical ("We tell people not to drink and
drive. We don't teach them not to drive. ... We would never withhold
information about seat belts because they wouldn't know how to protect
themselves");
- With regard to war, violence and
hate generally:
leaked documents have shown a US
facility in Australia is playing an active role in US combat (although there
has been an unacceptable denial of the role of that facility throughout its
history [and the misleading of the Australian public and prevention of proper
public debate is disturbing], this is the sort of thing I have always assumed
it was being used – and intended - for: why the tone of surprise? NaĂŻvetĂ©?
Selling papers?); the lessons
that come from reflecting on war (“Why
remembering wars is a moral concern for all of us”) (this
article by a philosopher is better written than last weeks, but there is still
room for improvement); the vicious lies and attacks on LGBT people that were
expected as a result of the Equal Marriage campaign in Australia have commenced; traumatic brain injury has – staggeringly – not
been recognised in military veterans;
veterans of the Kokoda Trail
campaign
hope the next generation remembers the horrors
of 'pointless' war (my favourite Uncle was one of the “chocos”); a player in a non-contact team sport who
knocked a referee unconscious is facing
an immediate, near automatic life ban and police charges;
- With regard to natural and
other catastrophes:
a train derailment
in India has killed at least 20 people;
a cyclone
has killed five people in Asia;
- With regard to peace and/or spirituality
generally, development (in an end poverty/thirst/hunger sense) and the
occasional nice story (are you crippled by the fear of being single or asexual or off-grid or in any other way a rebel / innovator /
non-conformist / true to yourself, or believe in management fads and fashions? Do you distract yourself and fill your
time to avoid finding real meaning? If so, you have a spiritual problem, and a
need to constructively remedy that):
"Where
Does It Hurt?" – an interview
with Ruby Sales by Krista
Tippett on the spirituality-base radio show "On Being"; concern that US aid
is becoming militarised
as it was during the Cold War.
Location based News:
- 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 discriminatory and, at times,
absurdist, situation of areas under violent extremist control
in Afghanistan; Voldemort II has
announced an increased military mission in Afghanistan – which shows military
violence has defeated
nation building;
- With regard to Africa, the Africa
Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
-
the actions required to address
urban risk in Africa;
-
the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety has “called on African countries to scale up their efforts to
tackle road fatalities, noting that the continent has the highest rate of
traffic-related deaths in the world” (35,000 people each year in Nigeria alone);
-
examination
of the imminent change of power in Angola;
-
the problem of hate
speech in Burundi;
-
the growing language
crisis (between French- speakers and
English-speakers) in Cameroon;
-
the situation is worsening in the
Central African Republic, with thousands displaced and heavily armed groups on
the move;
-
“a
Global Environment Facility-funded project in Ethiopia is helping subsistence farmers make use of unwanted
biomass residues to improve livelihoods”;
-
the musical “golden era” of 1970s Somalia (another nation that was destroyed by a
so-called “strong” man who was the front for gutless, small-minded
conservatives … ); the UN has
praised the progress
being made in Somalia;
- With regard to China (may her
growing middle class bring a love of peace and freedom), East and
South East Asia and the Pacific (noting the risks of atrocities in North Korea and Burma):
-
on (duplicitous) China and the DPRK (North Korea):
-
China’s duplicity over North Korea has been exposed: it is continuing to supply oil; a retirement home for police dogs in China;
-
other events concerning China have occurred or are developing in: India,
the
Indian Ocean;
-
the USA has indicated talks with the DPRK are possible,
following the latter’s “restraint” … but the DPRK has chosen to fire several
missiles … and the USA has chosen to impose sanctions
on 10 entities and six individuals
(Chinese and Russian – which may well be justified); the DPRK “may” have a more
powerful missile under development (I’d say it inevitably does, which makes getting talks
underway and dealing with China’s duplicity even more important); concerning links
between the Assad Dictatorship and Kim ⅓ regime in the DPRK;
-
elsewhere in Asia:
-
the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, Burma has released
its Final Report, with an overview here.
The report covers citizenship (the lack
of which is a key problem), movement, development, etc., with
reasonable-sounding recommendations (although I am unfamiliar with the details of the 1982
procedure for verifying citizenship, so do not know whether the recommendation
to accelerate that is good or not), but there is no comment - in the
overview, at least - of human rights abuses. That may be the price of getting
to do the report, but it is a
limitation ... ; the UN has condemned the
attack on Burmese security forces;
-
Cambodia is using a claim
of unpaid taxes to shut down a critical newspaper – see also here;
-
Japan has conducted nuclear attack drills;
-
Australia’s spy chief has been photographed
with the President of the Philippines – which possibly reflects the fact that
in diplomacy “you don't always get to choose
the cards — or the kingpins — you are dealt”, but led to questions of
possible poor
judgement ... and a robust
defence; following the extrajudicial
execution (i.e., murder) of a
high school student,
the murder-enabling President of the Philippines has backed
off on his incitement – a little … ;
an examination of the currently overlooked but long running insurgency
in the Philippines;
-
South Korean “activists” using balloons, TV shows and leaflets are
probably not having a significant effect, and could throw
a wrench into cross-border diplomacy;
-
in Thailand, an arrest
warrant has been issued for a former Prime Minister (who came to power after her brother fled the nation to avoid
corruption charges) after she failed to appear in court to hear a guilty
verdict in a “negligence of duty” case;
-
and in the Pacific: climate change is threatening the
agriculture of Pacific rim nations;
- With regard to Europe and the European
Union (EU):
-
a call for Germany to start taking more of a leading
role – including militarily, now that the USA is slipping back; as Turkish thugs
attack German politicians with Turkish ethnicities, Germany’s efforts at a
tougher stance against Turkey are failing;
- 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):
- “Iraqi civilians lack access to safety in
Tal Afar district”; the number of
civilians fleeing Tal Afar has decreased from
2,000 per day to 100 per day, but “it is
not clear whether this sharp drop is a reflection of the reduced population of
Tel Afar or if civilians are unable to leave”; an examination of security
in Iraq;
-
and the Iraq Body Count
project reports 128 civilians violently killed in the last week;
- With regard
to South and Central America:
-
“Brazil's government has abolished
a vast national reserve in the Amazon to open up the area to mining”; “Brazil’s Supreme Court justice [has] opened a corruption investigation into the nation’s agriculture minister”;
-
the appalling
state of prisons in El Salvador (no wonder the gangs get so many recruits);
-
Parliamentary
Democracy has been ended
in Venezuela; a US tour by a
Venezuelan conductor and National Youth Orchestra has been cancelled after
the conductor and Venezuelan President criticised each other; the USA has implemented financial; sanctions
aimed at punishing
and crippling Venezuela (this is one of those actions that may miss the target
–which is Venezuela’s violent and inept government); uncertainty
over the response of the Venezuelan military;
- With regard to South Asia (aka
the Indian
sub-continent), The
Hindu and other sources have:
-
on India:
-
at least 29 people have been killed in riots after a self-proclaimed
“godman” was convicted of rape; India’s growing concerns
over China’s “belt and road initiative”, and the regional tensions resulting
from the BRI – see also here;
-
on Pakistan:
-
the USA is pressuring
Pakistan to help it with the war in Afghanistan, risking a downgraded
status if it does not crack down on violent extremists – see also here;
-
elsewhere in South Asia:
-
aid is
going to 180,000 of the 460,000 Nepalis displaced after recent flooding;
- With regard to Sudan and South Sudan:
-
South Sudan’s leaders are directly
responsible for the war (and all that
comes from it: time for a referral to the at times inept ICC?);
- With regard
to the conflict in Syria, where Assad’s regime has, in my opinion, lost all
claims to legitimacy, and it is time to consider partition (see here, here, here and here):
calls to allow aid to the 11
besieged areas with half a million people, and for protection of
children against the staggering impact of the war; a “senior
United Nations aid official [has] urged the international community to do
whatever is needed to allow citizens to flee from Raqqa, saying that right now,
there is "no worse place on earth" than the de facto capital of the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh)”; concerning links
between the Assad Dictatorship and Kim ⅓ regime in the DPRK;
- With regard to West Asia (aka “the
Middle East”) and North Africa, the Middle
East Eye and other sources have:
-
on Israel and Palestine: Voldemort II's team are showing their lack
of touch with reality with some staggering comments about the two-state
solution - and one expert has commented that this may end the USA's role in the
West Asia peace process;
-
elsewhere in the region:
-
in a
continuation of its campaign to sabotage the nuclear deal, the USA
has called for nuclear inspectors to have access to Iran’s military
bases;
-
despite the promises of nationhood, Kurdistan was split between four
nations in the 1920s, and its people now want
their independence – even if the timing is not convenient for others;
- With regard
to the conflict in Yemen (unlike
Iraq, I cannot find a source of regular information on casualties in Yemen, but
the hardship and deaths from food, water and medical shortages that concerns me
just as much – if not more, and I don’t know if such sites would report that;
it is also important to remember that there are multiple sides in this dispute
– and opponents to the government are not necessarily Houthi or violent
extremist):
dozens of people have been killed
by an airstrike in Yemen.
Other News:
- a monkey in a
zoo has adopted a chicken.
General Comments/Information
(Dear Reader, please remember, I expect you
to think when reading this blog, and I reserve the right to occasionally sneak
in something to test that)
Many
others are very capably doing this type of work – for instance, the
Lucis Trust's
Triangles network (which has been running for many decades), the
Correllian
Tradition's
'Spiritual
War for Peace' (see also here,
here,
and here), the Hope, Peace, Love and Prosperity Spell
(also from the Correllian Tradition, in around 2007 or 2008), the
Healing Minute started by the
late, great
Harry
Edwards (running for decades);
the
“Network of Light” meditations;
and
also see
here,
here and
here –
even commercial organisations
(for instance, see here), online groups (e.g. here
and here
– which I do not know the quality of)
and even
an app.
Thus,
if you don't like what I am suggesting here, but want to be
of service, there are many other opportunities for you – including
secular opportunities: e.g., see
here,
here and
here.
Again,
activism
in the physical world is also required - see
here,
here
and
here,
here, and,
of course,
here.
(Please note that I now specifically have a role for (absent) healers
on Saturdays, as explained in the Psychic Weather Report posts. Anyone who
wishes to be protector has a role every day :). At all times, on all levels and
in ways, BOTH must ALWAYS be
BPM in the way they perform such roles.)
If I am ever late getting
my Psychic Weather Report up any week, there is a
default
plan.
I apologise for publishing these posts
twice, but Blogger keeps changing my formatting.
No signature block for these posts.
