Post No. 1,096 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 189

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 … ) See also here and here.

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 20^th December, 2017), Uranus in Aries contributing to fresh and possibly radical starts (until some date in the Year 2018), and Pluto in Capricorn contributing to a transformation of power and business (and careers) (until some date in the Year 2024), conditions are ripe for a change for the better in world politics;

(b)   there is an enormous need to clear nonBPM energy – the thought forms, unattached energy and scars of the collective unconscious created by millennia of violence, 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 from an elemental point of view, this week we need:
           emotionally (astrally), the stability of more BPM Earth;
           mentally, the discipline of more BPM Æther;
           a plot of the elemental influences on a causal/spiritual level follows, and shows a need for the compassion of more BPM Water;

(d)   the rune for this week’s is Berkana:

(e)   dealing with the 45^th President of the USA (aka the USA’s CEO) 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 the USA’s CEO’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 the USA’s CEO’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 – e.g., this. 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)   the major events this week are:   as attraction to violence continues to be inadequately addressed, the risks of mass atrocities in Syria and Burundi;   ongoing violent conflicts and crises in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Mexico, Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Libya, Sudan (Darfur and South Kordofan), Yemen, Egypt (Sinai), Kurdistan, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Mali, Burma, DR Congo, Burundi, Kashmir, Baluchistan (Pakistan and Iran), India (Maoist and other insurgencies), the Maghreb (Africa), Ukraine, and elsewhere;   refugee and humanitarian crises, and the political madness of regimes with authoritarian leaders;   Saudi Arabia’s insane internal and external aggression and despotism;   a rejection of conservatism in a move towards redressing a human rights wrong in Australia;   attacks on democracy;   abuse of power – including by neochristians - to defend abusers, and some continued accountability;   China continues to slide, in some key ways, back into the infamous cultural revolution;   the consequences of the invasion of Iraq are still being dealt with;   Venezuela is still in crisis, and Zimbabwe’s crisis has taken a step … somewhere;   the crisis in Yemen continues to be ignored;   refugees are being sold into slavery in Libya;

(g)   the need for more progressive idealism is apparent this week;

(h)   climate change continues to overwhelm many people, but action is being taken;

(i)   social blindness in the quest for development of economies continues;

(j)   social acceptance of crime remains a problem – particularly in mafia afflicted places;

(k)   there is a need for personal integrity ahead of personal convenience;

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

News and other matters from this 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 – especially those who need that more than other, better people;
• Matters warranting particular attention:
     -   this week on reversing the deliberate, well-funded, long-term strategy (from about the 70s) to make self-interest seem normal and a commitment to fairness (such as former US President Franklin D Roosevelt’s Four  Freedoms) an aberration:   nothing specific;
     -   a cognitive mapping approach found perception of state aggression was the most reliable indicator of violent action, not religion;   in resource-scarce countries, agricultural dependence (which causes vulnerability to climate change), poverty and lack of higher education, contribute to violent conflict;
     -   criticism of the scope of influence of big tech companies;   “covert influence is the new money laundering”;
     -   an article on forcing employers to stop protecting harassers;
     -   the problems facing indigenous people caught between India and China;
     -   never underestimate the power of saying sorry;
     -   education demand for people skills is outstripping demand for STEM;
     -   an investigation into a flawed human being who has become a rabid neo-Nazi in the USA;
     -   this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists Syria and Burundi;
• With regard to democracy (which can be measured [as can goodness], and requires  protection of minorities and the vulnerable – and remember Gandhi’s question about whether one is fighting to change things, or to punish, and note this 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 45^th US President below
     -   analyses this week include:
     -   a warning to US conservatives not to dismiss or defend against sexual misconduct claims around one candidate – and to democrats;   an opinion that being worried about the future has the potential to result in good actions (good use of an Einstein quote);   how the USA can move towards a more sustainable security strategy;   an examination of welfare and its range of impacts;   a critique of the inherent challenges facing attempts to get a right wing activist group organised;   governments are misusing food banks as a cop out;   an assessment of which referendums may lead to conflict;   an examination of a right wing website;   a view of MPs as trustees (I will still take exception to the bigots who are anti-Equal Marriage – and no, it is NOT a case of views, it is a matter of real, active, deliberate and malicious discrimination);   joyful economies rather than capitalism;
     -   of concern this week:
     -   an example of the devastation caused by neoliberalism – see also here;   a published has chickened out of publishing a prominent University academic’s book on China’s “soft power” influence in Australia could result in legal action by China;   lack of transparency in a US state;   increased taxes on post-graduate degree students in the USA may harm economic growth;
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in: Poland, Ukraine, Cambodia;
     -   in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
     -   France’s President says the US and Russian presidents are threatening Western values of openness and tolerance, but isolating them from Europe would be counterproductive;   the US Congress is moving towards mandatory training on sexual harassment;
     -   good news this week includes:
     -   more US women are politically active in response to Voldemort II’s election;   a major mining company has defended green groups’ right to receive tax-deductable donations;
     -   and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     -   an opinion that Australia’s prime Minister cannot stay silent on the mass killing campaign in the Philippines when he visits;   a belated – far too late, far too little – enquiry into the NBN;   a German telecommunications company says the original approach to the NBN was rejected by Germany in 2012 in favour of a less expensive approach (which still sounds better than what we wound up with);   another MP has been claimed by the dual citizenship saga;  after threats between the two main parties to exacerbate the citizenship crisis, backed by a smaller party, an agreement has been reached, but the damage has been done – politically, and publicly;   some surprising myths around the Whitlam dismissal – which is relevant, given that we may be looking at something similar;   an opinion that the recent “Paradise Papers” leak shows that the debate over the corporate tax rate debate is pointless, as most of the big companies typically pay only 23 per cent – see also this call to focus on getting companies to pay;   the repressive and unlikely to be effective plan to test welfare recipients for drugs may fail;   concerns over a Australian Navy exercise with Saudi Arabia three months ago, as part of a maritime security exercise (I think this is misplaced: Somali and other pirates are still issues to manage);   a damning report into maladministration of the water sector in one Australian state has gone directly to Parliament to avoid being buried and expose “serious system failures”;   a rebuttal of claims by a right wing candidate around male suicide;   a call for Section 44 to be reviewed so candidates don’t have to quit jobs in order to stand (the lawyer who started all this claims he wants a national anti-corruption body);   a right wing politician has provoked reaction with an attempt to reinstitute the early 20^th Century;   demographic challenges to social cohesion have been revealed by the postal survey;
• With regard to the 45^th US President (who I consider seriously dangerous, even if his administration looks like a Schoolyard Squabble Squad – see here on practical, physical actions for US residents [and the principles are useful elsewhere]) this week:
  I deliberately avoid using the 45^th 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.
     -   FBI data showed a 4.6% increase in hate crimes in the USA in 2016 (why has it taken so long to report this?);
     -   the 45^th US President is trying to circumvent restraints;   a judicial nominee failed to disclose a personal connection;   some “Dreamer” renewals rejected for being late were in government email inboxes;   the USA is paying to defend actions against Voldemort II’s private businesses;
     -   for the first time in over 40 years, Congress has examined a US president's authority to launch a nuclear attack. Reassuringly (in part), US military leaders would reject any illegal order for a nuclear strike;
     -   as the investigation continues, the USA’s 45^th President has backtracked a little, and now accepts US intelligence – and ex-intelligence chiefs think the US President “is being played by Putin and US is in 'peril'” - assessments that Russia interfered with last year’s US elections, but still maintains that Russia’s President genuinely believes no interference occurred;   an assessment of the USA’s 45^th President's Asia tour – see also here, and here;   Voldemort II's travel ban will be allowed to come into partial effect;   the investigation into alleged Russian influence continues … ;
     -   an examination of the trade policies of the USA’s 45^th President;   the US coal industry is still ailing (which is good environmentally, but bad socially);
     -   continuing support for Obamacare;
     -   WikiLeaks wanted the USA’s 45^th President to “heap praise” on Julian Assange during the 2016 election campaign in order to pressure Australia to "stop ingratiating itself" with Candidate Hillary Clinton, according to the President's son;
     -   a trial of people who rioted on the day of Voldemort II's inauguration has begun;
• With regard to violent extremism (VE) (aka, terrorism) (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 Northern Ireland, and, according to this Wikipedia page, there have been 2 attacks in Iraq,  attacks in Afghanistan, and 2 attacks in Syria (out of a total of 9);   actions (Note: there are many others that don’t reach the media I read) have occurred this week against violent extremists in: Pakistan, Libya;
     -   Russia's posted what it called "irrefutable proof" of the USA aiding violent extremists - but this was actually taken from a video game and an Iraqi Air Force attack;
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
     -   on the Rohingya crisis this week:
     -   the trauma Rohingya have experienced is shown by children’s sketches – including of helicopters machine gunning people;   a fund raising appeal;   sexual exploitation and rape of Rohingya refugees – including children;   another opinion that this is genocide;   an academic opinion that nuanced engagement is the best response (I disagree with significant parts of this on ethical grounds: you do not “engage with” evil – you counter it);
     -   other refugee-related matters  this week:
     -   PNG has said it will not use force to remove asylum seekers from Australia’s refugee gulag on Manus Island … but has warned them they will be forcibly evicted … maybe that “force” means the destruction of the water supply … ;   New Zealand has again offered to take refugees out of Australia’s Manus Island gulag, as activists vow to continue protests, and refugees share their fears;   the story behind a photograph of a drowning refugee who is about to be rescued;   Australia is refusing to allow others to improve conditions in its refugee gulag;
     -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in: Libya;
• 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 and cisgender-normativity) this week (and noting that trans kids are the same as cis kids of the trans kids’ true gender):
     -   60 years after a scientific study proved same sex attracted men are not mentally ill, 45 years after an infamous murder in South Australia started decriminalisation of homosexuality, 39 years after the gay bashing by police that led to Sydney’s Mardi Gras, 23 years after hundreds of LGBT people were sexually abused by police in my home state, 20 years after Tasmania had to be dragged to the UN in order to decriminalise homosexuality, 28 years after the first relationship recognition and 16 years after the first of 23 preceding legalisations, 13 years after the act of evil and hate by Howard and Roxon started this mess, and after weeks of exhaustion, abuse and pain, of the 79% who responded to the optional survey, just over 60% of vote rejected conservatism to give an emphatic YES to Equal Marriage - all states and territories, and only around 11% of electorates voting no. Of course, we still have the massive damage done by the attacks during this process, the neochristian churches have shown themselves to be vicious, misogynistic and absolute liars, and there is a lot more to do, starting with the legislation - see also here, here, here, and here, and also in other areas (I wouldn’t be surprised if that was part of Howard’s aims);   most sports fans support Equal Marriage;
     -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in: Russia, China, Japan;
     -   on white supremacist and other forms of racism and indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   helping adopted children of colour to fight racism;   Australia’s indigenous people actively distributed some food plants;   the experiences of refugees in Australia shows the need for both change and understanding;   Native Americans facing sexual assault feel that justice is out of reach;   more than half of Native Americans living on tribal lands say they have experienced racial or ethnic discrimination when interacting with police or applying for jobs;   a debunking of land rights myths;   “Redneck Revolt” is challenging working-class white people in the US to stand against white supremacism;
     -   other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in: photography;
     -   on sexism this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
     -   the sexualisation of girls;   a critique of thinking around attitudes towards rape;   an Israeli company has apologised for working for a powerful man facing allegations of sexual assault;   a young girl in Nepal started a business instead of becoming a child bride, stayed at school as a result, and is helping to change that abusive practice;   in a staggering development, the Church of England Guidance for schools urges teachers to let children ‘play (“boys should be free to wear tutus and tiaras”)with the many cloaks of identity’ rather than conform to stereotypes;   an examination of stubbornly high levels of domestic violence;   supporters of a media outlet that tried to defend an alleged sexual abuser (including of underage children) are unhappy that advertising may have been withdrawn;   a victim/survivor of domestic violence made a film about meeting her abuser to help heal her PTSD;   neochristians are defending a child abuser;   the abuse of those who report sexual harassment at work;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in: tech industry, Europe;
     -   on religious rights this week:
     -   an anti-witch cartoon;   pressure against a Pagan after-school club;
     -   other religious rights / Islamophobia matter have also occurred in: China;
     -   on workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human (and other – e.g., animal) rights this week:
     -   Australia’s incongruous attitudes towards pets – of whom there is some evidence supporting their love for us;   a Sydney Opera House production “looks beyond disability” to celebrate life, and refute the 'better off dead' mentality;   abuses in the coffee growing industry;   some thoughts on protecting land rights activists;   a global assessment of the risks around defending human rights;   after a supplier went bankrupt, workers have left notes about their plight in the fashion clothes they are still making – without pay;   a rejection of four arguments against voluntary assisted dying;   the benefits of affirmative action;   child labour;   as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia winds up, hundreds of war criminals are still free;   another – barbaric - case of animal cruelty;   dealing with family bigots (you CAN opt out);
     -   human trafficking: Qatar, Italy (over deaths of Nigerian women), China (caused by gendercide), India (to Burma), Oman and the UAE;
     -   other workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in: UAE, India, Turkey, Azerbaijan, France, Kenya, Syria, Nigeria, Iraq, Australian courts, UK (re Baluchistan);
• With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
     -   an examination of the impact of natural disasters on the length of civil wars;   details of appalling abuse of a child tennis start include being beaten unconscious – and raise questions over why others didn’t take action;   the US military is getting enthusiastic about technological innovation in the private sector (“the next military-industrial complex”);   some safety benefits of robots in warfare (e.g., bomb disposal);   another gun nut in the USA;   some people in the USA are stumbling towards reinventing the Cure Violence model (this sort of thing goes beyond frustrating to annoying);   a critique of democratic decision making around war;
• With regard to peace and/or spirituality generally (including survival after death, and good religion), 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):
     the need to combine positivity with acknowledging, facing and resolving “negative issues”;   recent UFO reports from a US group;   an article giving some common sense on the topic of curses;   a 1960s technique has been resurrected – as, perhaps, an alternative to the “mindfulness” fad - to create alert mind in relaxed body;   the benefits of swearing – which may be used in frustration with oneself, or in solidarity, or to amuse someone else, and not only as a vehicle for aggression or insult – show it is a complex social signal that is laden with emotional and cultural significance;   a more nuanced view to solitude – including the flaws in studies in 70s - shows 15 minutes quiet time is beneficial (absolutely);   a Ministerial conference on peacekeeping;   funds have been raised for sustainable development;   some excellent thoughts on materialism and the unexamined biases of atheism (and “Skepticism”);
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   a powerful earthquake in Kurdistan;   a call for transport infrastructure in vulnerable areas to be more resilient;   flash floods in Greece;   the continued blackout in the US Imperial possession Puerto Rica;   natural hazard risks;
• 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 or unthinking pro-technology bias? 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? Keeping in mind that, although I am a Pagan now, but have been a Buddhist, maybe the lesson of Buddhism that one must first recognise that one causes much of one’s own suffering is applicable … ):
     -   on climate change and other environmental matters this week:
     -   a report on the influence of population dynamics on the environment;  “insectageddon”;   a warning that Queensland land clearing could become 'tsunami';   Australia’s largest private health insurer will dis-invest in fossil-fuel because of the effects of climate change on human health;   GHG emissions are rising again after a brief (3 year) plateau;   a proposal for insurance against climate disasters;   a major project is underway to try to save the Great Barrier Reef;   regional governments are acting to clean up air pollution for 35 million citizens;   climate change is here;   agriculture needs to be included in climate talks;   concerns over the Mekong;   a warning sonar used by the US navy to avoid whale collisions is not effective;   wave energy;   undoing the damage of invasive predators;   deforestation in Australia;
     -   other environmental matters have occurred in: India, Fiji, Vanuatu;
     -   on technology and science matters this week:
     -   a call for Australian tech companies to recognise and develop Australian skills;   an eight year old’s impressive invention;   managing attempts to influence online polls;   a questioning of the sanity of registering nude photos of oneself with social media companies;   the scary amount of information that can be extracted from online behaviour;   data detox - which is more than just logging off;   the crisis of antibiotic resistance;   a drug with a tiny digestible sensor that tracks whether patients have taken their pills has been approved for use in the USA;
     -   other technology and science matters have occurred in: schools;
     -   on economic and financial matters this week:
     -   the problems of Australia’s superannuation scheme – which was never intended to be privately run;   artists still struggle to survive;   big projects won’t fix regional Queensland’s employment problems;   commentary on a living wage – including an opinion that it won’t fix the poverty trap;   an opinion that managers aren’t doing enough to train employees for the future;    why a 30-hour workweek is good for business (as long as one can survive on the money) - see also here;   increasing wages would make the economy safer;
     -   on affordable housing and homelessness matters this week:
     -   a project using tiny homes to house homeless people in vacant road reserves is getting closer to realisation, after a fraught planning process (the local Council was unanimously supportive, but many members of the local community opposed it, suggesting a need for future such projects to have better community engagement – the links in the article [including a Dutch student housing project using shipping containers, and a reasonable housing policy – although it needs to address housing size] are worth a look);   another utterly farcical idea around "home" – but I’m happy for those who like that to live it;   rising housing prices will increase homelessness amongst the elderly;   energy costs are leading to a reluctance to use air conditioning (better insulation and construction would help);
     -   on health and medical this week:
     -   the difference between allergies, intolerance and food sensitivity;   the unacknowledged problem of post-natal anger;   information for prospective parents on gene testing;
     -   on other matters in the category this week:
     -   some remote Australian towns only have drinking water for a few hours a day;   the “ethical city” test;   controversy over drag racing for kids after an 8 year old died – and maybe that does need to be safer (e.g., make the shell wider and more enclosed for kids, reduce top speeds for younger kids, etc), but it also raises the issue of society being overprotective – individually, and as a society, we need some risks … the question is over type and extent;   the need for more to be done on road safety;   in a statement of the blindingly obvious, there is no one-size-fits-all “perfect” office hours;   creating good neighbourhoods;
• 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 … ):
     -   support for independent news outlets;   a major Australian news service will have the barriers between its various forms of delivery removed;   the inordinate pressure on survivors of mass killings;   a right wing media outlet's news anchor has debunked the so-called "Hillary Clinton uranium scandal" - to the ire of his viewers and network;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: Russia, Sudan;
• With regard to education:
     -   although critical thinking is important, this sort of article misses a crucial matters: there are real FACTS involved here – such as that people died, injure and were traumatised … that reality is NOT a matter of “interpretation” (has the author never heard opf holocaust deniers?). I rate the thinking in that article as pseudo-intellectualism;   dual language programmes improve English ability;   concerns that the rise of touchscreen devices means more children are starting school not ready to learn handwriting;   25 students have been charged after a student was pushed into alcohol poisoning (it is a sad thing that these stupid notions of drunkenness and adulthood are still with us);   standardised testing;
• With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing:
     -   the Chairperson of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has said police and child protection agencies failed in their duty to protect Australian children because they often refused to believe their complaints about sexual abuse – see also here;   a call has been made for an apology for the unbelievable practice in the 1980s of the Children’s Court charging the victims (neglected and sexually abused children) with crimes;   based on complaints received (which show “a level of callousness and indifference and carelessness”), an Australian state’s ombudsperson has said greater scrutiny of prisons is required ahead of Australia's ratification of an international torture treaty;   new judges for the International Court of Justice;   misidentifying women as primary aggressors and “system abuse” (these roles can be reversed as well);   allegations of bribery in the sports world;   a reminder that some troubled young people can turn their lives around;   an animation series to promote lawfulness (i.e., respect) amongst primary school children globally;
    -    other crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in: India, India (good news), Italy.

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):
     -   drug addiction in Afghanistan;
     -   other events concerning Afghanistan have occurred or are developing in: Norway;
• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
     -   an opinion that Africa must reject the notion that being ‘modern’ and ‘civilised’ means aping the west;   a shortage of weather data putting many African countries at an economic disadvantage is being countered by several low cost trials;
     -   witnesses to crimes against humanity in Burundi are missing;
     -   the challenges facing the quest for justice in the Central African Republic;
     -   a Kenyan journalist marvels at Ghana's concept of offering quick and cheap legal services in alleyways;   a transparency and awareness project in Ghana, based on oil revenues;
     -   criminalisation of human rights defenders in Kenya;   more court decisions on the elections soon;
     -   Nigeria needs aid to fight desertification;   forced evictions in waterfront Nigeria;
     -   after a warning to stop the purge in the ruling party, a “soft” military coup is underway in Zimbabwe, with concerns over succession, and that conditions may not improve, but daily life continuing - see also this analysis;
• 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 China, Hong Kong, the DPRK (North Korea) and South Korea (which need to accept their partition – for now – and sign a peace treaty), Taiwan, and the free but invaded and occupied nation of Tibet:
     -   more Cultural Revolution resurrections;   China is still trying to use discredited conversion therapy;   more Cultural Revolution-style anti-religious fervour in China under Chairman Xi;
     -   other events concerning China have occurred or are developing in: Australia;
     -   abuse of women in North Korea’s prisons;   cracking down on North Korea’s cyber-crime would have a major impact;
     -   South Korea says a North Korean soldier was shot and wounded while defecting;   Korean activists are using statues to keep pressure on Japan about so-called "comfort women" (who were actually victims of prolonged mass rape);   an earthquake in South Korea has injured people;
     -   elsewhere in Asia:
     -   “Bob Geldof has said he will return his Freedom of the City of Dublin in protest against the [Burmese] leader [and “handmaiden to genocide”] Aung San Suu Kyi, who also holds the award”;   Burma has replaced the general in charge of ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya;   Burma has excused itself over atrocities .. ;
     -   Cambodia has dissolved the opposition;
     -   an Indonesian museum has backed down after a stupid decision to create a Hitler display;   a trans friendly boarding school in Indonesia is fighting fundamentalist fervour to survive;   an Indonesian politician has fled anti-corruption investigators;
     -   young people in the Philippines apparently support that nation’s President, despite his mass killing campaign (the comment “No-one cares if people are getting killed as long as they're getting free education and free Wi-Fi” is sadly apposite);   human rights didn’t get to the meeting between Voldemort II and Duterte;   the coming Australian PM’s visit;
     -   and in the Pacific:   the need for the aid sector to reform;   the cost of reducing vulnerability to climate change;   community farms are helping Vanuatu adapt to climate change;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU):
     -   the EU is preparing for the possible collapse of Brexit negotiations with the UK, and improving military integration (see also here);   in response to Brexit, a woman whose great-grandparents died in the Holocaust now wants German citizenship;   the EU has been urged to act on Azerbaijan’s crackdown on human rights;   the problem of sexual harassment in the European Parliament;
     -   France has been asked to investigate enabling oppression in Egypt by selling surveillance technology;
     -   flash floods have killed 15 people in Greece;
     -   the criminal thuggery that afflicts Italy’s province of Sicily;
     -   a call for Norway to stop returning refugees to Afghanistan;
     -   concerns that Poland and Hungary are diverging from the democratic values of the European Union;
     -   a far right rally in Poland has drawn thousands;
     -   Spain’s Prime Minister has urged Catalonians to vote;
     -   the profound cultural problem of "postnatal confinement", said to be widespread among the UK's Chinese community and unknown generally, and related cultural problems;   the UK’s Prime Minister has accused Russia of meddling in elections and carrying out cyber espionage;
• With regard to (the conflict and other matters in) Iraq and Kurdistan (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):
     -   the trauma of Iraqis after decades of war;   mass graves have been found in liberated parts of Iraq;   hundreds have been killed and injured by a powerful earthquake in Kurdistan;   Iraq is proposing to legalise child rape (aka “marriage”);   coalition attacks in Ira may have counted as few as 20% of civilian casualties;
     -   and the Iraq Body Count project reports 96 people violently killed in the last week;
• With regard to the Libyan civil war:
     -   outrage over Libya’s detention of refugees – and slave market;
• With regard to Russia (which is currently supporting an – in my opinion, based on R2P principles - illegitimate regime in Syria), Russian influenced nations and eastern Europe, and responses (see also the section on Europe):
     -   a call for Russia to investigate the disappearance of a gay Chechen singer;   Russia is cracking down on foreign media;
     -   other events concerning Russia have occurred or are developing in: UK;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   conservation and development opportunities in post-conflict Columbia;
     -   an examination of using art for justice and healing in Guatemala and Chile, more than 20 years after the civil wars ended;
     -   Venezuela will meet its creditors to try avoid worsening its desperate plight;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     -   on India:
     -   a rape survivor is forcing India to catch up with the 20^th century;   less outrage in India than China is credited with being the reason that air pollution worse;   at least 16 pilgrims have drowned after their boat capsized in India;   allegations of harassment in a possible police torture case;   a Pride march in India;   faked violent extremist surrenders;   antibiotics in untreated or inadequately treated wastewater are creating superbugs;   the current elections;   India’s credit rating has been upgraded;   increased income inequality;   concern over cultural vigilantes;
• With regard to Sudan and South  Sudan:
     -   attacks on journalists in Sudan’
     -   Chinese peacekeepers are rotating out of South Sudan after a respected deployment;   a step towards unity, and a call for the USA to act;
• 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):
     -   how the Assad Dictatorship has been dividing and ruling Aleppo;   a way to help Syria without helping Assad;   the critical need for de-mining;   scores of people have been killed by a series of air strikes on a busy market in a "de-escalation zone" in northern Syria see also here;   after four months of fighting that left the Raqqa obliterated and almost devoid of people, a secret deal let hundreds of violent extremists and their families escape, under the noses of the US and British-led coalition and Kurdish-led forces who controlled the city – which “would spare lives and bring fighting to an end”, but may result in risks elsewhere;   the “surrender or starve” strategy was a crime against humanity;   Russia has blocked humanitarian investigations for the 11^th time - see also here;
• With regard to Turkey:
     -   Turkey has said that claims at former White House aide was part of a plot to kidnap Muslim cleric to Turkey in exchange for millions of dollars are "ludicrous" … but see here;   concerns over the arrest and subsequent release of human rights defenders;
• With regard to the conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
     -   the forgotten war in eastern Ukraine, where millions feel abandoned to their fate;   a call for Ukraine to stop the harassment and persecution of anti-corruption activists;
• With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and North Africa, the Middle East Eye and other sources have:
     -   Lebanon's former Prime Minister has claimed he is not  being held by Saudi Arabia, predicted increased confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran (who claim they don’t interfere in Lebanon … ), and will return soon (maybe to resume being PM?) via France;   Lebanon says its political deal still stands;   an assessment of Lebanon's situation - and attitude, and broader assessments here;   commentary on Saudi Arabia’s purge – which has included torturing the son of the former king, buying freedom, and Western hypocrisy;
     -   on Israel and Palestine:
     -  a call for nuance on Palestinians;
     -   elsewhere in the region:
     -   more abuses in Bahrain;
     -   grave concerns about the health and wellbeing of the British-Iranian woman being held in Iran for allegedly trying to overthrow the regime, which she denies;
     -   Kuwait is checking its exposure to Saudis arrested in the “corruption purge”;
     -   in response to promises of future change, the ILO has stopped its investigation of Qatar;
     -   fears that the world has forgotten about the arrest of the United Arab Emirate's last human rights defender;
• With regard to the (forgotten or ignored) 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):
     -   “the ballistic missile strike by Houthi-Saleh forces in Yemen on [Saudi Arabia] … is most likely a war crime”;   the effects of Saudi Arabia’s collective punishment aka blockade of Yemen, and calls to lift it.

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.