Post No. 1,098 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 190

A major family illness, combined with exhaustion exacerbated by the landlord of the company I work for being unable to fix air conditioning for two weeks (during a heat wave), has limited part of the preparation of this week’s Gnwmythr’s News: what I have done follows.

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)   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);

(d)   the major events this week are:   as attraction to violence continues to be inadequately addressed, the risks of mass atrocities in Yemen and Syria;   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;

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 this week;
     -   a century of management fads has created workplaces that are full of empty words and equally empty rituals;
     -   the desolation of a survivor of the Bosnian genocide despite the conviction of one of its main perpetrators (“unlike other verdicts, the role of Serbia has been entirely omitted”, and the thug largely got what he wanted – “a Bosnian Serb statelet from which almost every non-Serb was banished”, and where he is still revered);
     -   better shopping could help reduce inequality – see also here;
     -   a comparison of Pakistan’s and North Korea’s (changing) nuclear strategies;
     -   the USA has outlined when it will disclose or exploit software vulnerabilities – see also here;
     -   credible criticism of the Australian navy for conducting a joint exercise with Saudi Arabia;
     -   an article on “getting through difficult (family) conversations” misses an important point: you don’t have to be in those situations – family is NOT all;
     -   recognition that men are facing as profound and endemic stereotypes as women did in the 1960s;
     -   another government data breach;
     -   this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists Yemen and Syria;
• 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:
     -   an examination of why libertarians are lining up with autocrats to undermine democracy;   an examination of social media/digital technology, accountability, and shrinking civil society space;   a rebuttal of a call for US isolationism;   the appalling findings and resultant need for change in one Australian state’s youth detention facilities;   a warning that social media is being manipulated to undermine democracy;   the need to tighten corporate taxation in the USA;   the occasional blind spot of voters;   an opinion that US citizens are concerned about privacy;   a favourable critique of a US conservative politician’s resignation speech;   countering colluding robots;
     -   of concern this week:
     -   a man has been charged over alleged violent threat to a political candidate;   allegations of a "toxic culture" in an Australian State Parliament after a sex industry tweet was forwarded to a female MP (objecting to the original tweet was reasonable; forwarding it wasn’t);   Laos is killing civil society;  appalling sexist abuse of a female journalist;   the global banking system is unsafe;   Uber’s integrity and cyber security appears to be a bit FUBAR … (although they have taken measures to address part of the problem at least);
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in: Greece, Australia, Venezuela;
     -   in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
     -   an Australian city council has rejected use of its website to promote an anti-vaccination nutter;   after the USA cut aid following Cambodia’s move to a single party state, that nation “challenged” the USA to cut all aid;   drive-through polling booths (as I use the painful, fill in every box option, that wouldn’t work for me);   frustration has led to a council banning Airbnb guests socialising outdoors at night;   a political candidate seeking re-election after he was found to be a dual citizen has been caught out for racist comments and a rape joke he told in the 90s (someone has been digging), although his party leader made a reasonable comment;
     -   other events in the grey or neutral area have occurred or are developing in: Indonesia;
     -   good news this week includes:
     -   plans for an airport railway link in my home state have been shifted out of the four year election cycle - which is a much needed innovation;   “Pod Save America”;
     -   and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     -   my home state's debate on the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill was suspended after a medical emergency (these sort of insanely stupid working hours make politics toxic for everyone – it should never have gone on for so long!), but, after a 26 hour and a 28 hour session, the Bill has passed;   the Commonwealth government has deferred the resumption of the lower house sitting – allegedly to ensure urgent matters are dealt with, but some doubt that;   regular toll road users in one city will get free car rego;   calls to disclose military links to Saudi Arabia;   a ninth dual citizen MP has resigned;   despite wages being paid for by NASA, Australia has blocked wage increases at the Tidbinbilla deep space complex – leading to a strike;   an assessment of small business;   calls to change the name of electorate from that of a notorious mass murderer of indigenous people to two indigenous ancestors;   growing pressure for a Royal Commission into banks;
• 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.
     -   US (and Australian, and other) hearts and minds continue to shrivel, like an appendage in freezing weather, under the current administration;
     -   the 45^th US President has started paying for his own lawyers, instead of slugging US citizens;   the Department of Homeland Security is withholding an internal watchdog's report detailing the government's messy rollout of the travel ban, including the violation of two federal court orders;   the US administration cannot withhold federal money to punish local governments for their noncompliance with immigration authorities;   the metaphorical wall;   the feud between the 45^th US President and the US intelligence community;   another ethical conflict – this time one of the supervisors of the investigation into alleged Russian influence, who is also a witness … - and also this;
     -   sexual misconduct by US military personnel on the US Presidential tour of Asia;
     -   growing prospects of another shutdown of the US government (what a stupid set up where that can happen);
     -   another US judge has blocked the Presidential ban on trans service members;
• 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 Nigeria, Egypt, Egypt (2^nd), and, according to this Wikipedia page, there have been  attacks in Iraq, 1 attack in Afghanistan, and 1 attack in Syria (out of a total of 13);   violent extremist threats are or may be developing in northern Africa;   a paralysed cleric is helping families flee violent extremists;
     -   my home state – otherwise progressive - has continued its “tough on crime” approach by announcing tougher anti-violent extremism measures (some of this looks reasonable, but others are concerning);
     -   other violent extremist matters have also occurred in: Pakistan;
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
     -   on the Rohingya crisis this week:
     -   a call for companies to give Rohingya refuges jobs to prevent human trafficking;   the victims of the Burmese mass rape crime against humanity have called for justice;   more on the appalling conditions in the Rohingya refugee camps;   comparison to apartheid, and a description as ethnic cleansing;   unbelievably, Bangladesh has signed a repatriation agreement with Burma!!!;   China’s influence;   family planning for religiously conservative Rohingya refugees;
     -   other refugee-related matters  this week:
     -   the AMA has asked for access to Australia’s refugee gulag;   the humanitarian crisis (condemned by a dozen former Australians of the Year) in Australia’s refugee gulag  - where PNG police have pressured, beaten and arrested refugees into leaving (with denials of claims of an Australian police officer being present, and attacks by conservative, hard-line politicians on human rights defenders) - is a 'damning indictment', but Australia has its head in the sand;   a valid refugee in Australia’s gulag is in a “legal limbo”, simultaneously ordered for deportation while the PNG government recognises he faces torture or being killed if he is sent back to Iran (refoulement anyone?);   an animation showing the difficulties facing refugees;   the current use of objectionable conditions for detainees is shown as somewhat hypocritical when considering the objections made when the USA did the same to white Australians nearly a century ago;   a new football recruit, born in an Ethiopian refugee camp, could become 'among best' in league;
     -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in: Libya, Libya (again), Libya (good? new …);
• 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):
     -   the bigots have a case of sour grapes ("when you say that we're protecting the LGBTIQ-plus community more than protecting religious people, people of Christian and Catholic views haven't been persecuted and systematically oppressed like the LGBTIQ-plus community has for centuries" … and also “making the no vote about migrants ignores a fundamental thing. Poll western Sydney again in six months and opposition will be down. Poll Australia once it has lived under legalised marriage equality and opposition will be down. I’ll bet my bottom dollar”) after the vote for Equal Marriage (which gave the New Zealand economy a boost) in Australia, leading to a delay and regression – I mean, an enquiry (the chair is well known, and sounded reasonable on the various issues when interviewed) – see also here, here, a warning on the multicultural harm of the sought religious “protections”, this example of the hate continuing, … and overseas, a hater having to pay millions in compensation;   murders of trans people in the USA, where the health “profession” is plagued by bigotry and more than half of LGBTIQ people in the USA have experienced violence, threats or harassment because of their sexuality or gender identity, have increased;   a rebuttal of yet more lies about the “Safe Schools” programme;   domestic violence in christian churches;   LGBT youth homelessness;
     -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in: Turkey, Taiwan, USA;
     -   on white supremacist and other forms of racism and indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   “as Native Americans face job discrimination, a tribe works to employ its own”;   politicians are blocking progress on Indigenous recognition, not the public (the numbers in the article are particularly telling);   monitoring of the impact of industry on rock art is inadequate;   an indigenous dance competition;  race still impacts on interracial relationships because of cultural differences and assumptions about stereotypes - and racism;   police racism may have limited an investigation;   an evocative cartoon;   rebuttal of a moron’s claim that same sex attraction is not part of indigenous culture;
     -   other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in: USA, Australia;
     -   on sexism this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
     -   a media network steps back to the mid-20^th Century (“the white, middle-aged male banter is emblematic of the culture of privilege that pervades Australia’s favourite sports … it’s precisely familiarity that is the problem – that’s usually a good sign that various forms of privilege are going unchecked”);   concerns over a possible loss of scale and/or nuance in allegations of sexual misconduct – see also here;   sexualised abuses of girls and young women at a youth detention facility by guards and other prisoners sound like some of the crimes against humanity identified at Nuremburg, and have been criticise by a Royal Commission;   a comment that my nation will have its own “Weinstein reckoning” – which another person considers will lead to change, and another comments on ending media facilitation of abuse by ending “open secrets”;   a female first mate in a prawn fleet is proving women “have what it takes”;   ‘intimacy directors’ are a new initiative in the film, theatre and TV industries, which have problems with sexual abuse – also other jobs;   women tell how sexual harassment broke their careers; (the same happens for other forms of discrimination);   a sexual misconduct case included hugs (and worse);   dated corporate videos, formulaic tick-box surveys and lacklustre presentations are among problems impeding sexual harassment training;   another US judge has rebuffed attempts to drag Texan abortion law back into the 1950s;   the “formidable challenges facing women's rights today and the importance of not losing hope”;   possible racist bias in the “me too” movement;   although the data shows improvements, Australia still has a significant gender gap;   womanspreading;   a call to call out sexist comments;   false claims, misunderstandings and lack of understanding behind some of the claims of a controversial men’s advocacy group (I’ve seen these sorts of issues from both sides, and there is right and wrong on both, with a preponderance of wrong on the male side – making it harder for those fewer men who are correct. Also, losing privilege can feel like being discriminated against);   men’s networks are locking women out of research funding;   is anger enough?;   a women-led start-up is turning domestic abuse survivors into entrepreneurs;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in: PNG, Mexico, New Zealand, India (good news) – also here, Pakistan, France;
     -   on religious rights this week:
     -   an update on the investigation of the murder of a Pagan;
     -   on workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human (and other – e.g., animal) rights this week:
     -   farmers are trying social farming to change lives for people with disabilities and their carers;   children who were sexually abused by Jehovah's Witnesses were allegedly told by the church not to report the crimes;   more child abuse allegations and court cases;   a survivor of the Srebenica massacre has hit back at denialists;   children need to be represented at anti-slavery conferences;   the use of hyper-sensational, dramatic imagery hides the use of invisible coercion in slavery;   disrespect is being shown to a whale in an Australian city's river (I'm less concerned about their personal safety - they deserve whatever they get ... but I can understand the desire to see such a magnificent creature up close: the thing is, you need to exercise some maturity / decency as a human being, and NOT act on that);   a privacy breach by an anti-Equal Marriage petition;   a Holocaust memorial outside a denialist’s house;
     -   slavery / human trafficking: Zanzibar, Africa, UN, West Africa (good news);
     -   other workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in: Indonesia, South Africa, Bangladesh, CAR, Africa, Bahrain, Egypt, education;
• With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
     -   an immature and unfit for duty US navy pilot has been disciplined;   repeatedly identified flaws in military crime reporting;   mis-innovation and failure to innovate in the intelligence world (well written, and wider applications), and a critique of the difficulty larger organisations face when predicting the future;   thuggery to violently impose authoritarianism inside sport in Japan;   consideration being given to specifically legislating against psychological domestic violence;   as hundreds commence legal action over the Las Vegas mass shooting, the problem of ghost guns in the USA;   the legalities of war in space … ;   an opinion that fighting to avoid defeat rather than win is lengthening wars the US is involve with (“winning” does not mean destroying or dominating an enemy – social and personal impacts as well as justice and equity and the inherent damage of violence need to be considered);   a call to end violence against women and girls;
• 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):
     focusing on goals – especially those we think we “should” do - alone can create a hamster-wheel mentality, and make you more likely to cheat, kill your creativity, and make you less likely to thrive;   another article on impact investment;   a critique of an attempt to create an inclusive version Ásatrú and Heathenry (needs to have more diversity, especially of voices);   the strengths and weakness of “foreign direct investment”;   a mothers' group has brought together refugee and migrant mums and women with whom they had almost nothing in common as part of an attempt to bridge a geographical and cultural divide in a city;   a junior sports referee has quit with a blistering rebuke to disrespectful, damaging to kids parents who “feel so entitled”;   a homeless man who used his last money to help a stranded money has now – deservedly -received over a quarter of a million in donations;
     other events concerning peace, spirituality and development have occurred or are developing in: South Africa;
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   the energy company has stopped working in the US Imperial Possession Puerto Rica – where the true tropical cyclone aka hurricane death toll is 499 - over alleged non-payment;   higher bushfire risk this summer;   people have had to be rescued for the fourth time this month in the Kimberley, with overconfidence in satnavs and underestimating tides contributing factors;
• 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:
     -   plants release more carbon dioxide through their respiration than previously thought and, as global temperatures rise, this will increase … ;   a call for global action on mining pollution;   coffee powered (and other) commuters will now be able to travel on coffee powered buses in the UK;   to save their water supply, some US Farmers “taxed themselves” (leading to arguments, increased costs, and continued farming – as happens so often when idiots claim something can’t be afforded);   the USA will keep its elephant trophy import ban in place … for now;   a regional city will use its disused mines for a unique underground hydropower storage scheme;   China will fund a controversial coal mine in Australia;   a clarification on a recent report about energy storage and renewables;   “three Melbourne councils, two universities, Zoos Victoria, and half a dozen corporations have banded together to underwrite a windfarm in western Victoria that will power some of the city’s most recognisable buildings”;   “Australian state and federal energy ministers have been urged to set a more ambitious emissions reduction target in any potential national energy guarantee in an open letter signed by prominent pro-renewables business leaders, academics, economists and investors”;   a call to use climate change as an argument for change NOW for disaster preparedness;   herbicides are also increasing antibiotic resistance;
     -   other environmental matters have occurred in: India;
     -   on technology and science matters this week:
     -   the plan to repeal net neutrality rules has been unveiled … and internet co-ops to protect against the rollbacks;   the benefits of space exploration;   the protections of undersea cables;   protecting oneself from being hacked (DON'T GIVE THEM THE INFORMATION, STUPID!);   light pollution;   Singapore plans to introduce driverless buses by 2022;
     -   other technology and science matters have occurred in: South Africa, China;
     -   on economic and financial matters this week:
     -   as more people leave the grid because staying connected doesn’t make any financial sense, a warning that this has 'doomsday potential' (so get the power companies to change their approach);, and the Chief Scientist calls for more energy storage;   replacing an existing Australian coal plant with clean energy would be $1.3 billion cheaper and save 40 million tonnes of GHG;   conventional economic “wisdom” (sarcasm, Joyce) about wages and jobs isn’t working - see also this opinion that politicians’ “cooking the books” caused the problem;   a warning that energy discounts do not necessarily mean cheaper power bills;   taxi and hire car drivers in my home state may sue Uber, which they say has devastated their livelihoods, for compensation (these drivers didn't help themselves with poor service);   relentless cost cutting by businesses has kept wage growth at record lows and stifled the economy;
     -   other economic and financial matters have occurred in:
     -   on affordable housing and homelessness matters this week:
     -   house prices in Australia have been based on an undersupply myth;   the housing market looks bloated, with borrowers on 'wafer-thin' margins;   the need for affordable rent;
     -   on health and medical this week:
     -   women are being advised to sleep on their side in the last three months of pregnancy to help prevent stillbirth;   claims that the sugar industry withheld research effects – that could have helped prevent health problems - of sucrose 50 years ago are disputed by the industry;   an opinion that governments should sue the tobacco industry to recover the massive health care costs;   one to three cups of coffee a day are beneficial;
     -   on other matters in the category this week:
     -   there is more to politics in organisations than Machiavellian schemes;   Ulaanbaatar, San Francisco, Calais and Jerusalem are in crisis as prohibitive rents and by political upheaval squeeze the have nots out;   an opinion that “we” (meaning, the USA) are “losing the easy-going disrespect that once defined public space” (some of which I agree, or consider at least worth thinking about, and some of which I disagree with);
• 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 … ):
     -   the digital era is presenting challenges to media corrections;   children have trouble identifying fake news;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: New Zealand, UK, India, India (good news);
• With regard to education:
     -   a concerning proposal to ape the USA by having citizenship pledges in schools (what about visiting students - like Australian students in the USA? Any pressure to use the religious form rather than the secular? Why have a religious pledge in a secular society? If you do, what about those religions that don’t follow a patriarchal Deity?);   the USA is trying to entrench discrimination by blocking affirmative action programmes as discriminatory against the highly privileged majority;   criticism of a move to focus on western versions of civilisation at a new University centre;   the need for better ethics on student-staff relationships at Universities;   the USA’s war on higher education;   four academics have been – rightly, I would say - sacked for forcing students to buy unauthorised e-textbooks to pass compulsory tests;   standardised tests limit students who are differently abled;   entrepreneurial learning in schools;
     -   other education matters have occurred in: Taiwan, India, UK;
• With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing:
     -   allegations that a victim was treated as a perpetrator by police are being investigated;   a court has been told of evidence linking a teenager to a murder (this and past [proven] crimes by the young is relevant to the issue of age limit in my state’s counter-violent extremism laws);   some thoughts on how to respond if a friend is accused of sexual misconduct (be very careful: I know the damage that disbelief does, and your friend could be guilty);   sexualised abuses of girls and Young women at a youth detention facility by guards and other prisoners sound like some of the crimes against humanity identified at Nuremburg, and have been criticise by a Royal Commission;   police failed to act on a series of self-harm and suicide attempts in caged police vehicles before the death of a vulnerable 23-year-old man;   allegations that detectives tampered with a key piece of evidence that led to a conviction for the murders of two police officers are being investigated;   no wins for anyone as a woman who killed her baby while suffering post-natal depression and then blamed a fictitious African is sentenced to time served and a community corrections order - the domestic violence that caused her depression appears to have been unexamined (and unacknowledged by the family), the family view her as having been unpunished, nothing in the report indicates any treatment will be given, and I doubt the community will consider that justice has been seen to be done - no matter that the sentence is probably appropriate;   the family of a murdered Maltese journalist, who was a relentless critic of corruption, are taking legal action against the police over failure to ensure an impartial and independent investigation;   the dropping of charges over a New Zealand mine disaster has been ruled unlawful;   praise for my home state’s Chief Commissioner for taking a break to manage fatigue;
    -    other crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in: christianity, Mexico, India (good news), Australia.

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):
     -   insanely, the USA is planning to revive Afghan militias … ;
• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
     -   nations that are doing well in Africa;   “the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has officially launched its Guidelines on combating sexual violence and its consequences in Africa”;   youth empowerment is crucial in fighting slavery in Africa;   returning violent extremist are a problem for northern Africa;
     -   the need for reparations and awareness in the Central African Republic;   the death penalty in Africa;
     -   more human rights abuses in the DR Congo;
     -   Saudi Arabia’s purge could impact on Ethiopia;
     -   how Madagascar took control of its plague outbreak;
     -   concerns a US drone base will bring violent extremism to a city in Niger;
     -   Rwanda has offered to take and help refugees enslaved in Libya;
     -   the connectivity of those South Africans who rely on their mobile phones is fragile;   moves to limit the South African President’s powers;
     -   after elation on the part of Zimbabweans (including some here), Incredibly Ancient Despot Mugabe initially refused to stand down, as his wife (whose desire for power may have been the trigger for recent events) disappeared and key figures continued to seek guidance from China (who are not mourning the change), but resigned as impeachment proceedings started (but gave way to giving immunity … ) – there are concerns about the new leader (see also here), particularly as the military is looking after itself, and those who have fled are unlikely to return;   claims a former government minister was hospitalised by military beatings during the quasi-coup;
• 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):
     -   the new power balance in Asia;
     -   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:
     -   a human rights lawyer has been jailed after a show trial;   more online censorship in China;   China is unhappy that Australia has said China should obey international law;
     -   other events concerning China have occurred or are developing in: Australia;
     -   the USA’s latest declaration that North Korea is a state sponsor of terrorism is actually about nuclear weapons;   the tough conditions facing female soldiers in North Korea’s army – including rape – lead to menstruation stopping;   North Korea violated the armistice agreement ending the Korean War by firing across and physically crossing the border in pursuit of a recent defector;
     -   the recent North Korean defector has an appalling infestation of parasites – indicative of poor hygiene and nutrition;
     -   homophobia and erroneous concerns about age appropriateness are leading to some opposition to sex education classes in Taiwan;
     -   elsewhere in Asia:
     -   the continuing lack of worker safety in Bangladesh;
     -   the human face of unsafe working conditions in Indonesia;   the Speaker of Indonesia’s Parliament has been (found and) arrested (remembering that people are innocent until proven guilty) by anti-corruption investigators;   an Indonesian construction worker whose name is the Indonesian for "Police" has, after a traffic fine, landed a job in a police station;
     -   after an idiotic drink-driving US soldier killed a local in Japan, the US military banned alcohol, and leaving the base or residences, and will implement "mandatory training to address responsible alcohol use, risk management and acceptable behaviour";   Japan’s backwardness over babies-in-arms;
     -   since a new chief of the Philippines' anti-drug agency took over in August, promised an approach "based on the rule of law", only one suspect had been killed in 1,341 operations;
     -   and in the Pacific:   more appalling brutalising and torture of girls and women in the PNG after accusations of sorcery;   an opinion that the Pacific is Australia's "biggest national security blind spot", and fears of being an "overbearing colonial power" are wrongly holding us back from effectively engaging with Pacific countries;   the Solomon Islands new Prime Minister will need support;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU):
     -   as a flurry of revelations about sexual harassment and assault continue to dominate global headlines, the French have decided to entrench bigotry in their language;   amongst arguments over disputed claims of diplomatic imunity, a Russian lawmaker is under formal investigation in France on suspicion of tax evasion;
     -   Germany may be going back to the polls – see also here;   an examination of populist trends in the former East Germany;
     -   illegal buildings exacerbated floods that recently killed 20 people in Greece;
     -   Spain has decided it “is ready” to discuss greater autonomy for Catalonia;
     -   doubts in the UK about Brexit;
• 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 liberation of Mosul led to “an orgy of killing”;
     -   and the Iraq Body Count project reports 120 people violently killed in the last week;
• With regard to the Libyan civil war:
     -   social media shows the abuse of refugees;   the Libyan navy has rescued hundreds of refugees (to deliver them to what?);   the UN Security Council will meet over the slave auctions;
• 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 radioactive cloud one month ago came from Russia;
     -   other events concerning Russia have occurred or are developing in: UK;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   Chile's presidential poll will continue into a second round;
     -   five women have testified and demanded an investigation regarding sexual torture by Mexican police after a clash between protesters and police in 2006;
     -   Venezuela's woes have continued with a default, as prosecutors focus on corruption;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     -   on India:
     -      another article on the female police motorbike squads in India;   more smog in India;   an all-female taxi company in India;   violent protests at an Indian university over the reported suicide of a student who was caught (my first reaction is that staff should find and expel cheats …, but was it done savagely);   several train accidents have killed several people;   a Parsi woman, has challenged her community's special matrimonial courts as a violation of her fundamental right to life and dignity;   blank editorials to protest the shooting death of a journalist;   a court orders police to only charge a man who commented about “Hindu terrorists” if he has committed an actual offence;   the election campaigns continue;   anger at an idiotic – and spiritually incorrect – comment that cancer "is divine justice" caused by "past sins of a person";
     -   on Pakistan:
     -   the USA wants Pakistan to re-arrest a convicted violent extremist; more sexist lunacy;
• With regard to Sudan and South  Sudan:
     -   Sudan has asked Russia for protection against the USA;
     -   over a score of people have been killed in South Sudan;
• 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):
     -   a critique of US – which has defunded the Kurds - policy in Syria;   Syria’s opposition will be part of talks;   who will reconstruct Syria?;
• With regard to Turkey:
     -   Turkey’s capital Ankara has made a play for homophobic capital of the world;   claims Turkey is not in Contact with the Assad Dictatorship “at the moment” … ;
• With regard to the conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
     -   an opportunity to tackle long-unaddressed discrimination against women in Ukraine;
• With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and North Africa, the Middle East Eye and other sources have:
     -   the growing relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel;
     -   on Israel and Palestine:
     -   Israel’s President has rejected a pardon for a soldier jailed for 18 months for executing a wounded Palestinian attacker;   scorn for a “naïve” musician who will play in Israel;   UK government policies are shutting down discussions on human rights abuses;   allegations of “ethnic cleansing: in Jerusalem;
     -   elsewhere in the region:
     -   a call for support of a Bahraini human rights defender;
     -   harassment - and one death - of 32 Nubian rights activists in Egypt;   more than 200 people have been killed by a violence in Egypt’s Sinai;   upper class suburbs;   consideration of censorship of colloquial Arabic;
     -   Lebanon’s former Prime Minister met the French President before returning to Lebanon … where he decided he doesn't want to be former ... (and he says there was no coercion from the Saudis … ?);;
     -   a stampede in Morocco while food aid was delivered has killed over a dozen people;
     -   more in the word war (there is also proxy physical violence) between Saudi Arabia and Iran;
• 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):
     -   very limited action by Saudi Arabia is not enough to avoid famine.

Other News:

• the man who killed the 60s has died – unreformed, and thus with a full load of negative karma - in prison;
• an outback fruit deliverer.

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.