Saturday, 2 December 2017

Post No. 1,101 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 191



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 20th December, 2017), Uranus in Aries contributing to fresh and possibly radical starts (until some date in the Year 2018), and Pluto in Capricorn contributing to a transformation of power and business (and careers) (until some date in the Year 2024), conditions are ripe for a change for the better in world politics;
(b)   there is an enormous need to clear nonBPM energy – the thought forms, unattached energy and scars of the collective unconscious created by millennia of violence, including spirit rescue, and healing the warped views, seemingly “inherent” biases, and other damage created. Also, remember:   -   (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:
           on all levels, more BPM Æther;
(d)   no bindrune this week;
(e)   dealing with the 45th President of the USA 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 to promote 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. physical world activism (especially education) – 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;   -   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;   -   the political madness of regimes with authoritarian leaders;   -   and more insanity by North Korea, revelations of radioactive risks, lack of acknowledgement of home-grown racist-based terrorist risks, begrudging medical care, materialist-based greed, politically-based greed for power, simplistic opinions based on superficial observations and shallow “analysis” (at about its third worst with the torture of a six year old girl in PNG for allegedly being a sorcerer … ), continuing brave attempts to make things better;
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:   the entirety of this blog and all other spiritual work and physical activism I and others do;
       -   the problem of white terrorism and its attendant violence, hate and threats of civil war backed by a wave of citizen militias in the USA has grown as the Alt-America movement has;
       -   after years of warnings, North Korea appears to be within months of its goal of a global nuclear retaliatory strike option (and, summarising several radio interviews I listened to, possibly a 50/50 chance of war by the middle of next year, with insufficient time for sanctions [other than perhaps savage oil sanctions by China – which would cause a humanitarian disaster] to work, but direct negotiations may – see also here), leading to US calls for complete isolation, specious Russian comments about provocation and UN calls for urged Security Council members to unite in preventing an escalation;
       -   a conference on how to build peace in Asia;
       -   as an unlined US nuclear waste dump leaks radioactive waste from nuclear weapons tests and threatens to lose its cap, Fukushima has a million tonnes of radioactive water to do something with … ;
       -   an annual survey shows that, since the election of the Abbott government in 2013, ugly discrimination (especially Islamophobia – 41% when the survey is an anonymous online one and against Africans, 80% of whom have been abused) is on the rise in Australia – despite calls for decency, at the cost of social cohesion (there is some good news: 80% reject selecting immigrants by race, 85% believe multiculturalism is good, 74% reject selecting immigrants by religion);
       -   after a five-year legal battle as the Australian Government tried to avoid diplomatic harm, graphic footage of a Japanese whaling operation has been released;
       -   aid agencies have insecure computer systems;   the sheeple who are contributing to the savagery of online debate;
       -   as entertainment overtakes “wisdom, principle and meaning”, and too much choice becomes a form of slavery, how to overcome FOMO (gratitude, and looking beyond ourselves);   to protect against hackers, turn off tracking functions in kids end of year presents;
       -   meaning is more important than happiness;
       -   predictions of more problems in 2018;
       -   this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists 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, governance (e.g., here, here, here and here, and see also here) and ethics:
    Note: I have a section specifically for the 45th US President below
       -   analyses this week include:
       -   evidence shows supporting citizen engagement is not straightforward, but there are opportunities. Also, civil society organisations need realistic expectations and better research for tech projects, and there are no one-size-fits-all solutions to governance challenges – success requires local stakeholders at the forefront with the flexibility to learn and adapt as they go;   research into Participatory Budgeting shows three changes when used in fragile states – its scope is narrowed, less likely to use secret or even a public vote, and are far less likely to use rules that promote social justice and thus harms poor communities who need it most);   the importance of former military officers staying out of politics;   the dangers of public-private partnerships;   an examination of UN motions condemning nations;   experts have identified what the USA can do to lower the prices of medicines;   “bad ideas can only be defeated by better ideas. Repeatedly denouncing the bad ideas as bad simply isn't sufficient”;   how a US military veteran became a supporter of universal health care;   a call for consistency in political (and other) standards;   principles for a national ethics body;
       -   of concern this week:
       -   a current Australian by-election campaign has been marred by death threats (being investigated by police - "This is not the sort of politics we want") and vandalism;   an Australian festival is under fire for banning tampons, medication, sunscreen and empty water bottles through the festival gates;   the USFBI didn't tell US officials who were targeted by the Russian email scam;   in the week that the tobacco industry is forced – after a couple of decades of legal wrangling – into admitting its sins and a case against it is deferred indefinitely over failure to disclose evidence, revelations that Uber had a team of employees dedicated to spying on rival companies and “impeding” legal investigations;   staggering cyber vulnerabilities in my home state’s bureaucracy, with one department having 19 out of 24 systems obsolete, and recovery plans for only 3 … ;   the USA’s stupidity has extended to hospitals wrongly billing rape victims for rape kids;   Chinese hackers are targeting Australian law forms;   four billion people have no social security;   polarisation and time theft in Australian workplaces;
       -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in: Uganda, Honduras, DR Congo, Eritrea;
       -   in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
       -   current challenges to multiculturalism;
       -   other events in the grey or neutral area have occurred or are developing in: Kyrgyzstan;
       -   good news this week includes:
       -   prospects of a deal between Australia and Timor Lester on the Timor Sea dispute;   former US President Obama has spoken in support of tolerance, LGBT rights and NGOs;
       -   other good news has occurred: Kenya;
       -   and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
       -   after years of growing public anger, 2 years of increasing political pressure (including a backbench revolt recent pressure from coalition partners), damage to a brave whistleblower, and a backflip from the banks themselves (see also here), Australia's neoliberal government has agreed, in a somewhat oxymoronic announcement, to a royal commission Lite enquiry into a (potentially catastrophic for the government) banking - with no consideration of Australia’s “traditional value” of a fair go (see also this and this analysis; I’m trying to find a copy of the actual Terms of Reference);   as research shows voters are more concerned about corporate influence, a coalition of Australian charities, covering causes from health research to environmental protection, have started a united campaign against government attempts to limit their ability advocate;   “energy ministers’ power policy pow-wow is still driven more by headlines than details”;   the fall and fall of Australia’s aid program … ;   Australia’s new White Paper on Foreign Policy was blunt about Chinese behaviour in the South China Sea and its interference and coercion, but did not accept that there are big things we cannot control and that we need to prepare for them, and underplayed the value of the UN – my preliminary thoughts at the start of this process are here;   the current neoliberal government is losing votes over lack of female representation;   after voters appear to have turned against the major parties, some former conservative MPs are blaming their favourable preferencing of a right wing extremist party (and the neo-libs’ Federal leader claimed a vote for the far right party was a vote for the left wing opposition … ) – which did poorly;   more transparency in the regulation of Australia’s offshore oil and gas industry;   an Australian opposition Senator has been removed from his party positions for warning Chinese donors about “rumours of” surveillance – see also here;
  • With regard to the 45th US President (who is dangerous – see here on actions for US residents [and the useful principles]) this week (I avoid using the 45th US President’s name for psychic reasons, but also use either “the USA’s CEO” or “Voldemort II” as an alias):
       -   confirmation that US generals would expect a good explanation for any nuclear strike and must refuse any illegal order;   a Republican Senator is planning on targeting the USA’s 45th President on facts and truth;
       -   examination of factors that are likely to drive the USA toward a harder line on China;
       -   the USA's 45th President is showing his true  colours again, and continuing his pattern ... to Britain's anger, which he has reacted with disdain;   the USA’s 45th President has made an inappropriate and racist comment at an event honouring Native Americans who “saved the lives of countless Americans and our allies";    as US police get or seek new powers to crackdown on immigrants (and anyone else they don’t like or can use as a scapegoat?), the homeless undocumented Mexican immigrant who was charged with murder, in a case that Voldemort II used to justify his immigration crackdown, has been found not guilty;
       -   former NSA Advisor Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI;
       -   the allegations of sexual misconduct against Voldemort II;
  • 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 “Cure Violence”, 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 don’t name groups to reduce their publicity):
       -   violent extremist attacks/acts have occurred this week in Pakistan, and, according to this Wikipedia page, there have been 3 attacks in Iraq and 1 attacks in Afghanistan (out of a total of 10);   violent extremist threats are or may be developing in northern Africa;   prevention has or may have occurred in Australia, Australia (2nd);
       -   in the UK, an argument between two men led to false reports of gun shots;
       -   as a result of violent extremists (VEs) adapting, a changed approach is needed, acknowledging seven factors that can give VEs an opening, and the USA needs to take heed of lessons – e.g., regime change followed by ineffective (or no) stabilisation activities creates enormous opportunities for VEs;With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
       -   on the Rohingya crisis this week:
       -   the Rohingya crisis and the Burmese military responses;   Burma’s military appear to be murdering Rohingya journalists;   the problem of the nascent Rohingya insurgency in refugee camps, which is already creating fear in the camps;
       -   other refugee-related matters  this week:
       -   the world has – with unbelievable stupidity – decided that the “solution” to the problem of abuses of refugees in Libya – including selling them as slaves – is to commit refoulement … i.e., return them to the situations they fled from … ;   dire conditions for refugees in Greece in the northern winter;   as health experts push to assess refugees and asylum seekers – for free, staff are forced to flee by violent locals, international experts are blocked, and politicians fail to act, protests about Australia’s Manus Island gulag as footage shows unfinished accommodation and no power ... and violence from locals remains unaddressed – see also here;   concern over the outsourcing of migration policies and increase in their repressive character;   political backsliding has rendered the New York Declaration mute;   global guidelines on refugees should include children;   aid workers in Calais, France are under pressure;   an attempt to include environmental refugees in existing agreements has been rejected - but New Zealand will do this;
       -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in: eastern Ukraine;
  • 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 of observation and thinking – shown by the fact that NOT all people choose to discriminate unless they have been educated otherwise):
       -   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):
       -   trans kids no longer need expensive and humiliating court approval for medical treatment;   an opinion on uber-conservatives last ditch (now abandoned) efforts to sidestep Equal Marriage (“they fail to understand that when you duplicate bad laws you give them a new lease of life”, and “such amendments will legally entrench the poisonous American idea that any old prejudice hidden behind a Bible passage … and take us back to a time when shop owners stuck signs in their windows declaring “No Asians”, “No Blacks” and “Ladies’ bar around the back” … They must draw the line by stating publicly the point at which a marriage bill does more harm than good and should be entirely voted down”), and support from the right  and the Bill has passed the first stage;   after three inquests and almost 30 years of continuous police obfuscation (the reports and interviews suggest to me that there are – or were – police who are unfit to wear the uniform involved), a coroner has found that a murder was a gay hate attack;   Canada has apologised for a decades-long homophobic and transphobic campaign by previous governments against LGBTIQ people in military and public service;   a New Zealand Parliamentary speech a few years ago supporting Equal Marriage has experienced an online resurgence;
       -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in: Japan, Russia;
       -   on white supremacist and other forms of racism and indigenous matters generally this week:
       -   a 100-year-old US mutiny is only now being discussed;   the British royals appear to have got over some of their bigotries;   a radio programmes move of an event away from Invasion Day has led to conservative pressure;   high-profile New Zealand media personalities are refusing to back down from using Māori words, despite hundreds of complaints from English speakers;   life expectancy in the Northern Territory is five years lower than the rest of Australia;   cultural appropriation;   using schools to control and indoctrinate indigenous people;
       -   other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in: Australia, Lebanon, USA;
       -   on sexism this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
       -   neochristians need to stop abusing their wives;   a national Domestic Violence Order Scheme has come in to effect;   the most common but least punished forms of violence against women;   this week, in what appears to be heading towards Australia’s version of the US Weinstein (watershed) effect (albeit without the rapes): women have the power to expose men's bad behaviour (see also here, here, and here), and the response has changed (one media company has set up a help line for employees), but the man at the centre of the allegations has tried to use Asperger’s Syndrome as a cheap deflection, and there were some concerns at the time. In addition: it remains risky for women to speak up (as has been made clear back to an infamous 1991 case at least), women STEM students face a problematic search for safe workplaces, other men have become aware of toxic male behaviour (although others could do more), but one unutterably stupid woman has been found to have made a false accusation, and concerns have been raised about the view (myth) that all men are potential rapists (on the basis that “the myth runs counter to decades of feminist activism” and “argues that harassment and rape are normal”, which “cedes something crucial: the belief that things can be better”);   revenge porn;   “prehistoric women had stronger arms than elite female rowing teams do today thanks to the daily grind of farming life” (and we need to improve our physical strength NOW);   stigma silences male victims of slavery/human trafficking,
       -   other sexism matters have also occurred in: Africa, Kenya, laws;
       -   on religious rights this week:
       -   despite underreporting (of up to 43% and 72%), anti-Semitic incidents in Australia have increased nearly 10% over a year, with a rise of far-right groups in Australia and inaction and anti-Semitic comments by mainstream media – see also this social media article;
       -   on workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human (and other – e.g., animal) rights this week:
       -   the world soccer body needs to do more on human rights;   more human rights insanity in the USA: here, here, and here;   underpaying migrant workers has become a business practice for unscrupulous employers;   a call for businesses to do more to prevent/respond to abuse of workers (social media link – sorry);   assisted dying has been approved in my home state (although there is an 18 month implementation phase);   more testimony on sexual abuse of children by christian priests;   a painting stolen by the Nazis has been returned to Poland;   the benefits of linking clicktivism with real life activism;   the UK is abandoning part of animal rights legislation as part of Brexit;
       -   slavery / human trafficking: Australia, Eritrea/Canada, UN, USA, France, Haiti;
       -   other workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in: Mexico, Bahrain, Cambodia, Argentina;
       -   opportunities to take action here;
  • With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
       -   the need to end impunity for sexual violence in war;   attempts in the USA to blame mass shootings on mental illness propagate false connections between extreme violence and mental illness, cements ugly stereotypes and perpetuates the stigma, and is a distraction from treatment for people who need it most – even worse are the conspiracy nut jobs harassing victims;    how interest in major wars draws people to study conflict – and can bias results;   the importance of micro-level studies;   the US soldiers who cleaned up waste – without protection - after nuclear weapons testing are now dying of cancer;   one of the outcomes of the current climate of hate is the possible deportation of a woman who migrated to the UK before the 1973 Immigration Act which gave people who had already settled in Britain indefinite leave to remain;   calls for an ‘all of UN’ approach to stop the destruction, smuggling of cultural heritage;
  • 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 (and to get people to constructively remedy: fear of being single / asexual / off-grid or a rebel / innovator / non-conformist / true to yourself, belief in management  fads and fashions, distracting themself aka filling their time):
       “why grown-ups still need fairy tales”;   an Australian-made therapy chair helping chickens and roosters walk again;   some common sense, good comments about training cats;   the benefits of quitting (in the sense of changing);   the experience of a person who overcame 27 years of drug addiction;   it takes time for magick to work;   the Global South-South Development Expo 2017 has ended with delegations from dozens of nations, international organisations, and UN agencies reaffirming their commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals;   the challenges – such as declining populations -facing formerly centrally planned cities in Eastern Europe and Central Asia;   International Civil Society Week will focus on small island developing states in the Pacific;   “the current loss and waste of one-third of all food produced for human consumption would be just enough to feed the nearly one billion people who go to bed hungry every single night”;   financing strategies for stability and development of fragile nations;
  • With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
       -   damage from the recent Tropical Cyclone (aka hurricane) in the US Imperial Territory Puerto Rico is hindering research and development of commercial corn, soybean and other hybrid seeds;   recovery aid pledges for the Caribbean are grossly inadequate;   natural disasters can push the vulnerable back into poverty;   Nepal’s earthquake recovery won’t be a success until the vulnerability of survivors is addressed;
  • With regard to overcrowding and “modern” lifestyle issues (such as conflict  minerals, environmental harm and child labour in smart phone , FOMO (which can be overcome) and addiction or unthinking pro-technology bias, second thoughts, social media making people miserable or envious, being duped by modern mantras and  management  fads,  “failing” at being well, AI ethics, corporate misuse of mindfulness as a distraction from working conditions,  embedded emissions, bigger, flashier homes/cars– which means actively abusing the environment and society’s cohesion and contributing to financialisation, the accursed “new is always good” groupthink of the computer world, abuse of workers by insisting on busy-ness, raising Prince Boofheads):
       -   on climate change and other environmental matters this week:
       -   interesting videos personifying Mother Nature and the Ocean;   “how little brown birds get overlooked in the protection pecking order” – see also here;   better energy efficiency measures and using gas alternatives could meet up to 70% of the projected shortfall in gas supply on Australia’s east coast;   with a scathing assessment of two Australian states’ with the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) Plan, as another plans a Royal Commission;   scientists are regrowing coral from larvae on damaged patches of the Great Barrier Reef - which could be a worldwide game-changer;   “source” reefs have been identified that could be a life support system for the Great Barrier Reef;   illegal logging and caviar trade, together with mass-killing of wild birds, bears, wolves and lynx threatens biodiversity and livelihoods in Europe’s last pristine forest, stretching over 15 European countries;  the passing of coal;   tamper-proof water meters are needed to deal with water theft;   US scientists appear to be self-censoring by omitting the term "climate change" in grant applications;   a lobster (caught to be tagged) with a commercial logo imprinted on its claw has raised concerns over ocean litter;   an oil spill from a US pipeline;   logging in my home state could cause an ecosystem collapse;   one Australian state is clearing land as fast as Brazil … ;   cactus is being looked at as a climate resilient food;   the world’s largest lithium ion battery has commenced operation;   Australia can meet its 2030 greenhouse emissions target at zero net cost by using renewables;   the shortcomings of energy modelling;   penguins are drowning in fishing nets;
       -   other environmental matters have occurred in: Australia, Liberia, China (good new), Nigeria;
       -   on technology and science matters this week:
       -   why we should be wary of ending net neutrality;   despite claims to the contrary, a survey shows young people do care about digital privacy (but they tend to be better at managing it than older people, and thus seem more sanguine);   Facebook is looking to roll out suicide prevention software worldwide (there are problems, of course, but this could be good);   some common sense about behaviour such as taking selfies while doing volunteer work;   “digital rights”;   cassettes are back;   anxiety over windfarms has been added to the long list of mostly unfounded concerns (e.g., electricity telephones, a 19th century belief that symptoms of nervousness were caused by “wireless telegraphy, science, steam power, newspapers and the education of women”], mobile phones [the incidence of brain cancer has flat-lined for over thirty years while mobile phone use became almost universal]), with scientific evidence suggesting that “wind turbine syndrome” is a communicated disease (the majority of complaints occur in English-speaking nations despite the proliferation of windfarms globally, and “claims about only “susceptible” individuals being affected, can’t explain why there are apparently no susceptible people in all of Western Australia or Tasmania”);
       -   other technology and science matters have occurred in: India (good news);
       -   on economic and financial matters this week:
       -   an opinion that new tech will not kill jobs – which fails, as it looks at the overall situation, and not the devastation caused to those who do not have the skills or aptitude for the new forms of work;
       -   other economic and financial matters have occurred in: Nigeria;
       -   on affordable, sustainable and decent housing and homelessness matters this week:
       -   declining conditions and growing desperation before the fatal Grenfell tower fire – and 1,400 buildings in my home state have the same problem (action to address current and prevent future instances has been announced);   rental problems, and the poor are worst affected by affordability (which is a little obvious!);   another opinion that Australia’s housing bubble could burst;   the benefit of below ground housing;
       -   on health and medical this week:
       -   a stop smoking drug has been linked to suicide;   after 19 year legal battle, US tobacco companies have been forced to run ads admitting cigarettes are addictive and smoking kills;   vaginal mesh implants have finally been banned;   “gene therapy shows promise for a growing list of diseases”;
       -   on other matters in the category this week:
       -   street art has been credited with reducing a tropical city’s use of air conditioning;   making sport fun for kids;   school students are writing the memoirs of elderly people in aged care;   helicopter parenting results in anxious kids;
  • With regard to press aka the media, and freedom of expression (claims of presenting “both sides” of a debate can be WRONG if the other side is RUBBISH –as is the case on LGBTIQ issues. Also, media can be unprofessional, but funding is an issue … ):
       -   the endemic and inherent bias of (“racially monolithic “) media that isn't diverse (“the myth of objectivity has deluded journalists who are white, male, straight, cisgender, able-bodied”), and the appalling reporting it leads to, such as humanising monsters, but not young black men who are killed by police;   a media person who made a significant mistake himself, but took a “hatemongering” media person to court and won, regrets that the hatemonger won’t learn and grow;   “independent journalists are under siege in a growing list of supposedly freer countries such as Brazil, Turkey, India and Mexico”;   economic attacks on the media;
       -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: Burma;
  • With regard to education:
       -   a racial makeup that doesn't reflect Australian society has led a Hong Kong-born mother to decide to not send her kids to “selective” schools;   a crisis in schools over a sharp rise in anxiety, depression and self-harm among students as young as 10 years old;   fewer Uni students are completing their courses – or finding jobs;   as a scheme is launched for free degrees for teachers who go bush, a call is made to improve pay to get better teachers;   the need for better feedback;
  • With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing:
       -   the ongoing sexual abuse of women prisoners by EXCESSIVE strip searches;   an evidence-based call for caution in adopting coercive measures to address domestic violence;   families of former youth detainees are disappointed the Royal Commission did not recommended any prosecutions;   the problems facing kids whose parents are in jail;   in a major breach of court security, a convicted and particularly thuggish war criminal has committed suicide in the court by drinking poison;   after three inquests and almost 30 years of continuous police obfuscation (the reports and interviews suggest to me that there are – or were – police who are unfit to wear the uniform involved), a coroner has found that a murder was a gay hate attack;   demands by a court for a car manufacturer’s executives to explain themselves over emissions “defeat devices”;   concerns over a “culture of violence” at a US prison;   an opinion on defensive homicide;
      -    other crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in: the Philippines, Argentina, USA.
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):
       -   commentary on the ICC investigation of war crimes in Afghanistan;
  • With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
       -   helping women who have been raped or improperly cared for during childbirth in Africa;
       -   Burundi’s murderers are now being silenced;
       -   opposition figures in the DR Congo have been arrested;
       -   the EU has been supporting the despot in Eritrea;
       -   public budget tracking has held Kenyan county governments accountable;   gender violence and bigotry limited the election of women in Kenya, but some progress was made;   Kenya’s capital is tense ahead of the President’s (re)inauguration;
       -   continuing environmental crimes in Liberia;
       -   a human rights organisation is seeking a criminal enquiry into the alleged complicity of a major oil company in human rights abuses in Nigeria – perhaps ironically, that company does well on this “blood oil” index);   evidence that children born in Nigeria within 10 km of an oil spill were twice as likely to die in their first month;
       -   Uganda is sliding into chaos;
       -   Zimbabwe has said its “soft” coup was perfectly legal … as it appoints the military to key cabinet positions;   dismissal of subversion charges against a Zimbabwean Pastor and activist “hopefully … signals a new beginning”;
  • 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:
       -   two boys who travelled 80 km (50 miles) in the undercarriage of a bus looking for their parents, who work in another province, have sparked an outcry about the welfare of the nation's "left-behind" children;   a former Chinese general has committed suicide before being investigated for alleged corruption;   China’s actions against climate change;   the abuse of a human rights activist has left her in a wheelchair,
       -   other events concerning China have occurred or are developing in: Australia;
       -   “Kim Jong Nam’s assassination also provides some insight into the brutal inner workings of a morally bereft North Korean regime” – and, incredibly, he had the antidote in his backpack … ;   North Korea has fortified the border where a defector escaped;
       -   China’s repression in Hong Kong now includes booing China’s national anthem;
       -   elsewhere in Asia:
       -   Cambodia has continued its increasing repression by shutting down a human rights organisation;
       -   Indonesia has issued its highest-level aviation warning and ordered more evacuations – being ignored - as the Mt Agung volcano (which is special to the Balinese) threatens a bigger eruption ... but the airport has subsequently been able to reopen;
       -   more on Japan’s homophobia;   more – possibly North Korean - bodies have washed ashore in Japan;
       -   more evidence of police abuses from the Philippines mas killing programme;
       -   two disrespectful and rude US citizens have been arrested in Thailand for exposing themselves at a temple;
       -   and in the Pacific:   a couple of West Papuan refugee brothers are performing for their people;   the history of fear in West Papua;   a call for Australia to forge free compact agreements in the Pacific;   PNG landowners have blocked access to gas wells over royalty disputes;   PNG has set up a special police taskforce to deal with the social insanity of responses to sorcery allegations – which have included torturing a six year old girl;
       -   other events concerning the Pacific have occurred or are developing in: UN;
  • With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
       -   examination of attitudes towards Union in Europe;
       -   radioactivity has been found on Russian mushrooms;
       -   Germany will find a way through its current political crisis “rather more satisfactorily than stuffing a tiny minority party with a billion-pound bribe, as the Tories did with the Democratic Unionists” (in the UK);
  • With regard to (the conflict and other matters in) Iraq (which was a peaceful and prosperous society before the UK / USA / CIA backed revolution – see here) and Kurdistan:
       -   the US led coalition fighting violent extremists in Iraq and Syria claims it has killed “at least” 800 civilians, not the 6,000 some report (is there an “only” in there somewhere … ?);   the young are positive;
       -   and the Iraq Body Count project reports 140 people violently killed in the last week;
  • With regard to the Libyan civil war:
       -   the French president has visited Africa against a background of growing anger about politicians’ collective failure on human trafficking and even slave auctions in Libya – which has led to an unbelievably stupid “solution” (i.e., commit refoulement);
  • 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, Central Asia, and responses (see also elsewhere):
       -   the rabidly violent homophobic leader of Chechnya will step down to allow Russia to choose its next rabid human rights abuser;   finally, an explanation on the concerns over Russia’s military exercises (a history of consistently lying beforehand about size);   Russia would like to get rid of the international sanctions introduced after its 2014 military intervention and annexation of territory in Ukraine – making a current US move on this challenging;   a world sporting body has admitted that its decision to have a major world championship in Russia has put all LGBTIQ fans at risk;   Russia’s economy has returned to “modest” growth;
       -   in Central Asia:
       -   the challenges and opportunities for Kyrgyzstan’s incoming President;
  • With regard to South and Central America:
       -   the Argentinian pilots who threw drugged and stripped opponents of the military dictatorship into the ocean during night over the period 1976-83 have been sentenced in that nation’s largest-ever trial;   clever political action by women MPs led to the adoption of gender parity;
       -   an update on the reintegration of the FARC into Columbia – including lessons;
       -   the opposition candidate in the Honduran presidential election will now not accept the poll result;
       -   child marriage in Mexico;
       -   Venezuelan has named a general to head that nation’s oil company and energy ministry;   a detailed examination of the problems in Venezuela, and what should be done;   concerns over a UN expert’s visit to Venezuela;   torture in Venezuela;
       -   other events concerning South and Central America  have occurred or are developing in: media,
  • With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
       -   a report on recent tensions – and violence - around a Kashmir town;
       -   on India:
       -      India is moving towards being the world’s hero on net neutrality;   the ongoing elections;   the USA is selling a dirty fuel waste to India;   strange deployments by the Chinese navy;   concerns over Indian  silence;
       -   on Pakistan:
       -   Pakistan is using its army to restore order over blasphemy protests;
  • With regard to Sudan and South  Sudan:
       -   fighting after a human rights abuser in Darfur on the government’s side has been arrested (possibly as a scapegoat/diversion);
  • With regard to the conflict in Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed (see here, here, here and here)):
       -   questions over whether Russia –which denies killing scores of civilians in a recent air strike - can “win the peace”;   more reports of the use of banned cluster munitions;   talks are continuing;
       -   other events concerning Syria have occurred or are developing in: civilian casualties;
  • With regard to Turkey (which is heading back to Ottoman and grand Sultanate days):
       -   an arrest warrant has been issued for a former CIA officer over the coup;   the assets of a gold trader helping avoid sanctions will be seized;
       -   other events concerning Turkey have occurred or are developing in: media;
  • With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
       -   the “frozen and forgotten” two million internally displaced people in eastern Ukraine;
  • With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and North Africa, the Middle East Eye and other sources have:
       -   on Israel and Palestine:
       -   an Israeli government minister has resigned over public infrastructure work on the Sabbath;
       -   elsewhere in the region:
       -   the life of a human rights defender arrested in Bahrain is now at risk;
       -   as the death toll rises from the violent extremist attack on a mosque in Egypt, the military has performed retaliatory air strikes;   the role of tribes in the fight against insurgency/violent extremism in the Sinai;   Russia will be allowed to use Egyptian military bases;
       -   more allegations against a jailed Iranian-British woman to pressure the UK as it considers buying off the Iranians holding her;
       -   forced marriage in Lebanon;   regional implications of Lebanon’s Prime Minister’s recent (time limited … ) resignation;   the health problems of unmanaged waste;
       -   permaculture in Morocco;
       -   one of the Saudi princes accused of corruption has been able to buy his freedom … ;   Princely propaganda;   Saudi Arabia is trying to mend fences with Iraq to counter Iranian influence;
  • With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflict in Yemen:
       -   medical supplies and aid workers is arriving;   Saudi desperation as its Yemen campaign stagnates;   a backgrounder on the war in Yemen – including the contributory role of the IMF;   allegations of Iranian interference with Yemen’s currency;   more funding, but the need exceeds aid;   talks aim to prevent rebel factions starting another front;   EU calls for a Saudi arms embargo.
Other News:
  • some people see 'dumpster diving' as an ethical way to eat – despite the risk of injury or illness, and its illegality in many developed nations.
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;   the 1 Million Meditators movement,   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.
(I 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.
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