Post No. 1,103 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 192

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:   -   (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 more BPM passion and compassion;

(d)   I created a bindrune, which actually wound up being Ansuz:

(e)   dealing with the 45^th 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 Yemen, Burma and South Sudan;   -   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 the ongoing crises for the Rohingya, Yemenis and Syrians,   the recurrence of insanity in and around North Korea, and the massive inflammatory, backwards step by the USA around Jerusalem;

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;
     -   as air liner crews report seeing the recent North Korean missile test, a call for the UN to stop the slide to war in about “three months”;   a 1994 assessment found that South Korea and the USA would have over half a million casualties as it defeated North Korea – civilian and North Korean military losses would be on top of that .. ;
     -   the impact of racism on the response to refugee crises;
     -   a call for Australia to resume its four decades old outspokenness against apartheid in support of the Rohingya;
     -   a former Catholic Archbishop who led a culture of secrecy to protect the interests of the church ahead of abuse victims will be tried;
     -   against the historical background that Jerusalem was intended to be divided into West and East Jerusalem by the Two State/Partition Plan of 1948, with West Jerusalem the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine, but the 1948-49 war led to a probably (I haven’t pored over the maps) different - and harshly administered (by Jordan) – division until Israel invaded East Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967 and "reunified" the city - by a special law, in 1980, and it is the invasion, occupation and annexation of EAST Jerusalem that has led to opposition to West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the 45^th US President has done what prior US Presidents talked of (including Obama, early on), and recognised Jerusalem (no mention of West Jerusalem only) as Israel’s capital (which will be effected in three years’ time by relocating the US Embassy), which has led to criticism by the Reform Judaism Movement, concerns that he has undermined the basis of the Oslo Accords, “dealt a death sentence” to the peace process – including his own plans for a deal - calls for a new  intifada (with three rockets already hitting Israel), violent extremist threats, “day(s) of rage” leading to scores of injured and at least one dead Palestinian and other protests, international  condemnation, a US warning to Palestine not to cancel talks with the USA’s neochristian vice president (who is suspected of influencing the decision), and an opinion that Israel has created a debt that will be hard to repay (see also here, here, here, and here);
     -   this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists Yemen, Burma and South Sudan;
• 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 45^th US President below
     -   analyses this week include:
     -   an editorial calling for a broader perspective;   consideration of cybersecurity for voting machines;   a call for more women to “make foreign policy decisions”;   some thoughts on public interest and intelligence;   an examination of “militant” groups in politics (mostly peaceful, “a stability-democracy trade-off may arise because elites demand a status-quo bias”, may not be popular with “average citizen”);   the need to strengthen institutional capacity of aid-recipient governments to ensure they can cope with public-private partnerships;   an international corruption watchdog has warned that former politicians and political advisers who become corporate lobbyists should be subject to strict "cooling off" periods;   an opinion that tax havens have benefits – such as reducing tax competition between larger nations (I’m still thinking about this, but my first reaction is that the claimed tax competition would be balanced by internal politics and the social needs of nations – which are not all neoliberal, and companies don’t pay much tax anyway);   countering corruption in mining approvals;   better accessibility for public transport;
     -   of concern this week:
     -   after a report found a "toxic boys club" in the CFA, footage has emerged of a 17 year old girl being physically abused – including kicking - by middle aged men - who are now being investigated by the CFA, but, concerningly, police are of the view that no crime has occurred ... when did kicking or physically restraining people against their will and without cause stop being crimes?;   concerns over a cyber-attack on an ICC Prosecutor;   concerns over the damage caused by the management style of US Secretary of State Tillerson;   disputed allegations that a former neoliberal Prime Minister’s damaged the public service;   particularly vicious legal actions by an Australian water authority accused of exacerbating floods raise questions about their commitment to ethics and transparency;   the USA will allow things like drug tests to be imposed on food aid;   more idiotic neoliberal recommendations for privatisation of utilities – which has been an expensive failure elsewhere;   calls for an urgent review of the embedment of a Chinese government entity inside a state government department;   a former minister who once described Indigenous mothers as “cash cows” has bizarrely been made head of the charities commission;
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in: Spain, my home state’s police, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Australia, Kenya, South Sudan;
     -   in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
     -   an executive of a car manufacturing company has been jailed over emissions fraud;
     -   other events in the grey or neutral area have occurred or are developing in: China;
     -   good news this week includes:
     -   Ireland will collect €13bn in back taxes from Apple;   the US Democratic party is continuing its soul searching;
     -   other good news has occurred: South Africa (good news);
     -   and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     -   this is a bad look ... and particularly disappointing, given Labor's past problems and claims to have addressed the matter;   Australia’s neoliberal government is being criticised for attempting to cover up an MP’s bid for more perks, “precisely the wrong model” of superannuation reform (which could be brought undone by the banking Royal Commission anyway), and double standards (migrants vs. MP citizenship) over mistakes in documentation;  foreign political donations will be banned, those trying to influence Australian politics on behalf of other nations must register under a "transparency scheme", and the definition of espionage will include "possessing" sensitive information under new, supported (generally – some claim they are open to challenge, others are concerned about journalists and whistleblowers) measures;   a professional provocateur who delights in media attention (the media have been criticised for giving him this – although I know some didn’t) prancing around paedophilia has indulged in puerile insults and no doubt gloried in the violence he has inspired (and the organisers have refused to pay public costs), prior to being invited to Parliament by an MP in order to annoy "silly" people … ;   Australian vets who were at nuclear tests in the 1950s will not receive health care;   the dual citizenship saga will stretch into next year … ;
• With regard to the 45^th US President (who is dangerous – see here on actions for US residents [and the useful principles]) this week (I avoid using the 45^th US President’s name for psychic reasons, but also use either “the USA’s CEO” or “Voldemort II” as an alias):
     -   the USA’s 45^th President has struck a blow against “Obamacare” with tax changes, and backflipped and lashed out at the FBI (thus eroding morale) after appearing to admit to criminal activity;
     -   the broader significance of the lies over Russian influence, concerns over possible White House interference, and renewed discussion on impeachment – which still has little chance of success … and then there is the religious mania of the Vice President who would succeed him … ;   claims that sanctions on Russia were to be "ripped up" early in the new administration;
     -   political expediency and sexual harassers;   late-night TV show hosts have criticised the 45^th US President for his 'morally degenerate' support of a politician accused of sexual relationships with teenagers;
     -   more concerns over Voldemort II having access to nuclear launch codes;
     -   other matters relating to the USA’s 45^th President (aka CEO): science, Yemen (good news);
• 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 Nigeria, Afghanistan, and, according to this Wikipedia page, there have been 6 attacks in Iraq, 3 attacks in Afghanistan, and 1 attack in Syria (out of a total of 20);   and actions (Note: there are many others that don’t reach the media I read) have occurred this week against violent extremists in: Cameroon;
     -   rescuing children caught up by their parents in violent extremism;
     -   the arguments in favour of US military involvement in Niger;   the need for human creativity in cyberwarfare;   better CVE decision making;   although the UK has thwarted nine plots in the past 12 months, a suicide attack at a pop concert that killed 22 people might have been prevented if intelligence had been handled differently;   an examination of societal factors in religious violent extremist groups (the statistics presented do not paint as clear a picture as the author proposes – why is Malaysia different? That might give more useful insight);
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
     -   on the Rohingya crisis this week:
     -   the 27^th special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the Rohingya and other Burmese “minorities” – see also here;   the UN HCR has joined assessments that atrocities against the Rohingya by Burma's military "could" (others have said “is”) be genocide;   criticism of the UN –and, in particular, Islamic nations – over inaction on the Rohingya genocide;
     -   other refugee-related matters  this week:
     -   as a former human rights commissioner warns that the inhumanity in Australia’s refugee gulags are designed to “break” refugees, and a member of the Labor party which reopened the gulags in 2012 says they may not have done so if they had known the situation would reach this point, a Kurdish journalist who fled Iran for Australia in 2013 continues to reveal the true horror;   Australia is - illegally - using coercion by telling refugees in the Nauru Island gulag that they must separate from their families – and risk never seeing them again – in order to apply for resettlement in the US;   the USA is deporting some Cambodian refugees;   as the USA pulls out of a refugee agreement, an “alliance for citizen participation” says refugees deserve dignity;   an argument that Australia’s fast track refugee assessments are fundamentally unfair;
     -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in: Cambodia, Columbia, DR Congo;
• 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):
     -  something many Australians don't realise is that Section 58 of the Constitution of Australia means NONE of our laws become legal until the Queen's Representative (i.e., the Governor-General) says OK, which happened on Friday 8^th December, 2017 (two days before the Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human  Rights), with existing overseas same sex/same gender marriages being recognised the next day (some supportive churches still have some internal technicalities to address);   FINALLY evidence of the harm (“more than double the number of verbal and physical assaults”) resulting from the postal survey on Equal Marriage – despite assurances that the survey would be overwhelmingly respectful – and calls for MPs to “be humble and seek forgiveness from LGBTIQ people for injustices and indignities in the debate and for subjecting [them] and [their] relationships to public judgment”;   after initially being shocked, a conservative (practicing Catholic) MP supported his lesbian daughter – especially after she pointed out “Dad do you realise that our generation [meaning her generation] will look upon your generation about homosexuality in the same way that your generation [meaning me] look upon my parents' generation in the way that they dealt with our Indigenous people'?";   the US man who was refused a marriage licence by a neochristian bigot (in contravention of her duty) is now applying for the bigot’s job;
     -   on white supremacist and other forms of racism and indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   “requiring Indigenous politicians to prove their Australian citizenship has been an upsetting and anger-inducing process that resurfaced a colonial “legacy of hurt and pain””;   “how white engineers built racist code – and why it's dangerous for black people”;   the family of an Indigenous man and father of five who died shackled to a hospital bed are calling for an independent investigation into his death;   a white former US police officer who was filmed killing an unarmed black man in has been sentenced to 20 years in prison;   a perspective that, for indigenous people, “the apocalypse” has already happened, and we're living in a post-apocalyptic dystopia;   a play calls for listening to indigenous people;
     -   other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in: Brazil;
     -   on sexism this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
     -   as victims are put at risk by Australia’s neoliberal government’s rent deduction scheme, domestic violence will reach alarming figures over the end of year period;   the challenges (such as knowing perpetrators) of finding social workers to address domestic violence in regional areas;   a huge spike in women's footy participation figures “tells [a] revealing story”;   several parties have plans to introduce ten days’ of paid leave for family violence victims;   the problem of reactive bystanders;   although the apologies are getting better, a call has been made to consider "what happens after the apology" - particularly given the failings of the judicial system, and the risk of revenge; as one actor sues for defamation, Australia's screen actors have expressed support for victims of sexual harassment ("And if people say it happened, then it happened. That whole thing about women making stuff up — it's too much!"), while being wary of unsubstantiated media reports – and questions about whether strict defamation laws are helping perpetrators (I’m not convinced on the latter point – and the defensive action is a case in point: the media needs to be accountable);   a 30 day ban from facebook for a response to misogynistic abuse (including dozens of death and rape threats) directed at friend has led to a protest resulting in hundreds of suspensions and active deletion of older responses ... where is the equal response to the original hate speech? (the article also outlines the problems and steps taken by facebook but they need to act on the threats!);   “The Silence Breakers” behind the #MeToo movement have become a US magazine’s Person of the Year;   regulated wages and the gender gap have a complex connection;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in: the internet, China;
     -   on religious rights this week:
     -   a re-creation of destroyed antiquities from Palmyra (using 3D printing) has led to “outrage against religious extremism and outrage from religious extremists”;
     -   on workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human (and other – e.g., animal) rights this week:
     -   an appalling trend is growing of employers sitting in on workers' compensation medical appointments – humiliating the victims and breaching their privacy;   recommendations for improvements to the ICC - see also here;   criticism of a UN human rights official for using blackface and being revisionist;   the confidence of service providers has slumped as they struggle to implement a “flawed” NDIS system;   assisted dying is “not just about unbearable pain, it's about self-determination”;   a “recidivist” couple have been fined more than half a million dollars for the “deliberate”, “repeated”, and “systematic” exploitation of foreign workers for their cleaning company;   Amazon may erode Australian workers’ rights;   an Australian man trafficked his wife and baby to India;   more inclusive language;   a local Council has apologised for removing a disability support mural;   a far right wing extremist has been ordered not to wear his former employers uniform;   a misperception that the NDIS covers everything is resulting in a dearth of volunteers to help people with disabilities;   online shopping for pets may facilitate puppy farms — especially when deliveries are included;   it would cost 20 cents more per T-shirt to pay an Indian worker a living wage;
     -   other workers’, children’s, privacy, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in: Morocco, China, the Philippines, DR Congo, Cameroon, Azerbaijan, India (good news);
• With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
     -   the US military has lied in a social media message that it has “secret” silos;
     -   other war, violence or hate related matters have occurred or are developing in: Mexico, the Wassenaar Arrangement;
• 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):
     while some fund raising efforts are branded “poverty porn” in the annual Radi-Aid awards, other, more creative appeals, often by small organisations have been praised as “powerful and positive”;   some thoughts on compassion for the flawed, including abusers;   a call to embrace sadness;   our brains “align” with the people we spend time with – leading to an opinion that maximising happiness and minimising stress involves a life that requires fewer decisions by surrounding oneself with people who embody the traits they prefer – which will be picked up by osmosis (as someone who hoards her energy out by spoonfuls, I agree with this up to a point: this has the DANGER of living in a thought bubble);   “NOTAFLOF”;   the benefits of simple living;
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   some US communities recovering from disasters are rejecting major supermarkets in favour of local businesses - and ending temporary protection for foreign workers could harm rebuilding;   multiple bushfires in the US state of California have forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people, and are threatening Los Angeles;   a cyclone in South Asia;   conflicts and drought are causing hunger in 37 nations;
• 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:
     -   as wombats rewild the bush, a small bird is found to have survived a major bushfire;   as pollution stops a cricket test match in India, where millions of babies are at risk of brain damage from pollution, China will not fund a controversial Indian coal mine in Australia;   recent extreme weather will push some food prices up;   a call for more bottle/can return facilities as another Australian state reintroduces deposits (which should NEVER have been dropped – and at the urging of cheapskate companies, to boot);   living near forests is linked to healthier brains;   modern rat poisons are killing Boobook owls;   China’s global infrastructure projects are damaging the environment;   one region's platypus have become extinct, but they’re still present in a storm-affected river in my home city;   23 of the 27 kg of clothes Australians buy each year wind up in landfill ... ;   new coral species have been found;   two (pretty, in a tropical way, looking at the photos) northern Australian creeks have been contaminated with toxic firefighting chemicals, but locals may not get blood tests for months;   armyworms (which cause damaging plagues in Africa)are invading an Australian state;   calls for Australia to catch up with the UK and USA and help people to feed native birds properly;   buying sustainable tuna;   recovering resources in buildings;   some US communities are stopping big oil projects;
     -   on technology and science matters this week:
     -   yet another moronic body “ideal” has gone viral;  what is needed from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission enquiry into digital platforms;   Australia's main stock exchange will become the first to use the technology behind bitcoin;   airlines have announced restrictions on so-called smart luggage because the lithium-ion batteries in many of them are a fire risk;   geomythology has led to respect for many oral traditions (such as Australian indigenous memories of the flooding10,000 years ago that created Port Philip);   helping teens with social media;
     -   other technology and science matters have occurred in: China, Ireland (good news), coding, law (emoji), sexist social media policies;
     -   on economic and financial matters this week:
     -   the ability to cope with financial shocks as a true measure of wealth;   calls for phone and internet providers to be regulated as other utilities are;   to reduce food waste, a grocery chain will sell products that are past their “best before” dates;   the earnings gap between CEOs and normal people in Australia, and an article on the gap before and after the GFC as one part of the complex “inequality wars”;   coaching, rather than gadgets, makes employees feel valued and thus increases productivity;   advice for businesses during disasters;   youth unemployment is still feeling the effects of the GFC;
     -   on affordable, sustainable and decent housing and homelessness matters this week:
     -      more financial tinkering on housing affordability … ;   more homeless people in the USA in response to a housing affordability crisis;   foreign buyers own 4% of Australia’s homes, and are buying up to 25% of new homes;
     -   on health and medical this week:
     -   who to see for mental health issues;   a mental health crisis has developed as those who need psychiatric care most don’t get it;   a house owner has been fined $225,000 for creating 'clouds of asbestos' by demolishing heritage home;   a call for all teenagers to be taught menstrual health in schools to raise awareness about endometriosis – and an action plan is announced;   Australian doctors have called for mole photography;   over-60s should stick to green spaces and parks when they go for a walk as air pollution largely wipes out the health benefits;   careless disposal of antibiotics could create “superbugs” – see also here and here;   guidelines for stroke in children;   rural suicide;   the problem of atypical anorexia (patients don't have to be dangerously underweight to be at risk);
     -   on other matters in the category this week:
     -   a gang of youths who crashed a party have terrorised a street, as an organised fight between other gangs resulted in a murder;   parklets;   a charity suspects the campaign to reduce household waste is reducing how much it has to distribute;   the commercialism of "pester power" is about to peak (this was always the busiest time of the year when I worked at a phone counselling service);
• 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 … ):
     -   examination of the influence that abusers in the media have had;   three men have been charged with the murder of an investigative journalist on Malta;   an investigative journalist in Mozambique has been threatened;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: Australia, Russia, Ethiopia;
• With regard to education:
     -   some think a high school’s English reading list is too sombre, others think it reflects life;   children with disabilities are being left behind;   smarter school fund raising;   my home state's anti-corruption body has found millions was rorted by a regional TAFE scheme, and legal action may ensue;   the need for inclusive sexuality education;
     -   other education matters have occurred in: India/Australia, India (good news);
• With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing:
     -   the widow of a murdered police officer now, after nine years on the Adult Parole Board, views the best outcomes for community safety as coming from multi-faceted rehabilitative justice, rather than punitive sentencing;   the Perceptions of Corruption report by the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission has revealed 46% of my home state’s police feared a backlash for reporting corruption, only 20% felt they would be protected, 13% felt the force "actively discourages the reporting of corruption", and 20% would not report corruption;   emoji can be used in a threatening manner;   criticism of the Charlottesville Police Department’s preparation and response to the counter-protest where a woman was killed;   community bail for the poor;   an example of the damage done by trials - including media reporting;   a female who is a suspected mafia mastermind has been arrested;   the US military regularly fails to submit required crime data to the FBI for inclusion in databases;   alleged Australian and Canadian bikies have been arrested in Thailand, and a dozen alleged bikies have been arrested in Australia for publicly wearing gang colours;   a judge has been removed from court over “insensitive” comments, although the remarks fell short of judicial misconduct;   another US police killing of an unarmed man (with lots of contradictory shouting by the police);
    -    other crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in: Germany, DR Congo, Brazil (good news), 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):
     -   more on the red flag of new militias in Afghanistan;
• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
     -   Cameroon – which has been called on to stop using torture - has declared war on “secessionist rebels”;
     -   the need for a peaceful transition in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the current President’s avaricious clutching on to power - and silencing of dissent - has caused a humanitarian disaster;   a call for police to stop being heavy handed when responding to protests;   Burundian refugees have refused biometric registration;
     -   Ethiopia is using Israeli spyware against dissidents and journalists;
     -   Kenya’s opposition will swear in its leader;
     -   Liberia’s elections will be re-run;
     -   a comparison of France’s military involvement in Mali with the USA in Afghanistan finds cause for hope – and a need for effective state building;
     -   Nigeria needs multi-lingual soldiers – who DON’T rape … ;   with China's help, Nigeria has unveiled a major railway expansion project to ease congestion on roads and to boost the economy;
     -   disappointment at the rejection by the government of Sierra Leone of over 100 of the 134 recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee;
     -   a call for job creation and poverty reduction to promote stability in Somalia;
     -   a peer learning group working for transparent governance in South Africa;   police want to talk to a critic of the president … ;   political challenges;
     -   Ugandan troops are being withdrawn from Somalia;
     -   other events concerning Africa have occurred or are developing in: Niger, Mozambique;
• 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):
     -   ASEAN has chosen to “live on its knees” with regard to the South China Sea;   almost 500 million people in the Asia Pacific region lack access to sufficient food;   nations in the Asia-Pacific region should use prevailing stable economic conditions to orient their economies towards a more socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable path - see also here;
     -   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:
     -   China’s “One Belt, One Road” – backed by Saudi Arabia, amongst others - includes maintaining cyber sovereignty, but “foresees [an] internet-era power shift”, although Alibaba’s founder has said “tech revolutions usually lead to war, but this time can be different”;   China has shut down an “institute” that was teaching women to be obedient and subordinate;   as Australia’s distrust of China grows (over interference, which China denies), so does China’s of Australia;   a call for action on China’s detention of a Taiwanese national;   China’s global infrastructure projects are damaging the environment;  China is angry at an Indian drone which "invaded China's airspace and crashed";   the razing of villages (“gentrification”, ostensibly for safety reasons) where thousands of poor workers live “spells [the] end of [the] China dream”;
     -   other events concerning China have occurred or are developing in: the Balkans, eastern Europe;
     -   activists are smuggling USBs into North Korea in a struggle for minds;   North Korea has agreed to regular talks with the UN;
     -   US-South Korean military exercises are currently underway;   South Korea may defer military exercises during the 2018 winter olympics;
     -   Tibetan youth are calling for independence;
     -   elsewhere in Asia:;
     -   Cambodia’s Prime Martinet backed off on a threat to shut down an opposition-founded human rights group;   Australia remains committed to refugee resettlement in Cambodia despite "concern for democracy";
     -   a whitewashing memoir created by an aide to a former Japanese Emperor has been sold;
     -   the murder of human rights defenders in the Philippines;   after a two month pause, the Philippines President has told human rights groups to "go to hell" and ordered police back into the mass killing programme;
     -   and in the Pacific:   the United Liberation Movement for West Papua has a new leader and a building donated by the government of Vanuatu;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
     -   China’s growing influence in Serbia and other Balkan nations, and eastern Europe generally;
     -   German police have used water cannons on people protesting against a far right extremist party;
     -   four Catalonian independence figureheads remain in jail for sedition, as six others are bailed by Spain’s Supreme Court;
     -   “UK and [the] European Union fail to strike divorce deal after Irish furore”;   as xenophobia grow in the UK, a Polish man has been detained and threatened with deportation after reporting a crime;   Brexit crawls to the second phase … ;
• 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:
     -   suspicions that past Israeli assistance to Kurdistan is behind their silence on Jerusalem;
     -   and the Iraq Body Count project reports 140 people violently killed in the last week;
• 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):
     -   Russia:
     -   young Russians are unimpressed by Putin;   Russia has been banned from the 2018 winter olympics over state-sponsored drug cheating (leading to boggling denials ... clean athletes can compete) - see also here;   following similar action by the USA against Russian journalists, Russia will ban foreign journalists from its Parliament;
     -   in Central Asia:
     -   Azerbaijan has shut human rights lawyers out of trials;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   statistical confirmation that violence is the main driver (economic conditions are another) of the staggering movement of children (up to 10% of some age groups) out of Central America;
     -   accusations of racism in Brazil;   Brazil’s most wanted drug lord has been arrested in an operation involving thousands of police;
     -   the influx of half a million desperate Venezuelans is causing Columbia problems;
     -   after Honduras suspended constitutional rights, police refused to repress the Honduran people, although the army obediently enforced a curfew – see also here, and this assessment that the opposition had been heading for victory;   after demands were made by the Organisation of American States, the Honduran curfew has been partially suspended;
     -   Mexico has ratified the nuclear weapons ban;
     -   Venezuelan will create a “cryptocurrency”, backed by oil reserves and other natural resources, to attempt to cope economic problems (including sanctions);   how one opposition mayor fled Venezuela;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     -   a cyclone has killed more than a score of people in South Asia;
     -   on India:
     -   a blind, fingerless leprosy patient in India who lost her pension as she was unable to provide fingerprints and a retina scan has been given a new identity card to restore her welfare payment;   Australia could help India with higher education;   “will civil society and democracy in India rise to the existential challenges they face?”;   China is angry at an Indian drone which "invaded China's airspace and crashed";   a premature baby who was "mistakenly" declared dead by doctors has died in another hospital – see also here;   another child sexual abuse case;   India’s elections;   a rethinking on adultery;   pesticides continue to kill farmers;   government spending on publicity;   spending for differently abled students;   India has been admitted to the Wassenaar Arrangement;
     -   on Pakistan:
     -   a Pakistani man has been arrested for writing "Long live India" on a wall;   growing divergences in US-Pakistan relations;
     -   elsewhere in South Asia:
     -   Indian-Chinese rivalry in Sri Lanka – see also here;
• With regard to Sudan and South  Sudan:
     -   it is no wonder so much evil has been committed in and by Sudan with this sort of appalling behaviour;
     -   an update overview of the crisis in South Sudan, where over 1 million people are on the edge of famine;   a South Sudanese MP has been assassinated;
• 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)):
     -   returnees are facing a lack of services and the risk of further displacement;   children bear a “disproportionate lethal impact” of the Syrian war;   Israel is increasingly active in its quest to block Iran – which, in response to the planned relocation of the US Embassy in Israel, has threatened to level Tel Aviv - in Syria, raising concerns over brinkmanship;
• With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
     -   hundreds of protesters in Ukraine have clashed with police and demanded their President's resignation after a botched attempt to arrest the opposition leader;
• With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and North Africa, the Middle East Eye and other sources have:
     -   a new Saudi-UAE alliance raises doubts about the future of the Gulf Cooperation Council;
     -   on Israel and Palestine:
     -   see also the section “particular attention”;   support for a database on business activities related to settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory;   another Palestinian has been killed by Israeli settlers;   Israel is planning thousands of homes in East Jerusalem;
     -   other events concerning Israel and/or Palestine have occurred or are developing in: Syria, Ethiopia;
     -   elsewhere in the region:
     -   the UK is seeking the release of a joint UK-Iranian citizen from Iran – commentary here;   see also here;
     -   Jordan wants to build a new city in the desert;
     -   Lebanon's prime Minister has now formally withdrawn his resignation;   France and other nations have called on Saudi Arabia and Iran to leave Lebanon alone;
     -   concerns over a human rights defender in Morocco;
     -   criticism of the Saudi Crown Prince’s actions – including replacing the Foreign Minister with the prince’s younger brother, and spending half a billion on a painting;
• With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflict in Yemen:
     -   a former President whose disgruntlement led to him supporting the Iranian-backed Houthis as he started the war, spoke of changing sides and was killed by his former allies (and his supporters are being rounded up) as he drove to do so – which cruels a brief hope, and may escalate the conflict, which Saudi Arabia now wants out of;   calls for a humanitarian pause;   the USA has condemned Saudi Arabia over its blockade of Yemen.

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.