Post No. 1,143 - Cross-Posts and Related Thoughts

I'd like to raise some posts I've done on other blogs of mine, beginning with this one, which, in the context of the problem of abuse of workers of Qatar, considers the generations required to change society.

I've also written a post about what I term the "Newtonian non-physical worldview": the post is here, and I've also copied it is below. However, I am going to add to it for this blog, by posting something from my next edition of Gnwmythr's News:

I’ve just come across a New York Times magazine article from a couple of months ago about Israel’s attempts to kill Yasser Arafat: those attempts failed, and it is easy to gain an impression that Arafat was Israel’s version of what Castro was to the USA and, in both cases, there are actions which verge on extremist overreactions (including Israel killing Israelis, a problem the USA has had to come to grips with recently) ... just as, in both cases, there are decent people who step in and prevent catastrophes (and there are a couple of Russians who deserve to be noted on this topic) – such as preventing the shooting down a plane of wounded Palestinian children or blowing up a stadium full of civilians … and there are, sadly, times when prevention doesn’t occur, such as the Bay of Pigs  fiasco, and Israel’s (alleged) secret operations in Lebanon … it all goes to show the need for independent oversight of ALL intelligence/secret activities (Sharon’s change of heart is also a particularly apt part of this story: it is helping such changes of heart, and the good people mentioned earlier, that the work advocated by this blog is aimed at – and, although  won’t write about, I have experience from the 80s that is good enough for me personally [although not necessarily others] to be convinced that such work CAN be effective, although some of it was planting seeds that bloomed a couple of decades later … );

I am tempted to write about some of the incarnates who I channelled from that time (I was never a deep trance medium - I was too much of a sticky beak, wanting to know what was going on), but the main point is that it can take decades to change people: there is, based on my experience (and I was just one of many mediums doing this sort of work in that group), often a kernel of goodness that opens the door to healing and/or a change of heart.

Now, that post.

*****

I've been thinking about hardliners - especially military authoritarians (the sort in the US military who were so ardently set on bombing as the only acceptable response to Cuban-Russian stupidity and provocation during the Cuban missile crisis, which was in good part triggered by the US stupidity of the Bay of Pigs  fiasco). It's easy to dismiss these people as shallow thinkers, but the facts are that they are capable of significant mental analysis and thinking - as shown by the ability of the US and similar military forces to get people to overcome the natural human reluctance to kill (something written about by Paul K. Chappell - or, for those who want a quick (ish) summary, in this video [esp. min. 15 - 23], but trigger warning for violence), and the articles on "War on the Rocks".

My view is that shallowness of thinking is not the problem here (I also dispute that they're "ignorant", which is a term used in the film "Bridge of Spies" that I have just re-watched - although they may, indeed, have been poorly educated by the system on law, human rights, what protecting a nation means, etc): my view is that the issue is a combination of improper viewing of reality (the sort of issue that is often described these days as a "filter bubble", and used to be described as "cherry picking" or "selective evidence - perhaps "flawed perception" is the best term), and taught worldviews - specifically, a (to use a philosophical term) worldview that, in my terms, applies Newtonian physics to thinking and feeling - to heart, mind and soul.

In the Newtonian heart, mind and soul worldview (which I will refer to as "Newtonian non-physical worldview" for the - slight - convenience of my aged fingers), if someone is doing something is harmful (such as, say ... taking drugs) you apply a more or less equal (or overwhelmingly larger) and opposite force to stop them - for instance, sending kids to boot camps, or interventions, or, ultimately, locking them up "for their own good" - NONE of which addresses the cause for the drug-taking, and thus not only fails to help, but adds additional damage from the way that the person has been treated.

In the real world, providing psychological help will often (not always - and that MUST be acknowledged), which is utterly bewildering and mystifying to the person with the Newtonian world view: in their mind, how can a change happen when no force has been applied?

The problem, when dealing with an adult who has a Newtonian worldview, is: how do you convince them that gentle techniques can and do work - that love is greater than violence, and a non-Newtonian worldview is MORE effective on thoughts and feelings?

Incidentally, the subtext that often goes with this, and is often not acknowledged, is proving to them that violence is harmful - consider, for instance, the late middle aged person who says "well smacking me never did any harm!": you have to convince them that it does do harm (e.g., it perpetuates domestic violence, which is now seen as unacceptable in many places in the world - not all, though), and that INEVITABLY means you have to address the issue of possibly criticising their character, which may be repressed and lacking in demonstrativeness as a result, as not good.

Before going what to do about that, I would like to briefly move on to the issue of how they wound up like that. I suspect that parents are most commonly blamed for this affliction, but there are other likely more significant influences:

• peers and fiends (I recall posting a link to a news article quite some time ago at my main blog about this possibly being more influential than parents); 
• what people bring into their life from previous incarnations (which is a feature of my worldview, and a key part of main blog; this is also one of the many reasons I refuse to use the blanket statement "I like kids" is that not all kids are basically good - some are born inherently nasty [true psychopaths], and others are made that way [sociopaths], perhaps by scarred parents who found themselves as parents largely because of moronic social pressure ["oh you've got to have kids - it's wonderful"] or religious stupidity [such as telling teenagers "just say no"]);
• life events (especially anything which can scar a vulnerable young person); and 
• inadequate teachers.

Now, apart from the issue I raised earlier of many people not being taught the basics of law, human rights, what protecting a nation means, etc, in many societies, kids go to school, and teachers are their first outside-of-family role models. The potential problem there is (on the basis of my experience) most teachers are focused on the imparting of knowledge and skills, and do not adequately acknowledge the fact that they can and do shape personality - even teachers who have socially progressive views ... perhaps especially those ones, as my experience of many of them is that they naively subscribe to the "oh the little darlings are all innocent and pure when they're born" rubbish - which denies those who need help acknowledgement and support that they so desperately need.

Now, teachers need far more support and resourcing (I consider they should have the highest paid jobs in society), but they must also acknowledge what it is that they're doing, which is more than the Newtonian non-physical worldview of inculcating the 3Rs and their modern equivalent: it is SHAPING young people, as people.

(I also consider that funding for schools should be based on NEED, not rewarding the already successful - which compounds social disadvantage.)

Going back to the adult with a Newtonian non-physical worldview, I'd like to return to the topic of what to do with them (and they're often too influential, so just ignoring them isn't an option, as that allow the world to continue experiencing ever increasing suffering at the hands of their blindness). Their flawed perception may well be based on socialisation (including family-sized socialisation) that could be compared to brainwashing, and they may well be emotionally stunted (or even crippled) to the extent that they seem impossible to deal with, but, at the end of this incarnation, they do NOT wink out of existence (yes, as I have already indicated, my non-physical worldview includes survival after death AND reincarnation): their soul continues, and will be reincarnated. Attempting to get them to change will benefit:

• them, possibly in this life, but quite possibly more so in future lifetimes (incarnations); 
• the people around them / influenced/harmed by them; and 
• the person/people trying to get them to change (one can get to a kill level where the best way to learn more is to try to teach it - something I can vouch for from sailing and many other areas of my life). 

(There are no doubt other benefits - just as there cautionary notes to take into consideration as well, such as not compromising or exhausting oneself.)

So, what to do?

Well, I suggest (and you are free to disagree with this):

• calm, well-researched and prepared, and PERSISTENT education; 
• better advocacy, advocacy which acknowledges the sorts of issues raised in this post, and aims to convince people like those I am writing about, rather than "preaching to the converted"; 
• guidance that the targeted people will respond to as to why their perceptions are flawed - the sort of guidance that veterans gave on the Viêt Nám War to other military people, for instance;  
• whilst remembering that the people you are seeking to change may well be damaged, not being so naïve as to think they will be timid, or that they won't fight back, or that they will easily acquiesce;
• adaptation to responses to the above points, and then persisting with efforts - remember, you are planting seeds that may take decades to flower, which is a reason to be as respectful and non-patronising of them as you can (while making sure you defend and protect yourself against them); and 
• as much self-care as is needed to avoid errors such as responding angrily to baiting, or becoming damage oneself by contact with these flawed human beings.

I wish you good reflections, consideration, and advocacy. May we together make the world and the people in it a better place.

Post No. 1,142 - Reflections after watching the film "Spotlight"

I've been watching the powerful US film "Spotlight", released in 2015 CE (now on an online service), about a team of journalists [see Note 1] who exposed the widespread sexual abuse - including protection and facilitation of sexual abusers - in the neochristian catholic church in the Boston, USA area - which accelerated the investigations and battles over such abuses elsewhere (206 places where major abuse scandals have subsequently been made known are named at the end of the film). It's a powerful, well-made film - and, as always with such films, I have spent quite a bit of time researching the real life people, organisations and events - including the responses, such as the Royal  Commission in my nation, which released its final report last December, after five years of work.

Now, I have known people who were outstanding and true Christians - not the sort of people who allegedly caused Gandhi to say something along the lines of "I quite like your Christ, it's just that you Christians are so unlike your Christ".

On the other hand, I also know far too many neochristians - people like the small minded vicious transphobic and homophobic people who duped (or at least dominated) Australia's media [see Note 2] during our recent appalling Equal Marriage "postal survey", an event which (based on real life, lived experience, not complaints to media/officialdom - see Note 3) saw a resurgence in homophobic and transphobic abuse that exceeded the worst of when the utterly evil  John Howard (although the gun buyback and control laws by the government he led were good) banned Equal Marriage, and created a false impression that the ONLY religious freedom aspects were on the "no" side (I've written about that elsewhere - see here and here).

Also on this, the hypocrisy of what used to be termed "Sunday christians" led me to a decision, as a child, to leave that religion (which I've written about elsewhere - for instance, here).

So, quite apart from issues of child abuse, there were other aspects of neochristianity that I have long held concerns about - matters which I view as extremely grave, and valid cause for concern with regard to matters such as public funding of neochristian schools (on that, when, for instance, are the students there going to be taught that there are laws against homophobia and transphobia, and discrimination and violence against women?). I'd heard from people I knew who went to neochristian religious schools how vicious the teachers were - more so than the teachers in public schools, in an era that believe in corporal punishment. I'd come across that sort of arrogance and officiousness in a range of other situations, as well - in fact, that sort of lack of empathy and true compassion is why I have had concerns for quite some years about a few well-known neochristian figures - including one now being tried for alleged (which he strenuously denies, and is defending "vigorously") past sexual abuse (charges, incidentally, which surprised me: just because a person is a nasty or even evil person doesn't mean that they will automatically be a child abuser - evil comes in many forms, as can be seen by comparing the differences between, say, a mass murderer, a corrupt or power-hungry/unethical politician or official, someone who will do anything for money, and a child abuser).

However, one of the groups about which I had concerns regarding non-sexual abuse of people I know or have known was listed in the neochristian orders which had allegations of child abuse contained in the Wikipedia article on the Royal Commission, where it was one of the worst (the figures ranged from 0.3% of religious figures in the order to a staggering 40.4% ... ) - see also here. Other orders run hospitals, which increases concerns I already had (e.g., at least one such hospital - in my view - falsifies patients records by altering religious designations).

To top all that off, the catholic church has rejected key recommendations from the Royal Commission.

It should also be noted that the abuse occurred in other religions, and in non-religious institutions/organisations as well.

Going back to the issues raised by "Spotlight", this article is by a boy who experienced the non-sexual violence ("Many of the brothers were outright sadists") at religious institutions, but "I realise that I wasn't the sort of boy the paedophiles were ever likely to be interested in: I wasn't vulnerable enough. My mother asked too many questions".

Now, child abusers also targeted girls, and women also performed such abuse - I've been sexually assaulted/abused several times, including twice as a child, and most of those have been committed by women. However, there is one episode from my teenage years where I may have "got lucky".

At my high school, there were a couple of teachers who were interested in sailing - and my involvement with sailing was basically keeping me alive at that time, by helping me connect with the dynamic aspects of nature, and giving me something I both loved and was good at, that helped me cope with personal psychological issues that I was going through. I've probably written about this elsewhere as well, but have run out of "find that URL steam". In fact, I have often joked about how I did some horse trading with one of the teachers (I taught him how to rig a boat he had just bought, and in turn he got sailing in as a sport - but only during winter, because of the risk of stingers during summer).

The episode I'm thinking of is where the other teacher invited me to spend an entire day sailing his dinghy. From a sailing point of view, it was a good day - we explored some of the creeks that I didn't normally go into, and although there were just the two of us in a boat that is normally crewed by three, we had no problems (other than way too much sunburn - the slip, slop, slap campaign hadn't happened yet).

He invited me to go sailing with him after that, but ... I felt uncomfortable about it, and said no.

I've thought about that discomfort many times over the intervening decades, and have concluded that the whole situation (some of which I haven't written about) felt too much like "grooming": I am of the opinion that I made the best possible choice to decline any further invitations, and thank the Goddess for not feeling flattered and for having whatever it took to say no.

But I haven't talked about that -until now, when, after having watched "Spotlight" several times, I am prepared to admit that I quite possibly escaped another incident of child abuse, one that, had it occurred, would quite possibly have been far worse than what I did experience.



Notes

1. One of my teachers at high school - a lovely, gentle but grumpy old lady - suggested I think about a career in writing: after this film and "All the President's Men", and for a range of other reasons, I've often wondered whether I should have taken her advice ... and now, I'm going to try to learn shorthand - inspired by journalism, but it will help in my current day job also. 
2. I'm not wearing rose-coloured glasses about journalism: in the Spotlight film one of the characters comments about this work being what drew them to journalism, but not all work is like that - and that likely applies to every job, I consider. 
3. Too many of whom either are, or create the impression of being, homophobic.

Post No. 1,141 – Psychic Weather Report No. 0154

This week’s assessment and plan:

My approach this week will be (incidentally, if you disagree, please use your own interpretations, or your own divinations):

• Sunday: the purpose of this day’s work is, mainly, to build a reserve of BPM energy to call upon during the coming week. In addition to the meditation / clearing work described below, I will also be working on making sure I, my crystals and my other tools / devices are as fully charged with BPM energy as I can make them (which is something I have posted about elsewhere, but may post more about in the near future):
   - clear nonBPM units from, and send BPM energy to North and South America, North Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Central Asia, northern Africa, the Southern Ocean (north of Antarctica), Indian Ocean and Australia, and to all actual and potential BPM Leaders, for all humans to recognise the essential shared humanness of other people, all BPM Interrupters of violence / hate / fear / anger, and for all humans to choose to live modestly;
• Monday:
   - clear nonBPM units from, and send BPM energy to West and South Asia;
• Tuesday:
   - clear nonBPM units from, and send BPM energy to central and southern Africa and South Atlantic Ocean;
• Wednesday:
   - clear nonBPM units from, and send BPM energy to Antarctica, the Arctic, Central America, and the Pacific;
• Thursday:
   - clear nonBPM units from, and send BPM energy to East and South East Asia;
• Friday:
   - clear nonBPM units from, and send BPM energy to East and South East Asia;
• Saturday: this day will now be reserved for rest, recuperation and healing – of all those who are trying in a BPM way to make this planet a better place, not only of myself and those who are sharing this work. I ask that any and all healers who wish to contribute to this, take a few minutes to contribute to this on this day.

Post No. 1,140 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 207

For the sake of my health, until I retire or change to an easier day job , I have cut back these posts.

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 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:
           emotionally (astrally), the stability of more BPM Earth;
           mentally, more BPM Æther;
           a plot of the elemental influences on a causal/spiritual level follows, and shows a need for the passion of more BPM Fire;

(d)   I’ve created a bindrune for this week’s work, which is:

(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 Syria and the Philippines, and ongoing violent conflicts and crises in Syria, Afghanistan, Mexico, Iraq, Burma, Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Libya, Sudan (Darfur and South Kordofan), Yemen, Egypt (Sinai), Kurdistan, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Mali, 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   deceit and dishonesty;

(g)   as all actions taken in pursuance of social status are evil, may we exercise our human characteristics of reason, self discipline and improvement to overcome that flaw, and the viciousness and destructiveness that go with it;

(h)   may the social filter bubbles around all nonBPM people lead to hubris and all the associated flaws, weaknesses, lack of attention and other mistakes;

(i)   may all commit to going without before being unethical;

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 many others do;   another article on minimalism;   after a year without tech, a call to “rewild yourself” by resisting debt, resisting gadgets (even if used minimally, a single smartphone … relies on the entire industrial megamachine for its production, marketing and consumption, leading to widespread surveillance, the standardisation of everything, the colonisation of wilderness, indigenous lands and our mindscape, cultural imperialism, the mass extinction of species, the fracturing of community, mass urbanisation, resource wars and land grabs, 200 million climate refugees by 2050, the automation of millions of jobs, and the inevitable inequality, unemployment and purposelessness that will follow and provide fertile ground for demagogues to take control), and reconnecting with nature;   the biologist who wrote “The Population Bomb” in 1968 (including predictions of mass deaths that were deferred by the green revolution in intensive agriculture) is still gravely concerned, estimating the earth’s sustainable population at two billion and concerned about climate change, toxic synthetic chemicals and over-consumption of resources promoted by “the rich who now run the global system”;   a call to rethink our moral obligations to create a better world, particularly the balance between individual and community (with the overuse of antibiotics used to illustrate the author’s point … “we could think of our individual obligations as deriving from the collectively optimal response to these problems and understand our responsibility to address them as shared, rather than individual”);   a warning that climate change will result in a massive movement of people (likely more than 140 million people in just three regions of the developing world) inside countries and across borders, creating “hotspots” in already crowded slums;   this article can be summed up as “words can kill” (although it is far too well phrased to be reduced to that), and thus the “right” to free speech is not unlimited, despite the claims of the free speech swindlers “who flog PC culture as a singularly eminent threat to the freedom of expression”;   “the real danger of the future of work is no so much about robots taking our jobs, but about the continued trajectory of a business-led march against shared prosperity”;
     on the Rohingya crisis this week:
     -   a private attempt to prosecute burma’s unofficial leader for genocide will not be disallowed, but other nations promised to raise the matter - and Malaysia has continued its history of expressing vigorous concerns on the matter;   unbelievably, burma wants aid for the tiny number (only a few hundred of the nearly one million) of it will allow to return … ;   burma’s president has stepped down, citing health issues … ;   another article on the Rohingyan children being trafficked for sex;   “it is “bewildering” [that burma’s] leader … has not spoken out about the atrocities being committed against Rohingya Muslims in her country”;   the monsoon is bringing a catastrophic situation;
     on the North Korean and general nuclear tensions this week:
     -   “South Korea’s foreign minister has said that North Korea’s leader has “given his word” that he is committed to denuclearisation”;   the conference may involve both Koreas, as well as the USA;
     on other matters requiring particular attention:
     -   the UK has accused Russia of manufacturing and stockpiling a deadly nerve agent in violation of international law;   the UK's Foreign Minister has said Russian denials of responsibility over the recent nerve agent attack are “increasingly absurd”;   the EU has recalled its ambassador to as it was “highly likely” Russia was responsible for the nerve agent attack;
     -   after years of – ignored - warnings (after, selling data is their business model) over privacy (and staggering difficulty controlling that - and deleting accounts … and the carelessness of users), and as a connection to psychologist whose firm sold data to a notorious data analytics/ political advice company emerges (and the whistleblower is suspended), together with boasts of “honey traps, fake news campaigns and operations with ex-spies” (leading to the sacking of their CEO), accusations of a social media platform misleading MPs have been made together with calls for and commitments to investigations (raids have occurred in the UK) and hearings to explain a vast data breach that affected tens of millions of people, leading to – despite a belated explanation and apology – taking down of sites in India, an opinion is published that “from its stance on extremist content, to its vast caches of user data, [it] is a corporation whose power must, finally, be reined in” – see also here;   multiple sources have described how senior directors of the data company at the centre of a current data scandal overrode staff concerns to order them to accept emails obtained by hackers;   Native Americans will continue to use the social media platform, as it has been empowering;   a call to take back the Internet from the tech giants that stole it (although Wikipedia is not as good as they think … );   Australia’s largest political parties have defended their exemption from privacy laws … ;   an Australian tourist city council will use a new city wifi service to mine social media data from visitors to a coming major event … ;   an opinion pointing out that some social media profiles are ludicrous (which I can relate to, given some of the ridiculous job and video recommendations I have received);   “a warning that the data company didn’t invent the racism, misogyny and xenophobia that have corroded [US] political culture and made [Voldemort II] possible. These social pathologies were eating away at our democracies long before social media was invented”;
     this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists Syria and the Philippines;
• 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:
     -   ways to fix free trade without giving it up altogether;   concerns over free speech on both sides of politics;   a preliminary examination of “Rebel Group Governance and Legitimacy”;   “taxes are what we pay for a civilised society”;   the racist claims of the Australian Minister for Bringing Back the White Australia Policy have been comprehensively rebutted - “In fact, young black males living in poor urban areas … face a far greater risk of being murdered. The murder rate there is between 200 and 300 murders per 100,000 people.” … “The highest estimates of farm murders stand at 133 per 100,000 people, and that includes both black and white murder victims. A fact-checking organisation, Africa Check, suggested in a detailed report on the subject of farm murders in general – not just of white farmers – that another credible estimate of the farm murder rate could be as low as 0.4 murders per 100,000 people”;   “tariffs aren’t a terrible idea—if they’re about well-being of people, not corporations”;
     -   for other analyses see: Russia;
     of concern this week:
     -   how the tax systems unfairly slugs the young;   an Australian bank has admitted to the Royal Commission that it does nothing to verify the general living expenses of customers who have been sent to the bank from mortgage brokers;   “claims that funding for Indigenous suicide prevention programs is being spent on travel costs will be examined at (multi-party supported) a Senate enquiry into rural and remote mental health services”;   claims that inter-service rivalry exacerbated a devastating bushfire;
     in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
     -   some actions are underway to address the manifestly excessive road toll fine problem;   an Australian state has banned government ministers from using private email and message apps;
     and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     -   on the Royal Commission into banks:
     a bank has warned its staff that the banking commission will be uncomfortable, as “in many cases, our actions have had a significant impact on the financial and emotional wellbeing of our customers” – e.g., here;   a rebuttal of claims that customers should have distrusted the financial experts from the banks they were relying on;   one bank is claiming the sky will fall as a result of the banking Royal Commission (although lower house prices would be a good thing – and anyone who bought their home to make money deserves, in my opinion, what they get);   car loans will be examined;  although the banking inquiry has already exposed shocking corruption, there is likely more to come: an activist has two decades of evidence of mortgage fraud, academic research has raised the issue of “control frauds” - which are generated and amplified by the conservative neo-liberal agenda;
     -   on other matters:
     Australia’s federal court has decided that the “palace letters” between the Queen and the governor general regarding the Whitlam dismissal are “personal” and not Commonwealth records - despite its description of them as addressing “topics relating to the official duties and responsibilities of the governor general”, “periodic briefings to the Queen”, and “reports to the Queen”, and thus their release will remain subject to royal whim;   Australia’s national opposition leader has marked himself as prepared to argue for the prime ministership instead of hoping to win it by default;   Australia has ruled out responding to the racist nonsense about white South African farmers spouted by one its Ministers;  the voters in the electorate of Australia’s neochristian Prime Minister want the corporate tax rate to either stay the same or be increased;   an objective examination of ALP's proposed changes to share credits;   “people who racially abuse, intimidate and threaten to hurt Centrelink staff could be hit with tougher penalties”;   unions have called for a return to industry-level bargaining to help unions win pay rises and organise workers in industries such as childcare, as enterprise bargaining is 'smothering' wage growth;   an objective assessment of the scandal over using public money for political purposes currently afflicting my home state’s government;   a rebuttal of neoliberal claims that changed laws about codeine will save 100 lives a year;   predictions that Australia’s standard of living will not improve;
• With regard to the USA and their 45^th President (who is dangerous – see here on actions for US residents [and the useful principles]) of the Unexceptional States of America (which has some … “unique” characteristics that don’t exist elsewhere in the world) generally this week (I avoid using the 45^th US President’s name for psychic reasons – I may use either “the USA’s CEO” or “Voldemort II” as an alias; also, the US Vice-President needs to be worked on – and typically takes about three times as much effort to clear of negativity):
     -   “enough about Russia and [other issues … the leaders of the progressive movement want to talk about growing income inequality in the USA”;   another call for support for government-guaranteed jobs for all Americans;   a group of progressive US District Attorneys are revisiting past convictions, but not cases of excessive punishment;   the most dangerous time to be poor in the USA is now;   concern over US colleges collaborating with Saudi Arabia;   six months after Tropical Cyclone Maria, colonialism and disaster capitalism are dismantling US Imperial Possession Puerto Rico's public-school system;   US cities have called on the federal government to better channel infrastructure funding, boost affordable housing and strengthen businesses and communities to withstand shocks;
     -   a rumours grow of a purge (and his lead lawyer quits) and a warning is given by his colleagues to not interfere with the Mueller investigation (into Russian interference in the 2016 election), the USA’s 45^th US President has pressured the FBI into sacking someone he didn’t like – one day before the sacked person could get a pension … the sacked official has now provided information to the enquiry;   an opinion that the pattern of behaviour of the USA’s 45^th President shows he is terrified of the FBI enquiry;   the testimony of the USA’s Attorney General that he opposed the 2016 campaign team of the USA’s 45^th President to meet with Russians has been contradicted;   “a report that the president had senior White House staff sign non-disclosure agreements is the latest reminder of how much he conceals from public view”;
     -   the morons in US intelligence are at it again, leaking details of British investigations to the US media;
     -   Voldemort II's National Security Advisor position has taken two steps to the hardline, bomb-'em-all-to-hell right ...  - se also here;
     -   “a Russian Government hacking operation aimed at the US power grid did not compromise operations at any of the nation's commercial nuclear power plants”;
     -   the USA’s border force has authority 160 km inland – or over ⅔ of the US population … ;
     -   Voldemort II’s nominee for the No. 2 spot at the US EPA is a coal industry lobbyist … ;
     -   Voldemort II is advocating a discredited and stupid (especially spiritually) idea on drugs;
• 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):
     -   according to this Wikipedia page, there have been 1 attack in Iraq, 5 attacks in Afghanistan, and 1 attack in Syria (out of a total of 11);   the series of postal and similar bombings in the southern USA has been continuing, but the suspect is reported to have killed himself;
     -   a US employee association is being sued for “racial profiling and blatant religious discrimination” after it failed to recognise Malaysia’s flag;   false beliefs about Muslims in the UK;
     -   although my home state is taking violence against women seriously, mis-characterisation of the nature, dynamics and seriousness of family violence is hindering our ability to stop lone-actor attacks – many of whom are violent men with histories of violence against women - which histories are significant and are violence, not a “mere detail” - who went on to commit violence against the wider community, not “deeply troubled men” who turned violent;
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
     -   the xenophobic viciousness in the USA has driven tens of thousands of refugees from the USA into Canada, overwhelming the latter’s systems;   qualified, committed and keen to work, but newly arrived, refugees face the “Catch-22” of needing Australian experience to find employment, but requiring employment to gain that experience;   funding for Syrian refugees in Lebanon has been boosted by the UN;   the ALP’s newest federal MP will argue for a more “humane” policy on refugees;   refugees trapped in Africa by Europe;
     -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in: Israel (good news);
• With regard to other 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 [and there’s this]):
     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):
     -   a bigot at a newspaper removed a reference to a man's husband from his mother's obituary;   Voldemort II has implemented his transphobic ban;   rampant homophobia and transphobia in the Caribbean;
     on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   more racist abuse in the sports world;   a “social experiment” in the US city of New Orleans, which has experienced a massive widening of the gap between white and black incomes, found that nearly 80% of white people (mostly women) would pay a higher price reflecting the income differences;  extensive data shows the punishing effects of racism for black boys, which, “even in the wealthiest families and living in some of the most well-to-do neighbourhoods, still earn less in adulthood than white boys with similar backgrounds”;   Indigenous astronomy;   “in [a] forthcoming race issue, [a]  129-year-old scientific and cultural institution now admits it often showed foreign cultures through a racist lens” – see also here;   the “unfulfilled promise of civil rights”;   a call to promote tolerance and respect diversity;   racial profiling in a department store;   a call to have kids at risk placed with kin;  Kenya’s Maasai have learned from New Zealand’s Maori on dealing effectively with geothermal power companies;
     -   other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in: China;
     on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week:
     -   Japan is moving to end child marriage;   a critique of the UK’s Modern Anti-slavery Law;   survivors are calling for change;
     -   also on child abuse, particularly neochristian and other institutional, this week: Norway (over seven decades);
     -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week: USA, India (good news), hotel industry;
     on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
     -   a US state has adopted extraordinarily backward anti-abortion laws, with no exceptions for rape or incest;   two ultra-conservative Australian MPs are on the anti-abortion bandwagon;   a good illustration of gender discrimination in pay;   some live music venues are taking responsibility for harassment;   a UN rural development agency is investing in women;   the appalling problem of image based abuse sites;   a male bellydancer;   the quest for “potty parity” (WITHOUT unisex toilets, on safe space grounds – which is a view I completely endorse) (in the 1980s, I argued with a boss over this, trying to get any increase which he pettily opposed because there was no data to say exactly how many extra toilets should be provided … );   “Times Up” is being overwhelmed by cases wanting help;
     -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week: here, science, science, here, refugees, Native Americans;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in: Kazakhstan, the Philippines, India, Brazil, Tonga, social media;
     on RELIGIOUS rights this week:
     on WORKERS’, PRIVACY, AGED, AND OTHER forms of human (and other – e.g., ANIMAL) rights this week:
     -   wage theft from undocumented workers after a 2017 US tropical cyclone, and little or no help for immigrant homeowners;   a mobile shower bus for homeless people needs funding;   the Netherlands is acting against the stigma around social enterprises working with people with disabilities;
     -   other workers’, privacy, differently abled, animal, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in: Brazil, Colombia:
     -   opportunities to take action here;
• With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
     -   after a recent mass murder by guns, Dick’s Sporting Goods has announced that, in the interests of corporate social responsibility, it would no longer sell assault-style firearms, and hopes the USA’s Congress will do “the right thing” also (a major US bank, Citigroup, has done something similar);   on the half century anniversary (last week) of the massacre of My Lai, see here and here;   officials were so concerned about the mental stability of the student accused of a mass murder by guns last month at a US school that they decided in 2016 he should be forcibly committed – which would have made it difficult if not impossible for him to obtain a gun legally – which was never acted upon (which does not obviate the need for gun control);   “a nine-year-old boy has shot his 13-year-old sister in the head … after an argument over a video game controller”;   a former Australian MP who helped craft them, has warned that an “NRA-inspired” firearms lobby is targeting Australia's gun laws;   an illegal weapons cache has been discovered at a US man’s apartment;   the brother of the teenager charged for last month's mass murder by guns at a US school shooting has been arrested for ignoring prior warnings and trespassing on the school grounds;   the US gun killings problem;   in an article on concerns that the USA learns “the wrong lessons” from previous conflicts, the author is impressed “by how frequently people with personal experience of war have been cautious about launching future wars. This does not make them pacifists”;   the USA will sell “lethal U.S.-made drones to potentially dozens more allies and partners”;   students at the school which was a recent victim of a mass murder by guns will have to use clear backpacks and wear ID badges at all times;   record high US military spending;   hundreds of thousands have marched for gun control in the United States of Armaments;
     -   other war, violence or hate related matters have occurred or are developing in: Iran (good news);
• With regard to peace and/or spirituality generally (including revolutionary love, survival after death, and good religion), development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense – and being mindful of “intimate activism”) 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, and accept extraterrestrial UFOs):
     a call to not agree to everything you are asked to – with some psychological insight;   Paganism as an orientation;   in Paganism power is necessary and potentially corrupting, and should be sought only so one can be of service;   ways that ICT can “beat poverty and boost development”;   six common misconceptions about meditation;
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   asbestos dust is stopping people who have lost homes in a bushfire from returning – and peat fires set off will burn for weeks, also delaying recovery;
• 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, work and lifestyles causing depression, being duped by modern mantras and  management  fads, “failing” at being well or failing to consider life options, AI ethics, corporate misuse of mindfulness as a distraction from working conditions, embedded emissions, plane pollution, bigger, flashier homes/cars– which means actively abusing the environment and society’s cohesion and contributing to financialisation, the need for agroforestry, 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:
     -   better care for soil at a tulip farm is showing results;   as agreements meant to protect forests and create a sustainable timber industry approach their expiry date, parallels with the language and tactics used over the past two decades around climate science are becoming apparent, with the experts pointing out reality being attacked;   getting the water balance in the Murray–Darling basin is not just about returning more water, it’s also about maintaining flow patterns that are as close as possible to the natural rhythms of the river;   an Australian state may  again – allow broadscale razing;   pesticides are causing catastrophic numbers of bird deaths in France;   volunteers have tried to save a pod of stranded whales;   an abandoned gold mine is polluting the environment;   an Australian state EPA has admitted the science behind a planned fish farm expansion was wrong;   the backlash to Australia’s planned marine park cutbacks;   “at a high-level talking shop for the global water industry in Brazil, river defenders and community activists - who are often murdered or criminalised for trying to protect their resources - have set up an alternative forum to share their stories”;   “scientists have rubbished the logic behind a new push to cull crocodiles in north Queensland”;   the forestry logging fight is ramping up;   a huge expansion of irrigation in the lower Murray is threatening to exceed the water available in the river;   Australia’s environmental laws are failing – because of “a slew of loopholes, exemptions, omissions and discretionary powers open to politicisation” - to protect favourite birds threatened with extinction;   the complexities of associating extreme weather events with climate change;   a fight over the groundwater being bottled for sale;   vermiculture (worms) is converting coffee grounds to agricultural fertiliser;   thousands have protested against coal generated power;   a demand that climate change be included in a comprehensive scientific assessment of regional forest agreements, as “the science underpinning the [existing] RFAs is out of date and incomplete”;   in what may be a premature or ill-conceived move, some US cities are suing oil corporations over climate change, with the latter arguing “there’s no debate about climate science” but the problem as an international one for which individual corporations are not liable;   better ways to cool cities (to which I add geostabilisation, eaves and verandahs and passive and  active solar);   “fifteen cities in Asia and Africa could each see at least a million fewer premature deaths this century if they cut toxic carbon dioxide emissions”;   yet another article on the benefits of trees;
     -   other environmental matters have occurred in: USA;
     on technology and science matters this week:
     -   a self driving car has killed a pedestrian, which has not deterred early adopters because “humans are inferior” … ;   the mixed history of the USA’s “Section 230”;   the internet of insecure things;
     on economic and financial matters this week:
     -   minimum wage deliberations need to include risk (i.e., the “gig” economy);
     -   other economic and financial matters have occurred in: Australia;
     on affordable, sustainable and decent housing and homelessness matters this week (why are politicians with “investment properties” not admitting a conflict of interest and staying out of housing affordability debates?):
     -   the homeless problem is making itself obvious at one Australia city’s showgrounds;  homeless people in many areas of Australia (I gave $10 to one at my local shopping centre last night);   a low-cost ($10,000), small (~74 m²), easy-to-replicate (3D printed, built in 24 hours) houses for nations such as Haiti and El Salvador (which could be used elsewhere, I think … );   Australia’s neoliberal has been urged to create 500,000 affordable homes;   the lack of affordable housing in one Australian city is forcing international students into precarious, exploitative, staggeringly overcrowded, unsafe (risk of fire), and, in some cases, illegal living arrangements;
     on health and medical this week:
     -   the modern fight against post-polio syndrome;   the challenge of health care in remote areas;   “the failure to manage the pain of our patients speaks to something more elemental: our failure to listen” - see also here;   eradicating poverty would cut TB;
     on other matters in the category this week:
     -   the terrifying prospect of a 100 million people city (the “frenzy of unplanned urbanisation” is threatening nature as never before);   a questioning of the growth rate in my home city;   “those trying to cure a loneliness epidemic by bringing people physically closer are oversimplifying”;
• 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 … ):
     -   an actor’s defamation case against a newspaper was successful – see also here;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: USA, Venezuela, Mexico, Egypt;
• With regard to education:
     -   a public school lobby has criticised the Australian opposition party's promise of an “arbitrary” $250m for catholic schools, with fears of “a small number of Catholic bishops holding sway over education policy”;   the economic costs of bullying in schools;
     -   other education matters have occurred in: Australia, South Sudan;
• With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing:
     -   a couple whose report of a kidnapping was dismissed by police as a hoax will be paid $2.5 million in compensation;   “a man who attempted to stop a police chase … by hacking into police radio transmissions has been sentenced to … jail”;   the differences between US and Australian police;   abusive behaviour by some Australian police has been criticised, and compensation will be paid, but the state government may stop that doing anything;   a scheme to stop young people reoffending.

Location based News:

• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
     on Africa generally:
     -   a mobile phone app is being used to fight the maize-eating “fall armyworm”;
     on specific African nations:
     -   more Anglophone Cameroonians are fleeing a violent crackdown;
     -   a warning that the “humanitarian crisis and the resulting suffering will only worsen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo if persistent violence is not brought under control and there is no political transition”;   the Democratic Republic of Congo says it will not attend a donor conference next month because it is being given a bad image … and that image problem comes mostly from itself;
     -   some Nigerian girls kidnapped by violent extremists have been returned, but five died in captivity and 1 is still held;
     -   political violence is rising in Sierra Leone;
     -   education is being delivered to kids in South Sudanese cattle camps;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   there is a still a need to boost resilience in the Caribbean before the next storm season;
     -   the morning after tens of thousands of people marched across Brazil to express their anger over the murder of black, gay Rio councillor, armed drug gang members were openly patrolling behind a police base … ;   an interview with Brazil’s President, who is facing corruption charges;
     -   “why the lost kingdom of Patagonia (from the mid-1800s, under a Frenchman) is a live issue for Chile's Mapuche people”;
     -   a third Mexican journalist has been murdered;
     -   developments in Peru’s ongoing political crisis after the President resigned over a vote-buying scandal;
     -   “China is likely to extend an agreement providing crisis-stricken Venezuela with [favourable] loans repayment terms but will not lend fresh funds”;   praise for Venezuela’s brave journalists;
• 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):
     -   “hundreds of protesters … gathered … to condemn human rights abuses in South-East Asia as a major conference of world leaders gets underway”;
     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:
     -   some Chinese people don’t like the film “Black Panther” because it isn’t “Asian Panther” … (others do get the fact that discrimination affects others);   under Chairman-for-Life Xi, “people in China are bracing themselves for another round of repression”, and “China is investing a trillion dollars into the massive venture binding more than 65 countries and two thirds of the world's population to China's interests”;   Chairman Xi has warned that China must not become complacent about its development, and that must be via "socialism" (their system is actually communism, NOT socialism);   despite one opinion that they are theatre (really???), as expected, China has threatened retaliation against US tariffs;   an Australian who criticised Chinese influence in Australia has been denied entry to China;   although a trade war would be bad, the USA does have a point China has been flouting intellectual property rules;   “Chinese state media has issued a “red alert” advising students not to enrol in Australian universities after a series of public accusations that [Australia] was delaying visas for politically motivated reasons”, which follows an increase in tensions over underhanded influence;
     -   other events concerning China have occurred or are developing in: the Pacific;
     -   South Korea will shut down employee computers at 8 PM on Friday evenings … rather than fixing its work culture, job insecurity, etc;
     -   Taiwan is shadowing a Chinese aircraft carrier group, after Chinese Chairman Xi’s strongest warning against Taiwan separatism;
     elsewhere in Asia:
     -   a singer who had revived pride in pre-genocide Cambodia has died tragically;
     -   the Philippines is moving closer to catching up with the late 20^th Century by allowing divorce – which would only leave the pseudo-state of the neochristian catholic church as banning divorce;
     -   “Viêt Nám has cancelled a major oil project in the South China Sea for the second time in a year, in the wake of Chinese pressure”;
     and in the Pacific:
     -   PNG will try to quake-proof buildings – and more aid is needed now, especially in education;   Tonga, part of the domestic-violence plagued Pacific region, has firmly stepped into the 19^th Century by banning girls from sport;   Australia has reminded Pacific nations that it and New Zealand are still the leading sources of aid;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
     -   a former French president is being questioning over allegations that he received millions of euros in illegal election campaign funding from Libya’s former dictator;   concerns over continuing (“the social ladder is broken”) inequality in France;   a petty criminal has committed a possibly violent-extremists inspired mass murder in France;
     -   amid tensions over a revisionist law, Poland has created a new holiday for Poles who saved Jews in World War part Two;
     -   Spain is cracking down on Catalan separatists;
• With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
     -   more on the suffering caused in Crimea by Russia;   “to reunite Ukraine, Kyiv must overcome its own prejudices”;
• 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:
     -   Tsar Putin has won his little election - an examination of that here;  “Russia's political leaders tend to treat foreign policy as a zero-sum game, where one state can only make gains if others lose”;   comparisons of the way Russia is promoting the World Cup to Hitler's notorious use of the 1936 Berlin Olympics;
     in Central Asia:
     -   a campaign is trying to get women in conservative Kazakhstan to speak up about rape and sexual harassment;
• 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):
     -   a suicide bomber has killed more than a score of people;   claims that Russia is arming violent extremists in Afghanistan … ;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     on India:
     -   unbelievably, India's cricket board has renewed the contract of a fast bowler after “clearing” him of corruption charges levelled by his estranged wife - they were silent on (i.e., ignored) the domestic violence and adultery charges ... ;   “Indigenous people in [part of] India … will get [individual, rather than community] land ownership rights for the first time, but an expert said an expected rush of investment could deprive them of their livelihoods and trigger conflicts”;
     on Pakistan:
     -   Pakistan will act against soldiers who beat a doctor, thereby triggering protests (and will stop soldiers clogging hospitals for medical treatment) … now to stop the killings, disappearances and other abuses;   the impact of the “Karakoram Anomaly”, where glaciers are growing and locking rivers;
     elsewhere in South Asia:
     -   the problems facing Bangladesh’s capital;   Bangladeshi farmers are turning from rice and shrimp to crabs;
     -   Sri Lanka has lifted its state of emergency;
• With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and Northern Africa, the Middle East Eye, the Times of Israel, and other sources have:
     -   the suffering witnessed by a journalist over three years;
     on Israel and Palestine:
     -   the experience of a Gazan woman who works for HRW in the USA emphasises the harsh conditions in Gaza;   some unhelpful Palestinian actions;   Israel has admitted attacking a Syrian nuclear reactor;   the challenges of women farming in Gaza;   20,000 Israelis have rallied in support of refugees;   an extremist Palestinian group will hold a live fire exercise;   Egypt briefly opened its Gaza border;   criticism (including that “the body was being used by “bloodthirsty dictatorships” to mask their own abuses”) and threats by the US of leaving after the UN Human Rights Council passed five new anti-Israel resolutions;
     on the conflict in Yemen:
     -   life in Yemen;
     on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
     -   forces of (the Grand Sultanate of?) Turkey have occupied their targeted town in northern Syria, and will leave it to “its owners” (are they implying they will ethnically cleanse it of Kurds?);   internal displacement of people is surging;   the Assad dictatorship is continuing to make military gains;   the Assad Dictatorship has killed 35 civilians in an airstrike;   Iran is gambling that Israel won’t risk aggravating Russia by building military facilities in Syria near Russian facilities;
     elsewhere in the region:
     -   Egypt’s president has arrested or driven out all other contenders before he has his little presidential election;   a UK journalist has been deported from Egypt;
     -   the USA has sanctioned nine Iranians and an Iranian company for cyber attacks;   Iran may turn to China and Russia in response to growing US hostility … ;   an anti-war art exhibition in Iran;
     -   the 15 year old disaster of the US-led invasion of Iraq;
     -   “Saudi Arabia’s leader could tell a better story if he’d end his vicious, no-win war” in Yemen;
     -   Turkey’s 18 month state of emergency has “led to profound human rights abuses”.

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 “CE 5  ET contact” movement started by Dr Steven M Greer, which is the one which appears to me to most capitalise on the teachings of “The Nine”,   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.