Post No. 1,148 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 210

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 of News with Opinion / Advocacy / 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), more BPM Æther;
           mentally, more BPM Æther;
           a plot of the elemental influences on a causal/spiritual level follows, and shows a need for more BPM Æther;

 d)   I’ve selected a rune for this week’s work, which is Dagaz:

(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, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Central African Republic, 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   a confrontation and crisis in the land being butchered by Dictator Assad;

(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 the worlds’ various leaders genuinely, BPM consider what is best for humanity – both the people, and the concept;

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;  
     on the Rohingya crisis this week:
     -   in a statement of the blindingly obvious, the UN has said burma is not ready for return  of the Rohingya;   “the prosecutor of the international criminal court has FINALLY asked it to rule on whether it has jurisdiction over the [forced] deportations of Rohingya [as] a possible crime against humanity”;   in a small, possibly tokenistic, but reasonably significant move, “seven Myanmar soldiers have been sentenced to “10 years in prison with hard labour in a remote area” for participating in a massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslim men”;   another article on the role of social media in this genocide;   more calls for the release of two Reuters reporters detained in burma;   the UN has “urged the world to reflect on the suffering of those who perished, as well as survived, the Rwandan genocide, and resolve to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again”;   a reminder of the other minorities at risk in burma;
     on other matters requiring particular attention:
     -   after Dictator Assad launched yet another chemical attack (social media has been accused of removing evidence) against those who are, notionally, “his” people, a retaliatory air attack occurred – probably from Israel, given the West’s reluctance; despite calls for military action, but the USA, France and Britain agreed to respond to the Syrian gas attack … one option for a response to Dictator Assad's latest chemical weapons atrocity would be to destroy the Assad Dictatorship's air force, but, with Russians present and warning against military action (and blocking investigations yet again), that could risk causing a major war (maybe Russia should stop vetoing chemical inspections), so a missile attack was eventually launched - see also here, here, here, here, here, and here;   is the USA’s 45^th President’s harder line against Russia to prove “no collusion”?;   the European Union on has warned of more economic sanctions and called for Russia and Iran to help stop more chemical weapons attacks;
     -   the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has backed the UK’s assessment of the recent nerve agent attack, and the UK says Russia spied on the victims for five years;
     -   a warning that war will eventually occur in outer space;
     -   the UK has been ordered to hand over files on allegations of torture of Libyan dissidents;
     -   “how not to be ignorant about the world (unless you’re a chimp);   the 45^th US Presidency has led to courses on how democracies collapse … ;
     -   a warning that the social media platform currently experiencing controversy is only one of many built on a data sharing business model (which is why I use Firefox and NoScript … );   the US Congressional enquiry struggled to overcome the power and obfuscation of a social media network's founder - who has claimed to be in a (software) “arms race” with Russia, said they will comply with Europe’s privacy legislation, and admitted to some contact with the Special Counsel investigating Russian election interference;   building a dystopia to generate clicks;   a lawsuit by fair housing groups accuses a social media platform of allowing employers and housing brokers to discriminate in their targeted advertising;   concerns about social media and children (including deception/lies);   an opinion that regulation is inevitable;
     -   abuse of a former soldier with PTSD by the military – including a vexatious complaint to police;
     -   criticism of the “disingenuous and predatory” tactics of anti-abortion centres;
     -   a conservative commentator who threatened to sexually assault a 17-year-old survivor of the Florida high school shooting with “a hot poker” to has resigned from a TV station and been taken off radio after several advertisers withdrew from his shows;
     -   the UN is cracking down on peacekeeping troops over human rights abuses;
     this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists Syria, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Central African Republic;
• 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 and commentary this week include:
     -   an assessment of the chances of the USA, after “50 years of constitutional decay”, becoming an authoritarian state;   “attacks on opposition parties, the press, and civil society organizations are becoming the norm in Central and Eastern Europe … according to “Nations in Transit 2018”, … [which] registered the broadest score declines in the project’s 23-year history”;   poverty contributes to mental illness;   some “insights” into social class;   “the vast majority of investment is still short-term oriented, putting global commitments to create sustainable economies at risk”;
     of concern this week:
     -   the Australian Ombudsman “failed to check the legality of robo-debts when it audited the Centrelink initiative in 2017”;   concerns that a charity ostensibly raised to help wounded soldiers has “wasted money” are being investigated;   “Australia’s leadership and executive culture is dominated overwhelmingly by people from an Anglo-Celtic background, with only 4.7% of senior figures reporting non-European heritage and 0.4% Indigenous”;   despite criticism, the Australian neoliberal government is continuing towards back doors into encryption;
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in: Hungary, Hungary, Viêt Nám, Togo;
     in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
     -   a class action is getting underway on flammable building cladding;
     good news this week includes:
     -   good news has occurred: Colombia;
     and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     on the Royal Commission into banks, and similar matters:
     -   the next in a series of articles on abuses of power by the Australian Taxation Office – see also here, and here … and Australia's government has “called for an urgent investigation into the Australian Tax Office after a joint Fairfax/Four Corners [ABC] investigation exposed the ATO’s use of allegedly unethical revenue raising methods”;
     on other matters:
     -   the NDIS is leaving parents of children with a disability stressed and feeling abandoned;   a University study has shown that a subsidy for companies would increase investment in Australia (with larger flow-on benefits to wages) by two to three times more than corporate tax cuts which would be ‘skewed toward foreign investors’;   five months after reluctantly connecting to the NBN, an elderly couple’s phone is STILL not working;   Australia’s social class divide;   as racists clash with those who support compassion, Australia’s racist Home Minister has “slowed immigration” and financial hurdles for poorer immigrants have been increased;;   Australia's neoliberal national government is playing games with energy policy, leading to threats that states will pull out if renewables are undermined;
• 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):
     -   ethics officials in the USA are speaking out and raising red flags;   continuing concerns over the nominee for Secretary of State over torture;
     -   racist and Islamophobic US citizens would support a (an Imperialist) war with Iran;   US cities that have adopted a “welcoming” policy have fewer deportations and are safer for all citizens than those cooperating with ICE;
     -   “as a tourist hub, Florida also has the title of the third biggest hotbed of human trafficking in the United States”;
     -   as “the market” gets nervous about growing trade tariff tensions between the USA and China, a reminder that a “callous globalisation strategy” – dishonestly marketed - has contributed to job losses and “divorce and suicides, the spreading opioid epidemic, declining life expectancy, extreme inequality, and [Voldemort II’s] election victory” – together with suggestions about how to do it better;   the US administration has “ again refrained from naming any major trading partners as currency manipulators … , but the US Treasury’s semi-annual currency report criticized China for the “non-market direction” of its economy”;
     -   US federal agents have raided the offices of the personal lawyer of the USA’s 45^th President over business dealings - to which, in shades of Nixon's claim that the President doing something made that legal, Voldemort II has declared the raid on his lawyer was an attack on the USA … and fears are growing that Voldemort II may respond to the raid on his personal lawyer by sacking the Special Counsel investigating Russian election interference and alleged collusion – see also here;
     -   more attacks on access to affordable health care;
     -   older white males are drifting away from the USA’s 45^th President;
     -   Voldemort II has pardoned the White House staff member who exposed a CIA agent;
     -   threats against US states that have legalised marijuana have been eased;
• 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 2 attacks in Iraq, 1 attack in Afghanistan, and 2 attacks in Syria (out of a total of 13), including Egypt, Somalia;
     -   a call for young people to be empowered to fight violent extremism;   the success of “Love A Muslim Day” - a “textbook example of how to defeat terrorism”;   the USA is tweaking its CVE approach in Africa;   a violent extremist is being prosecuted on the basis of gender discrimination for sex slavery;
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
     -   the Australian government has agreed at the last minute before a court case to transfer a young refugee girl who is suffering acute mental health problems and has attempted suicide three times from Australia’s Nauru gulag for medical care;   the UN has told Somali refugees in Kenya that conditions in Somalia are improving;   refugees in the US are being given educational opportunities;
     -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in: Hungary;
• 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):
     -   Melissa Etheridge is a convert to footy ... which the AFL idiots are missing;   transphobic and homophobic Russia has become a surprising refuge for LGBT people from Kyrgyzstan, who say life is far harder at home (e.g., so-called "corrective" rape is common);   homophobic abuse has driven a student out of University accommodation;   “Pride Houses” at major sporting events (other than homophobic Russia);
     -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in: Costa Rica, UK, Portugal (good news);
     on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   indigenous protests at a major sporting event;   a racist councillor has – quite rightly – been removed from his indigenous portfolio;   pseudo-scientific racism is crawling out from under its rock;   after an ex-pat Maori New Zealander pointed out racism in NZ, that nation's PM agreed, and said the nation can do better;   Indigenous people are being displaced again – by gentrification;   a detailed article on the death of an Indigenous man in custody from a combination of physical and chemical restraint (with some callous remarks from police);   a rebuttal of media claims that there is a “conspiracy of silence” around abuse of Indigenous children, and a proposal for a better approach to replace the “demonstrably failed” approach of removal;   some whites are uncomfortable at Indigenous people being successful;   a phone company has belatedly removed a blatantly racist job ad;
     -   other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in: Australia, a technology company;
     on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week:
     -   lawyers for the world's most senior catholic to be charged with covering up abuse are trying for a fourth time to have the case thrown out;   the catholic church’s ope has admitted “grave error in discrediting Chilean church sex abuse victims”;   a support group for survivors of child abuse will now also include the partners of those who had child porn;   a neochristian organisation has lost its contract to care for vulnerable children;   “migrant workers can now rate their recruiters and warn others of potential abuses on a global portal aimed at stamping out modern slavery that mirrors reviews on [a] travel website”;
     -   also on child abuse, particularly neochristian and other institutional, this week: US Embassy in Cambodia, Colombia (taking action), India (rescues);
     -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week: Mauritania, Europe, USA, funding and business, time goals and companies, UK construction, India (rehabilitation);
     on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
     -   an actress has found some well-known 1980s “teen flicks” troubling in today’s era: the issues were troubling to some of us who watched then;   some elderly Indian women are becoming Hindu priestesses;   a hash tag campaign has been empowering Muslim women to break the sexual harassment taboo;
     -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see: here, here, here;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in: Australian music industry, Thailand;
     on RELIGIOUS rights this week:
     -   religious rights / Islamophobia matters have also occurred in: France;
     on WORKERS’, PRIVACY, AGED, AND OTHER forms of human (and other – e.g., ANIMAL) rights this week:
     -   a live sheep export ship cannot leave until it fixes welfare conditions on-board … but the trade is unlikely to be banned, and “Australian regulators have habitually failed to penalise live exporters despite multiple mass animal deaths and reported breaches of welfare standards” – see also here and here;   a powerful call for Australia to embrace the inclusion of people with disabilities;   “fair labour is about civil rights”;
     -   other workers’, privacy, differently abled, animal, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in: Singapore, the Philippines, Viêt Nám:
     -   opportunities to take action here;
• With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
     -   the ongoing deaths caused by gun violence in the USA;   the USA’s pro-gun group has more links to Russia than it has admitted to … ;   an analysis of how civilians use “rhetorical traps” to escape violence;   another call to ban so-called “killer robots”;
     -   other war, violence or hate related matters have occurred or are developing in: the Philippines;
• 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):
     the need to be a self-protective, effective giver;   the problem of microaggression;   “men who fail to match or exceed their parents’ educational achievements suffer levels of psychological distress similar to the impact of divorce, while women are largely unaffected”;   a call for Australians to be as generous overseas as they are at home –and as those who need aid are;   the “UN’s zero hunger goal remains a daunting challenge”;   a call to reverse the “disconnection from the land, from ourselves, and from our culture”;
• 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:
     -   conservative MPs in the UK are abandoning coal;   another late heat wave is exacerbating fire risk;   a gas company has been found guilty of causing serious environmental harm at its underground coal gasification plant;   “across the world a shift towards climate change litigation is gathering steam as low-lying island countries and even United States' cities take aim at governments and big oil companies for failing to act proportionately on emission reductions”;   a healthy soil movement is spreading in the USA;   a nationally significant hotspot for the greater glider, a nationally listed threatened species, is being logged by my home state’s forest agency despite the highest-ever densities of greater gliders in the state;   “river systems around the world are coursing with over-the-counter and prescription drugs waste which harms the environment” (these can be removed from wastewater - and SHOULD be);   an examination of options to improve the state of the Murray-Darling;   “conservationists plan to establish a commercial fishing net-free zone in the northern Great Barrier Reef by buying and retiring the area’s last remaining licence ... which ... would create one of the world’s largest dugong havens”;   “a world-first trial to use brown coal to make hydrogen has been launched … but critics and coal industry experts alike said new measures will be needed to tackle the carbon emissions generated”;   Sweden has built a safe electrified road for charging vehicles at a cost 50 times lower than that of an urban tram line;   New Zealand “will ban new permits for offshore oil exploration as it attempts to move towards a low-carbon future”;   how to save farmland and help farmers;   hundreds of firefighters are battling to control a bushfire which has reached in to a major Australian city;
     on technology and science matters this week:
     -   an acknowledgment of a social media data breach ... YEARS after it occurred;   a social media platform has belatedly developed a tool to check whether one’s data has been breached;   how indigenous knowledge is helping science;
     -   other technology and science matters have occurred in: Singapore;
     on economic and financial matters this week:
     -   “without policies in place to encourage workforce participation, education and training as well as collective bargaining, inequality is likely to rise as the economy continues to change”;   the problem of wage and superannuation theft;   Australian men are increasingly affected by job insecurity;   businesses have been called on to employ a new, sustainable, and inclusive model that benefits all – business as usual won’t work;
     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?):
     -   Australian home prices are set for years of decline;   another article on the benefits – including reduced government costs -of providing homes to rough sleepers;
     on health and medical this week:
     -   “the widow of a Melbourne magistrate who took his own life last month believes a crippling caseload contributed to the death of her husband”;   a proposed national plan to tackle endometriosis will include teaching schoolchildren;
     on other matters in the category this week:
     -   a house security alarm rang for a week while the owners were away … ;   an Australian city is reinstalling its tram network;   dynamic speed bumps are getting the usual range of reactions;   this test is fundamentally flawed as it was for a short duration: having endured years of higher temperatures that has led to a court case against the building owner, I can state higher temperatures DO cause problems;   a company has been fine $700,000 for misleading its customers into thinking that its toilet and bathroom cleaning wipes were flushable;
• 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 opinion that “it is time to reject “fake news” and … social media consumers will soon demand a return to verified, fact-based media they can trust”;   the background to removal, extensive rewriting and republishing of an economics article from the ABC's website (including that the ABC's director of news had raised concerns with news executives only a couple of hours after they had been published, before letters of complaint were received);   bills before Parliament to add a “fair and balanced” requirement to its charter, force the revelation of staff salaries, and add recognition of rural and regional Australia have been described as “unnecessary and unjustified”;
     -   some interesting (don’t assume I agree with everything!) interviews on media here, here (refers to the News Literacy Project), here (although the sound quality is poor), here, and here (refers to The Trust Project);   a newspaper has lambasted its new owners after cutbacks and layoffs;   details of the decline of the ABC’s TV programming;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: Palestine, Israel, Hungary, Colombia, burma, Viêt Nám;
• With regard to education:
     -   independent criticism of Australia’s writing tests;   the high costs of Universities degrees have been questioned;
     -   other education matters have occurred in: USA;
• With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing:
     -   the cretin who head-butted a former Australian Prime Minister has been jailed for at least two months;   the administrators of an auction centre that went broke who suddenly charged collectors exorbitant fees had no right to do so;   a call to give a whistleblower who tried to charge a child abusing priest and was drummed out as a result the pension he is owed;   “a high-ranking Australian union official has been suspended amid reports he ran a fake Black Lives Matter [social media] page that solicited donations from the movement’s supporters” - which he denies;   “the sheriff of a US county [with] the highest rate of killings by police in the US once said it is “better financially” for local authorities if officers kill suspects rather than badly injure them” ... ;   the staggering laws that mean the accomplice of a burglar who is killed by police can be charged and convicted with the burglar's “murder” ... ;   a comprehensive article on some corrupt cops;   nations in sub-Saharan Africa have recorded a significant decrease in death sentences - see also here;
    -    other crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in: an interesting streaming TV series, USA, the Philippines, India, Togo.

Location based News:

• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
     on Africa generally:
     -   a new app to help internet users overcome obstacles such as the lack of high-speed connectivity and the cost of data;
     on specific African nations:
     -   six park rangers have been killed in a DR Congo wildlife sanctuary for gorillas - where 170 rangers have been killed over the last 20 years;   half a billion in aid has been pledged;
     -   Ethiopia’s new leader has made a rare outreach to the opposition;
     -   Kenya is being pressured to retrench “redundant” workers;
     -   “activists in Mauritania are campaigning for equal rights and inclusion of … the descendants of slaves”;
     -   how to prevent future kidnappings of schoolgirls in Nigeria (troops, talking and the Safe Schools Initiative);
     -   the losing presidential candidate in Sierra Leone has challenged the result in court;
     -   more than 140,000 people have been vaccinated in South Sudan;
     -   54 political detainees have been released in Sudan;
     -   a young woman who was convicted of murdering her partner and sentenced to death in Uganda has studied law and freed herself and hundreds of others from Uganda’s death row;   Uganda has backed off its propose social media tax;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   a proposal to link Chile and Argentina by tunnel;
     -   after a standoff, another of Brazil’s former Presidents has started serving his sentence for corruption;   in scenes compared to a war, guards at a Brazilian prison fought inmates and an armed gang outside, with the gang, several prisoners and 1 guard dying;
     -   a Colombian FARC leader has been arrested on drug trafficking charges;   the recent congressional elections in Colombia – which included an underperforming political party derived from FARC – were the most peaceful in decades, and bode well for presidential elections, the “precarious implementation of the 2016 FARC peace accord, which has yet to tackle key political and agrarian reforms, and … the dialogues with the ELN”;   two kidnapped journalists and their driver have been murdered;
• With regard to China (may her growing middle class bring a love of peace and freedom), East and South East Asia and the Pacific (noting the risks of atrocities in North Korea and Burma):
     on China, Hong Kong, the DPRK (North Korea) and South Korea (which need to accept their partition – for now – and sign a peace treaty), Taiwan, and the free but invaded and occupied nation of Tibet:
     -   China has promised to “open up” parts of its economy, and has warned against a “Cold War mentality” ... (so will China stop Cold War suppression of dissent?);   three Chinese universities have installed vending machines to offer the HIV/AIDS self-test kits as a part of a pilot project to promote early detection and treatment of in a culture where the virus is stigmatised;
     -   North Korea has “publicly acknowledged talks with the US for the first time”;   an urgent request has been made for over $100 million in humanitarian funding to assist millions of people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, “including children whose growth has been stunted because they are not getting enough to eat”;
     -   “a Tibetan leader says she hopes other countries will follow Sweden's example by prosecuting alleged spies who give China information on exiled Tibetans”;
     elsewhere in Asia:
     -   “an Australian woman detained by Cambodian police on allegations of drug possession may have angered the government by publicly criticising the prime minister”;
     -   Japan’s political scandal is spreading;
     -   the Philippines’ President will continue his mass killings programme (the reaction to which led to him withdrawing that nation from the International Criminal Court) and has threatened to arrest an ICC prosecutor if the preliminary examination into a complaint of crimes against humanity leads to activities in the Philippines;
     -   privacy concerns are raised as Singapore decides to test facial recognition on lampposts;
     -   Thai women have rejected victim-blaming advice on sexual safety during a festival and responded with a “don't tell me how to dress” campaign;
     -   Vietnamese human rights activists and independent media groups have questioned whether a social media platform was helping to suppress dissent;   the UN has urged Viêt Nám not to crackdown on civil society or stifle dissent
     and in the Pacific:
     -   Vanuatu has denied talks about hosting a Chinese military base, although security experts say it is feasible (and there appears to be a significant level of debt) - but Vanuatu has been leveraging regional rivalries to get infrastructure projects funded;   “three of the “Nauru 19” [including a former minister and former president, who were part of a hundreds-strong protest against several MPs being banned from parliament for making comments critical of the government] who had their appeal rights to the high court of Australia extinguished by the Nauru government, have had their bail continued by a Nauruan court ... [and] also won the right to continue to speak about the case, after a government attempt to impose a gag order on them failed”;   amid rising frustrations about the level of humanitarian aid following the recent earthquakes, armed gangs in Papua New Guinea have used guns and machetes to attack and rob aid workers;   the Papua New Guinea citizenship granted to a wealthy Indonesian fugitive has been found to be unlawful and “should be revoked”;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
     -   “the European Commission is considering linking member-state subsidies to adherence to the rule of law… [which] threatens to deepen the current rift in Europe”;   requests for extradition within Europe can only be for matters which are illegal in the requested nation, and thus Germany has quashed Spain’s charge of rebellion, and released the Catalan separatist on bail on the charge of misusing public funds;   “labour trafficking [is] now more common than sex trafficking in Europe”;
     -   France’s President is taking more media interviews to defend policies that have led to widespread protests;   “France is entitled to bring criminal proceedings against local managers of [ride-sharing services] for running an illegal taxi service”;
     -   Hungary’s far right wing government has won a third term of fear and hate - see also here;   Hungarian (so called) “journalists” have admitted a role in creating an anti-refugee/migrant “atmosphere of fear”;
     -   growing anti-Semitism and Islamophobic in France (which is an indication that the violent extremists are winning … );
     -   the UK's new “hostile environment” approach to migration has claimed another victim - a special needs teaching assistant who arrived 7 years before the UK's 1973 changes and has been trying for two years to get acknowledgment of that;   illegal homophobic discrimination in the UK;   “a South African woman who … was accused by immigration officials of faking illness to avoid being put on a plane … died five days later”;
• 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:
     -   macho Russia will tough out sanctions, and is considering what US products it could ban;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     on India:
     -   a major internet search company has appealed against an “antitrust” fine;   outrage continues to spread over the rape and murder of a Muslim child (will it lead to real and effective change? Possibly … );   anti-corruption seizures in a police station;   water reservoirs in north India are in a precarious state – some are dry;   although myths are being challenged, menstrual hygiene remains a problem;
     on Pakistan:
     -   musicians have held protests in Pakistan to demand justice for a pregnant woman who was shot dead while singing at a family function;
     elsewhere in South Asia:
     -   survivors of the collapsed factory in Bangladesh are forgotten victims;
• With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and Northern Africa, the Middle East Eye, the Times of Israel, and other sources have:
     -   Turkish-UAE tensions in Somalia;
     on Israel and Palestine:
     -   hundreds have attended the funeral of a Palestinian journalist killed by Israel;   the problem of anti-Semitism - see also here;   growing tension between Israel and a violent extremist group in Lebanon;   Israel is investigating after another Palestinian journalist was killed, claiming it does not target journalists;   Israel’s Labor party has broken connections with the UK’s Labour party over anti-Semitism;   an opinion that Israel's “failures” - and misjudgement of Russia in Syria - in its attempts to contain Iran have contributed to an escalation of problems in West Asia;   a US Senator has called for more humanitarian aid to Gaza;   an opinion that Israel wants to end the United Nations Relief and Works Agency;
     -   violent incidents this week include: continued clashes at the Gaza-Israel border fence;
     on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
     -   “Syrian government forces are blocking some civilians fleeing the Turkish-led military actions in Afrin from entering territory under government control”;   both sides exaggerated recent hostage numbers for their own ends;
     elsewhere in the region:
     -   Egypt – where civil society is under attack - will extend its year-long state of emergency by another three months;
     -   an assessment of Iran’s priorities (continued survival first) in West Asia, and what should be done (e.g., Iran accepting it is seen as aggressive, and changing its approaches accordingly);
     -   a call for Libya’s factions to work together, as one seeks US favour.

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.