Post No. 1,156 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 213

Sorry: major problems with formatting this week (not Blogger, this time - at my end).

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 Water;
      a plot of the elemental influences on a causal/spiritual level follows, and shows a need for the nobility of more BPM Earth;

(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 burma, DR Congo, Central African Republic and Afghanistan, 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     slowly increasing acknowledgement of major problems, and slow progress towards improving some of them;     continuing bigotry, fear and exclusion;     sadism, ineptness and unthinking “buy-in” to consumerism, materialism and stressful lifestyles;     addiction to power and duping/manipulating others, shielded – poorly – by defensiveness, and with usage warped by indifference and/or lack of empathy;     calls for a balanced state of being;     unrealistic expectations of experts and those with influence and/or power;     focus on irrelevancies;     hanger-on-ism;

(g)   may all people be blessed with forbearance;

(h)   may all quietly aspire to BPM emotional, mental and spiritual adulthood;

(i)   may all people have enough confidence in themselves to allow themselves to care for those who are out of sight;

(j)   may all who have a duty for the development of others do their inspired BPM utmost to develop their charges’ emotional, mental and spiritual faculties;

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, may we all exercise our human characteristics of reason, self discipline and improvement to overcome the often evil flaw of seeking social status;
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 and genocide this week:
   -   Australia’s Foreign Minister has finally done something useful by calling for a credible, independent investigation into abuses of the Rohingya before any repatriations;     film of the devastation caused by a storm;     another region in burma is experiencing escalating conflict;     the UN Security Council sent a delegation to Bangladesh and burma, which led to calls for conditions of safety and holding human rights violators to account;     nine months after the rapes of Rohingya women by burmese men, refugee camps are braced for spike in unwanted children;
   -   the trauma caused to those who cleaned up after the 1994 Rwandan genocide;
     on other matters requiring particular attention:
   -   “patriarchy perpetuates trauma [including intergenerational] … we need to snap out of the fantasy that socialised traumas like rape are aberrations in an otherwise fair society”;     a nice bit of satire in response to criticism of New Zealand’s Prime Minister by a “feeble-minded apologist for women’s misery”;     “more than 50 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse involving personnel serving with the United Nations and its partners in the field were received in the first three months of this year” – see also here, here, and here;     a gender perspective on “the disappeared”;
   -   an examination of the agreement (implement previous agreements, keep talking, maybe joint infrastructure, address security hot points, reaffirmed nonaggression and commitment to a peace treaty, and complete – including the USA - denuclearisation) between North and South Korea;     China is trying to reassert its dominance over North Korea;     North Korea has denied hacking the UN sanctions database;    a reminder of North Korea’s human rights abuses;
   -   grave concerns over a proposed extensive surveillance system – which also allows access by private companies and local government - in Australia that has been quietly sneaking its way through Parliament;     the evidence-based “truth telling” of intelligence agencies, joined to some unlikely allies (journalism, academia, the courts, law enforcement and science), is – to paraphrase -now “protecting us from ourselves, not our enemies” (interesting quote from Timothy Snyder: “To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticise power because there is no basis upon which to do so. Post-truth is pre-fascism”) (NY Times);     “dark patterns are online design choices that obscure and manipulate a website's true intention or function”;     a range (NY Times) of intended and unintended consequences from social media finally getting a little serious about protecting privacy (I consider the initial whinge to be from a deceitful, unethical company that should legitimately be shut out);
   -   when you  racism and unbridled power in a petty bureaucrat and you get this;
   -   more questioning of the alleged “need” for relentless positivity at work, with research showing whinging can be emotionally intelligent;
   -   the problems of a cashless society;
     this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists burma, DR Congo, Central African Republic and Afghanistan;

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, research and commentary this week include:
   -   as three Chilean whistleblowers urge pope Francis to transform his apology for trying to discredit them into concrete action to end the “epidemic” of sex abuse and cover-up, an examination (NY Times) of pope Francis’ attempts to “reorient” the neochristian catholic church, and act as a conscience for the world (which would inherently be a mixed bag of some good and some misogyny);     from Australia: “rather than constituting damning evidence against the ALP’s policy, the fact that those earning less than $80,000 account for only “almost two-thirds” of negative gearers actually demonstrates that negative gearing is skewed towards higher-income earners”;     an opinion that “progressives need to rethink their approach to developing political talent”;     Finland has backed away from its “Universal Basic Income” trial – or, perhaps more accurately, “flat-cheque 'permanent' (for the duration of the trial) support for (a sample of) the unemployed” – see also this slightly right wing opinion (which ignores burnout, worker abuse and neoliberal government abuse of those on welfare), although I agree in the value and dignity of work and not stigmatising those cast out by technology;     an article on space law – which needs to outgrow its Cold War origins;     a call for the academic community to “better amplify the voices of individuals and groups doing work on the ground that combats discrimination, inequality, racism, or violations of due process” (with the following, about the USA’s ICE: “these are the sorts of tactics used against political detainees in authoritarian states”);     an interesting article on why replacing politicians with experts (epistocracy: the rule of the knowers) is a reckless idea (although I agree with the opinion that this is reckless, I question the premise that “democracy asks only that the voters should be around long enough to suffer for their own mistakes”, as groups can come up with solutions and assessments that exceed individuals. Also, some of the tedious arguments miss the simple fact that society has always needed to educate, inform and empower voters. The point that sometimes it is more important to avoid the worst rather than insist on looking for the best thing to do is interesting and worth considering);     the appalling spread of unpaid work (the so-called [US exported] “internship”);     a call to address the structural causes of inequality;     “the economy hasn’t recovered for single women”;

     of concern this week:
   -   a legal gap (which clearly needs to be fixed!) is allowing farmers to mine public groundwater and sell it;     past failure to protect privacy in the US Census;     the discrimination and toxic culture of accounting's monoculture;     evidence that the US EPA’s controversial (ethically challenged?) head was relying on business and lobbyists –including, in Australia, a climate sceptic thinktank - to plan and justify his overseas travel;     concerns over a past CIA brainwashing programme at a Canadian hospital;     “company boards are stacked with friends of friends. So how can we expect change?”;
   -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in: Libya, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Colombia;

     in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
   -   a local Council in one Australian state has been sacked in response to the latest fraud scandal;

     on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense – and being mindful of “intimate activism”):
   -   rising public debt in some developing countries is threatening the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals;

     and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     on the Royal Commission into banks, and similar matters:
   -   criticism of the “fee-for-all” approach of the financial industry to superannuation (to which would add having superannuants paying for life insurance);     the banking regulator and neoliberal Treasurer have  - belatedly (are they trying to cover themselves? recover from bad publicity) - slammed a major bank for a “widespread sense of complacency” and “lack of accountability”;     as with Watergate, the AMP scandal shows that the cover-up is often worse than the crime … ;     as the Royal Commission into banks continues, another possibly dodgy credit card offer?;     one of Australia’s main banks has now admitted it lost the details of 20 million accounts … (wow – and in a nation of around 25 million people … how many didn’t it lose?);
   -   see also: here;
     on other matters:
   -   Australia’s democracy will be deficient until Indigenous children can imagine themselves in its future;     as a neoliberal MP shows a complete lack of touch with living costs in “insulting” remarks, a leading economist has said that fixing “unnecessarily cruel” dole payments is a more urgent priority than budget repair (see also here);     in a blow to neoliberal claims, the evidence from recent small business tax cuts shows 19% went to hiring workers and 3% to pay increases;     a twice poisoned Russian opposition politician has called on Australia's parliament to punish corrupt oligarchs propping up the Russian regime;     allegations that someone in the Federal Government leaked sensitive information about a proposal to extend surveillance powers (NY Times) to undermine a departmental push to restructure intelligence agencies;     finally one party will get rid of the GST on personal hygiene products;     a messy defamation case between a regional newspaper and a former MP got messy before the former MP won;     Australia’s opposition, if elected, will “beef up international approaches to combating climate change, including with work in the Pacific and with ASEAN countries, in an effort to restore lost credibility as a consequence of repealing the carbon price”;     rental affordability 2018;     the journey of Australia’s neoliberal Prime Minister away from mutual respect to “strong borders” as the basis for multicultural harmony … ;     the Australian Institute of Company Directors chair has called for a shift in tax focus from doomed cuts for businesses to broader reform;     in a line out of the Bill Clinton marijuana play book, the Business Council of Australia says they met a notorious, now defunct data analysis company, but didn’t use them … ;   right wing neochristians are infiltrating the opposition in my home state;     “the Business Council of Australia has long been a weak and ineffectual participant in Australian policy debate. If it is to be taken seriously, it needs more than AstroTurf front groups and websites . . . needs to take on some of its members, both in relation to their corporate behaviour and in their resistance to any tax reform that might cause them any pain. Until then [it] should be more cautious in asserting that others lack a plan and believe in “fairies at the bottom of the garden” ” – see also here;     a proposed check of Australia’s public service . . . ;

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):

   -   an analysis (NY Times) of leaked, alleged proposed questions for the USA’s 45^th President that the Special Prosecutor has;     in another case of collateral damage on Voldemort II’s war on truth, his doctor has admitted (the article says “unclarified” a report that was “like a note you forge from your mum, in reverse”) that the president dictated his own health report . . . ;
   -   more concerns over the proposed new Director of the CIA in view of her and the CIA’s troubled histories;
   -   the 45^th US President has addressed a gun lobby meeting;
   -   Voldemort II has backflipped on a previous signed statement to now admit a payment to a woman over an affair, but “not from campaign funds”;
   -   in a US state, a people’s resolution to address specific gaps in immigration law is being prepared;
   -   the economic impact of the US administration’s latest act against privacy;
   -   rather than being “heart-warming”, the story of an 11-year-old desperately raising money on weekends is an indictment of all that is wrong with US healthcare (for 42% of Americans the cost of, or lack of access to, healthcare is the most urgent health problem facing, 12.2% lack health insurance – a proportion that’s once again rising);
   -   after decades of disinvestment, a small US town may be able to start help kids recover from lead poisoning;     the US Teacher of the Year, who works with refugees and immigrants, has staged a silent protest as she received her prize by wearing Women’s March and trans equality badges;
   -   controversy from the White House Correspondents Association Dinner;

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 4 attacks in Iraq, 8 attacks in Afghanistan, and 2 attacks in Syria (out of a total of 39), including an attack on Libya’s election commission that killed a dozen people, India, Mogadishu;     and actions (Note: there are many others that don’t reach the media I read) have occurred this week against violent extremists in: Australia;
   -   a surprise release of a prisoner from the notorious Camp Delta at the USA’s Guantanamo Bay base;

With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:

   -   a “caravan” is seeking to raise awareness on asylum seekers and migrants (two separate groups!) at the US-Mexican order;     a small town has begged for “their” asylum seeking family to bot be deported;     the heartbreaking ('graveyard of dreams') plight of refugees;     an Australian Indigenous ceremony has given solace to refugees;

 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]):

   -   ironically, give what has happened at the USA’s behest since “9/11”, the US Torture Victims Protection Act has enabled successful prosecution of Bolivia’s government for a past massacre – and more non-US cases may eventuate (trying tyrants in other nations is  not new – as an example, consider the tyrant Pinochet);     from what I can only describe as a dithering academic’s attempt to come to grips with the flaws and strengths of sanctions, surprising – albeit qualified – support;     another academic is looking in to the long known downside of holding tyrants to account (the resultant reluctance to leave power), but fails to consider the victims’ need for demonstrable justice and the preventative benefits;     why the ICC matters;
   -   opportunities to take action here;

     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):
   -   strong criticism of an international sporting bodies’ rules for intersexed athletes as “sexist, racist, unethical, and based on bad science” - and “one of the world's most respected sports lawyers has quit his position on a committee of the governing body of international athletics, slamming the controversial new rule that is believed to target [a] gold medal-winning South African runner”;     examination of a controversy over past homophobic abuse by a conservative media person – who has been denying responsibility (I dispute that the past posts ae explainable or forgivable);     five months after a vicious and misogynistic campaign against Equal Marriage, neochristians are bleating that marriage equality should not be a matter of “winner takes all” … ;
   -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in: Kenya, India (good news);

     on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
   -   decades after awards from other nations, the Australian sprinter who shared the podium with the two Americans who raised their fists in a human rights protest at the 1968 Olympics has finally been acknowledged by his nation;     the neoliberal government of an Australian state has “paused” negotiations over an Indigenous treaty;     international students say the challenges they face in Australia include loneliness, racism, and poverty;     an Australian state government will apologise and pay a $30 million settlement after the federal court found police officers breached the Racial Discrimination Act and acted unlawfully in responding to riots over a death in custody in 2004;     an international band have joined protests against an Australian television station over its under investigation panel segment on Indigenous child removal;     the two black men who were arrested at a racist coffee chain store have reached an agreement based on $1 each to them and a $200,000 programme for young people;     advice to white people on a controversial person of colour;   the disturbing experiences of a young black woman while travelling; the descendants of blackbirded islanders (i.e., slaves in Australia) sent back to Vanuatu at the turn of the 20^th Century, in line with the White Australia Policy, are seeking relatives in Australia – and recognition;   a ride sharing service driver has been suspended for ejecting a customer who spoke Hebrew;   a call for school discipline to be based on restorative justice;
   -   other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in: Mexico;

     on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week:
   -   an Australian state has finally agreed to commit money to compensate the victims of child abuse;     a notorious catholic church figure has been committed to stand trial on multiple alleged past sexual offences but the most serious ("vile", according to defence barrister) of the charges have been struck out (inconsistencies in one of the complainant's evidence had to be examined in the context of a “fundamental defect in the evidence”) – and, no matter that he is an unpleasant bigot, none of that means – from the point of view of law he is guilty any more than nice people are necessarily innocent;     Kuwait has broken diplomatic relations with the Philippines after the latter objected to abuse of its nationals in Kuwait;
   -   also on child abuse, particularly neochristian and other institutional, this week: here;
   -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week: USA/Guinea, China (the deliberate gender imbalance), sports, Hong Kong (possibly good news), Congo (good news), India, UK, UK, India, India;
   -   opportunities to take action here, here (which I found difficult – eyesight’s not so good these days, and there’s only so much zoom), here (great links to useful information), here (perhaps not so useful for casual, infrequent shoppers like me), here (tremendous to see others acknowledged – and I stunned how many organisations are close by, here, here (if you are inclined towards creativity), here (includes donation request for those who can), here, here, here, here, (more to come);

     on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
   -   after some stupid (sorry, “highly questionable”) decisions by a US sports body, cheerleaders have commenced legal action;     a rebuttal of the notorious, transphobic Greer's latest stupidity;   a police officer “who secretly filmed a colleague while they were having sex and uploaded it to a social media platform may be spared jail time over his “demeaning” and “appalling” behaviour” (he should be jailed – not to do so sends a message of impunity);
   -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see: here, India (Bollywood), here, here, here, here (he should have been jailed for longer for attempted manslaughter of those in the oncoming traffic, in my view), here, here, Israel,;
   -   other sexism matters have also occurred in: here, Kenya / USA;

     on RELIGIOUS rights this week:
   -   religious rights / Islamophobia matters have also occurred in: Israel (against christians);

     on WORKERS’ rights this week:
   -   Australia’s workplace relations minister is trying to get business to organise against unions;     “more than 61 per cent of the world’s employed population – two billion people – earn their livelihoods in the informal sector … a transition to the formal economy is critical to ensure rights’ protection and decent working conditions”;

     on PRIVACY, AGED, AND OTHER forms of human (and other – e.g., ANIMAL) rights this week:
   -   the British Film Institute has apologised after a woman with Asperger's syndrome was “forcibly dragged out of” (why do so many people who do NOT have the legal authority, think they can use force or do personal searches?) their London cinema for “laughing too much”, leading to some people applauding, others objecting and a “large number” leaving – but not “the man who shouted 'shut the f*** up, bitch'”;
   -   other privacy, differently abled, animal, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in: South Sudan:

     on ANIMALS’ rights this week:
   -   “one of Israel’s most senior rabbis has ruled that anyone buying meat from animals shipped from overseas to Israel for slaughter in cruel conditions is a partner to a crime”;

With regard to war, violence and hate generally:

   -   in the USA, research shows “right-to-carry laws increase the rate of violent crime – we’re not safer carrying guns around”;     lessons for the young activists fighting for gun sanity in the USA from the global struggle against nuclear madness;     “violence is not exclusively synonymous to physical violation”, and “the ways in which an armed conflict does not end with the conclusion of a formal peace accord”;     evidence that engagement of “highly structured intergovernmental organizations” is “associated with a substantial decline in the risk that political conflicts escalate into civil wars”;

With regard to spirituality and/or psychism generally (including revolutionary love, survival after death, and good religion), 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):

   -   spiritual perspectives on the increasingly urgent need to act constructively (“what shall we die for?”) in this world now;     “The world is broken. Sometimes, it's OK to just be sad about that”;     lessons for today’s world from Gandhi, via one of his granddaughters;     the clash of worldviews behind opinions of a lack of common sense;     ways to develop our compassion;

With regard to natural and other catastrophes:

   -   a volcano emergency has occurred in Hawaii;

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:
   -   Russia is preparing to deploy floating nuclear power plants in the Arctic;     half a billion dollars to reduce pollution and breed more resilient coral in the Great Barrier Reef;     criticism of Australia’s regressive approach to climate change (“there is no Planet B”) as unconscionable;     time and money are running out to document Australia’s unknown species;     land clearing nuts are now trying to claim to be environmentalists . . . ;     a call to use “good” plastic instead of “bad”, rather than trying unrealistically to get rid of all plastic;     new research shows decades of logging and forest loss from large bushfires has triggered the imminent collapse of the mountain ash forests in my home city’s water catchment, putting our water supply at risk;     an “operating manual” for implementing the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement is under development;     a warning that the climate “culture war” will doom Australia to fail on emissions targets;     a shift to renewable power would save Australians $20 billion a year, with 40% of transport emissions-free by 2035 and neighbours trading “clean” electricity;     a climate scientist has said the climate change debate needs to deal with the” political logjam” (“we can't solve climate change with numbers … we can actually only deal with climate through the human imagination”);     an Australian state has toughened up on land clearing;     possible environmental developments in shipping;     working to make the desert arable - which may be needed for the future owing to climate change;     questions over the science behind banning two chemicals from sunscreen for alleged environmental impacts rather than health concerns;     ways to reduce solid waste;     a call for more organic farming in the USA;

     on technology and science matters this week:
   -   an examination  of the science in experiments around the risks of mobile phone radiation;   one social media platform’s users have to change passwords after “a glitch”;

     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?):
   -   some housing prices – including in my home city – will fall as a result of the fallout from the banking royal commission and APRA's stricter lending policies;     my home city’s original tiny homes – kit homes from the mid-1800s;

     on health and medical this week:
   -   a new eating disorders institute;     “politicians from across the divide say more pill testing trials at music festivals will save lives”;     a call for more funding as “anorexia nervosa … has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness” – see also here;   an admission of inadequate action to date and call to do more on a leukaemia causing virus;

     on other matters in the category this week:
   -   a call to protect access to public space for sport – especially for the most marginalised communities, and informal sport – as it is crucial for developing and maintaining a sense of belonging;

With regard to press aka the media, and freedom of expression (claims of presenting “both sides” of a debate can be WRONG if the other side is RUBBISH –as is the case on LGBTIQ issues. Also, media can be unprofessional, but funding is an issue … ):

   -   the ABC will cut 20 journalists’ jobs, but will not cut jobs overall as it will create on line news editing positions … which I guess means the sacked journos will still be out of a job … ;     after the ABC’s political editor described a neoliberal MP (facing a challenge from environmentally conscious members of his party) as “the most destructive politician of his generation”, the Australian Communications and Media Authority ruled that this breached the ABC code for impartiality – but this robust defence points out that impartiality isn't ignoring the facts, and the ABC code requires “a balance that follows the weight of evidence”, which the statement did;     on World Press Freedom Day, concerns here, here, and here, and an article on the social need for a free press;
   -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: Palestine, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Egypt;

With regard to education:

   -   a “call to move from mass learning to tailored education” see here, on a school that already has;     “the probability of dropping out [of Uni] is relatively easy to predict, with characteristics including studying part-time and being a mature-age student strong indicators of risk”;     continuing US teacher strikes for education resources;

With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing:

   -   “Australia’s first pill-testing trial [which found two potentially deadly samples, and that half had nothing psychoactive] has been hailed as a “tremendous” success by the Australian Capital Territory’s chief health officer, police commissioner, paramedics and drug reform advocates”;     budgetary boosts to judges, prosecutors and Legal Aid in my home state;     a resort’s security guard wrongly (see here) told a family to leave a public beach and mooring leading, after a warning from the government department, to an apology (I know a few arrogant sods who have similar attitudes);     the trauma caused by prison;     a cautionary note about the use of DNA;     an Australian state government will apologise and pay a $30 million settlement after the federal court found police officers breached the Racial Discrimination Act and acted unlawfully in responding to riots over a death in custody in 2004;     including 20% indirect costs, prison is nine times more expensive than community corrections orders (cost is, of course, not the only issue);   phone spoofers;   a police officer has been charged over (allegedly) assaulting a neighbour;   a pushbike rider has run down and injured several children;

  -      other crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in: Malta, Australia.

Location based News:

With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:

     on Africa generally:
   -   the lack of term limits on African Presidents has been linked to conflicts;
   -   increasing violence -73 killed in one night alone – between herders and farmers in the Sahel;
   -   African nations are standing up to US threats of cuts to aid;
     on specific African nations:
   -   an examination of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon;
   -   the Catholic Church has become the main opposition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – and has incurred fatalities as a result;
   -   Gabon’s Prime Minister has been reappointed within a week of being dismissed;
   -   fears of more army mutinies in the Ivory Coast;
   -   in a move straight from the 1950s, Kenya has banned one of its films because it shows lesbianism;   Kenya has refused to bow to US threats (and has lost aid) and will continue to provide abortions;
   -   an opposition candidate for President of Mozambique has died;
   -   “a Nigerian company says it has suspended distribution of its cough syrup after a BBC investigation into its role in an addiction epidemic”;   Nigeria’s fraudsters are now attacking businesses;
   -   controversy over a new position in Sierra Leone;
   -   half a million people have been affected by devastating floods in Somalia;
   -   South Sudan’s ruling party is seeking help;     two men have been disappeared;
   -   Sudan will allow Ethiopia a stake in a new port;
   -   concerns over the spending of royals in eSwatini;
   -   Zambia has launched a tree planting project;
   -   divisions within Zimbabwe’s ruling party;

With regard to South and Central America:

   -   “an abandoned 22-storey building occupied by squatters in [a Brazilian city] has caught fire and collapsed”, killing at least one person;
   -   pirates have massacred at least a dozen fisherfolk in Guyana;
   -   racism at Mexico’s borders;
   -   a witness for an investigation into Colombia’s President has 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:
   -   concerns over Chinese plans to become a manufacturing superpower (so other nations should do likewise – or at least look after existing industries);     a mass stabbing in response to bullying has killed nine and injured ten (both the bullying and the violent response are wrong, and both need to be addressed);     Chinese nationals have on multiple occasions shone military-grade laser pointers at US pilots operating out of an American base, leading to increased tensions;     China has been warned after deploying missiles in the South China Sea;   US-China trade discussions are continuing;     a High Court has criticised the government and civic bodies for failing to submit details of manual scavengers on their payrolls;

   -   more nations will join efforts to monitor attempts by North Korean ships to break sanctions;

   -   Taiwan has lost another diplomatic ally;

     elsewhere in Asia:
   -   continuing media and press freedom concerns in Cambodia, which remains in the grip of a former violent extremist  commander;
   -   the biggest protest under military rule in Thailand has been held against the building of a government luxury housing project on forested land;

     and in the Pacific:
   -   a study has shown that Papua New Guinea would have been better off if a massive Australian-backed gas project had never happened - which led to PNG’s Prime Minister borrowing a page from the 45^th US President’s playbook and declaring the report to be “fake news” … ;     France’s imperial possession New Caledonia will vote soon on independence;

With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):

   -   continuing protests over the acquittal of alleged gang rapists in Spain;
   -   accusations in Malta that a police sergeant tipped off the murderers of a journalist;
   -   the UK is increasing protection for other potential assassination targets;   the legal struggle to stop the UK selling weapons to Saudi Arabia is continuing;

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:
   -   the history of the nerve agent used in the recent assassination attempt in the UK;
   -   other events concerning Russia have occurred or are developing in: Australia;

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):

   -   another violent extremist attack;     a trailblazing female Afghan Air Force pilot has been granted asylum in the USA after a tense 16-month wait;     with desertions and high casualty rates, the size of Afghanistan’s military has shrunk over the last twelve months;     after 16 years of conflict, critics say, “the US is in a triple bind: it cannot win the war, it cannot halt the war, and it cannot leave”;     in the deadliest day for media workers in Afghanistan since the fall of the extremist regime, ten journalists have been killed in a coordinated double suicide bombing (after gathering after the first last) and a shooting;

With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:

     on India:
   -   concerns over what could be privatisation of heritage sites;     sexual harassment in Bollywood;     rain and dust storms have killed over 100 people and injured hundreds – and more to come;   religious aspects to a state  election;     a High Court has pointed out irregularities in election notifications;   controversy over too few judges;     concerns over fast tracked security clearances;     caste atrocities and possible court caste bias;     “the age of irrationality”;   a suggested better approach to sexual assaults;     India has given land rights to those who fled Pakistan 70 years ago;

     on Pakistan:
   -   Pakistan will act to curb air pollution;

     elsewhere in South Asia:
   -   drones are delivering medical supplies in Nepal;
   -   the Chief of Staff for Sri Lanka’s President has been arrested while accepting a bribe;

With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and Northern Africa, the Middle East Eye, the Times of Israel, and other sources have:

   -   declining US interference and influence in West Asia;
     on Israel and Palestine:
   -   Palestinian journalists are always under threat;     Israel is suspected to behind air strikes on Iranians in Syria (NY Times);     Israel has claimed Iran lied over nuclear weapons … with a very lukewarm international response- particularly to the claimed, unreleased “evidence;     christians in Jerusalem’s Old City say they under threat from intimidation, physical abuse, vandalism, and aggressive property acquisition by hardline Jewish settlers;     Israel blocked two US human rights lawyers from entry on the basis of right wing trolls;     stupid, anti-Semitic comments by Palestine’s President;     “it is confounding to ponder the reality that the Palestinian Nakba occurred mostly at the hands of European Jews who survived the Holocaust”;     why Palestinians are continuing to protest;     in a move which takes Palestinian protests away from non-violent (I trust there has been no stone throwing to date: that would also be an act of violence), “fire kites” are causing damage but are not a strategic threat;   the annual SlutWalk against sexual violence;     tacit legitimisation of illegal settlements by Israel could be formalised;
   -   other events concerning Israel/Judaism and/or Palestine have occurred or are developing in: USA;

     on the conflict in Yemen:
   -   extremist rebels in northern Yemen have retaliated for a Saudi attack that killed one of their leaders;   US Special Forces are helping to locate and destroy extremist rebel missile sites;

     on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
   -   an examination of the controversy over a chemical weapons attack in Syria – including the use of a movie scene by the Russians;   a possibility that Arab troops could be sent to Syria has been floated . . . ;

     elsewhere in the region:
   -   Iranian women have defied a stadium ban;
   -   constructive signs ahead of Iraq’s next elections;   a leading religious figure has warned Iraqis against voting for corrupt candidates;
   -   a lack of political vision in Lebanon’s elections;
   -   “Saudi strategy should not be to dominate the Sunni world and cast Palestinians aside, but to build an alliance of Sunni states as a balance to Iran”;
   -   economic problems in Tunisia;
   -   a new dam is threatening a minority in Turkey;
   -   other events have occurred or are developing in: Libya.

Other News:

• the problem of passengers opening emergency exits (on the ground) to get fresh air – which also shows exactly how stuffy and uncomfortable modern planes are.

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.