Post No. 1,166 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 217

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)   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);

(d)   the major events this week are:   -   as attraction to violence continues to be inadequately addressed, the risks of mass atrocities in   Yemen, Nigeria and Syria, 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;

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 (if I have any this week);

   opportunities/good news (in my opinion) are shown in green;

   comments (by me) 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;     against the background that Australia has more wealth and income inequality than ever, an opinion that a fair tax system is a democratic, not an economic, challenge;     it is well worth reading Madeline Albright’s book “Fascism: A Warning” (which I am reading, and will write a review of in due course);
     on the Rohingya crisis and genocide this week:
     -   burma's government has “announced an agreement with two UN agencies for their help in the return of refugees who fled” ethnic cleansing / genocide (my terms - and how can the UN be so blindly naïve? burma is slaughtering other minorities RIGHT NOW - how can they be ready to treat the Rohingya well?);
     on other matters requiring particular attention:
     -   grave and growing concerns about US National Security Advisor John Bolton, who just sank the Korean peace talks (and appointed a “professional Islamophobe”);     North and South Korea are talking . . . again . . . – see also here; . . . and US and North Korean officials are still doing preparation for possible talks between their leaders . . . ;     two(very brave)  North Koreans have risked their lives by criticising their leader while speaking to Western media;     the “right-hand man” to North Korea’s leader has – despite a travel ban - met the USA’s Secretary of State in the USA to discuss the potential, currently back-on-again, summit;     a warning from a former Japanese diplomat of the risk of “disaster” as a result of the USA’s approach to North Korea;     North Korea has been sounding out Russia;     the role of spies;
     -   as China takes “digital control of its people to chilling lengths” (see here on the enforcement of “national amnesia”), its “attempt to gain political power and influence in foreign countries is [described as] ‘a new global battle’”, and intelligence concerns are raised over its influence in New Zealand (although the items described seem a bit . . . tenuous);     a top-secret report, ordered in 2016, completed in 2017, and the main driver for the foreign interference laws introduced into the Australian Parliament, raised concerns that the Chinese Government has attempted to influence Australia's political parties for the past decade, with “infiltration at every layer of Australian Government, right down to local councils”;     the USA will impose tariffs and restrictions on some Chinese products (is the trade war back on?);
     -   a notorious man who was jailed for ten years for prostituting a 12-year-old Tasmanian girl to more than 100 men, has been released early – despite never having been able to “remain offence-free for any sustained period of time”;
     -   as a UN resolution condemning Israeli violence against Palestinians is vetoed by the USA, Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian nurse . . . as she tried to help a wounded protester at the Gaza border;     Israel is continuing its naval blockade;     Palestinians are continuing to refuse to meet with any US representatives;     hundreds of people have demonstrated in Haifa against Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip;
     -   Denmark has joined France and other European nations in shifting the balance between women's individual freedoms and public fear towards fear by banning the wearing of face veils in public - although some politicians claim this is to “uphold secular and democratic values” . . . ;
     -   a call for a rethink of the use of facial recognition after a UK trial had 102 false positives and 2 correct . . . ;     the Human Rights Law Centre has said “facial matching technology proposed by the government risks racial bias and would have a chilling effect on the right to freedom of assembly without further safeguards”;     privacy concerns as Australia’s neoliberal government considers allowing its external cybersecurity division to work within Australia;     a terrible decision by Australia’s Privacy Commissioner raises massive privacy concerns;
     -   authorities in Ukraine have been sharply criticised (e.g. the OSCE said Ukraine was “spreading false information”, and Reporters Without Borders said it was “part of an information war”) for faking the murder of a Russian dissident journalist in Kiev, allegedly “to catch hitmen paid by Russian forces” (one arrest was made, and a hit list is claimed to have been found) - see also here, on the downsides (including a potential win for Russian propaganda);
     -   “more than 120 pregnant whales were killed during Japan’s annual [whale] hunt”;
     -   the state of knowledge with regard to religious civil wars (e.g., they’re less common, not more);
     -   “female whistleblowers and global HIV activists have urged the British government to demand the resignation of a senior UN official over his alleged mishandling of serious sexual harassment claims”;
       this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists   Yemen, Nigeria and Syria;
• With regard to democracy (which can be measured [as can goodness], and requires  protection of minorities and the vulnerable – and remember Gandhi’s question about whether one is fighting to change things, or to punish, and note this list of 198 methods of nonviolent action), freedom, governance (e.g., here, here, here and here, and see also here) and ethics:
  Note: I have a section specifically for the 45^th US President below
     analyses, research and commentary this week include:
     -   lessons for academics on how to get research to influence decision makers;     “we have faith in parliament, not parliamentarians”;     the obstacles differently abled women face when seeking justice after experiencing violence;     an interesting article on the importance of judgement and temperament in politics, with examples of the good and bad (and an interesting comment on the indicator of public service department heads), and the “sniffer dog”-like ability of the public on these;     a fascinating reflection on “what is a nation” by a respected journalist, calling on the author's indigenous heritage and a French philosopher's century-old considerations “in the shadow of the French Revolution” (the French philosopher, Ernest Renan, concluded that a “nation was defined not by any one thing but the sum of its many parts . . . the fusion of the populations that comprise them”) against the “don't make history a mystery” theme of this year's National  Reconciliation Week to call for a balance between forgetting for the sake of nation building, and ensuring forgetting does not slip into denial – “in the words of Ernest Renan: “Man[kind] is a slave neither of his race, his language, his religion, the course of his rivers, nor the direction of his mountain ranges. A great aggregation of men, in sane mind and warm heart, created a moral conscience that calls itself a nation”;     a concerning allegation that a neochristian school chaplain told an anorexic student she was “hungering for the word of God” . . . ;     some economic common sense on how tax cuts are bad for “middle Australia”;
     of concern this week:
     -   delegates from a militant union and the right combined to stop debate on more humane treatment of refugees at the ALP State conference (while the comment about changing the policy after being elected may have political validity, it (a) implies that the use of deceit is acceptable, and (b) raises questions about whether those saying deception is OK would actually support more humane treatment of refugees if the ALP won power – and I am very mindful of the past misogyny and bigotry of the union involved);    a new Australian opposition MP who has spoken strongly in favour of changing refugee policy refused to say whether refugees in Australia’s gulags should be brought to Australia, saying such comment would be “politically unwise” (it might be, given xenophobia in Australia – but see previous comments about honesty);     abuse of public transport drivers – including the unhygienic and deeply offensive act of being spat on;     an opinion that politicians don’t want affordable houses for economic reasons – which would be addressed by allowing smaller houses, you idiots!!!;     concerns over an apparent breach of a promise of neutrality in US Democratic Party “primaries”;     concerns over the lack of a transparent, competitive process before a nearly half billion dollar grant for work on the Great Barrier Reef was awarded;     a US state governor has resigned rather than be impeached over possible breaches of election laws;     both sides of politics in my home state have received death threats;     a Australian Senator, one whose former staffers tipped off the media to police raids on union offices, is resisting a Federal Court subpoena to give evidence;
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in:   Italy,   Australia,   Spain/Russia,   Mexico,   Japan,   Denmark,   Spain,   Nicaragua,   Madagascar;
     in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
     -   a recent controversial sale of an interview to media by an MP and his partner was apparently in response to invasions of privacy (including drones and paparazzi) (considering the viciousness of the MP towards same sex/same gender relationships, I find it extremely difficult to feel any particular sympathy – even if he is now on leave), but may still be a breach of professional ethics;     a very, very, very belated “apology” from a government Minister for swearing at a female Mayor;
     good news this week includes:
     -   guidance for government workers facing “challenging behaviours” (i.e., unhappy citizens) (this looks fairly standard, mostly reasonable but some of the wording is from older examples and could be better, I consider);
     -   other good news has occurred:   Pacific Islands;
     on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense – and being mindful of “intimate activism”):
     -   Sustainable Development Goal number 14 – sustainable use of the oceans – is often disparaged;
     and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     on the Royal Commission into banks, and similar matters:
     -   more than 100 clients of Australia's four major banks are financially ruined after being given millions of dollars in loans they could never pay back and say were dishonestly arranged;     the “financial ombudsman service has admitted it was wrong to rule that a widow should repay her dead husband’s business loan within 12 to 18 months after it found the loan should never have been made in the first place”;     the Productivity Commission has warned that multiple super accounts  - one third of which are unintended - and sub-par funds are costing members $3.9 billion every year, questioned the claim that industry superannuation funds always outperform retail funds, and called for young people to be able to choose their own super;     ASIC does not use the sticks it has against the banks - or even know them;     the Australian parliamentary enquiry into the franchise sector “has been handed a 'chilling' succession of similar stories by small-business owners who claim franchisors suggested they should steal wages from vulnerable workers”;     in stunning news, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says it expects charges to be laid against one of Australia's “big four” banks, including its Group Treasurer, and several other companies (including major overseas banks - who have already indicated they will contest the charges) and individuals (who will face potential penalties of up to 10 years jail for individuals and $10 million fines for companies) over an alleged criminal cartel arrangement in relation to a $2.5 billion institutional capital raising in 2015;
     on other matters:
     -   even the National Disability Insurance Authority is concerned after complaints - predominantly about slowness - reach a record in three months to end of March;     the head of Australia's National Disability Insurance Agency “has apologised to the family of a . . . man who died while waiting for vital medical equipment, a case that has exposed multiple failings of the scheme”;     some of Australia's most vulnerable workers have been given a 3.5% pay rise;     a “secret list of private companies that has enjoyed a tax reporting exemption since 1995 . . . could finally be torn up”;
• 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):
     -   concerns over Voldemort II’s impact on “the world order”;     concerns that Voldemort II's “hard-right judges will do lasting damage” to the USA;     the USA and its traditional allies are “on the brink of a full-scale trade war after European and Canadian leaders reacted swiftly and angrily to . . . tariffs on steel and aluminium producers”;
     -   a former New York mayor is trying to sway public opinion ahead of any vote on impeachment . . . ;     corruption concerns have been raised after China approved 13 trademarks for the (“tone deaf”, after posting a photo of her with her son soon after widespread reports of US immigration agents separating children from their parents - unfortunately, that led to this unacceptable response) daughter of the USA’s 45^th President in 3 months;     significant behind the scenes details of the sacking of the former FBI Director are apparently available;
     -   Presidential pardons have been turned into an instrument of the culture wars;
• 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 3 attacks in Afghanistan, and 1 attack in Syria (out of a total of 13), including   India;
     -   questions after a misogynistic petty criminal who committed two attacks was released from prison despite knowledge of him having been radicalised;     an examination of the radicalisation of women in Indonesia;     “a man detained by police for eight days over an alleged terror plot . . . has cleared his name, after the ‘weapon’ he was charged with possessing turned out to be a modified fly swat”;     Islamophobic trainers are providing problematic counter violent extremist training to US police;
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
     -   immigrants' rights groups have condemned the US government for alleged medical negligence after a female (transgender) immigrant died “with symptoms of pneumonia, dehydration and complications associated with HIV” in US custody;     an opinion that there is a workable alternative to the Australian government's current approach to asylum seekers, based on a collective and cooperative regional approach (as done when people fled Viêt Nám in the 1970s) which “could enhance refugee protection, while maintaining many aspects of the current approach that the Australian government holds dear . . . [including] the idea that the arrival of a refugee in a specific country should not necessarily equate to permanent settlement there, the preference for admitting refugees through the resettlement program, and discouraging asylum seekers from risking their lives at sea” (I dispute the saving-life-at-sea argument, and point to Italy as an example of what should have happened, and point out that I view everything on this topic generally through the prism of the New York Declaration);
     -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in:   Australia;
• 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):
     -   noting changed attitudes these days, a report has called for further investigations into at least 30 unsolved gay hate murders – with some concerns about allowing police to investigate their own failures;     homophobia is keeping some away from a world sporting event –being held by an allegedly LGBT inclusive sporting body - in Russia, and forcing others to change their behaviour;
     -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in:   Sweden/China,   Israel (good news);
     on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   racist prejudice and presumption in the US child welfare system for mothers of colour;     violent collectors gathered Indigenous artefacts for at least one Australian Museum;     a celebrity has been sacked for one  too many racist tweets – which led to a response by the maker of an anti-insomnia medication that “racism is not a known side effect” after the celebrity tried to blame their drug;     the provision if safe zones around abortion clinics has been backed by Federal and State Australian Governments;     a youth Koori court in one Australian state has been extended;
     on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week:
     -   a spoon-in-underwear tactic for girls to save themselves from being forced into overseas marriages;     Russia is dragging its heels on taking action against human traffickers;     the Catholic Church has announced it will sign up to the national redress scheme for victims of institutional child sexual abuse (62% of whom were from Catholic-managed institutions), making it the first non-government institution to opt in (all states and territories, except for WA, have signed up) - and Scouts Australia, the Salvation Army, YMCA Australia and the Anglican Church have also now joined up - but there are warnings that some claimants could be worse off;     the wrong man was charged with the sexual assault of a toddler, and has now been released (this quite a serious error for the person charged, and the question also needs to be raised as to whether the correct person has been identified and will be charged, or is there more to this case?);     after the conviction of an activist in Thailand was quashed, calls for remaining charges to be dropped;     more than 100 East African refugees have escaped from human traffickers in Libya;
     -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week:   US aged care homes,   USA / Turkmenistan,   Qatar / India,   France / Nigeria,   China (good news),   Russia / Nigeria,   Spain / UK,   UK,   Algeria,   Eritrea / UK (Chelsea Flower Show),   Uzbekistan,   Saudi Arabia / Bangladesh;
     -   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,   here,   and here;,   and,   this week,   the Philippines,   Australia;
     on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
     -   a call to be honest about past discrimination when talking to kids;     in a “feminist Christmas”, Ireland has caught up with a bit more of the late 20^th century by rejecting another bit of neochristian control;     a warning that Australian schools “could face a wave of legal complaints if uniform policies do not modernise to allow girls to wear shorts and pants”;     more evidence backing what many of us already know, which is that gendered differences show in children at very young ages – this evidence shows that the difference includes housework and pocket money! . . . ;     the violence on both sides of the suffragette campaign – see also here;     following an intrusion without consent to a work gathering a women, a reflection that maybe men should resume Victorian etiquette ... ;     my home state's government is “funding a world-first project to address sexual abuse and violence against women online through a program that will train [bystanders] to call out sexism and aggression on the internet” –see also this perspective;     after 36 years, one US state has ratified equal rights . . . one more (there are more who haven’t??!!!) and it apparently becomes part of the US Constitution;
     -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see:   here;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in:   the Pacific,   Denmark,   Sweden/China,   music;
     on RELIGIOUS rights this week:
     -   “Christians in Australia are not persecuted, and it is insulting to argue they are”;     “a Pakistani-American writer said he was uninvited from speaking at a conference by a major Muslim group because he wrote about engaging in dialogue with Zionists”;
     -   other religious rights / Islamophobia matters have also occurred in:   UK,   Denmark,   Uganda;
     on WORKERS’ rights this week:
     -   a call in the USA for the wage theft to be viewed as a crime – see also here;     another underpayment of workers incident;     a reminder that, notwithstanding recent abuses, Australia’s Seasonal Worker Programme has benefits for Pacific Islanders;     facts on job insecurity;
     on PRIVACY, AGED, DIFFERENTLY ABLED, AND OTHER forms of human (and other – e.g., ANIMAL) rights this week:
     -   concern at the time being taken to investigate an incident where a taxi driver failed to secure a quadriplegic, resulting in a fall, trip to emergency and major setback in recovery;     inadequate action on mould in a disabled care facility led to illness;     a death has highlighted the need for better support of carers;
     -   other privacy, differently abled, animal, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in:   Saudi Arabia,   Chad,   Tunisia;
     -   opportunities to take action here;
     on ANIMALS’ rights this week:
     -   a teenager who microwaved a kitten has allegedly “shown remorse” and been spared a conviction as he “had ‘no understanding’ of the impact his actions would have on his life” (and the impact on the kitten???);     the US dog experimentation industry;
• With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
     -   questions over the judgementalism and viciousness of sports fans;     violence in physical and electronic “sport”;     concerns at the behaviour of deer hunters, with some shots going into the front yards of homes;     concerns at attempts to import a rapid fire shotgun into Australia;     a US police officer “has been suspended for writing . . . that a student activist who survived the Parkland massacre should be run over by a car” (presumably he will also be investigated);     military  spending around the world (still around 2.2% of GDP, up 1% in last year, and may be responsible for reduced spending on health in Africa);     resistance to the Arms Trade  Treaty in East and South East Asia;     in response to “internal uproar”, Google will not renew a contract to help the US military analyse drone imagery;
     -   other war, violence or hate related matters have occurred or are developing in:   media;
• 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):
     -   a traditional Chinese ritual has been to scare away “evil spirits” from a family business that recently suffered a devastating fire;
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   a cyclone in Oman has killed 11 people and delivered three years of rain in one day;     repeat flash flooding in a US city;     the true death toll from Tropical Cyclone (Hurricane) Maria in US Imperial Possession Puerto Rica is around 4,600 – “many of them from delayed medical care”;     the devastating consequences of a bushfire;
     -   other events concerning disasters have occurred or are developing in:   India;
• 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:
     -   more concerns over management of water in the Murray-Darling system;     a possible resurgence of sail for shipping (there has also been consideration of combining sail and power [as I posted a few weeks ago, I think], and for local transport);     recycling plastic and other products into road building;     after a record-breaking hot summer and warm ocean temperatures, tropical Australian fish have been sighted off New Zealand;     “more than $1 billion of public money being spent on cutting greenhouse gas emissions by planting trees and restoring habitat . . . will have effectively been wiped out by little more than two years of forest-clearing elsewhere” in Australia;     scum on oceans, which absorb around a quarter of all man-made carbon dioxide emissions (making them the largest long-term sink of carbon on Earth), will cut the absorption “by up to 50%”;     “meat and fish companies may be “putting the implementation of the Paris agreement in jeopardy” by failing to properly report their climate emissions”;     “critically endangered hawksbill turtles . . .have been tracked moving across parts of the . . . marine park where the Australian government wants to allow commercial fishing”;     the head of the UN’s FAO says promoting biodiversity across all agricultural sectors is “fundamental”;     wild dog attacks in an Australian rural area are “taking a serious toll on livestock numbers and the mental health of farmers”;     a statement of the sad and obvious truth – that cars are still the primary form of commuting in Australia – which fails to acknowledge some of the key reasons for that, and thereby fails as a useful commentary;    in the year since the USA's 45^th President (with “reckless disregard”) withdrew the USA from the Paris climate agreement, a coalition of 405 municipalities representing 70 million Americans and several thousand businesses – including Amazon, Levi Strauss & Co and Google – have flung themselves at the gaping void left by the withdrawal, successes at a local level regularly overshadowed by an administration intent on tearing down any edifice of climate policy;     the Climate Change Authority says the windfarm commissioner, set up to handle complaints and investigate potential risks, has been a(n unintended) success and should be expanded to include solar and other large-scale renewables;     a bird survey in my home city “supports research suggesting native species thrive better if planning includes environmental reserves, rather than backyards”;
     -   other environmental matters have occurred in:   China (good news),   USA;
     on technology and science matters this week:
     -   an ambitious plan to export the Earth’s heavy industry to the Moon;     a “good Samaritan” smartphone app will help first aiders and off-duty paramedics respond to emergencies;     “new ways of feeding the future”;
     on economic and financial matters this week:
     -   in business, networking often doesn't work, but individuals who receive organised introductions do better;     facts on job insecurity;
     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?):
     -   a review of evidence-based policies around affordable housing;     houseboats as a form of affordable housing (I lived on a 24’ yacht for most of the 1990s, and know it is good BUT you cannot have a toilet discharging into water, in my opinio, for environmental reasons);
     on health and medical this week:
     -   hidden and illegal charges in Australian medical bills;     the sale of open-flue gas heaters, currently believed to be in hundreds of thousands of homes in Australia, will be banned after a woman died from carbon monoxide poisoning;     an interview with a controversial author on (what seems to me to be a common sense acknowledgement of the obvious) the non-physical causes of depression;     the USA has adopted “right to try” non-approved medications for the terminally ill (this could be good, depending on how it used);     the importance of shopping around for healthcare;
• 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 … ):
     -   concerns about the current ineffectiveness of the ABC Board and key senior staff;     a grammatical critique of active, passive and middle voice, and the impossibility of neutral mode when reporting political violence;     a professional historian and mainstream writer became an investigative reporter and then helped her community establish a non-partisan news service because “when people get elected to serve in government . . . they tend to be human, not heroic”;     an examination of items removed by past censorship shows a disturbing level of misogyny;     the problem of tabloid trash on (morning) TV;     a call for media to stop feeding mass murderers;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in:   Ukraine;
• With regard to education:
     -   a push for the US school lunch system to be for the public good;     in hotter weather pupils are likely to perform less well in exams (go Einstein!);     a warning that private schools that misrepresent disability enrolments - some of whom are allegedly “raking in millions” - could face fraud charges;
     -   other education matters have occurred in:   Germany,   Australia;
• With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing (noting that an uncle of mine resigned when corruption was not comprehensively cleaned out of the police force he served in, I also have high expectations of police [to match their powers], and consider all violence, abuse of power and failure to understand the impacts of their actions [e.g., see here and here] by police – who are under incredible pressure –is, nevertheless, undermining and weakening all police and what they are trying to achieve):
     -   a man who threatened police with two knives was shot dead after tasering was ineffective;   concerns and no statistical back up for calls for more police in one Australian state;     police have been falsifying tests to meet productivity requirements;     more questions about the violence of US police;
    -      other crime,   judicial and policing matters have occurred in:   USA,   Brazil (good news),   USA,   Spain/Russia,   Australia,   Australia,   India.

Location based News:

• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
      on Africa generally:
     -   Russian influence in central Africa appears to be growing;
     on specific African nations:
     -   Burkina Faso has abolished the death penalty;
     -   the Central African Republic has approved a law creating a special criminal court to investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity;
     -   victims of a fake AIDS cure created by Gambia’s ex-president have sued for damages;
     -   a call for greater protection for Kenyan activists testifying against a local lead-smelting plant accused of environmental pollution;
     -   a call for the four Libyan factions meeting soon in France to adopt a broader approach to peace;     fighting is continuing in one Libyan city;
     -   threats of a coup if Madagascar’s political crisis is not resolved;
     -   the UN Secretary-General says he found “a will, a determination to fight for peace” in Mali;
     -   fog capture in Morocco;
     -   on the 51^st anniversary of a disastrous civil war (the heart rending images of starving children were the first I saw, and possibly some of the first conveyed by television), Nigeria has arrested dozens of pro-Biafran protesters;     Nigeria has reduced the minimum age requirements for political candidates (to 25 for assembly members);
     -   as fighting continues, a possible arms embargo and sanctions against South Sudan;
     -   increased royalties from improved controls of mining in Tanzania;
     -   Tunisia is becoming tired of externally driven austerity measures;
     -   Israel will not recognize Uganda’s Jewish community;
     -   sanctions on Zimbabwe are unofficially easing;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   Brazil’s President “has lowered the price of diesel in a bid to end a truckers' strike that has crippled the country for almost a week”;
     -   Colombia’s Presidential elections will continue to another round;
     -   concerns that political parties in Mexico “are using bots and fake accounts in an attempt to influence voter behaviour and in some cases spread false stories ahead of the country's presidential elections”;     a call for action to end a wave of enforced disappearances;
     -   pro-government forces have killed fifteen and injured dozens of the tens of thousands of people protesting against Nicaragua’s President;
• 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:
     -   the continuing “green revolution” in China;     as usual, China has dispatched a low-level military delegation to an annual security conference in Singapore that has dwelled heavily in past on Chinese activities in the South China Sea;
     -   the USA is opening a new de facto Embassy in Taiwan - which will likely annoy China;
     elsewhere in Asia:
     -   Japanese prosecutors have decided not to charge 38 officials over the finance ministry’s sale of public land at a huge (85% off) discount to a nationalistic school operator with links to the prime minister’s wife and subsequent tampering with official records about the arrangement, but the political scandal is likely to continue;
     -   a radio programme on the history of the Philippines’ bodyguard-imitating initially little rich boy – until sexually abused by a catholic priest – President;
     and in the Pacific:
     -   on World Menstrual Hygiene Day, the challenges found in the cultures in the Pacific region, including bigotry, false beliefs, and lack of sanitary products (the packs provided to girls will be of varying value, as not all periods are light . . . );     the Papua New Guinean government will ban a major social media platform for one month in a bid to “crack down on ‘fake users’ and study the effects the website is having on the population”;     Pacific Island youth are working to overcome their political disenfranchisement, attributed to says cultural norms keep politics reserved for older people, with calls for the old guard to make space for young people and new ideas;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
     -   the well-deserved praise for an undocumented immigrant whose extraordinary climbing saved a child dangling from a high rise balcony has also perpetuated anti-immigrant rhetoric in France;
     -   thousands of right wing extremist demonstrators in Germany were outnumbered by opponents;   economic concerns in Saudi Arabia and in response to China;
     -    after “a few weeks of the kind of post-election horse-trading common in countries like Italy”, an agreement to form a government was made – but overruled by the President over the choice of Finance Minister, who was formerly a “Eurosceptic” – see also this . . . but an agreement now appears to have been reached . . . ;
     -   with a political campaign including “hate-mongering, xenophobia and plain lies”, fears that Slovenia is moving to the right (on that, it is well worth reading Madeline Albright’s book “Fascism: A Warning” [which I am reading, and will write a review of in due course]);
     -   following a corruption scandal, Spain’s ruling party has been forced out of office;
     -   strong concerns that the views of the UK’s opposition leader on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and what appears to be anti-Semitism in his party, could “drive Jewish people from the UK”;
     -   other events concerning Europe have occurred or are developing in:   Denmark;
• With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
     -   the UN has called for “new political energy to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine”;
     -   other events concerning Ukraine have occurred or are developing in:   USA,   police/media;
• 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:
     -   an investment scandal that is wrecking Russian lives;     a Russian critic of Russia’s President has been arrested by Spanish police after Interpol refused to execute a warrant as it was “predominantly political in nature”;
     in Central Asia:
     -   mixed reactions in Azerbaijan to recent political changes in Armenia;
     -   the possibilities that trade and associated talks could offer Georgia, Russia and the “breakaway republics” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia;
• 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):
     -   claims of a major strike against violent extremists;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     on India:
     -   storms have killed at least 50 people in India;     lessons from a virus outbreak;     “UN human rights experts have condemned the “disproportionate and excessive use of lethal force” by [one Indian state’s] police against . . . protesters . . . , and have called for an independent investigation”;     an honest waiter has been rewarded;     claims digital monitoring is being set up by the Indian government;
     elsewhere in South Asia:
     -   Bangladesh is rated by the Bertelsmann Transformation Index as an autocracy, rather than a democracy;
• With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and Northern Africa, the Middle East Eye, the Times of Israel, and other sources have:
     on Israel and Palestine:
     -   “the grandson of one of Israel’s most prominent Sephardi chief rabbis, who was vehemently opposed to homosexuality, is set to marry his boyfriend in a ceremony led by a gay Orthodox woman”;     Israel has lodged an official protest to Ireland over the planned speech by a convicted Palestinian plane hijacker who has continued to advocate violence against Israelis;
     -   other events concerning Israel/Judaism and/or Palestine have occurred or are developing in:   UK,   Uganda,   USA;
     on the conflict in Yemen:
     -   the patchwork situation in Aden;
     on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
     -   there may be a deal for Iran to withdraw its troops from the Syrian-Israeli border – see also here;
     elsewhere in the region:
     -   Egypt may be facing a wheat shortage;
     -   Iraq has been urged to form a “truly national” government;
     -   Jordan, which is experiencing protests over the cost of living, is concerned about its position in response to geopolitical changes;
     -   Saudi Arabia and Iraq are patching their relationship.

Other News:

• three-dimensional zebra crossings to slow motorists;
• the transphobic, once respected feminist Germaine Greer has now made an even more ludicrous comment by calling for a reduction in punishment for rape  - see also here (in all seriousness, is she herself? Is she suffering a medical condition [or, for those who read this blog, possession]?);
• the potentially severe consequences of romance fraud can include criminal death sentences.

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.