Post No. 1,205 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 229

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:

Notes:

(1) I am NOT a journalist, and make NO claims to objectivity or freedom from bias.
(2) 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 March 2019), 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” (i.e., CEO) 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 that person’s BPM Guides and giving those BPM Guides 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 that person’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   Nicaragua, burma and the Central African Republic, and ongoing violent conflicts and crises in Syria, Afghanistan, Mexico, Iraq, Burma, Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Libya, Sudan (Darfur and South Kordofan), Yemen, Egypt (Sinai), Kurdistan, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Mali, DR Congo, Burundi, Kashmir, Baluchistan (Pakistan and Iran), India (Maoist and other insurgencies), the Maghreb (Africa), Ukraine, and elsewhere;   -   refugee and humanitarian crises;   -   the political madness of regimes with authoritarian leaders – and all who put or keep them there;   -   and, specific to this week,     those with knowledge from past events have been sharing;     the attack on truth and its agents is continuing, with uneven coverage compared to need;     as hundreds of children continue to be officially abused, POTUS45 has been compared to Hitler;     misogyny continues to be rampant – but steps towards holding it to account have begun;     power continues to be abused and misused by the powerful and arrogant, creating threats to democracy and sovereignty;

(e)   may all be healed and made whole enough to be compassionate;

(f)   may all learn and be truly BPM humble – and accept all power with true, BPM humility, and may positions of power NEVER be taken to be a sinecure;

(g)   may responsibility towards those who are vulnerable not be seen as a burden, but as an achievable duty;

(h)   may the BPM lessons of history be BPM learnt;

(i)   may the underlying problems upon which bigotry and misogyny be recognised, as well as the need to deal with the causes, not just the latest head of the Hydra of hate and fear;

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 (see also here, here, and here) :     the entirety of this blog and all other spiritual work and physical activism I and many others do;     further to the statement by Germany’s chancellor that “when the generation that survived the war is no longer here, we’ll find out whether we have learned from history”, a Polish Jew who survived the Warsaw ghetto, lost his family in the Holocaust, and served in a special operations unit of the Polish underground (including fighting in the Warsaw uprising of 1944), and as, under guise of promoting “national dignity” or instilling “pride”, future generations are being raised in darkness, ignorant of the war’s complexity, and doomed to repeat the mistakes for which such a high price was paid, fearful that the battle to draw the right lessons from that time is in danger of being lost, offers his thoughts on those lessons: remember his generation as they really were - with the same vices and weaknesses as today’s young people, most neither heroes nor monsters, a generation living under the terrible pressure of fear and pushed into those roles by circumstances - not as they may wish us to have been, and do not allow pride that leads to omission of examples of indifference and uncooperativeness and later into self-righteousness, and that self-righteousness into self-pity and aggression, as no nation has a monopoly on virtue (“something that many people, including many of my fellow Israeli citizens, still struggle to understand”), do not underestimate the destructive power of lies, and, finally, do not ever imagine that your world cannot collapse – at which time “you will find that all the myths you once cherished are of no use to you. You will see what it is like to live in a society where morality has collapsed, causing all your assumptions and prejudices to crumble before your eyes. And after it’s all over, you will watch as, slowly but surely, these harshest of lessons are forgotten as the witnesses pass on and new myths take their place”;
     on the Rohingya  genocide this week:
     -   the Reuters journalists who exposed the genocide have been convicted and jailed;
     on other matters requiring particular attention:
     -   sadly, this week, I found nothing in the news on Afghanistan;
     -   a documentary film compares POTUS45 to Hitler;
     -   “hundreds of children remain detained in the United States and separated from their parents more than five weeks after a court-ordered deadline to reunify them”;
     -   the abhorrent depths of problems with sex trafficking in UN peacekeeping, including risk factors;     conservative female MPs in Australia have blasted their colleagues, including comments that the “appalling” behaviour “would never have been accepted while running a major law firm 20 years ago”, and, with commentators pointing out recent behaviour has blown up the merit myth, call for quotas – but, with a former state Greens leader accused of sexist (and homophobic) conduct (and see this on the Nationals), “slut-shaming and bullying aren't new concepts. They're not Australian Parliament-specific problems, they're not #MeToo era problems and they're not social media/political-correctness-gone-awry or weak-willed women's problems. Rather, they're symptoms of something awry - something broken - in party politics, party ideology and political life”. Meanwhile, record numbers of women are seeking political office (is that because the desperately dire political there under POTUS45, or are they less bad than we are?);
     -   the UK has issued warrants for the arrest of two Russians over recent nerve agent attacks;     concerns that the scale and isolated location of Russia’s massive war games suggest they could be a harbinger of another major event (e.g., another Ukraine-style operation);
     -   the second report of the Commission of Inquiry states that serious rights violations are continuing in Burundi, including summary executions and hate speech at the highest level of government, with the bodies of victims being hidden;
     -   one of three major technology companies will not appear in front of the US Senate - the first time since the far-reaching enquiries began in the wake of the 2016 election, and a subpoena may be issued;     a right-wing conspiracy theorist has been banned from a social media platform for abusive behaviour;
     -   a player has called for sporting “authorities to name and shame cyber bullies after revealing he had fallen victim to online trolls bitter about losing bets on his matches”;
       this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists   Nicaragua, burma and the Central African Republic;
• With regard to democracy (which can be measured [as can goodness],     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” (i.e., CEO)  below
     analyses, research and commentary this week include:
     -   another lament on modern politics;     another (see also here) condemnation of the Australian Commonwealth Parliament’s “toxic political culture”;     a well written opinion on why giving a former POTUS45 advisor a media platform in the first place was irresponsible, but the magazine’s reversal of that decision and “non-apology” “played right into his hands” - and another that the consequences of the former advisor’s ideas need to be interrogated, not just his words;     “we cannot sustain a growing economy if wages don’t keep up” – see also here;     another article on UBI;     the “21^st Century maritime Silk Road” – see also here;     the economic problems that are stopping US residents moving;     a historian’s concerns about the future;
     -   for other analyses see:   here;
     of concern in Australia this week:
     -   a Family Court expert has been “referred to [the] Medical Council after parents lodge complaints”;     an ill-conceived bit of political stunt (over the current opposition leader allegedly settled a planning case for ten times the probable cost ‘to protect his career’), which perpetuates a trend of not respecting conventions (which is more reason to consider conventions to be, as with verbal contracts, not worth the paper they're written on), by the government of my home state has backfired when a woman’s sensitive personal information was made public;     Australia’s neoliberal, evangelical  zealot prime minister has shown his blatant bigotry, bias and ignorance by saying he “sends his children to private school to avoid ‘skin curling’ sexuality discussions” – and because he doesn’t want the ‘values of others’ “imposed” on his children (so is the hypocrite going to stop imposing his values on others? Is he going to talk to his children about sexuality? Would he cope if one of his kids was LGBT – or not neochristian?);     after advice that a detainee was seriously distressed was ignored, leading to his suicide attempt, lack of information to other detainees led to a riot - and the lack of information is continuing;     after a stunning bit of stupidity by a union official, Australia’s neoliberal government says that it could try to ban a particular union – but they would “need the right stick”, and crossbench MPs and senators have warned this would be a precedent to “smash trade unionism” in Australia and is inconsistent with the government’s treatment of law-breaking banks;     as the head of a sporting organisation is called before the enquiry, former  senior immigration officials have spoken out against the Home Minister's decision to free two foreign nannies from immigration detention – see also here;     details of absolute thuggery  - and of workplace bullying - during the push to change leaders of the neoliberal party (why weren’t police or security called?);
     also of concern this week:
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in:   Sweden,   Nauru,   Guatemala,   India,   Nauru;
     in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
     -   protestors forced an extreme right wing Australian party to move a media conference – which ended with a chilling threat of physical violence by one the politicians;
     -   other events in the grey or neutral area have occurred or are developing in:   Nicaragua;
     good news this week includes:
     -   trials in the USA suggest cities may be able to “pave the way toward a Universal Basic Income”;      praise for this speech in Australia’s Senate during the recent debacle;
     -   other good news has occurred:   Germany,   Mauritania;
     on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense – and being mindful of “intimate activism”):
     -   research in Malawi show “the transformative power of giving young women cash”;
     and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     on the Royal Commission into banks, and similar matters:
     -   “the inaugural chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, said APRA's responses at the Banking Royal Commission exposed it as ‘extremely inadequate’ ”;
     on other matters:
     -   at the start of a military exercise “the Australian naval fleet commander has called on his counterparts — including those from China — to respect ‘freedom of navigation’ and promote ‘free and open international order’ ” (we need more of this);     an Australian Supreme Court judge has “issued a stunning public condemnation of the National Disability Insurance Agency, finding it tried to recoup funds with “no proper basis” from a woman with profound disabilities, and then came dangerously close to contempt of court”;    a State Premier will remove from a party “five extra staff positions it was granted last term, after it refused to denounce [a Federal Senator’s] contentious maiden speech” (the speech used a nazi term while calling for immigration change);     as “the plight of drought-hit farmers in Australia prompted an outpouring of sympathy across a [nation] that has long mythologised the inhospitable ‘bush’ and its inhabitants”, questions (despite resourceful and innovative farmers making “a reasonable living, maximising their returns in good times and planning for drought by putting aside cash, storing fodder and destocking” and innovations including genetic “switches” to send plants into survival mode quickly and then restore them to growth mode quickly, better data on weather, and soil and drought-resistant crops), about modern farming activities in agriculturally marginal areas in Dorothea Mackellar’s “sunburnt country, a land … of droughts and flooding rains”, especially in comparison to the agricultural skills of Indigenous Australians;     Australia’s UN report card says: “making progress, could do better on inequality and climate”;     jobs that are vulnerable to automation in Australia;
• With regard to the USA (which has some … “unique” characteristics that don’t exist elsewhere in the world)    and their BULLYING 45^th “President” (i.e. CEO  or POTUS45) (who is dangerous – see here on actions for US residents [and the useful principles]) this week (I avoid using the 45^th US President’s name for psychic reasons – I may use “Voldemort II” as an alias – and the VP is at least as bad):
     -   former President Obama has given a “stinging indictment” of US political life under POTUS45and the politics of fear – “blasting his successor's pattern of pressuring the Justice Department and reminding voters that the economic recovery began on his watch”;
     -   an opinion that POTUS45 has “betrayed American workers—again and again and again” – see also here;     as a book, titled “Fear”, by one of the two key Watergate journalists, “based on hundreds of hours of conversations with key players”, details POTUS45’s “chaotic and dysfunctional White House” and a fact check shows more lies, an anonymous op-ed reveals the existence of a “resistance” inside the White House – which apparently considered ways to remove POTUS45, has been compared to past tactics used by Voldemort II, is no comfort to this bitingly incisive comedian (I think he is too harsh: those people aren’t Democrats, and they’re juggling the benefits of being there with the benefits of a big gesture that leads to leaving [impeachment is in the power of the US Congress, and few in this resistance would have the power to initiate the 25^th Amendment, if any, but they do need to consider his criticisms) and has led to a paranoid hunt by Voldemort II – see also here;
     -   POTUS45's nominee for the Supreme Court deliberately ignored the father of a shooting victim (who introduced himself), following by the White House making incorrect statements about the incident;     POTUS45 has “mounted another extraordinary attack on his attorney general . . . blaming him for charges against two congressmen that he said jeopardised Republican chances in the forthcoming midterm elections”;     the Special Prosecutor investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential election has reportedly made a concession and will accept some written answers from POTUS45 – the concession did not address whether POTUS45 obstructed justice;     another of POTUS45’s former aides has been jailed for lying to the FBI;
     -   another assessment of the good and bad aspects of a recently passed US Senator;
• 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, and good old fashioned police work.     I don’t name groups to reduce their publicity):
     -   according to this Wikipedia page, there have been 3 attacks in Iraq and 4 attacks in Afghanistan   (out of a total of 16,   including   Burkina Faso;     in addition:     violent extremist threats are or may be developing in   Mali;
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
     -   as a particularly moronic statement by the increasingly repressive island’s leader is rejected, a New Zealand journalist is briefly arrested and has her accreditation cancelled for interviewing a refugee after the topic arose at the Pacific Islands Forum, and, in an unprecedented act, the island  blocks transfer of mentally ill refugee to Australia because an official “doesn’t believe” the doctors – one of whom has now been ordered off the island - that this an emergency, “the former boss of Australia's Border Force has detailed claims of drug dealing, prostitution and squalor at Australia's immigration facilities [where staff have been told they will be sacked if they talk to the media] on Nauru”;     concerns over the UNHCR ending “refugee protections for the ethnic Chin in Malaysia”;     two children who have spent most of their lives in the Netherlands after their mother fled Armenia in 2008 will, as their already has been, be deported to Armenia – where they do not speak the language as they do not meet the Netherlands’ criteria;     a call for “global policies that aim to resettle and integrate displaced populations into local societies” (I think this needs to be considered on a case by case basis);
     -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in:   Venezuela,   Niger;
• 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]):
     -   an article on the use of satellites to detect human rights abuses (this has been around for some time, now – George Clooney co-founded the organisation Satellite Sentinel Project which used satellite technology in South Sudan, for instance);     misogyny is a step closer to being a hate crime in the UK (there are some challenges around definition, but this is a step closer to addressing the fundamental cause rather than specific forms of expression of bigotry);     “an American football star who sparked a furore by kneeling during the national anthem has been unveiled as the new face of a major advertising campaign” (yes, it is commercial, but he deserves some reward, and this may also help further what he started);     a major Hollywood studio has expanded the “inclusion rider” concept into a company-wide policy meant to increase diversity on and off screen;     an article detailing the problem of misogyny in some parts of gay male culture, which is possibly due – in part, at least, to the overlap with male culture;
     -   opportunities to take action here, and, this week,   here;
     -   other human rights matters have also occurred in:   USA,   Malawi;
     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):
     -   forced marriage of LGBT children;     Malaysia has caned a lesbian couple – and is looking for more caning venues;     the UK's chief rabbi is using Torah values to guide Orthodox Jewish schools on supporting LGBT students, including a zero-tolerance approach to homophobic bullying;
     -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in:   India (good news);
     on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   traditional landowners will take the lead in managing parks in my home state;     Australia’s media regulator has confirmed that a TV programme “breached broadcasting standards for accuracy and provoked serious contempt on the basis of race when it aired an all-white panel discussing the adoption of Indigenous children and child abuse” - see also this call for the media to “do its job better when reporting on Indigenous affairs. Its job is to question stereotypes not reinforce them”;     the Indigenous Literacy Foundation;
     on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week:
     -   the story of a woman who, abused as a child, was also abusing her partner;     the USA is deporting Mauritanians back to slavery;     the first “Amber Alert” in one Australian state was successful;     priests in my home state who fail to report child abuse from the confessional may be jailed;
     -   also on child abuse, including neochristian and other institutional, this week:   UK;
     -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week:   US prisons (and NZ prisons?),   Europe;
     -   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,   here;
     on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
     -   the dinosaur women in France opposing MeToo;     “why our girls need to see more female Jedi”;     a digital toolkit to help sporting bodies prevent violent or abusive behaviour;
     -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see:   here,   here,   pottery;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in:   education (more male teachers),   Indonesia,   South Korea,   Mauritania;
     on WORKERS’ rights this week:
     -   a reminder of the lack of privacy on work devices;
     on ANIMALS’ rights this week:
     -   allegations of animal cruelty in UK shearing sheds;     a scuba diver has been “labelled ‘a hero’ for removing fish netting from jaws of distressed shark”;
     on PRIVACY, AGED, DIFFERENTLY ABLED, AND OTHER forms of human (and other – e.g., ANIMAL) rights this week:
     -   privacy, differently abled, animal, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in:   Australia;
• With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
     -   Australia’s military support of the USA;
• With regard to peace:
     -   a UN forum is told “peace must be built ‘block after block’”;
• 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 beneficent extraterrestrial UFOs):
     -   others’ predictions for September, 2018;     a thoughtful video on one person’s opinions on Ásatrú – which I am wary of because of racist elements (I’ve started – carefully – checking that channel, which seems to be objectively historical and linguistic);
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   a highway bridge has collapsed in India, killing at least one person . . . and another;     the worst Tropical Cyclone (aka Typhoon) to hit Japan in 25 years has killed at least 11 people and injured hundreds, which has been followed by an earthquake that has killed several and left dozens missing or isolated;     a suggestion to send aid in the form of pre-loaded debit cards rather than physical goods (which assumes they can spend the cards . . . );
• With regard to overcrowding and “modern” lifestyle issues     (such as conflict  minerals,     environmental harm and child labour in smart phones,     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 (our World War III?) and other environmental matters this week:
     -   a video on “temperature anomalies” over the last century;     cheaper, shorter life printed solar cells may overcome the initial cost hurdle;     one small town’s “grassroots solar microgrid plan”;     the staggering extent of China's giant solar farms (which could supply all of the UK’s electrical needs, for instance);     regional areas in a northern Australian state where solar and windfarms were performing well above international standards (between 20% and 50% more efficient) are “on the verge of a $24bn renewable energy boom” (including employing 34,000 people in construction and 1,500 people in ongoing jobs from a six-fold expansion), but the “vast majority” of projects will never be built without the phase out of existing coal-fired power stations and government policy to reduce emissions in the energy sector;     a move towards a legally binding treaty on ocean resources;
     -   other environmental matters have occurred in:   the Pacific;
     on technology and science matters this week:
     -   a warning of the fraud risks with a new “more efficient” point of sale payment system;     barriers to digital inclusion;     an airline has been hacked, compromising the security of hundreds of thousands;
     on economic and financial matters:
     -   an audio recording has revealed the underhand tactics used by high pressure sales people;
     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?):
     -   an insensitive and stupid rich ***** says it’s OK for the social disruption of poor people being driven away from rich people by inequality and unaffordable prices(these appalling attitudes are typical, in my experience, of too many of the arrogant mongrels in that “profession”);     Australia’s housing affordability could improve by as much as 12% over the  next four years “as tighter credit and higher rates hit home prices” – and see also this;     a suggestion to transition from stamp duty to land taxes;     options to reduce the land costs of housing;
     on health and medical this week:
     -   a health survey shows many women are anxious and depressed and “trying to do too much”;     another antibiotic resistant superbug has been identified;     the WHO has said that “inactivity [is putting] physical and mental health of more than 1.4 billion adults at risk”;     after a warning that “airport security trays carry more viruses than toilet surfaces” advice on environmental cleanliness (including “boil your dishcloths” – which we were told not to use [allow dishes to air dry] in Queensland half a century ago);
     on other matters in the category this week:
     -   a “surf rage” attack;     a ride-sharing service in Australia will block customers if they have a low passenger rating, allegedly to “improve passenger behaviour” (what measures stop this being used for revenge if a driver is rude, bigoted or jilted, say?);     an article on “why time management often fails” (“we always ask ourselves if we are not as productive as we can be, but we never wonder if we are doing more than we could” . .  “pursuing productivity for its own sake is the reason why many people get frustrated with time-management tools” – most of which “do not fit their user's work style”, and can become a nuisance - especially if compulsory, as flexibility is important – including in the sense that “people will not always get everything done, and that is OK” . . . “productivity is not an endless race, just a tool with limits” . . . find “an approach that fits your personality and habits” . . . “don't be too hard on yourself”);
• 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 … ):
     -   a moronic management fad at the ABC has further damaged morale;     the threats made to journalists reporting child abuse committed by neochristian churches;     safety training has been given to Cambodia-based freelance journalists;     China’s media repression is on show;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in:   burma,   China,   Nauru,   Australia (racist reporting),   India;
• With regard to education:
     -   a resurgence in male teachers;     a suggestion to effectively rebadge student loan debt as “income sharing” (a “debt for equity swap”), with a suggestion that it will be less burdensome . . . ;     an opinion that diversity in US education is under attack;    in a move interpreted as “yet another sign of hostility towards survivors”, the USA is planning to water down sexual misconduct rules;     talks on the funding of Australia’s private (mostly religious) and public schools are continuing;
• 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):
     -   the recent environmentally disastrous fire in my home city will be investigated by police;     a former prison officer was accumulating military grade weapons and constituted “an imminent threat”;     as two police are cleared of excessive force by an internal investigation, a parliamentary committee in my home state has stopped short of recommending a new body to deal with complaints but made 69 recommendations and called for called for a major overhaul of the “broken” police oversight system;     evidence of criminality in a recent disastrous fire in my home city;     police in my home city have activated controversial mass stop and search powers in my home city ahead of a major event involving a right wing provocateur – which had counter protests.

Location based News:

• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
      on Africa generally:
     -   “African countries have shown a healthy appetite for Chinese loans but some experts now worry that the continent is gorging on debt, and could soon choke” (is Tonga’s recent comments and their withdrawal a warning also?);
     -   a generation of violent extremist victims are growing up desperate for revenge;
     on specific African nations:
     -   dozens of elephants have been killed near a wildlife sanctuary in Botswana;
     -   another Ebola case in the DR Congo;
     -   the UN has reported that a ceasefire agreement to “end all hostilities, protect civilians, safeguard public and private property” has been reached for Libya’s capital;
     -   as the investigation into the savage murder of a man with albinism ends, the UN is continuing to urge Malawi to promptly prosecute those responsible (“twelve people--among them a police officer and a priest—have entered pleas on a series of charges that include murder and causing harm to persons with disabilities”);
     -   the UN has commended Mauritania for a peaceful election;     the abuse of rape survivors in Mauritania;
     -   “a South Sudanese military court has handed out jail sentences to 10 soldiers for rape of foreign aid workers and murder of a local journalist in 2016”;
     -   “more than 30 civil society organisations have called on the members of the council to adopt a strong monitoring and reporting mandate on Sudan”;
     -   a politician in Uganda has described being tortured recently by soldiers;
     -   “Ethiopia [has] reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital . . . the latest step in restoring ties after the two nations ended decades of conflict”;
     -   other events concerning Africa have occurred or are developing in:   Burundi;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   Argentina has announced new austerity measures;
     -   farmers in Belize are adapting agroforestry to climate change;
     -   after losing almost 90% of their collection in a fire which has been linked to fund cuts, Brazil is seeking funds to rebuild its National Museum;     a far right candidate has been stabbed and is in  a serious condition (at best this sort of stupidity may appear to be a short term solution, but (a) you’re dragging yourself down to their level, (b) you’re giving them ammunition, and (c) it is NOT a real solution!);
     -   Guatemala has barred a UN anti-corruption investigator from re-entering;
     -   as political turmoil in Nicaragua could pose a threat to the security of countries across Central America, the UN Security Council has, with some reservations, taken up the Nicaraguan crisis - see also here;
     -   under its new President, Paraguay has reversed a decision to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after just three months, which Israel responded to angrily, as it “wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East”;
     -   “as Venezuela’s great experiment with “Bolivarian” socialism implodes, it is creating a humanitarian and refugee crisis comparable to Europe in 2015”, with about 1 million Venezuelans in Colombia (which, remembering the aid their refugees fleeing FARC received from Venezuelans, is doing its best with their limited resources), and another 2 million are estimated to be in other, mostly neighbouring, nations, living “in desperately unsafe conditions with little food and no medicine” with only modest aid from religious organisations and other NGOs (no United Nations refugee camps yet) - a regional forum is trying to find a way to manage the crisis (which is the perfect sort of situation for followers of this blog to help);
• With regard to mainland China (may her growing middle class bring a love of peace and freedom),     East and South East Asia     and     the Pacific     (and noting the risks of atrocities in North Korea and burma):
     on increasingly totalitarian mainland China, and also 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:
     -   a reminder that the legacy of the devastating Opium Wars wherein western powers imposed disaster (halved the economy, created a drug addiction problem not previously present, and stated the “Century of Humiliation”) on China is still present;     an assessment that “China has transformed its military to ‘fight and win wars’ “;     repressive, totalitarian China has banned the ABC website whilst using doublespeak to claim its internet is “open” . . . ;     “the strategic implications of China's Belt and Road Initiative” – see also here;
     -   more on the complex family situations of those in and from North Korea;     an Sydney-based man is now facing two additional charges (for trying to help export iron) of contravening sanctions on North Korea on top of six existing offences, including that he tried to broker a deal that would help a weapons of mass destruction program;
     -   searches for and removal of spy cameras in South Korean toilets;
     elsewhere in Asia:
     -   “Japan has acknowledged . . . that a worker at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami more than seven years ago, has died from radiation exposure”;
     -   more sexist stupidity in Indonesia;
     and in the Pacific:
     -   as Australia’s relationship with Pacific on climate change is described as ‘dysfunctional’ and ‘abusive’, “Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island nations have signed a declaration [which Australia tried to water down . . . ] highlighting climate change as ‘the single greatest threat’ to Pacific people, while island nations called on the United States to return to the Paris agreement”;     an opinion that Nauru is “in democratic freefall”, and is being propped up by Australia;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
     -   far right (neo-nazi?) and counter-marches in the city in eastern Germany which saw recent racist riots – and a call for the response to be more democracy;     German politicians have launched a left wing 'Get Up' style movement;
     -   Sweden, long reputed to be a bastion for moderation and balance, may be about to move to the right after an election campaign that has focused on migration and integration;
• With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
     -   “the leader of Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine has been killed” (as always with such events: (1) this will be of some relief only if no-one else can take on that role quickly, and (2) the person who has died must now wait for a future life to make redress);
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     on India:
     -   India has re-joined the late 20^th Century by striking down a ban on homosexuality - although some groups want to keep hating;     a woman has been described as a terrorist by the patronising, sexist and female complainant and arrested for calling India's ruling political party “fascist”;     a flood-hit south Indian state “has declared a health alert after 11 people died of leptospirosis or rat fever . . . the government has asked everyone who came into contact with flood waters to take medication as a precautionary measure to avoid an epidemic”;     “sex trafficking survivors [are helping to] rebuild [a] flood-hit Indian state”;     “of an estimated 20 million commercial sex workers in India, 16 million women and girls are victims of trafficking”;     “India's Bihar state takes over children's shelters after finding abuse”;     India’s potential benefits for the USA;     “the Supreme Court [has taken] exception to the fact that only 11 of the 29 States and seven Union Territories have filed reports on compliance of its order directing them to take steps to deal with mob lynchings and cow vigilantism”;     concerns over an Indian state’s blasphemy law;
     on Pakistan:
     -   the US military has cut aid to Pakistan over a “perceived failure to take decisive action against militants”;     “Pakistan's new government [has] cancelled the appointment of a renowned Princeton economist after a strong backlash against [his membership of a] religious minority”;
• With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and Northern Africa, the Middle East Eye, the Times of Israel, and other sources have:
     -   a seminar on peace – which POTUS45 is putting at risk - in West Asia is told it is “a welcome reminder of the power of words over weapons”;
     on Israel and Palestine:
     -   the USA “has halted all funding to a UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees, in a move likely to further heighten tensions”;     Israel is trying to avoid being typecast as a one issue nation;     threats if Israel signs a truce with only one Palestinian group;     problems in the attempt to get Israel to recognise the Armenian genocide;
     -   other violent incidents this week include:   here;
     -   other events concerning Israel/Judaism and/or Palestine have occurred or are developing in:   Paraguay;
     on the conflict and the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis in Yemen:
     -   a “Saudi-led coalition in Yemen . . . accepted that an air attack last month that killed dozens of people, including children traveling on a bus, was unjustified and pledged to hold accountable anyone who contributed to the error”;     a “major UN push for peace to end Yemen’s ‘hot war’ [has begun] in Geneva” . . .  and the rebels have stopped the talks by setting preconditions;
     on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
     -   against a background of concerns that POTUS45 could “go rogue” elsewhere as his “deal” in North Korea unravels (and he has taken military action before in Syria), the USA  - and the UN and Turkey - has warned against a “reckless” attack on the last rebel-held province, currently home to around three million people, many internally displaced and some rebels relocated under deals -making the area particularly prone to mass slaughter and other human rights abuses (an air attack occurred hours after the warnings) that would “make the US ‘very angry’”, would not improve the Assad Dictatorship’s hold, and may even worsen a local uprising against an unpopular regime that has mutated into a regional struggle by proxies for violent extremists, Russia and Iran (a major source of angst), and Turkey, Israel, the Gulf states and the USA;
     elsewhere in the region:
     -   protests in southern Iraq;
     -   Qatar is finally addressing one of its worker abuse issues;
     -   a critique of Saudi Arabia’s “new nationalism”.

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 [see Psychic Weather Report]. 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.