Post No. 1,209 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 230

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   Syria, South Sudan, Venezuela and Burundi, 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,     as progress is made towards holding abusers to account (with discussion about ways to hold governments and abusers to account), and some make steps towards apologies, some very brave people are continuing to work for decency, dignity and human rights despite abuses, threats, and worse;     the balance between privacy and accountability has reared its head;     democracy continues to be subverted in subtle and not-so-subtle ways by people who desire power;     bullies and bullying are a feature this week, with some holding to account and some countering;     as some of East Asia moves towards peace, West Asia continues to accumulate concern, much as a snowflake grows . . . ;     how we use wind turbines may have to change;

(e)   may people continue to have the courage, support, healing, and other resources needed to make this world a better place;

(f)   may bullies grow the atrophied parts of their being so that may develop empathy and compassion and move beyond bullying;

(g)   may those who are addicted to power find health ways to fulfil any genuine BPM needs beyond their addiction, and be given the BPM assistance to manage the rest, together with the BPM motivation to do so from their own Higher Selves;

(h)   may we continue to learn, adapt, and grow as may be necessary for the HSG;

(i)   may tyrants and their abuses be brought to heel;

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;     in her first speech to the Human Rights Council, the new  High Commissioner for Human Rights welcomed “the pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Courts finding that the court has jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of Rohingya from Myanmar and possibly other crimes” and other related actions and called for justice, will get to grips with xenophobia, and reminded all governments of the duty with regard to human rights in “This is a time of many setbacks for human rights” – see also here;     Germany’s Chancellor has passionately condemned xenophobia;
     on the Rohingya  genocide this week:
     -   another article on the “determining role” that a social media platform had in the Rohingya genocide (about five years ago, there was a “sudden explosion of internet access”, combined with the platform’s” trouble identifying and removing the most hateful posts”);     burma’s thoroughly discredited pseudo-leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said “her government could have handled the situation in Rakhine state better” . . . (beginning with not committing mass rapes and genocide);
     on other matters requiring particular attention:
     -   sadly, this week, I found nothing in the news on Afghanistan;
     -   from a survivor of notorious Pinochet’s deadly coup and dictatorship, “I thought democracy in Chile was safe. Now I see America falling into the same trap”;
     -   POTUS45 “has ordered the closure of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington” (which kills the Oslo Accords) “and threatened sanctions against the International Criminal Court if it pursues investigations against the US, Israel, or other allies” (a threat repeated by one of his cronies);     a tweet that was almost sent by POTUS45 was stopped after a back channel message indicated North Korea would consider it a warning of an imminent attack;     POTUS45, who views “a man crying as a weakness”, “built his empire on bullying and bluster”, following the advice from his father (“who urged his sons to be “killers””) and a mob lawyer – but that “can’t save him now”;
     -   a possibly ground-breaking report has found that noise from wind turbines is interfering with sleep at two properties (the owners support renewables, and want the turbines quieter at night, turned off if that is not possible, or compensated [presumably so they can fit double glazing, etc] – also, this is noise, NOT ultra-sound);     a call for human survival NOT to be left to politicians as “we're losing our life support systems”;
     -   “an alarming and ‘shameful’ level of harsh reprisals and intimidation against those who [make] effort to uphold human rights, has been revealed”;
     -   concerns that the “right to be forgotten” online could be transformed into a tool that will enable authoritarian regimes to exert control over publicly available information (without having seen the arguments, my initial reaction is that such is not an adequate reason to punish everyday people – there are other forms of evidence that can – and, historically, have been used against despots [for instance, at Nuremburg, at Ambon, and against the tyrant Pinochet);     how to identify fake news (I like the one about using mainstream news outlets);     the nearly two years old “Pro-Truth Pledge”;     advice on approaching those who spread fake news - beginning with fact checking yourself;     the challenge for businesses of managing “fake news”;
     -   why Russia and Japan never declared peace after World War (part) Two, and current moves to fix that;
     -   a call to prevent sanctions from growing into blockades;
       this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists   Syria, South Sudan, Venezuela and Burundi;
• 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:
     -   corruption costs 5% of global GDP, is present everywhere, and needs to be countered;     the damage done by POTUS45 to the USA’s standing in the Pacific;    a very academic article calling to “decommodify knowledge and provide greater open access” by “organising journal publishing democratically using cooperatives” to “save scholarly journals from neoliberalism”;     a call for more open and direct democracy;
     -   for other analyses see:   here,   Syria,   drones;
     of concern internationally this week:
     -   as a critic of the Russian government is hospitalised for what appears to be yet another (see here, here, here, and here ) poisoning and two Russian spies are arrested before they can hack a chemical weapons investigation lab, Russia is trying a new disinformation tactic (disseminating multiple theories to achieve a dilution of Google results) as the men wanted for the attack on a former Russian spy in the UK claim they were “tourists” . . . ;     after a scientifically-supported vaccine policy was made more flexible by the new Italian government, which has been compounded by anti-vaccination nut parents lying, about 1,000 children with impaired immune systems have been forced to stay away from school;     “erratic aid spending could derail drive to end slavery by 2030”;     neo-nazi stupidity in Russia;
     of concern in Australia this week:
     -   despite a conservative MP calling for bullies – which also happens at a state level - to be named, two conservative female MPs have backed away from doing that, as one conservative female MP calls for quotas (women MPs are disproportionately in marginal seats) and conservative voters are shown by tests to be in the grip of unconscious bias;     after an independent MP ignored current evidence to have a requirement for yet more independent monitoring, the highly controversial cashless welfare card will be rolled out in parts of another Australian state;     households are spending more than they are earning;     a school girl has been threatened by Australian MPs – and her school hasn’t helped - for a national anthem protest;
     also of concern this week:
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in:   Australia,   Israel;
     in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
     -   events in the grey or neutral area have occurred or are developing in:   Europe;
     good news this week includes:
     -   a social media platform is doing more to fight fake news;
     -   other good news has occurred:   Rwanda;
     on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense – and being mindful of “intimate activism”):
     -   research shows direct transfer of cash is the est way to provide aid;     an update of the Human Development Index has been launched;
     and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     on the Royal Commission into banks, and similar matters:
     -   a summary of exposés to date;     the “financial sector is slow to clean up its act despite royal commission revelations”;      in one of 32 breaches, a former bank “manager handed over the banking passwords of 80 customer accounts to a mortgage broker, giving them direct access to personal bank accounts in a serious breach of customer privacy”;    how an aggressive sales culture was built;     rorts at the banking watchdog;     possible class civil action against one of the “big four” banks;     “a full-throated attack on the insurance ‘shonks’ who have been ‘****ing us for years’ ”;     an “insurer . . . launched dirt-digging campaign to deny mental illness claim”;     “we need to protect ourselves”;
     -   I have considered this behaviour inevitable since the introduction of targets and performance-based fees in the 80s – and the problems largely reflect those of similarly inappropriate “performance” targets elsewhere (e.g., police being expected to achieve a certain number of arrests, etc, which leads to planting evidence and other corruption problems). This is an outcome of the short-sightedness of neoliberal and similar business practices, which ignore social cost to focus only on profits and/or shareholder return. To some extent, the banks were in dire straits in the 80s because a couple of major businessmen had had a major impact, but they could have taken a slower, more patient approach. At least many businesses now have learned the importance of social capital, but that knowledge has been under their noses all along – it just required normal levels of human decency, and maybe a pinch of courage . . . ;
     on other matters:
     -   a call for reform of the Constitutional requirements for eligibility of politicians;     more on the recent joint exercises between Australian and Chinese naval ships;     busy pedestrian crossings in Australia’s capital cities are so heavily automated that most of the time pressing the button has no effect (those of us living in the real world have been saying this for decades);     “calls for increased pressure on China over alleged ]the] mass detention of Uighur Muslims”;    concerns over the use of Chinese-manufactured surveillance cameras that can be used to send data back to China;     an opinion that more regional electorates “can become marginal – but only where incumbents are complacent and independents are organised”;
• 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):
     -   an opinion that POTUS45’s nominee for the Supreme Court has lied under oath, and can be impeached;
     -   another former aide to POTUS45 will cooperate with the Special Prosecutor investigating Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election;
     -   concerns that the recently revealed “resistance” inside the US White House might be a security risk (there is some validity to this point, and concerns that their actions might be equivalent to some form of coup, but those same concerns exist around POTUS45: what is being done to manage those? This is where the US system is, in my opinion, revealed to be perilously close to electing a King, rather than a leader of a democracy);
     -   climate-change-denying POTUS45 has shown a staggering disregard for the truth by claiming the scandalous response to Hurricane Maria in US Imperial Possession Puerto Rica, which killed nearly 3,000 people (disputed by POTUS45 . . . mind you, that death toll is not only direct deaths during the event, which may confuse some people, but neither was the accepted death toll from Hurricane Katrina), was an “unsung success” and he claims the USA is “absolutely, totally prepared” (except for prisoners) for Hurricane Florence, which forecasters have warned “ is shaping up to be catastrophic and unprecedented”;
     -   anti-USA sentiment was stronger under President Bush (POTUS43), who was seen as representative of Americans, than it is now under POTUS45, who is NOT seen as representative of Americans;
     -   Ireland says POTUS45’s visit has been cancelled, but the US White House seems to be still dithering on the issue;
• 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 4 attacks in Iraq, 6 attacks in Afghanistan,   and 1 attack in Syria   (out of a total of 17);     and actions (Note: there are many others that don’t reach the media I read) have occurred this week against violent extremists in:   Nigeria,   Somalia;     “US and Somali forces who raided the family home of a former president and detained three teenagers may have been acting on misleading intelligence” (this error has led to “shock”);
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
     -   “more than 120 Indonesians who say Australia wrongly jailed them as adults - when in fact they were children - have launched a bid for compensation” (they were arrested for allegedly being people smugglers);     a suicidal 12-year-old refugee with PTSD –thanks, no doubt, to some extent, to us (i.e., Australia) - on Nauru will die if she is not removed;    the USA’s detention of “migrant” children has increased fivefold – see also this assessment of the US refugee programme;     the bodies of 21 more refugees have washed up in Spain;
• 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]):
     -   in addition to opportunities below on child abuse and human trafficking, general opportunities to take action on human rights here, and, this week,   here,   here;
     -   other human rights matters have also occurred in:   Israel;
     on HOMOPHOBIA/TRANSPHOBIA     (including heteronormativity and cisgender-normativity) this week (and noting that trans kids are the same as cis kids of the trans kids’ true gender):
     -   a sporting organisation continues to fumble – very badly - with its transphobia;     a call for other nations to follow India and allow gay rights;
     -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in:   China,   India;
     on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   indigenous parents are using home schooling to overcome literacy gaps (which is an indictment of our education “efforts”);
     -   other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in:   USA;
     on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week:
     -   child “brides” in Thailand;     more appropriate wording around child abuse (further to the example of survivor, not slave, three other suggestions);     a call for Australia’s Modern Slavery Bill to include punishments;     Uzbekistan is still using some slavery to harvest cotton;     a US state has “a landmark new policy that will help human trafficking survivors expunge their criminal records for offenses committed under coercion”;     “victim support groups are calling for [an] appeal against the sentence of a woman who had sex with five schoolboys under her care, arguing it was too lenient and she should be in jail” (and would have, had this offence been committed by a male);     “how Nepal's women 'human interceptors' catch traffickers”;     Interpol has rescued “85 child slaves from Sudan's streets and gold mines”;
     -   also on child abuse, including neochristian and other institutional, this week:   Colombia,   UK;
     -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week:   Brazil,   India,   Mexico,   technology;
     -   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,   here,   here;
     on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
     -   in a week marred by hearing a woman – stupidly - try to defend nursing as not having a gender problem because the percentage of men was consistently low (and using every sexist trope that male managers use against gender equity in male-dominated professions), and after re-watching Hannah  Gadsby’s “Nanette” shortly after reading about the misogynistic male who defaced a memorial to a young woman comedienne who had been raped and murdered only getting non-custodial punishment, a well-written perspective on the “traditional” ‘scarlet woman’ cliché wheeled out for the woman who had an affair with a notorious UK politician, and a woman whose lines were all completely edited out of a panel show (leaving her as a laugh track for the males only), women being removed from one state’s STEM curriculum, a report showing “a significant increase” in rates of sexual harassment (one in three - mostly of young women) in the last five years (and staggeringly high percentages of lifetime experience of harassment – 71% total, 85% of women and 56% men [and yes, that possibly means some who receive it “dish it out”, perhaps as revenge, perhaps as a result of thinking that is how things must be, but two thirds of perpetrators are male – meaning one third are female] and higher rates for LGBTIQ, indigenous and disabled people), and a reminder of the sexist double  standards applied to women in the media, we have accusations of sexist double standards against a sports umpire being backed by the players’ organisation – and an utterly moronic, racist and sexist cartoon showing one male’s complete and utter lack of understanding (and concomitant need to watch “Nanette” and get some basic consciousness raising on race);     more than 100 women in one regressive Australian state considered or attempted to conduct abortions on themselves in the past five years;     lessons from a past (1968) protest (including a reminder that the personal is political, and consciousness raising);
     -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see:   here,   here;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in:   Israel,   India;
     on PRIVACY, AGED, DIFFERENTLY ABLED, AND OTHER forms of human (and other – e.g., ANIMAL) rights this week:
     -   “a proposal to create a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic Ocean has been defeated at an International Whaling Commission meeting”;
     -   other privacy, differently abled, animal, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in:   Indonesia,   Viêt Nám,   sport;
• With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
     -   two cretins who fired aimed shots at firefighters in the US and been given violation notices for being in a closed area . . .  ;
• With regard to peace:
     -   UN peace operations in Libya and Colombia have been extended;     calls for “a more robust response to existential threats against both peacekeepers and those they strive to defend”;
• 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):
     -   the couple who pledged to help a homeless veteran who gave the woman his last US$20 when she ran out of petrol stole the money from a fundraiser for the veteran;
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   a major typhoon is heading for the Philippines (it will likely have hit when you read this), leading to the evacuation of thousands, and fears its rains could combine with monsoonal storms that could spark landslides and flash flooding. threatens harvest amid ongoing rice shortages;     a gas system that was about to be upgraded is suspected to be behind a series of explosions that destroyed dozens of homes, forced the evacuation of neighbourhoods, and killed one person in the USA;
• 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 rubbish collection device is being sent to the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch — an island of rubbish almost the size of Queensland”;     more solar and wind power and storage batteries in my home state;     as New Zealand’s politicians come together to develop a “comprehensive roadmap for transition to a low emissions economy”, California commits, despite the obstacle of POTUS45’s “gross ignorance”, to carbon-free power by 2045, a widow shows it costs $150 to drive an electric car around Australia, Australia’s neoliberal Prime Minister, who is contradicting the experts by claiming climate commitments can be met “at a canter” (and the former Prime Minister, a self-confessed political assassin, is still attacking renewable energy), is shown to be out of touch;     evidence appears to suggest that work on a controversial coal mine in northern Australia has gone beyond the extent of current approvals;     developers who illegally demolished a pub have also illegally dumped asbestos in a suburban area . . . (the judge wanted to jail them, but could only issue a fine);     the recent fire at a warehouse in my home city which appears to have been illegally storing dangerous substances has killed all life in a creek (which, in my day job, we were helping others set up a stormwater harvesting system . . . which will now have to wait until the system is flushed, but . . . where will that take the toxins?);     as a 3^rd generation farmer’s states that climate change is real, divisions emerge in Australia’s neoliberal government over drought relief vs. environmental flows, which is not helped by the PM endorsing “a feedlot operator's suggestion that drought could be considered a ‘necessary evil’ that helps ‘cut out the bottom 10 per cent’ of farmers”, nor the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia ignoring six decades of economists’ criticism “of the idea that expanded irrigation is the solution to the problems of agriculture in Australia, and particularly in northern Australia” to blame “greenies”;     inaction in Australia on pollution standards has led to a 63% rise in transport-related carbon emissions since 1990 (in my home city a residents action group and a transport body reached an agreement this week [heard on a radio broadcast on how to improve that: the residents will accept the trucks operating for longer hours so they can pay for better engines);     how one Australian state is helping the health, aged care and childcare sectors to prepare for climate change;     an examination of climate change preparation in Asia and Africa;
     -   other environmental matters have occurred in:   USA,   Europe;
     on other matters in the category this week:
     -   concerns in Australia over who pays for replacement of flammable cladding as a key builder apparently goes bust (I still want to know who approved this cladding, and how?);     another disruptive passenger on a flight;     the rules (in Australia) on collecting from other people’s hard rubbish (I consider any absolute ban is counter to social structure);
• 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 … ):
     -   in “a blistering judgment, which contains repeated criticisms of [his] practices and actions”, a notorious, rabble-rousing, right wing media commentator was found by a court to be “repeatedly ‘wilfully blind to the truth’ when he made ‘vicious and spiteful’ comments about [a] Toowoomba-based . . . family”, and has been ordered to pay more than $3.4 million, plus interest,  in damages for his defamatory allegations that the family was responsible for the deaths of 12 people during, including two children, during the Grantham floods of 2011;     the problem of the “traditional” ‘scarlet woman’ cliché wheeled out for women who have affairs;     a woman’s lines were all completely edited out of a panel show, leaving her as a laugh track for the males only;     a reminder of the sexist double  standards applied to women in the media;
• With regard to education:
     -   spending on private education in Australia exceeds that in other nations;     a reminder that, “even” in the most conservative (i.e., socially backward) state in Australia (which has an estimated 543,000 bullies causing more than 45 million incidents each year, including against around 910,000 students [about 50 times a year each]), bullying in schools is a problem (part of which is  effectively  addressed by the Safe  Schools  programme);
     -   other education matters have occurred in:   Australia,   Nepal;
• 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 police officer who shot and killed a man in his flat in [a US state] after apparently thinking she was in her own apartment has been arrested”;     as (hardline?) police call for more “frontline” officers, at least one teenager has drowned after jumping into a river to flee police (this, two months after “a historic apology to the state’s Indigenous people . . . for ‘past wrongful actions that have caused immeasurable suffering’ and fuelled a sense of mistrust towards the force”,  is being treated as “death in police presence”, with grief and anger, and comments that the boys would have been “absolutely in terror”), and –in the week that a US prosecutor has been called a coward for not prosecuting a driver who killed  tourist - a police chase (withOUT lights or sirens!) has critically injured an innocent woman;     a female accomplice to a notorious kidnapping of a teenage girl for nine months will, despite not cooperating with mental health evaluations or risk assessments attending her parole hearing, be released five years earlier than expected because the “Board of Pardons and Parole determined it had miscalculated the time she was required to serve in prison” (this is distressing for the victim, and illustrates that, when a jail time is done, people are – unless “detained at the pleasure” of a government, released: parole, transitioned release, and rehabilitation are attempts to ensure this does not lead to recidivism, but all of those IGNORE THE VICTIM, who also needs support and, possibly, ongoing protection);     “two men found to have conducted illegal land clearing detained a man for 30 minutes when he came to serve them legal documents”;
    -      other crime,   judicial and policing matters have occurred in:   India,   India,   Kenya.

Location based News:

• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
      on Africa generally:
     -   China’s “soft power” push;
     on specific African nations:
     -   “evidence uncovered by The Sentry’s latest report, “Delays and Red Flags: Elections in DR Congo”, suggests numerous concerns remain about the electoral process. These include allegations of corruption by Independent National Electoral Commission officials, a lack of transparency in the management of CENI finances, and continued concerns about security vulnerabilities in electronic voting machines”;     an opposition leader has been released;
     -   Eritrea is trying to reform;
     -   violence in Ethiopia ahead of the return of a popular opposition group which is “part of a sweeping reform agenda launched by new Ethiopian Prime Minister”;
     -   the “Green Village” concept is helping the environment and the poor in Rwanda;
     -   the UN’s outgoing envoy has said “Somalia’s destiny lies in the hands of its people”;
     -   the actual details of South Africa’s proposed land reform;
     -   there is hope, but not trust, in South Sudan;
     -   “discontent in Sudan as economic crisis bites and [the nation’s war criminal President] imposes austerity”;
     -   very nominal elections are coming up in the kingdom of eSwatini;
     -   “scrapping Presidential age limits sets Uganda on a course of instability”;
     -   political changes to Zimbabwe’s opposition party;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   a former Brazilian President who, despite being in jail for corruption and being barred, has been the frontrunner in next month's presidential election, has pulled out to allow his running mate to stand in his place;
     -   “Mexican traffickers hold children hostage to force women into sex work”;
     -   hundreds of Venezuelan migrants have fled Brazil, where they have been surviving without sanitation, water or support on the streets, against a backdrop of resentment and complaints of smell and mess, after a young Venezuelan was lynched;
• 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:
     -   China is continuing to repress Muslims in Xinjiang;     China is continuing to build ties with Russia – which provides an economic alternative to the USA, blunting the effects of the US trade war;     “if China's on the rise, why do many want out?”;     China’s system of secret executions;     more homophobia in China;
     -   other events concerning China have occurred or are developing in:   Australia,   Australia;
     -   North Korea’s 70^th anniversary parade did not have any missiles;
     -   a former member of a South Korean cult has given evidence to police “in the hope the group's founder will be prosecuted and jailed”;
     elsewhere in Asia:
     -   one year after his (generally “seen as”) politically motivated arrest, and after his party was dissolved and a sham election has been held, Cambodian opposition leader has been unexpectedly released from prison, where he was awaiting trial on charges of treason, to home detention;
     -   more appalling animal abuse in Indonesia;
     -   officials in Viêt Nám's capital Hanoi are “urging residents to stop eating dog meat as it could hurt the city's reputation” . . . and lead to diseases like rabies;
     and in the Pacific:
     -   a project is underway to stop oil leaking from ships sunk during World War (part) Two;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
     -   one of the far right protestors who gave a nazi salute in Germany has been jailed;
     -   Greece’s Prime Minister thinks he can make up for the massive damage done by enforced austerity measures during that nation’s prolonged economic crisis;
     -   the EU is considering taking action against Hungary for its attack on civil society, much as has been done with Poland (those two nations may shield each other);     “the Presidents of the 13 EU Member States will [meet] in September to discuss future of Europe” – and the lessons of the past;
     -   Sweden didn’t swing to the far right, but the far right, with its clearcut neo-nazi origins, now has the balance of power;
     -   “as leading “Eurosceptics” claim there is ‘nothing to fear’ ”, the UK’s biggest car manufacturer has warned, in “a blistering attack”, that “ ‘tens of thousands’ of jobs in the sector could be lost” if there is no exit deal;     a notorious UK MP has made yet another offensive remark;
• With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
     -   a former aide to POTUS45, who has made a plea bargain in the USA, allegedly spread false stories about anti-Semitism to help one candidate in an earlier election in Ukraine;
• 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 to same (see also elsewhere):
     Russia:
     -   Russia is upgrading its nuclear missile silos;     police have continued Russia’s suppression of dissent policy by arresting more than 800 people during protests against government plans to raise the national retirement age to the equivalent of 75 in Australia (which have put their President’s approval ratings to a four-year low);
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     on India:
     -   India’s Supreme Court has awarded compensation to a scientist who was framed by police;     “the Supreme Court [has] asked [a state] government to respond to a plea for protection by a woman whose relative threw acid at her” after she objected to a practice forcing her to have sex with another man before remarrying;     pollution is impacting the monsoon;     the possible outcomes of the recent decriminalisation of homosexuality;     “India “underestimated” leprosy and diverted funds meant to eliminate the curable disease for 18 long years, the Supreme Court said”;     a “Delhi police officer’s son seen beating woman in viral video [has been] arrested”;
• With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and Northern Africa, the Middle East Eye, the Times of Israel, and other sources have:
     -   concerning details of POTUS45’s attempt to broker a peace “deal” are dribbling out . . . (and showing that some – not all: some have done outstanding work in anti-slavery and philanthropy – business people are morons when it comes to human things like freedom);
     on Israel and Palestine:
     -   the “economy and living standards of Gaza [have been] ‘eviscerated’ by crippling blockade” according to a UN trade and development report;    the Oslo Accords are “a bitter and distant memory” (although I don’t live in that region, the feeling I had when joint Israeli-Palestinian patrols commenced was akin to when the Wall fell . . . and it was brought down by an Israeli extremist assassin . . . what was happening psychically, during that period of time?);     sexist abuse was allowed to continue because an official who was warned of it didn’t think it was illegal . .. ;     “two border guards were charged this week [with] robbing Palestinians during illegal searches of their cars”;
     -   other violent incidents this week include:   this,   this;
     on the conflict and the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis in Yemen:
     -   as residents in one city “wait for death” in an imminent attack by Saudi-led forces and children are facing a “living hell”, the prospects for peace in Yemen are examined;     Saudi defences have destroyed a missile fired from rebel-held areas of Yemen;
     on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
     -   30,000 people have been left homeless by a bombardment by the Assad Dictatorship and its cronies in the northwestern province of Idlib, where, against a background reminder that “while the presence of terrorist groups sheltering in Idlib could not be tolerated, fighting [violent extremism] ‘does not absolve warring parties of their core obligations under international law’ ”, “10,000 fighters . . . have been identified as [violent extremists]” (the article also reports that a record one million people have been displaced by six major battles across Syria over the last six months);     an analysis of how Dictator Assad used decades of “divide-and-rule” strategies to win the civil war;     ways to keep the mostly Kurdish-held north east of Syria safe;     20 US-backed fighters have been killed by a violent extremist ambush;
     elsewhere in the region:
     -   Egypt, where a man was arrested for sitting beside a woman, has condemned 75 people to death for a sit-in . . . ;     concerns that Egypt’s new nominally counter-cyber-crime law could be used for repression;
     -   as the US bans a Thai company for helping a banned Iranian airline, Europe considers “setting up a new financial institution to allow EU trade with Iran to continue”, and the USA considers “possible waivers of sanctions against countries or businesses that continue commerce with Iran”, “Iran’s economic crisis has sent Iranians – and their savings – to [also economically troubled] Turkey”;     POTUS45’s administration is “outraged at former US Secretary Kerry for talking to Iran”;
     -   protests in southern Iraq have led to the deployment of security forces;     shattered Yazidis fear returning home;
     -   Kenya will reform its police;
     -   criticism of Kuwait’s censorship
     -   disputes over when elections should be held in Libya;
     -   Morocco has been pushed into belatedly giving women some of the protections that are needed;
     -   despite recent improvements, foreign workers in Qatar still fear exploitation;
     -   Saudi Arabia has crawled a little further along in the 20^th Century by allowing women co-pilots.

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.