Post No. 1,217 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 232

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   Yemen and Cameroon, 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,     the challenge of managing multiple important issues, including human trafficking;     the imbalance between capital and labour;     difficulties for refugees, particularly those who are differently abled, in a century where millions will likely be displaced by climate warming;     patchiness in mainstream media, as well as blocks and obstacles to good reporting;     public input into policies on artificial intelligence and surveillance - some of which was in response to public pressure;     growing international tensions, some of it in response to political ineptness, with some attempts at political backtracking / fence-mending, and some of it in response to the arrogance of governments – particularly authoritarian;     those in groups different to those who have power continue to be regarded as easy pickings for scoring political points;     the problem of insecure overachievers and other personal flaws;

(e)   may all people have the ability to BPM empathise with those who are in different circumstances;

(f)   may all people have the BPM courage and integrity to face intimidating and unknown challenges;

(g)   may all people take the time and space to BPM listen to their Higher Self, so that they can stay in balance, and balance issues and aspects of life properly;

(h)   may all people respect and facilitate the flow of accurate BPM information;

(i)   may those in power remember that they have power only with the permission of the people and to the extent permitted by the people, and ensure that they balance leadership with consultation, and act for the best BPM interests of the people, not themselves;

(j)   may people know themselves and be BPM honest with themselves, including over their abilities and suitability for positions, and leave when unsuited;

(k)   may people act to BPM restrain those who abuse their powers and/or positions;

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;     balancing multiple important matters whilst avoiding manipulation (and worse);     an opinion that, buried in all the bombast, POTUS45 “has a point about globalisation”, with a key point being that “globalisation has been shaped by political decisions, which for the past four decades have favoured the interests of capital over labour”;
     on the Rohingya  genocide this week:
     -   “poor conditions for Rohingya refugees with disabilities”;
     on other matters requiring particular attention:
     -   sadly, this week, I found nothing in the news on Ukraine;
     -   “how men are harmed by toxic masculinity”;
     -   “by the end of this century, sea level rises could displace 13 million people . . . ‘No state is unaffected by this’ “;
     -   pressure has led to the invitation for public input into previously secret work on the development of a US policy on artificial intelligence;
     -   an opinion that “this year’s UN General Assembly meeting needs to prioritise tackling trafficking and modern slavery” (see also “we see a surge in trafficking each time a new iPhone is released”);
     -   POTUS45’s  “bombastic” address to the UN (criticising Iran and other nations, and the concept of nations working together) has been met with laughter from other world leaders (other US and US-linked officials have also been derided) . . . and he seems to be seeking a (trade?) war with Canada next;
     -   an opinion that there is a very real risk of another Cold War, this time between the USA and IP stealing (and lying) China – which criticised US coercion, has intensified its crackdown on religion (including burning crosses [shades of the KKK?]), banned a Hong Kong pro-independence party, and may have been spying in the USA, has been driving Australia - which continues to have concerns about Chinese investment as others examine possible security implications of China’s 21^st Century Maritime Silk Road - and the USA closer even as it tries to fix its relationship with Australia in a belated effort to get allies (but not Sweden) against the US trade war;
     -   one of the Russian suspects wanted over a nerve agent attack in the UK, claimed to be tourist, is a (decorated)  colonel in the Russian military;     how to identify Russian trolls;
     -   members of my home city’s African community have called for politicians to change their language around youth crime on the anniversary of the murder of a young African boy;     the cases for and against ensuring writing about particular, socially disenfranchised groups is by members of those groups (there is a balance between these two views, and it changes depending on the group, the circumstances, and the times, in my view);
     -   an article on “insecure overachievers” (do we need research to “prove” their existence when they are so obvious?);
       this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists   Yemen and Cameroon;
• 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:
     -   an opinion on “why the trial of ‘Witness K’ and [his lawyer] should concern all Australians”;     an interview on how the US Democrats “paved the way” to POTUS45;     a reminder how far back dishonesty in politics goes;     “across an increasingly wide range of industries, small groups of “superstar” companies are successfully adopting new technologies and either passing the productivity gains on to customers - as lower prices - or pocketing them - as higher profits - rather than returning the full gains to their workforce as higher wages. At the same time, the productivity “laggards” are losing market share and are unable to pay higher wages”;    a report examines the 141 times the US Supreme Court has overruled one of its previous decisions on the US Constitution;     an audit on the effectiveness of local government in my home state;     a critique of Australia’s privatised unemployment services, and a related Senate report calling for proactive planning for the future of work, not just hope;    recommendations to maintain the social sciences;
     of concern internationally this week:
     -   how conspiracy “theories” unite far right extremists;
     of concern in Australia this week:
     -   as 14 African nations have more women in parliament and New Zealand’s third female leader is the first world leader to take her baby to the UN, Australia’s obstinate Prime Minister is shown to be behind the community (as his party was on Equal Marriage) who support “quotas to increase the number of Liberal women in parliament” - “although a debate about breastfeeding in [one state’s] Parliament shows there's still some baby steps to go”, and quotas may also need to include corporate boards;     calls for a new national integrity commission after a report finds “multi-billion-dollar industries whose profits can be heavily affected by government regulation, such as mining, property, gambling, finance and transport, seem to get the most meetings”, and “powerful groups have triumphed over the national interest in many recent debates”;     abuse of those in aged care (which also happens in the USA) has been known and illustrated by several prior reviews, none of which has been acted on, which raises questions about the recently announced Royal Commission (is it a delaying tactic, rather than genuine?) as more victims are abused, half of the inmates are depressed, and those kicked out of other areas for abuse find jobs in the this sector;     disturbing claims that one state’s solar farms are hiring backpackers rather than creating permanent local jobs;     a scathing criticism of the Federal Government's plan for reforming the family law system “arguing it has been dreamt up by accountants and not the people who work in the sector”;     Australia’s peak industry group has “warned that proposed [expansion] of government’s surveillance capabilities into telecommunication devices . . . could create ‘systemic weakness or vulnerability’ that would be open to exploitation” by criminals;    the Business Council of Australia will find itself the target of a debunking campaign “for declaring that an emissions reduction target of 45% would wreck the Australian economy”;     criticism that “the Productivity Commission’s recent landmark report on inequality . . . has taken an overly sunny view of the ability of Australians to move from rags to riches”;
     also of concern this week:
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in:   South and Central America,   Australia,   the medical industry;
     good news this week includes:
     -   good news has occurred:   the Maldives;
     on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense – and being mindful of “intimate activism”):
     -   European nations have the greatest commitment to helping the global poor (my nation is 14^th, and the USA 23^rd);
     and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     on the Royal Commission into banks, and similar matters:
     -   the “massive commissions and an ultra-competitive workplace” that allegedly “encouraged unscrupulous tactics” at an insurance company;     an interim “scathing assessment”;
     on other matters:
     -   very strong criticism of both of Australia’s two largest political parties;     Australia’s main opposition party has internal opposition to the Trans-Pacific partnership trade pact TPP-11;     a backgrounder on the “stoush” (fight) between a major union and Australia’s neoliberal government;     amidst the recent contamination scare, an article about a strawberry grower who “decided to stop supplying the supermarkets almost three decades ago, due to low prices and uncertainty within the industry”, and then, “when Australian jam producers would not take his strawberries, [found] innovative ways to stay afloat”;     the problem of growing number of older Australians on the dole (I’ve seen more forced to take work in supermarkets);
• 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):
     -   “the ongoing privatisation of Puerto Rico’s recovery threatens not only the university’s autonomy, but its very existence”;
     -   as a US media figure has explained why she kept silent after being raped as a teenager (anyone who needs that explained to them in this day and age is a moron), and POTUS 45’s attacks on “the credibility of a private citizen” reinforce “the message to women – especially those whose voices might disturb the peace – has always been that things will go better for them if they keep their mouths shut” . . . , POTUS45’s nominee for the US Supreme Court is facing a second and third accusation of sexual as the first testifies that she feared for her life during the assault, which changed her life, he was said to be at parties where gang rapes were committed, and a comment in his yearbook is revealed to be disturbingly predatory. His views on the internet and privacy are also of concern . . .  A decision on his nomination has been delayed by a Senator’s call for an investigation on the alleged sexual assaults;
• 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, 1 attacks in Afghanistan,   and 2 attacks in Syria   (out of a total of 18),   including   Mali;     in addition:     prevention has or may have occurred in   Germany;
     -   a child was among 90 people deradicalised by my home state's counter-extremist taskforce, according to police;
     -   although weakened, a violent extremist threat remains in east Africa;
     -   other violent extremist matters have also occurred in:   Europe;
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
     -   the only doctor in the only surgical hospital in one state of the nation of South Sudan (“with just 120 doctors to 12 million people”) has been recognised for his life saving work;     the Federal Court has “once again enforced the medical evacuation of dangerously ill asylum seekers and refugees” from Australia’s Nauru refugee gulag, including a stipulation that the asylum seekers “not be treated by anyone contracted by Australian Border Force or detention health provider IHMS . . . [and] ordering the department to give five business days’ notice of any plan to do so to the family’s solicitor or, if no solicitor is registered, the family itself . . . [and] ordered the minister to pay costs”, and commented that the “Commonwealth ‘created this situation’ by setting up regional processing deal with another sovereign state”, meaning “Nauru’s attempts to block court-ordered medical evacuations of refugees is a problem of the Australian government’s creation”;    treating shipwreck survivors in Libya;
• 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 examination of who reports domestic violence;     a reminder of the progress that has been made on human rights;
     -   in addition to opportunities below on child abuse and human trafficking, general opportunities to take action on human rights here;
     on HOMOPHOBIA/TRANSPHOBIA     (including heteronormativity and cisgender-normativity) this week (and noting that trans kids are the same as cis kids of the trans kids’ true gender):
     -   a call for national apology to former LGBT military personnel;
     on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   in a week when archaeologists are finding evidence of Australia’s violent, racist past in paramilitary Native Mounted Police camps and the fact “that nearly every Aboriginal community has a massacre narrative” and “Aboriginal defendants are pleading guilty due to language and cultural barriers” nowadays, Australia’s neoliberal Prime Minister – who has yet again mischaracterised the Uluru statement’s call for an Indigenous voice to parliament - shows his lack of understanding by proposing some sort of separate national day to recognise Australia’s indigenous people;     the threatened deportation of an Aboriginal man to PNG has been stopped, as a wrongly convicted Aboriginal rapist is pardoned more than a century after he was executed, on the basis of evidence available at that time;
     on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week:
     -   an examination of what support is required to prevent recurrent removal (aka, being born into care);     slavery victims in the USA are being denied compensation by courts;     “private sector progress on tackling modern slavery came to a halt last year after an uptick in 2016” and “CEOs have unique power to lead anti-slavery fight”;     follow the money – a new “campaign aims to fight money laundering by traffickers, promote ethical investment and offer opportunities to people vulnerable to slavery”;     under the USA’s (racist, lying, dishonourable, autocratic, dangerous, obnoxious, and misogynistic) POTUS45, it “regards forced labour as a trade, rather than a human rights issue”;     “In breach of the Modern Slavery Act, female victims of human trafficking are being unlawfully held in prisons across the UK, jailed for offenses that they were forced to commit by their traffickers”;     a Singaporean retail app has been blasted for 'selling' maids;     finally one of the many child abusing priests has been defrocked;
     -   also on child abuse, including neochristian and other institutional, this week:   Norway;
     -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week:   a fashion company,   Bulgaria (TV show);
     -   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;
     on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone):
     -   in a week with a story about one of “75 women with science, technology, engineering and mathematics backgrounds” who went to Antarctica, a French man is jailed for assault for slapping a woman’s bottom, an Internet meme that has been used in advertising is ruled sexist, and a once-abusive husband defending “a programme he says made him rethink his attitude to his wife”, a sporting organisation with its major annual event about to occur – during which domestic violence reaches an annual peak – fumbles how it is handling its women’s competition, the male cultural elite is paying for being “staggeringly blind to MeToo”, and women still earn less than men (“the main reason is that women are the ones to leave the workforce to raise children”);     a toolkit for lobbying MPs on gender;     globally, “access to legal abortion services [are] needed, to prevent 47,000 women dying each year”;     the political courage of Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico in acting to end femicide has been hailed;
     -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see:   here;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in:   Rwanda (good news),   Indonesia;
     on ANIMALS’ rights this week:
     -   as yet another case of animal cruelty is investigated, the man who killed hundreds of eagles – allegedly in response to pressure from his employer – has been jailed, but for a grossly inadequate time;
• With regard to war, violence and hate generally:
     -   a group of US nuns has convinced the shareholders of a second gun manufacturer “to report on what it’s doing to advance gun safety”;     “two opposing trends defining the current nuclear order: the renewed salience of nuclear weapons and nuclear abolitionism”;
• With regard to peace:
     -   “without food security, there is no peace”;
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   tragic lessons that need to be learnt from Greece’s fatal bushfires;     flooding is continuing in the USA;     an earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia has cause at least 30 deaths;
     -   other events concerning disasters have occurred or are developing in:   Puerto Rico;
• 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:
     -   “considerations for low-carbon public transportation in a decentralised Australia”; double standards over water in northern Australia, with a farmer denied water yet a coal mine allowed to take much more;     a very disturbing and, frankly, stupid idea to rent clothes (just wear them until they wear out [***** fashion!!!] – and if you do rent them, manage the psychic energy!);     climate change is changing plants in the Arctic;    the pollutant PCB in the oceans is threatening populations of orcas (“killer whales”);     after research shows the environmental damage done by seismic research in the ocean, US industrial lobbyists focus on trying to discredit the research rather than responding to the facts (the impression I have is that such morally bankrupt reactions happen a lot in the USA, where it seems society and the environment take a back seat to small groups and individuals financial profits: is that a fair call?);     Great Barrier Reef scientists were “told to focus on projects that would make the government look good” . . . ;     a social media driven campaign to get crisp makers to use environmentally friendly packaging has caused problems for a mail service;     in Australia “the dystopian vision of the 50-degree city is closer to reality every day”;
     -   other environmental matters have occurred in:   the Pacific,   Australia;
     on technology and science matters this week:
     -   “automated vehicles may bring a new breed of distracted drivers”;     a lawsuit alleges that a social media platform has failed to protect moderators from being “ ‘irreparably traumatised’ by having to witness child abuse, rape, torture, suicide and murder”;     yet another social media hack – on a platform that has admitted users’ security phone numbers were given to advertisers;
     on economic and financial matters:
     -   the ILLUSION of choice;
     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?):
     -   tailor-made tiny houses as an alternative to retirement homes;
     on health and medical this week:
     -   an article on addressing loneliness in older people;     premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD);     a debunking of myths around sleep;     following an approximately 10% increase to 12.6 deaths per 100,000 people, the 13^th leading cause of death, calls for a national target to reduce Australia’s suicide rate by 25% over five years (this will also require addressing things lie bigotry and job insecurity, in my opinion);     annually, “41 million avoidable deaths per year”;
• 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 very strong criticism of the media (see also here);     experts have denounced record numbers of jailed journalists;     after criticism that the ABC’s former Managing Director (MD) failed to back journalists, details emerged of the Chairperson’s misogyny and interference, including an attempt (that was strenuously resisted by the former MD) to have specific journalists sacked in response to (alleged) government pressure, which, notwithstanding the unique situation of the ABC’s Board, leading to two enquiries, reassurances on the ABC’s independence, and calls for the Chairperson to step aside which led to his resignation. Meanwhile, the MD’s sacking will not end the ABC’s problems (see also here), especially on digital services;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in:   Africa,   Italy,   Uganda,   South Asia;
• With regard to education:
     -   the problem of unqualified travellers attempting to teach English;     as states push back on funding, criticism of the funding of private (including religious) schools in Australia as unnecessary;    “ ‘worrying levels’ of exam stress” in young people – and “a Year 5 student attempted suicide due to stress caused by the NAPLAN test”;     amidst a current scandal over scams, “just 0.2 per cent of VET student loan complaints resulted in students getting cash back”;
• 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):
     -   after 23,000 autopsies, “one of the UK’s most distinguished forensic pathologists” has been left with PTSD;
    -      other crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in:   Mexico,   India.

Location based News:

• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
      on Africa generally:
     -   a West African journalist who was sentenced to 5,000 years “for failing to pay libel damages . . . won by a former minister who sued [his] paper after [it] published the findings of a [critical] government audit” and served some time in a notorious prison “where critics of government are sent to be taught a lesson” before being freed by “an international outcry” has written on “the difficulties journalists face on a continent often dominated by an elite uncomfortable with criticism”;
     -   the challenge of creating enough jobs for Africa’s expected population boom;
     -   Africa’s “responsibility to its young people”;
     on specific African nations:
     -   Angola’s President has won praise for the anti-corruption work in his first year;
     -   as the US urges continuation of investigations into violence by soldiers (that it is training), eight people have been violently killed in Cameroon’s Anglophone region;
     -   another article on the problems – including the need for justice - facing the Central African Republic;
     -   violence is hindering the response to Ebola in the DR Congo – which has asked the UN peacekeepers to leave, allegedly for being ineffective . . . ;
     -   intra-tribe violence in Mali has killed 27 people;
     -   the annual floods in Nigeria;
     -   after official academic classes are finished, boys and girls split up to learn different ways to improve the lives of women across Rwanda;
     -   “the European Union says it has approved $116 million in its first-ever budget support to Somalia’s government in the latest sign of confidence in a country long shattered by conflict”;
     -   a South African-UAE extradition treaty may see friends of former President Zuma returned to face allegations of corruption;
     -   “an estimated 383,000 people have died as a result of South Sudan’s civil war”, and “almost 60 per cent [are] suffering [a] desperate food crisis”;     a call for the quote for 35% women in executive appointments to be respected;
     -   “UN officials urge support as [the Sudanese province of] Darfur attempts to ‘turn the page’ from conflict to peace”;
     -   a survivor has been found in the capsized Tanzanian ferry two days after the disaster;
     -   the economic desperation behind Zambia’s internet tax;
     -   the USA is “pressing Zimbabwe to change laws restricting media freedom and anti-government protests”;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   South and Central America are trending back into authoritarianism;
     -   Argentina has received the IMF’s biggest ever loan ($57 billion), but at the price of conditions including commitment to zero deficit for 2019;
     -   ahead of elections, a claim that “the Brazilian Elite’s plan to destroy the Workers’ Party has failed”, which I am taking with a grain of salt (although, yes, the party is still around, and such actions are typical of neoliberal elites, in my opinion) given the corruption involved;
     -   the entire police force in another (I recall this happening in at least one other city) Mexican city “is under investigation amid suspicions of infiltration by drug gangs . . . state police and the military will patrol the city instead”;
     -   recommendations for responding to Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis;
• 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):
     elsewhere in Asia:
     -   rabid bigots in Indonesia are trying to get the 15 year old victim of her brother’s repeated rapes sent back to prison for an alleged “abortion” (she miscarried!!!);
     -   “Philippines landslides after Typhoon Mangkhut could end the hunt for gold”;     increasingly sensitive President Duterte – who has ADMITTED to extrajudicial killings - has revoked the 2011 amnesty given to one of his “most vocal critics” who accused Duterte and “his son of large-scale corruption and involvement in illegal drugs, which Duterte has denied . . . [and] backed the preliminary investigation by the international criminal court into possible crimes against humanity being committed by Duterte in his war on drugs”, which “has left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead”;     delays in rebuilding the southern Philippines city that was occupied by violent extremist “could drive recruitment of more 'enemies of the state' “;
     and in the Pacific:
     -   after a Fijian word that is close to the hearts of Fijian people is trademarked in the USA for the 43^rd time, a massive online backlash has erupted against the disrespect;     “PNG children are being sold so families can make ends meet”;     treating tuberculosis in PNG;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
     -   a 'Counter-Islamophobia Toolkit' in Europe;
     -   Belgium may build an artificial island over 35,000 tonnes of poison gas grenades from World War Part One which were dumped at sea in 1919 as that was then thought to be the best way of “managing” those weapons . . . ;
     -   France's President is a major figure on the world stage, but is losing popularity and public confidence at home as the promised economic growth and jobs fail to materialise;     appalling bigotry shown to a disabled woman in France;
     -   the despised Grand Sultan Erdoğan of increasingly economically desperate and increasingly barbaric and authoritarian Turkey is trying to belatedly mend relations with Germany;
     -   “a Eurosceptic journalist who has often shared stories proved to be fake, has been appointed president of [Italy’s state broadcaster], in a move that has raised fears over the [broadcaster’s] autonomy”;
     -   after an “expert” was jailed, Norway will review a series of child protection cases;
     -   a Russian billionaire was allegedly denied Swiss residency over unverified police suspicions of criminal links – which have been denied and for which no charges have been laid;
     -   the “vicious feud” in the UK’s main opposition party over Israel and Palestine;     a demonstration by hundreds of far right extremists has stopped a trial;
• 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:
     -   an opinion that Russia’s President may have been unfairly “demonised” (I disagree – particularly with the view that things were worse under Yeltsin so Putin’s OK, as two wrongs don’t make a right, even if one wrong is lesser than the other, but also because of Putin’s admission on interference [again, the fact that Clinton did the same to Russia doesn’t make it right]);
• With regard to the conflict in Afghanistan (noting that Afghanistan was once a peaceful and modern society, even allowing women in miniskirts, before the Russian invasion – see here):
     -   the risks associated with a potential precipitous US withdrawal;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     on India:
     -   “India's Supreme Court has ruled that the country's controversial biometric identity scheme [WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN HACKED!] is constitutional and does not violate the right to privacy . . . [but] limited the scope of the Aadhaar scheme, saying it could not be compulsory for bank accounts, mobile connections or school admissions” . . . see also this critique, and this (on the dissent);     adultery is no longer a criminal offence in India (still a moral offence, if not a consenting polyamorous situation, but criminalising it was not the way to go);     work against malnutrition;     an investigation into alleged police corruption;     “the unchallenged 67-year reign of a Bombay High Court judgment that personal law, religious customs, usages and beliefs are outside the ambit of fundamental rights of equality, life and dignity came to an end on Friday” (“a deity in a temple does not have any constitutional rights”) – see also here, and here on the dissenting opinion;     delays with forensic evidence has delayed extradition of an arms dealer;
     on Pakistan:
     -   Saudi Arabia and Iran are also both competing for the favour of Pakistan’s new leader;
     elsewhere in South Asia:
     -   the Maldives President has conceded electoral defeat;
• 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 US intelligence official said claims by Israeli Prime Minister . . . that a secret warehouse in {Iran] contained nuclear ‘equipment and material’ were ‘somewhat misleading’ ”;
     on Israel and Palestine:
     -   dealing with power and water shortages in Gaza;     a “Palestinian candidate withdraws from Jerusalem mayoral race amid threats”;     “international donors [have] pledged an additional $118 million for the United Nations agency assisting Palestine refugees to help overcome what its chief called its ‘greatest and gravest financial crisis ever’ ”;     attempts to pass anti-BDS laws in US states have been blocked;     Israel may soon export natural gas to Egypt;     one Palestinian group is reportedly preparing for war;     the International Court of Justice has been asked to order the removal of the US Embassy from Jerusalem;
     -   other violent incidents this week include:   seven Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers;
     -   other events concerning Israel/Judaism and/or Palestine have occurred or are developing in:   UK,   Canada;
     on the conflict and the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis in Yemen:
     -   an attack on a port city is now imminent, and “could prove fatal for many of the millions already on the brink of starvation”;     the UN-backed investigation into war crimes has been renewed, despite the tetchiness of Saudi Arabia (which has criticised the misogynistic Houthi, Iran and Qatar for allegedly being terrorists [with some evidence, in the case of the Houthi]);
     on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
     -   “Syria's Idlib province may be spared a mass slaughter, but for how long?”;     a US congresswoman has accused the US administration “of protecting [VE group] and other jihadist forces in Syria’ ” – but she fails to mention the Kurds and their quest for a homeland, which raises questions in my mind about her analysis;     Russia, which is giving Assad a new air defence system, has called for “the international community and UN agencies must make the return of refugees to Syria ‘a priority’ ” (will that be safe under the Assad dictatorship?);
     elsewhere in the region:
     -   water shortages and quality problems in Egypt;     a witness in a murder case has been shown to have died of poisoning;
     -   Iran has threatened retaliation for last week’s violent extremist attack – see also here;     as a warning is made that the USA is risking more than a war of only words (possibly aimed at an election boost?), it is now the USA’s turn to “warn” Iran . . . ;
     -   disappearances and secret detention in Iraq (such backsliding is not promising . . . );     elections are imminent in semi-autonomous Kurdistan, in northern Iraq;
     -   scores have been freed from a notorious Libyan prison.

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.