Post No. 1,230 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 237

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:
       (i)   as attraction to violence continues to be inadequately addressed and the search for humans rights abusers continues, the risks of mass atrocities in   burma, Yemen, Burundi and Sri Lanka;
       (ii)   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;
      (iii) 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,     a reminder that “artificial intelligence” (AI) is just code, and that humanity’s survival depends on empathy;     imperfect media communications, possibly partly due to attempts to suppress it, which have also contributed to hate crimes, although empathy has led to some human, humane responses;     the need to stop governance facilitating abuse and degrading human rights and dignity;     reminders that wars and violence also comes with other harm, including rape and famine;     authoritarian nations and commercial interests continue to suppress humanity and humans’ quality of life;

(e)   may all people recognise their humanity and fully realise BPM empathy;

(f)   may all communication be BPM complete, BPM clear and BPM sensitive;

(g)   may all collaboration, cooperation and rule be subject to BPM review and BPM improvement, including proper redress for wrongdoing;

(h)   may no-one be so focused on anything that they fail to recognise side-effects and collateral damage;

(i)   may consumers and citizens everywhere BPM awake, stop allowing others to usurp their  BPM freedom, and start working together in peaceful, BPM manners for BPM goals;

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;     with universal guidelines proposed, “AI is neither A nor I. Instead, it is just computer code. Nothing is thinking; a computer is just following directions” – and see also this presentation on “how humanity’s survival depends on the transformational potential of empathy and global empathic consciousness”;
     on other matters requiring particular attention:
     -   sadly, this week, I found nothing in the news on the Rohingya;
     -   an apparently anti-Semitic person (see here re his social media) has shot and killed 11 Jewish people worshipping at a synagogue, and injured others, which a Rabbi and others have said POTUS45 and the Republican Party have some responsibility for, although there were some  positive (and some stupid or hateful, including from POTUS45) responses (see also this, and this comedian’s stand-up monologue);
     -   “child brides call on U.S. states to end ‘legal rape’ ”;     as a critic of the Congolese government stands down, 200 women per month are raped in one conflict in Congo;
     -   as political incitement to violence against journalists is described as ‘toxic’, Saudi Arabia – which executed an Indonesian maid who claimed she killed in self-defence - is urged to stop executing children, the UN says the ‘bar must be set very high’ for the investigation, Israel qualifies its response, and Turkey’s prosecutor announces further alleged details of the journalist’s murder and Turkey’s President alleges the murder order came from high up in Saudi Arabia, Jamal Khashoggi’s last column “read by journalists across the world”;
     -   “a series of research projects, patent filings, and policy changes indicate that the Pentagon wants to use social media surveillance to quell domestic insurrection and rebellion”;
     -   the USA has reinstituted sanctions – including on oil – against Iran (except for Turkey and Iraq), which may have limited effect;
     -   as documents from the US military show vigilantes are a greater concern, a realistic assessment of the caravan of refugees moving towards the USA;
     -   “the head of Australia's most secretive electronic spy agency has revealed Australia's ‘entire’ emerging 5G mobile communications network could have been threatened if Chinese electronics giant Huawei had not been banned”;
     -   the estate of a DEAD singer wants to trademark the colour purple “in certain circumstances” (I get so concerned at this sort of thing: who ensures it never impinges on things like the use of purple in everyday life?);
     -   an “insurer [told a] grieving woman not to seek mental health treatment for two years or [she would] void [her] cover” (this is the sort of action that is morally and spiritually repugnant, and is why the world of business is so often detested);
     -   an assessment of “the thousands of legal restrictions worldwide that constrain women’s abilities to be equal participants in the economy”;
     -   the growing risk of war over the dwindling resources of the ocean;
     -   “how vilification of [a philanthropist] moved from the fringes to the mainstream”;
       this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists   burma, Yemen, Burundi and Sri Lanka;
• 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:
     -   a questioning of the assertion that human rights have a long history of acceptance (I dispute the challenge – the Ancient Indian Emperor Ashoka, the Stoic and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and many of the Ancient Greek philosophers, all pre-BCE, are, in my opinion, good examples of the early struggles to understand, recognise and achieve what we now term human rights (and there are more recent examples, beginning with the Magna Carta), although they did not have the terminology and perspective that we are graced with);     the advantages and disadvantages of a growing global middle class;     POTUS45’s call on an unencrypted mobile phone are also a consequence of ignoring warnings about weakening personal security;     a review of the 20^th Century political philosopher John Rawls, and the “Veil of Ignorance”;     the problem of ethnic divisions hindering civil movements;     a discussion on the ethics of research from the point of view of the guinea pigs (my terminology) continues . . . ;     a book on the history of privacy in the modern USA;     an assessment shows that “governments around the world are tightening control over citizens’ data and using claims of ‘fake news’ to suppress dissent, leading to a decline in global internet freedom for the eighth consecutive year”;     from my Political Insights “Radar” email: “ ‘The best way to combat tribalism is to starve it of its oxygen, which is anxiety — economic anxiety, security anxiety.’ - Paul Ryan in an interview with CBS” (there is also a global map of the economic impact of climate change);     managing the problem of serious and organised crime involvement in public sector corruption;     “the urgent need to conduct more comprehensive and balanced research and evaluations on the impacts of drug policies worldwide, taking into account government data, but also academic research and civil society findings”;     income decline (downward economic mobility) in Australia;     an evidence-based criticism of Welfare to Work;     “an urgent need for a new or better process for wage recovery, better resourced support services, and a guarantee that migrants’ visas will not be jeopardised if they report wage theft”;
     of concern internationally this week:
     -   Russia and China are “ramping up their presence” in Antarctica;     workplace bullying;     a US government “media monitoring service” may have ignored privacy obligations and posed a threat to journalism;
     of concern in my nation (Australia) this week:
     -   another US neo-nazi wants to come to Australia;     “a man has been charged with making a threatening phone call to [a conservative party’s state branch] office on the day the party moved to expel white supremacist elements from its ranks”;
     also of concern this week:
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in:   the Pacific,   Tanzania,   Belgium,   Hong Kong;
     on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense):
     -   “a new Project on Governance in an Emerging New World”;     a call for aid to “develop concrete, pragmatic, and actionable reform options to overhaul the outdated power structures and institutional incentives that have long skewed the humanitarian system’s behaviour”:
     and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     -   the ongoing struggle for women in Australian politics;     following the recent announcement of a Royal Commission into mental health, an opinion that the problem is known – two decades of cut backs;     despite shooting themselves in the foot, state governments still have a valid role;     a threat to re-institute religious education (and all the bigotry and abuse that such has engendered in the past?) in my home state;     a critique of the successes and failures of Australia’s hardline border policies;     my home state’s rural drug crisis;
• 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):
     -   POTUS45 wants to revoke citizenship by birthright (something fought for by African Americans and won in the USA’s 14^th Amendment) for unauthorised immigrants . . . , which he has urged for years;
     -   accusations that a Republican ad is racist;
     -   an overview of the deliverables from the current investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential election (some commentators say the release of a “roadmap to impeachment” from the Watergate scandal is of possible relevance, but I am not so sure . . . );
     -   manufacturing workers say POTUS45 has not delivered on his promises, but other supporters remain satisfied;
     -   an opinion that, in the USA, “once every 50 years there is a financial crisis in which we have a populist leader. Usually, within five years, the populist leader becomes incredibly ineffective and unpopular, and we go back to status quo”;
     -   other matters relating to the USA or its 45^th “President” (i.e., CEO):   vandalism;
• 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 8 attacks in Iraq, 10 attacks in Afghanistan,   and   6 attacks in Syria   (out of a total of 61);
     -   a key founder of a violent extremists group in South Asia has been killed (which will be a boost to morale of those working against that group, and a blow to the extremist’s morale);     “increased Islamophobic attacks on London's Muslim community are forcing mosques to step up security and be more vigilant”;
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people seeking asylum:
     -   irrelevant remarks from a notorious Australian MP, possibly intended as a distraction – certainly intended to undermine warnings about the treatment of refugees in Australia’s gulags;     another article on the USA cutting back on asylum for those fleeing gang violence that the USA helped create;
     -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in:   Austria;
• 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, here (for example), and, this week,   here,   here;
     -   other human rights matters have also occurred in:   Morocco,   Egypt;
     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):
     -   “30 [outstanding] LGBT+ public sector executives”;     some Christians are objecting to the homophobia that neochristians want to practice;
     -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in:   Israel,    Tanzania;
     on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   a US state now requires Native Americans on tribal reservations, who get a PO Box rather than a street address, to take an extra step that others do not have to (a special procedure to be assigned a street address) before being able to register to vote – see also here;     a commentator has been sacked for racist comments;
     on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week:
     -   two men who pled guilty to (causing trauma and irreparable harm by) sex trafficking two teenage girls are claiming being jailed for the minimum will cause them trauma and irreparable harm . . . ;     twelve years after being trafficked to Hong Kong, and seven years after taking legal action against the government, a Pakistani man is still fighting for justice there;     an award to recognise “companies that have taken concrete steps to eradicate forced labour from their supply chains”;     “abuse survivors [in my home state] could win [the] right to set aside 'unfair' church settlements”;
     -   also on child abuse, including institutional, this week:   DR Congo;
     -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week:   France (good news),   UK,   USA (good news),   Qatar (good news),   UK,   Cambodia;
     -   opportunities to take action this week;
     on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone, and the potential value to women of using anger):
     -   the first female bricklaying apprentice in one Australian state;     another article on “Imposter Syndrome”;     the UK military has opened all roles to women;     the message on domestic violence doesn’t appear to be getting through;
     -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see:   Indian company;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in:   Zimbabwe (good news),   Australian politics,   parents groups;
     on WORKERS’ rights this week:
     -   companies are not doing enough – only complacent lip service - for solder workers;
• With regard to peace:
     -   a call for more women to be involved in implementing peace agreement;     “peacekeeping and protection of civilians” as “the UN’s defining challenge”;
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   a bus has plunged 60 m off a bridge in China, killing at least two people;      a commercial jet has crashed in Indonesia;     flooding in Italy has killed six people and covered most of Venice;     a typhoon has killed several people and displaced thousands of others in the Philippines;     “the migration of some 1.4 million people every week to cities around the world ‘can strain local capacities, contributing to increased risk from natural and human made disasters’ ”;     a bushfire is nearing a state capital in my nation;
• 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:
     -   “Natural Sequence Farming”;     a home battery scheme is now available in another Australian state;     a raw wastewater (“sewage”) spill;     the owners of a tyre dump have been ordered to pay $4.5 million to the EPA, after the EPA had to take over and clean up the site;     an interesting talk (with an Australian focus) on protecting the environment, including aspects such as the recognition of legal personhood of parts of nature;     a fungi can help break down plastic;     90% of children are exposed to air pollution;     “textile production emits more greenhouse gases annually than all international flights and maritime shipping combined”;
     -   other environmental matters have occurred in:   China,   India;
     on economic and financial matters:
     -   more on the tactics of phone sellers;
     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?):
     -   “Australian households are facing a collective $700 billion cut to their wealth from the need to wind back the massive amounts of debt built up during the property boom” (anyone who sees a house as ANYTHING other than a home is, in my opinion, a moron);
     on health and medical this week:
     -   another article on the risk that addressing prescription drug abuse may drive people to abuse of illegal drugs;     bullying affects students, but also future doctors and their patients;
• 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 journalist murdered in Malta will be honoured at the Rory Peck  Awards;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in:   USA,   Hong Kong;
• With regard to education:
     -   “high national wealth does not guarantee equal access to a quality education”;     “a more pressing problem seems to be the low demand for finance for education”;
• 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):
     -   crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in:   Israel,   Estonia.

Location based News:

• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
     -   Cameroon has begun a closed trial of Anglophone secessionists;
     -   “fighting . . . in [the] Central African Republic forced more than 10 000 people to take refuge in the town’s hospital”;
     -   the UN Security Council has “voiced ‘serious concern’ over the impact of deteriorating security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on the response to the deadly Ebola outbreak and fears that the virus could spread further into the country and the wider region”;
     -   the influence of poverty on Madagascar’s elections;
     -   a radio station in Nigeria is warning of the dangers of migration;     tens of thousands of children are “at risk in DRC after forcible expulsion from Angola”;     more violent extremist attacks in Nigeria;
     -   an investigation will be held next year into the murder of a Rwandan dissident;
     -   political tensions (and possible fracture lines?) in Somalia over foreign policy;
     -   claims of support for land expropriation in South Africa, which is also holding a corruption enquiry and has seen another scandal;
     -   a call for Sudan to stop prevaricating over war crimes in Darfur;
     -   thousands of suspected gay people have been outed in Tanzania in response to a near genocidal government request;
     -   “Uganda has lost billions of dollars in recent years from illegal financial flows, including tax evasion, crime, and corruption”;
     -   patrols of armed women are acting against poachers in Zimbabwe;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   a reasonably nuanced analysis of the Brazilian election result – se also this on the risks of violence and other challenges;
     -   “Mexico is improving the lives of the 80 percent of its inhabitants residing in cities, by pushing towards less polluted, more eco-friendly environments”;
• 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 will allow trade in products made from endangered animals;     satellite data shows the massive size and extent of China’s brainwashing (aka “re-education”) camps;     “a Chinese national who helped tens of thousands of citizens jump over China's Great Firewall has been forced to flee to the United States over fears for his family's safety”;     outrage over a faked fight;     a US “Cornell University said it would end a research and exchange program with [a Chinese] University, after the school punished at least a dozen students who campaigned for Chinese workers’ rights”;
     -   abuse of women by officials in North Korea;
     -   “South Korea’s top court . . . stirred decades-old resentments that threaten to inflame relations with Japan, [by] ordering a leading Japanese steel maker to compensate Korean men forced to work as slave labourers during World War II”;
     -   Chinese pressure has closed the last independent bookstore in Hong Kong;
     elsewhere in Asia:
     -   Indonesian media has been warned over ‘unethical coverage’ of this week’s plane crash;
     and in the Pacific:
     -   drones will be used to deliver vaccines on some Pacific islands;     the need to take Russia’s growing influence in the Pacific seriously;     New Caledonia will vote on possible independence from France;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
     -   “Austria will follow the United States and Hungary in backing out of a United Nations migration pact over concerns it will blur the line between legal and illegal migration”;
     -   “pressure is mounting on Belgium’s government to explain why payments of hundreds of millions of euros flowed to unknown recipients from frozen accounts in Brussels that once belonged to Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi”;
     -   “traffic police in Estonia are hoping to stop speeding drivers in their tracks by handing them organ donor cards as well as fines”;
• With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
     -   an interview with Ukraine’s UN representatives;     the UN has called for the “ ‘utmost restraint’ in eastern Ukraine to safeguard civilian life”;
• 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:
     -   social attitudes (suspicion) are hampering a social enterprise aimed at helping the homeless;     “in an unexpected victory for gay rights, the first minor to be charged in Russia for promoting homosexuality won a court appeal . . . in defence of his right to post photos on social media of men embracing” (the regressive and repressive law still stands, however –the win was on the basis of insufficient evidence);
• 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):
     -   Russia will host talks with Afghani extremists;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     -   more tension in Kashmir;
     on India:
     -   Japan and India are continuing to build closer ties;     an assessment of India’s nuclear arsenal;     “the Madras High Court was . .  shocked to hear about destruction of records sought by the Idol Theft Wing - Criminal Investigation Department”;     Delhi’s poor air quality will worsen;     India’s Supreme Court has ruled “a woman of easy virtue could not be raped by a person for that reason”;     a call for India to stick to principle in international matters;     resistance over the push for environmentally sensitive firecrackers;
     on Pakistan:
     -   “Pakistan's Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy against Islam and ordered her freed, setting off violent protests against the decision”;     China wants to build relations with Pakistan;
     elsewhere in South Asia:
     -   “Sri Lanka political crisis [has deepened] with parliament suspended after prime minister sacked” - protest marches have occurred;
• 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 possible Arab “anti-Iran NATO”;
     on Israel and Palestine:
     -   an opinion that POTUS45 is not as good for Israel as is thought;     “a Palestinian-American writer [has been] deported from Israel . . . back to the United States”;     Israel is investigating an alleged sexual assault on a Palestinian woman by Israeli soldiers;     concerns that Israel’s new police chief could be homophobic;     following Egypt’s offer to broker a ceasefire “an Egyptian security delegation toured the Gaza border protests … , and even though thousands of Palestinians turned up, they were [as promised] the quietest in several months” but an escalation may occur if the blockade is not lifted – see also this Israeli official’s assessment;
     on the  conflict and the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis in Yemen:
     -   as a child whose photo raised awareness of the famine  dies, “the [politically motivated?] US call for Yemen ceasefire is doomed to fail”;     the economic war on Yemen;     ways to help;
     on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
     -   the UN has a new Special Envoy for Syria;     an aid convoy has postponed over safety fears;
     elsewhere in the region:
     -   at least seven Coptic Christians were killed in a bus attack in Egypt, which has arrested 19 human rights activists;
     -   concerns over declining human rights in Morocco, which has also imposed additional border controls;
     -   “Tunisia’s political polarisation [has worsened] after first big terrorist attack in two years”.

Other News:

• a pair of endangered peregrine falcons have turned an apartment balcony into a welcomed nest (although their attacks on neighbours in their balconies are not welcomed);
• an arts festival is converting fat from liposuction into soap (initially, I thought this poor judgement because of the stories of soap made from human fat during the Holocaust, but when I checked I found that that wasn’t the case . . . which leaves it just in the questionable taste / cheap sensationalism category);
• an article on Yowie (Australia’s version of the US “Bigfoot”) hunters.

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.