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 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. 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 45th “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 South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nicaragua,
(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, some accountability for violence; out-of-sight, out-of-mind complacency over human rights abuses; conflicts and struggles of balance and power between nations, groups and people, marred by bad faith, questionable competence, and lack of ethics, and thoughtless applications of power; mistaking personal pleasantness for agreement or acquiescence; undue forbearance; a focus on convenience and expediency at the cost of safety and ethics; abuses and misuse of power, including for personal vengeance or other benefit;(e) may people always have the BPM courage to be who they BPM really are – i.e., the better parts of their being that are in line with their Higher Self, and have not been duped into unthinking, socialised “sheeple”;(f) may people always be BPM aware of the power that they have (i.e., so there is no “fish not recognising water” problems), that it must be accountable, and BPM act to ensure that their and others’ exercise, and lack of exercise, of power is always held to BPM account;(g) may people never lose sight of the fact that, ultimately, group and national interactions come down to impacts on real people, and morally and spiritually, if not legally at the present (the trend is always towards greater accountability!), one will be held to account for the impacts one has on others at least as much and probably more, than any short term gains one may achieved for a group or nation one is part of;(h) may people never lose their objectivity and awareness in situations where groups they are in are perverting their efforts into being for the benefit of a few (e.g., social elites, oligarchs, or owners) at the expense of the wellbeing of many, or the planet;(i) may people never be compliant with evil;(j) may the furphy that corporations must act only for profit be utterly BPM refuted once and for all;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 Issues and Thematically Arranged News:
permanent issues; particular attention; democracy, freedom, governance, and ethics; the USA and POTUS45; violent extremism; refugees; human rights (including homophobia/transphobia, white supremacism, trafficking and children’s rights, sexism, religious rights, workers’ rights, animals’ rights, and privacy, differently abled and other rights); war, violence and hate; peace; spirituality and psychism; natural and other catastrophes; modern lifestyle (including climate change and environment, technology and science, economic and financial, housing, health and medical); media; education; crime judicial and police;- Location-based News:
Africa; South and Central America; mainland China, East and South East Asia, and the Pacific; Europe; Ukraine; Russia and Central Asia; Afghanistan; South Asia; West Asia and northern Africa;- Other Sites;opportunities/good news (in my opinion) are shown in green;comments (by me) are shown in purple; andWARNING: 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 and their Significant Others be kept BPM safe, undetectable and inviolable against indirect psychic attack, and may they have all the BPM resources (including an assured income), opportunities and assistance for them to be BPM effective, 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 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 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, and 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; the neo-nazi who killed a woman during a US protest in 2017 has been found guilty of murder;
on the Rohingya genocide this week:
- complacency over genocide;
on other matters requiring particular attention:
- the “Pakistani clerics who led violent protests over [the recent] blasphemy acquittal [have been] charged with terrorism”;
- as the conviction of a former archbishop for concealing child sexual abuse - the most senior Catholic to be so charged - is stunningly quashed by a judge (who said the former archbishop was “honest and consistent” –see also here), devastating a survivor in the court, another “sexual abuse survivor [has fallen] through the cracks, as lawyers accuse governments and institutions of playing hardball” – which shows the problems of the inherent lack of humanity of corporations and corporate-like organisations;
- NATO’s dilemma over the Ukraine-Russia naval clash – see also here, and this cautioning of Russia by a former intelligence head “over its ‘perpetual confrontation’ with the West”; as Russia indicates it “is prepared to develop nuclear-tipped missiles if the U.S. withdraws from a Cold War-era arms agreement”, “key actions to reduce nuclear security risk in the Black Sea region”;
- as “US stock markets fell sharply . . . as investors lost faith in a trade truce between the US and China that had been negotiated by [POTUS45] at last week’s G20 summit”, the arrest of the global chief financial officer of a Chinese company (which is of considerable concern) in Canada on a US warrant has blown the recent easing of tension – including an agreement (as it turned out, short-lived) to end to tariff war - with the USA (possibly including an agreement to “control fentanyl [to ease the] US opioid epidemic”), and is likely to lead to aggressive retaliation; “China has been welcomed into the liberal world order, but it isn't held to the same standard” – and it’s economy is not quite as glowing as is made out - see also this, on a tourist village which is part of efforts to end poverty; the head of the UK’s intelligence services “has raised questions over Chinese technology companies being involved in the UK's communications infrastructure”;
- “resisting law enforcement’s siren song: a call for cryptographers to improve trust and security” - see also here, and here; the human face of the war between fake news and the truth; as “experts say [the Australian government’s on-line health records system] is 10 years out of date and other countries have abandoned similar systems”, the two main parties pass a an “outlandish” (anti-)encryption law, despite concerns, including in the tech industry; documents have shown social media “employees discussed monetising access to personal data”; a call “for safeguards for law enforcement access to personal data across national borders” in Europe, stating the safeguards “must to do more to protect human rights . . . [with] the need for additional safeguards, such as prior judicial review, data minimization, transparency, public reporting, and individual remedies”; a call for “OECD member countries to endorse the Universal Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence”;
- in a matter of the gravest concern, a man has been charged with framing a colleague “in a dispute over a woman”, using allegations (of violent extremism) which led to an allegedly bungled investigation that is now the subject of a court case (police have some serious questions to answer, but so too do governments about whether they had considered this sort of risk, and the damage it could cause);
upcoming events (opportunities to do BPM clearing etc): Turkey is seeking “to further boost Latin America ties”;
this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nicaragua; - With regard to democracy (which can
be measured [as can goodness], requires protection of minorities and the vulnerable - and are you fighting to change things [by 198 nonviolent methods], or to
punish), freedom, governance (e.g., here, here, here, here, here) and ethics:
Note: I have a section specifically for POTUS45 below
analyses, research and commentary this week include:
- a slightly pejorative history of the US left over the last century; three surveys on immigration “have obtained different results, highlighting the potential impact on estimates of public opinion of question wording, question context and survey methodology”;
- for other analyses see: India;
of concern in my nation (Australia) this week:
- a radio presenter being asked to leave Parliament’s press gallery for “showing ‘too much shoulder’ “ shows the absurdity of business standards and the even greater absurdity of Parliamentary standards (in my opinion); an opinion on “how MPs’ loneliness feeds parliament's coup culture” (which was apparently less of a problem in the old, smaller Parliament House, where there was more social interaction); Australia’s neoliberal, evangelical zealot prime minister has shown his true colours, and abandoned a promise to protect LGBT kids; a “4WD hire company [has admitted] customer it was suing did nothing wrong . . . A prominent 4WD hire company is accused of charging for speeding fines that do not exist and misleading tourists about insurance cover in a bid to demand thousands of dollars from its customers, an ABC investigation uncovers. But one customer decided to fight back”; “Victoria Police has revealed it spent $4.52 million on a legal fight to keep the use of a criminal defence barrister as an informer . . . a secret due to fears she and her family ‘would be murdered’ ”;
also of concern this week:
- other concerning events have occurred or are developing in: Israel, France, Italy, West Papua, Chad, DR Congo, Zambia, Cameroon, Togo, South Sudan;
in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
- an assessment of the pros and cons of remote working (“what happens when you can't spy on workers?”);
good news this week includes:
- good news has occurred: Rwanda, Niger;
on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense):
- the “blue economy” and climate change – see also here; more support for the “Gove Directly” model; a critique of the indices used to measure progress on gender issues;
and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
on the Royal Commission into banks, and similar matters:
- a bank “is urgently investigating a potential data breach that may have given its staff access to customers’ sensitive medical information” (failing to recognise that gathering data comes with obligations is too common a failing I businesses, too many of which arrogantly think they can do anything in quest for profit);
on other matters:
- Australians are being “ ‘squeezed’ as spending grows and savings evaporate” – see also here; the neoliberals have now followed the ALP by ensuring greater stability of leadership; - With regard to the USA and their
schoolyard BULLYING, unpresidential 45th “President” (“POTUS45”) (see here on actions
for US residents; the VP is at least
as bad):
- a reminder that the recently passed former US President Bush’s legacy is considered by some to have included “war crimes, racism and obstruction of justice”, controversial pardons, and the use of false testimony and propaganda to promote the first Gulf War (although I consider many, but not all, of these allegations worth serious consideration, I also consider that driving Hussein out of Kuwait to be justified and necessary [the human shields included a later colleague of mine], but other actions should have been taken that weren’t, and Bush should never have said anything about overthrowing Hussein to the Iraqi people, as that led to a devastating uprising, and there are also arguments that not demonstrably defeating the key units of the Iraqis may have contributed to the second Gulf War, just as not more clearly destroying the German army in the field at the end of the World War (part) One may have led to World War (part) Two, but it is hard to argue for an action that involves death, maiming/injury, and destruction, and Bush had seen some of the horrors of war first hand; his family also has a murky history – see, for example, here);
- as the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential election seems to near its end, POTUS45’s fury is “bubbling away despite him staying under the radar this week”, and an opinion has been published that his “countless scams are finally catching up to him” (that article also includes an admission of WHAT IS PROBABLY THE MOST ANNOYING – to me – FAILING OF JOURNALISM, and one that I am trying to overcome with these posts: “The news is generally reported piecemeal, with a focus on what just happened or the specifics of one story. The result is that the cumulative effect often escapes detection. Journalism tends to describe the fragments and not the pattern they make up, which for readers can be like watching a movie shot entirely in close-ups”) . . . – see also here. Meanwhile, South Korea’s leader has said POTUS45 wants Kim Jong-un to know he likes him” (which is a very business negotiation approach, rather than a national leader, in my opinion);
- a lawsuit is aiming to block the addition of a question about citizenship to the US census (the question seems strange to me – are they trying to find illegal residents, or are they proposing a two-level delivery of services?);
- concerns over the USA’s new ambassador to the UN;
- POTUS45 has “unwittingly [insinuated] that US Jews have a dual loyalty to Israel”;
- POTUS45 and his former Secretary of State are exchanging insults;
- an interesting book from Michelle Obama, wife of POTUS45; - 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 5 attacks in Iraq, 6 attacks in Afghanistan, and 5 attacks in Syria (out of a total of 40), including Somalia;
- in addition: actions (Note: there are many others that don’t reach the media I read) have occurred this week against violent extremists in: Somalia, Algeria;
- the families of violent extremists have bravely shared their experiences and the signs for others to watch for; another comment that violent extremist men are “clueless” about Islam;
- a call for US domestic violence extremists (i.e., “domestic terrorists”) to be treated “on a par with foreign terrorists”; tow downbeat assessments of the so-called “War on Terror” here and here; - With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration) and people
seeking asylum:
- as some Australian MPs almost force the neoliberal government to get kids of the Nauru gulag, MSF releases “indefinite despair: the tragic mental health consequences of offshore processing on Nauru”; “global skill partnerships” to help implement the “Global Compact for Migration”; MSF and SOS Méditerranée have ended their refugee rescue mission in the Mediterranean, as the vessel has become a target; “Niger has adopted Africa’s first national law for the protection and assistance of people fleeing violence, floods and droughts”;
- other refugee-related matters have also occurred in: Jordan and Lebanon, PNG, Morocco; - With regard to other human (and other) rights and
discrimination (incidentally,
bigots clearly have flaws of observation and thinking – shown by the fact that NOT all people choose to
discriminate [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, and, this week, here, here;
on HOMOPHOBIA/TRANSPHOBIA (including heteronormativity and cisgender-normativity and noting that trans kids are the same as cis kids of the trans kids’ true gender):
- the neochristian Catholic church’s “still quite significantly misogynistic but promising” Pope has told gay priests and lesbian nuns to get out (or be celibate, but he hasn’t made the same comment about heterosexual priests who aren’t celibate, making this homophobia); Australia’s neoliberal, evangelical zealot prime minister has shown his true colours, and abandoned a promise to protect LGBT kids; an Oscars host has stood down over his homophobia;
- other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in: Indonesia;
on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
- a perspective on the neochristian missionary who was recently killed by islanders as possibly touched more by a “white saviour complex” than anything else; a Court has been “urged to investigate [the] role of ‘systemic racism’ in [an] Aboriginal death-in-custody case”, as the Coroner in charge of the hearing “used her opening statement to foreshadow she will recommend the offence of public drunkenness be abolished in [my home state], due to the continuing public health risk that offence poses”, noting that “despite it being a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in the early 1990s, the offence had still not been removed”;
on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week:
- the EXCUSES people use to avoid feeling guilty over buying slave-made products; the challenges facing governments in making sure their supply chains are slavery-free; social media and banks are being used to increase awareness of slavery in the UK; “Fairtrade International will raise the floor price and fixed premium it requires companies to pay cocoa farmers for their beans”;
- also on child abuse, including institutional, this week: the Philippines, India (good news), Bolivia, Malaysia, Africa (good news);
- also on slavery / human trafficking this week: Jordan and Lebanon, Brazil, “unboxers”, the Netherlands;
- 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):
- in a week when more than a third of Australian lawyers are shown to experience sexual harassment, incompetent Spanish laws allow a pack of gang rapists to get away with the lesser charge of “sexual assault”, “a US border agent who killed four sex workers in [a] ‘cold, callous and calculating way’ “ is charged (and faces the death penalty), a video made by a Dubai princess who tried to escape her tyrannical sperm donor and is now disappeared says “either I'm dead or I'm in a very, very, very bad situation” (her family claim she is OK), a “security firm manager is accused of raping [his] pregnant ex-partner”, what should have been a wonderful moment in women’s sport is utterly ruined by an idiotic, inappropriate and sexist remark by a jerk, continuing the pervasive gendered inequality that has led to the award’s recipient refusing “to play for her national side, Norway, in the women's World Cup next year until conditions change meaningfully for women in sport”. Meanwhile women soccer players in “post-Taliban Afghanistan” – “who defied hard-liners and militants by daring to take to the field in the first place” - have been sexually abused - see also here;. Meanwhile, some generic suggestions on “what to do if you’re harassed”, and a critique of the flaws of “good men” talking about “bad men” (a lot of this is good, but similar problems occur amongst women, and there ARE some good men: the line in the sand needs to judged objectively yes, but that can only be done by those women who are genuinely good, and it CAN be done by men). And in the world of politics this week, a call for a sexist (misogynist?) reporter to be sacked, women in a conservative party “are urging the party to learn from its crushing state election defeat and introduce quotas to support the elevation of more female MPs into the parliament”, while, on the other side, an embattled woman MP has launched defamation proceedings against a media outlet on the basis that “the reporting of false allegations of misconduct and harassment have ruined her career”, and may launch legal action over being dumped as a preselected candidate, but is not supported by her party (a radio commentator on the ABC said there had been concerns about how her office was managed before all this arose; notwithstanding that, if the allegations were false [and that they were seems to be the case], she has a god case for defamation, in my view);
- other sexism matters have also occurred in: Egypt, India;
on WORKERS’ rights this week:
- another wage theft scandal; “construction companies are failing to protect migrant and refugee workers in Jordan and Lebanon”;
- other workers’ rights matters have also occurred in: Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, China;
on ANIMALS’ rights this week:
- as the death of four horses at a single race meeting in the UK is investigated, anger in Australia at road workers who painted over a dead wallaby;
on PRIVACY, AGED, DIFFERENTLY ABLED, AND OTHER forms of human (and other – e.g., ANIMAL) rights this week:
- “ageism is a ’rampant’ form of discrimination in our workplaces”;
- other privacy, differently abled, animal, and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in: Russia; - With regard to war (noting that
economic ties do NOT prevent war), violence
and hate generally:
- as we move into what is euphemistically called “the silly season” in the West, with idiotic and/or drunk drivers and pedestrians, alcohol has been banned on a beach in my home city where 16 people were arrested for “antisocial behaviour”, a crackdown on illegal weapons found a grenade launcher and mine, an armed standoff where shots were fired shuts down a suburb in a regional city in another state, a domestic violence murderer is sentenced to jail, and, overseas, “the mass arrests of hundreds of West Papuan protesters across the region who were marking the [1st] December ‘independence day’, a date considered by some West Papuans as marking their independence from the Dutch two years before the region was taken over by Indonesia” (“in 2017 activists smuggled a pro-independence petition signed by more than [1.8 million] West Papuans out of the country and delivered it to the United Nations but was rebuffed by its decolonisation committee, which said West Papua was outside its mandate”) led to “the shooting deaths of up to 31 construction workers” after the workers took photos of protestors, “the reported killing of an Indonesian investigator”, and “fears of reprisals and violent crackdowns”;
- other war, violence or hate related matters have occurred or are developing in: France; - With regard to spirituality and/or psychism generally (including empathy, revolutionary
love, survival after death, good religion, UFOs, being single / asexual / off-grid / non-conformist / true to
yourself, overcoming:
belief in management fads and fashions,
filling time / distraction):
- in an extraordinary example of growth, after stupid behaviour by three kids killed two of them in a car accident, the accident “devastated three families — and brought them together” (responsibility, however, also requires consideration of how to prevent that sort of stupidity in the future); - With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
- intense fires in the northern Australian state of Queensland continue, leaving some destroyed rainforests with the prospect of centuries to recover, as the state experiences a record breaking heatwave. This is start of what is expected to be the worst bushfire season in a decade in my nation now includes several emergency warnings in my state, and “severe storms [bringing] flooding days after bushfires” in Queensland; the UN’s Central Emergency Relief Fund “has ‘never been more critical’ “; - 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], addiction or unthinking pro-technology bias (news is NOT
always good), 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, life options,
AI ethics, corporate misuse of mindfulness as
a distraction from working conditions, embedded emissions, plane pollution,
bigger, flashier homes/cars and financialisation,
the need for agroforestry,
insisting on busy-ness,
raising Prince Boofheads,
trying to force everyone to have children):
on climate change (our World War III?) and other environmental matters:
- the USA’s POTUS45 wants to end subsidies for electric vehicles . . . ; as Australia’s opposition parties unite to prevent our climate change denialist dinosaur infested neoliberal government underwriting coal fuelled power (and noting that “more than a dozen of Australia’s largest mining and infrastructure companies may be in breach of their legal duties by refusing to consider the financial risks posed by climate change”), evidence suggests we may be heading towards a 7 m sea level rise, and Sir David Attenborough warns that the “collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon” unless urgent action is taken against global warming, a stupid attempt is made to defend the participation of coal companies in climate change talks. See also this (well written) assessment of the DELUSIONAL nature of climate change denial; air pollution from steelworks is putting children in an Italian town at risk, with schools closed “sometimes as often as five days a month” when a southerly wind blows, a 2010 order from the local council “that prohibited children from playing outside because of soil contamination”, and a public recommendation by the local college of surgeons that “children shower every time they come in from outside” (how can this sort of pollution be allowed to have occurred in this day and age? I’d expect this back in the 70s, but not now, and especially not in generally aware and progressive Europe. What went wrong? What failure of governance, as well as of the business management, occurred?). Meanwhile, in India, air pollution killed more than a million people in 2017 . . . ; work is underway to make rice less dependent on water; legal threats and sustained pressure by a development company may have influenced the failure to rule out development within a RAMSAR wetland; “carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry are projected to rise more than 2% (range 1.8% to 3.7%) in 2018 . . . to a new record high”; a new analysis shows “renewables reduce energy prices”; an oil company is being sued for fraud over climate change; the environmental problems that electric cars have;
- other environmental matters have occurred in: Colombia, India (good news);
on affordable, sustainable and decent housing and homelessness matters (why are politicians with “investment properties” not admitting a conflict of interest and staying out of housing affordability debates?):
- most Australian renters live in houses in need of repair (my personal experience of this includes a landlord refusing to fix a hole in a floor of a hovel that a step-daughter rented – a landlord who tried playing the system [using dirty trick] to hit my step-daughter up for repair costs for changes he had made before she moved in!); - 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 … ):
- training on surgery for freelancers in Jordan and “a new online resource has been launched to help Ukraine’s freelance journalists work more safely and responsibly”, as “US senators say they are more certain than ever after a private CIA briefing that the Saudi crown prince had a role in the murder of . . . Jamal Khashoggi”, and a call is made for Turkey to “formally submit a request to the UN Secretary-General to establish an international, independent investigation” into the murder;
- other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: Jordan; - With regard to education:
- “how ‘Buddy Benches’ are making playtime less lonely”; - 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 I 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 . . . policeman [in my home state] has been found not guilty of assaulting a woman in her home 22 years ago, after his lawyers argued his use of force was lawful” (the woman had received an apology and compensation, and the police were alleged to have entered the property violently without a warrant; some of the testimony seems to have been around the woman’s views towards the police – and yet their behaviour is, as with strip searches, going to inevitably create ill will. Police need to remember they are serving ALL the community not being macho power abusers).
Location based News:
- With regard to Africa, the Africa
Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
on Africa generally:
- cholera in Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon;
- “the European Union and France have announced 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) of development funding aimed at combatting armed groups in African Sahel countries”;
on specific African nations:
- “the separatist crisis in Cameroon could get “much, much” worse”;
- an examination of tensions in Chad and how to defuse them;
- “fears for Ebola vaccine stockpiles as [the DR] Congo outbreak spreads”;
- “the Malian state is perceived by large parts of the Malian population as being the most legitimate actor to deliver essential services to the population. However, the state is also perceived as not being able to provide these services to a satisfactory level. Non-state actors—foreign organizations and Malian civil society—have partly taken its place. The respondents also demonstrate the capacity of Malians to find resources themselves”;
- Kenya’s MPs may not get more perks;
- “a prominent government critic and her mother have been acquitted by Rwanda’s high court of politically motivated charges”;
- “South Sudan army accused of ‘brutal’ sexual violence”; concerns that use of the death penalty has not complied with international legal requirements;
- an agreement for more future talks on peace in Darfur, Sudan;
- “Togo’s government has banned a series of planned opposition protests on security grounds”;
- examination of the security sector in Uganda;
- Zambia’s president has wangled a third term . . . ; - With regard
to South and Central America:
- a “poverty-stricken state in Brazil plans to map slavery hot spots”;
- Mexico’s new President has created a Truth Commission to investigate the controversial disappearance of 43 students some years ago; - 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:
- the Chinese scientists who controversially edited the genes of twins has disappeared; “two Chinese trade union officials [have been] arrested after helping workers”; China has launched a rover to the far side of the Moon;
elsewhere in Asia:
- “Cambodia has released 32 women who were detained while pregnant on charges of human trafficking for acting as surrogate mothers for Chinese couples . . . after they promised to raise the children” (while that’s good for women, how do they pay the cost of raising the children?);
- “an Indonesian city has launched a new campaign to ‘cleanse’ LGBT people of their ‘social sickness’ through religious exorcisms, a move that's been seen as part of the country’s growing intolerance towards the community”;
- allegations that incompetence and the Thai military getting its noses out of joint nearly prevented the rescue in July this year of a soccer team trapped in a cave (if the allegations are true, they are staggering);
and in the Pacific:
- “Papua New Guinea's former solicitor-general [will be] allowed to apply for a protection visa in Australia . . . based on fears of harm after raising corruption allegations in what has been called [PNG’s] ‘biggest’ alleged fraud case”; - With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need
to step up, as the USA steps down):
- France, with a history of centuries of protests that can turn violent, is in serious, violent trouble, with the worst civil unrest and violence it has experienced in a decade – trouble serious enough to be “a danger to all of Europe” – as hardline (extremist?) protestors use thuggery (including death threats) to stop other protestors talking about solutions, and the government further tightens security;
- “Italy's [vaccine sceptic M5S government has sacked its] entire board of health experts, sparking political interference concerns”; Italy,
- fears of a no-deal Brexit are leading to people in the UK stockpiling food and medicine; - With regard to the (forgotten or
ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
- in another example of the limited focus, vision and reporting of the media that concerns me, it now turns out that the recent “naval” clash (is capturing a tug really a naval clash?) also involved a Russian blockade of Ukrainian shipping, which has now ended “thanks to a ‘stern international response’ ”;
- other events concerning Ukraine have occurred or are developing in: here; - With regard to Russia, Russian influenced nations and eastern Europe, Central Asia, and responses to same (see also
elsewhere):
Russia:
- poor prospects for children with disabilities in Russia when they reach adulthood;
in Central Asia:
- the fight for dignity for people with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan, told through the story of a woman left a paraplegic after an accident; - 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):
- events concerning Afghanistan have occurred or are developing in: here; - With regard to South Asia (aka
the Indian
sub-continent), The
Hindu and other sources have:
on India:
- “India accounts for almost 40 per cent of female suicides worldwide — and young, married women are most at risk”; air pollution killed more than a million people in 2017 . . . ; “India plans to fight child labour in mica mines”; a successful afforestation project; an election campaign has culminated in voting today; criticism of electoral reforms, and a call for reform of laws that brand babies as “habitual criminals” at birth;
on Pakistan:
- events concerning Pakistan have occurred or are developing in: here (good news); - With regard
to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and
Northern Africa, the Middle East Eye, the Times
of Israel, and other sources have:
on Israel and Palestine:
- “Israeli police have recommended indicting [Israel’s] Prime Minister . . . and his wife . . . on bribery charges”; “although a majority of UN Member States voted in favour of a General Assembly resolution put forward by the United States – condemning the activities of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza – it failed to be adopted” (because of a procedural change requiring a two thirds majority . . . ); Israel’s “social equality minister [has called] for [the] next police chief to be a woman”;
on the conflict and the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis in Yemen:
- more on the price Yemen’s children are paying in the war; “authorities” in a rebel-held city are disinfecting water at supply points to attempt to contain “the world’s worst cholera outbreak” (as a water industry professional, I am staggered the water wasn’t previously disinfected [which is the correct word, by the way, dear journalists], but that is the case in too many third world nations, and is also a by-product of war – water workers have even been specifically targeted in Ukraine); an examination of the US Senate’s resolution against continuing to support the Saudi-led coalition; as a prisoner exchange is agreed, an examination of prospects for peace in Yemen, and a call for participation by women;
on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
- Russia and Syria have been warned not to interfere with the site of the recent suspected chemical attack; although Turkey fears it is losing influence, it has asked the USA to stop preventing Turkey attacking Kurds in Syria . . . ; Israel is wooing the Balkans to undermine European support for Palestinians;
elsewhere in the region:
- conservative, fundamentalist and sexist Egypt has arrested an actress for wearing what they consider a “revealing” dress; concerns that a banned cleric may have been pressured into a donation to a government body; Qatar has sent millions of dollars to cash-strapped Gaza;
- an examination of the situation and prospects of Iraq’s new government;
- censorship in Jordan;
- “Libya will hold a referendum on the country’s permanent constitution in January” (I don’t know enough to decide whether this is good or not – it depends on how good the constitution is, and how effectively it has been politicked);
- as the Turkish city of Istanbul’s third airport is opened, 31 workers have been jailed for protesting working conditions at the airport construction site, where at least 38 workers have died;
- an opinion that a 'peaceful solution’ to conflict in the Western Sahara is possible.
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.
