Post No. 1,269 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 249

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 (this blog was created for spiritual reasons, including a course), 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. 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” 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 his mind-set, and strengthening 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, the search for humans rights abusers continues, and further to the current map of genocides, this week there are risks of mass atrocities in   Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen and Mali,
        (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,     evidence of the benefit of nature and the fallacy of resilience;     valuing and refinement of democracy;     power elites working together, across national borders and against national and humanity’s interests;     small-minded bigotry, some inflicted by miseducation committed by bigots who were miseducated, etc, dating back to the social engineering of neochristianity and some other religions and ancient practices to maintain political/social power exercised by elites, countered by some open-eyed progressivism;     objective commentary on taking action to address climate change;     power-hungry people and nations mistakenly conflating “bigness” with “greatness”;      struggles to adapt to and manage change;

(e)   may all people be BPM objective, open and honest;

(f)   may all people, groups, nations and the world order appreciate and desire ONLY truly BPM greatness;

(g)   may historic damages done be BPM reversed;

(h)   may all people be centred, in touch with their Higher Selves, and assisted to be able to BPM manage change, including the BPM development of new approaches, methodologies and tools, whilst maintaining the centrality of humanness;

(i)   may all political imbalances be BPM corrected;

(j)   may humanity and all life be central to all thinking;

(k)   may all else that should BPM asked for, also be done;

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; those without news deleted each week):
   -   Permanent Issues and Thematically Arranged News:
          permanent issues;     particular attention;
          democracy, freedom, governance, and ethics;     the USA and POTUS45;
          violent extremism;     refugees and migrants;     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; 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 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;     an 8 year longitudinal study of over 100,000 women in the USA found living in greener environments was better for their health;     resilience is NOT a protection against burnout – it may make burnout worse;     “resisting democratic erosion in Latin America and beyond”;     “electricity consumers pay the price for competition, privatisation, corporatisation and marketisation” – i.e., being “a key testing ground for neoliberal economic philosophy”;     from India, “hate has become mainstream. This can only change when democracy is no longer equated with majoritarianism”;
     on the Rohingya  genocide this week:
     -   repressive and backward Saudi Arabia has deported Rohingya to Bangladesh;
     on other matters requiring particular attention:
     -   as an article is published explaining that genes about gender identity and physical sex are not linked, and gender identity is just part of normal biological variations, another article is published calling on the bigots (my word) in the USA to learn from the Australian military and allow transgender people to serve (and REBUTTING MYTHS about expense, hurting unit cohesion, mental illness [in June 2018, the World Health Organisation removed being transgender from its list of mental illnesses], social engineering experiment [inclusion is not social engineering, and “diversity is about improving the quality of the workplace. It's the antidote to group think — gaining a wider range of perspectives to make better decisions and . . . enhancing our capability”]), two transwoman, one a very dear friend, have been received Order of Australia awards;     a competition (which 450 companies entered) to find the UK’s “most LGBT-friendly workplace” highlighted that “diversity at work is better for business”;
     -   “there really is an expert consensus: multilateralism still matters”;     the legal and policy concerns over transferring “detainees” to local coalition partners;
     -   after an ongoing war (which included US Democrats rejecting a deal from POTUS45 for a less inhumane immigration policy, but without an amnesty for the “Dreamers” before he even began speaking, and the rejection of competing bills to end it) where lying POTUS45 was outmanoeuvred (notably, by finally agreeing to defer the US “State of the Union”) by a woman about whom he had no idea what to do, POTUS45 has finally agreed to end the devastating shutdown the US government without any funding for the wall;
     -   New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and naturalist David Attenborough have told “world leaders they have nothing to fear from acting on climate change”;     experts have caught up to what I have been arguing since the 1980s, and FINALLY realise that “an over-reliance on air conditioning and a lack of shade in outdoor areas could be making us sedentary, passive and lonely”;     “the climate crisis is intensifying a new military buildup in the Arctic”;
     -   “the 26 richest billionaires own as many assets as the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the planet’s population”;     “today’s titans of tech and finance want to solve the world’s problems, as long as the solutions never, ever threaten their own wealth and power”;
     -   after a period of having been disappeared, China has admitted – and been criticised for – detaining a Chinese-Australian writer, which is seen as an attempt to intimidate overseas Chinese;     China has whinged – and responded aggressively - about a US Navy ship going through the international waters of the Taiwan Strait;     in a rare move, censorious China has allowed a Western internet search engine back online;     the unwise Canadian Ambassador to China has backed away from claims the arrested Chinese executive – who the USA will seek extradition of - had a strong case, CLAIMING he “misspoke” . . . (yeah, right);
     -   “the researchers who reported that Israeli software was used to spy on Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s inner circle before his gruesome death are being targeted in turn by international undercover operatives”;
     -   Venezuela has entered a political tug-of-war (at the expense of oil prices), with the opposition leader declaring himself interim president, with the support of the US (leading to a breakdown of relations), Canada and several Latin American governments, including Brazil and Colombia, and against the ire and warning of Russia, and offering the current President – who is supported by the military and claims a coup has been foiled -an amnesty “if he goes quietly”. Meanwhile, Venezuela is the only nation in South America “with infant mortality rates that have risen back to 1990s levels”;
     -   the European Union’s “support for Libya’s anti-migrant policies is contributing to a cycle of “extreme abuse”, including arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, extortion and forced labour”;
     -   “why are single women still mistaken for prostitutes?”;     “in an era of rapidly changing economies – clean energy, cryptocurrencies, and emerging markets – [nations] are missing out on a smart and simple solution, with a massive return [$160 trillion per year] on investment: women”;     use of religion “an excuse for [girls] sexual exploitation by men” in India;     a new UK law against domestic violence” set a legal definition of domestic abuse to include economic abuse as well as psychological coercion and manipulation”;     from a well-written article on misogynist trolls, “the fact is, both men and women need gender equality”;     revelations by the ABC that the coach of a women’s sporting team was sacked for an out dated approach to leadership that an organisation aiming to prevent violence against women showed had left a quarter of the players “afraid to ask for help” (the comments about leadership in the corporate world being ahead of that in the sporting world are true, but there’s still a long way to go in the corporate world as well;
     -   as meaningless remarks are made by Thailand’s ambassador that completely miss the key points, a Guardian Australia exclusive reports that “calls grow for [an] inquiry into {Australian Federal] police role in [a Bahraini] refugee footballer's arrest” in Thailand (the AFP have form on this, having several times enabled drug mules to be arrested in nations with the death penalty) - see also here;     as a now former police officer is sentenced to jail for murdering an African-American teenager, a US police officer has killed a 14 year old suspect car thief as the boy ran away;     in my home state, a policeman has kept his job and rank “despite being caught on CCTV assaulting a drunk disability pensioner”, a “doctor . . . was assaulted by police while trying to assist injured man” - and was (in my opinion) threatened when she made a complaint, and a police officer has been jailed for attempting sexual relationship with teen in foster care (some of these are older cases coming to court: I am of the opinion that newer recruits are better, but are there still legacy problems to address?) – which has led to calls for my home state to adopt oversight “systems to deal with police brutality in Northern Ireland and New York”. In another state, a now former police officer may be jailed for sharing nude photos of woman he arrested (stolen off her phone), which shows crucial inadequacies in their systems;
     -   “social media platforms . . . can be used to glean information about the preferences of former users by monitoring as few as eight of their one-time contacts”;     “if your friends and family are deliberately keeping themselves off social media - extend the courtesy by asking before you put pictures of them online”;     a nuanced examination of an incident where several disparate protests converged and social media footage got it wrong;
     -   “insurers gaining ‘open-ended access’ to medical records [has been] slammed as [an] ‘unfair privacy breach’ “;
       upcoming events (opportunities to do BPM clearing etc):   an upcoming invitation-only conference on the Israel–Palestine water conflict;
       this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists   Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen and Mali;
• 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:
     -   “Australian workers are experiencing sustained low wages growth, the likes of which the country has not seen since the 1930s” in response to which “a viable collective bargaining system is essential to rebuilding shared prosperity, but it will require far-reaching changes to the current rules to keep collective bargaining alive”;     a challenge to economic myths;
     of concern internationally this week:
     -   the growing repression in Serbia;     “South Africa [decided] not to pursue four men wanted for the murder of a Rwandan intelligence chief . . . on the grounds of ‘close links’ between the suspects and [Rwanda’s] government” – in other words, they’ll let the murder go because it was done by friends . . . ;     the USA, China, UK and India are absent from this year’s controversial world economic forum at Davos;     Australia’s “is set to hand $17.1 million to the commercial networks to provide TV programming to Pacific nations but the TV industry says it did not seek the funds and does not know what content to provide”;     “the EU Commission has told EU states to tighten checks on non-EU nationals who acquire citizenship - so-called "golden passports" - through investments”;     a Guardian investigation has shown that “more than 100 free-market think tanks from North America to Europe and south Asia took positions helpful to the tobacco industry or [took] donations”;
     of concern in my nation (Australia) this week:
     -   the law restricts defence against the danger to commercial jets that drones constitute;     with claims that it is “so the public could view the farms themselves”, an animal rights group “website detailing the location and contact details of Australian farms has caused outrage in the industry with farm groups saying it is an invasion of privacy . . . [and] put the future of biosecurity sites in doubt”;     “Australia's rich keep getting richer, with the top 1 per cent of Australians owning more wealth than the bottom 70 per cent combined”;     my home state is spending “less than half the national average on social housing”;     Australia’s “homophobic, anti-women, climate-change denying“ neoliberal party will replace a retiring female MP with . . . a male . . . ;     after finding that the authority overseeing its implementation is conflicted, the Productivity Commission has recommended basin states take responsibility for implementing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, which is running late and could cost half a billion dollars more;     a Guardian Australia exclusive reports that “Government officials were warned a ‘significant’ technical glitch affecting the [online health record] system threatened to leave patient information incomplete or out of date”;     more criticism (this from a judge) of the Australian neoliberal government’s proposal for an anti-corruption body as “a sham designed to shield politicians and public servants from scrutiny”, together with a call (from other judges) for it to “have power to make arrests and conduct searches”;
     also of concern this week:
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in:   China (debt),   DR Congo,   Mali,   Afghanistan,   India,   Viêt Nám,   Thailand/Laos,   Pakistan;
     in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
     -   Pakistan and Qatar are developing closer relations;
     on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense):
     -   “impact investment funds must stop relying on ‘fuzzy thinking’ about how much good they do”;     “redesigning the food industry into a . . . ‘circular economy’ model would reduce health costs, save land and water and create new business opportunities”;     “developing countries swapping paper documents for digital identification systems could see their economies grow up to 13% by 2030 [but] such systems also raised privacy concerns as they could be misused to track and profile people”;     given the lack of public funding for the SDGs, a call to rethink either the approach or the goals;     a critique of the USA’s Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act;
     and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     on the Royal Commission into banks, and similar matters:
     -   “wealth managers' costs for fixing scandals are set to soar”- possibly to $6 billion;     a Senate enquiry into pay day lenders is continuing;
     on other matters:
     -   “police [have charged six people over [an] alleged $1 million baby formula ring” (it was being sold to China . . . and what do the “daigou” have to say about this?);     pressure on my home state to introduce pill testing at music festivals – which will now be licenced in another state;     in what has been described as a “complex issue”, “footage of children allegedly taking part in a riot outside [a] Shopping Centre has appalled community leaders and residents”;     my home state will allow “a trial of driverless cars on rural roads in a bid to improve the dramatically more dangerous conditions outside urban areas”;     “the [proposed] national integrity commission should have powers to tap phones and use undercover officers to investigate alleged corruption, according to [one state’s] anti-corruption body”;     allegations that a mining company in Australia has underpaid royalties;     a criticism of the biases in people selected for awards (some of this is true, but I also wonder if this also reflects that the friends of the more deserving people often don’t think to nominate them?);
• With regard to the USA and their schoolyard BULLYING, unpresidential, uncomprehending, delusional 45^th “President” (“POTUS45”) (see here on actions for US residents; the VP is at least as bad):
     -   in a gravely concerning move (critics include Christians), the US Vice-President’s partner has decided to “resume” teaching at a homophobic school;
     -   the field of potential US Presidential candidates now includes a Democratic Senator who has previously been a state Attorney-General and has a history of strongly challenging POTUS45 nominees – and a gay mayor;
     -   amid concerns of anti-Semitism, the Women’s Marches have returned to the USA to protest against POTUS45’s Presidency;
     -   the Special Prosecutor investigating Russian interference in the USA’s 2016 Presidential election has disputed the accuracy of claims he found POTUS45 ordered a lawyer to lie, which led to another POTUS45 attack on the media;     “a long time ally of [POTUS45] and adviser to his 2016 presidential campaign, has been charged with making false statements and witness tampering”;     after he deferred indefinitely giving testimony to the US House of Representatives because of threats against his family by POTUS45, a former POTUS45 lawyer and supporter, due to start a jail term shortly, has been subpoenaed to appear before the US Senate Intelligence Committee;
     -   hundreds of people dug under a metal barrier between the USA and Mexico and, making no effort to get away, were arrested;
• 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 as well as 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.     Also, I don’t name groups in order to reduce their publicity):
     -   according to this Wikipedia page, there have been 4 attacks in Iraq, 5 attacks in Afghanistan,   and 9 attacks in Syria   (out of a total of 44),   including   Mali,   Afghanistan;
     -   problems with the USA’s “by, with, through” approach – especially in Syria – include local resentment of US limits, competing partners, and inadequate thinking of the post-support stage;     Europe has added Saudi Arabia to its list of potential sponsors of violent extremism;
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration), people seeking asylum and migrants:
     -   “more than 100 migrants missing” after a boat sank in the Mediterranean;     a group of Rohingya trying to flee India to Bangladesh have been refused entry;     “language barriers and fears of deportation are preventing asylum seekers and migrants accessing medical care in Europe”;
     -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in:   Europe,   Mexico (good news);
• 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]):
     -   a bar owner has been accused of blatant racism – and wage theft, and another backed down from an attempt to force women to wear revealing clothes after a backlash (if, as claimed, OHS was the concern, then they could have provide shirts that aren't baggy and also AREN'T TIGHT - and there is NO excuse for a low neckline!);
     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):
     -   “a prominent ‘conversion therapy’ advocate . . . has come out as gay after spending what he said were decades of his life entrenched in homophobia”;
     -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in:   USA,   India (good news),   Egypt,   USA,   China,   Brazil;
     on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   as I reflect that my nation came into being, free of the yoke of British imperialism, on 1^st January, 1901, with its Parliament sitting for the first time on 9^th May, 1901 (in my home city), some of the thoughts on Invasion Day include “celebrating nationhood on 26^th January has become a gratuitous act of hostility”, and “every day is Survival Day [and 26^th January] is redneck Christmas and white supremacist festivus rolled into one”;     whitewashing of a Haitian-Japanese sports star by a Japanese company;     white supremacists at a sporting event in Australia are being investigated;
     -   other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in:   UK police (pay gap),   UK media;
     on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week (from Thomson Reuters Foundation, Freedom United, and other sources):
     -   criticism of nations for “ignoring the growing number of people trafficked within their own borders”;     “millions of migrant workers in Thailand's construction, agriculture and livestock industries suffer from exploitative practices, but a focus on the fishing sector has distracted attention from them”;     “sex traffickers hold 20,000 Nigerian women and girls in Mali”;
     -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week:   Australia,   UK fashion,   Pakistan garment industry,   UK,   UK;
     on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone, and the potential value to women of using anger):
     -   street marches in my nation “calling for safety for women after an Israeli exchange student was murdered” in my home city;     an Irish hospital has broken Ireland’s new law allowing abortion;     a female interviewer in the UK has resorted to sexist questions and an anti-feminist tone when interviewing New Zealand’s Prime Minister;      entrenched sexism at the UN;
     -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see:   Australia,   Mexico,   Mexico;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in:   Iran,   Malaysia,   USA;
     on WORKERS’ rights this week:
     -   contrary to what this article states, the jailing of the owner of a small business who was responsible for a worker’s death CHANGES EVERYTHING – FOR THE BETTER: it tells owners that they need to think, that there are NO EXCUSES for injuring or killing workers or being sloppy about safety;
     on ANIMALS’ rights this week:
     -   “snake catchers have shared horror stories of pythons killing free-roaming family cats in the hope of convincing pet owners to stop their felines wandering from home”;     an Australian government “Department has been ordered to investigate whether money was offered to whistleblowers in the live export industry in exchange for vision of cruel conditions onboard a ship” (this issue has arisen before, and demonstrates that the means shape the end – if you’re arguing for ethics, you undermine yourself by not being ethical;     a triathlete who hit a horse during the cycling section of a race has been fined and banned for life;
     on PRIVACY, AGED, DIFFERENTLY ABLED, AND OTHER forms of human rights this week:
     -   differently abled and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in:   a fringe festival;
• With regard to war (noting that economic ties do NOT prevent war), violence and hate generally:
     -   “two rappers have been given suspended sentences for performing drill music which incited violence against rival gang members”;     growing ethical concerns about “ ‘killer robots’ - autonomous weapons which can assassinate without human involvement”;     more claims of hypersonic weapons development (this is one of those matters that perception of success can be as a damaging as actual successful development);
• 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):
     -   an argument that “ambience” is the sixth sense, and what most people call the sixth sense (i.e., psychism / ESP) is actually the seventh sense;     support for open eyed psychism i(at about 25 mins);     interesting videos on suicide and suicide attempts;     the experiences of a Western family who live in an Indian slum;
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   a petrol pipeline explosion in Mexico –caused by fuel thieves – has killed at least 20 people and injured dozens;     a bus crash in Bolivia has killed more than 20 people;     a fire crisis in one Australian state grew from the evacuation of 40 people to evacuating several towns and severe damage;
• 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 [new is NOT always good],     second thoughts,     social media making people miserable or envious,     work and lifestyles causing depression and burnout,     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,     the “Earth3” model [SDGs + 9PBs]):
     on climate change (our World War III?) and other environmental matters:
     -   “North American glaciers [are] melting much faster than 10 years ago”;     concerns for the survival of a regional town which has been hit by drought and the recent fish kill – which has been blamed on decades of ignoring science - see also here;     keeping feral buffalos out has allowed degraded waterholes to recover;    despair as a drought dries rivers in inland Australia;     a “yellow crazy ant invasion [is threatening a] world heritage rainforest as funding dries up”;     a call for more reuse of resources (currently only 10% annually across the globe);     concerns that coal seam gas could impact the human food chain;     concerns that “the founding companies behind a self-styled alliance to end plastic waste are among the world’s biggest investors in new plastic”;     “an invasive plant disease that is rapidly pushing at least four [Australian] plant species to imminent extinction”;     the UN has called for a controversial coal mine in Australia to be suspended until all traditional owners support it;     how to make timber an even more sustainable building material;    another article on the influence climate change had on the Arab Spring;     improved recycling of municipal solid waste in one Australian state;
     -   other environmental matters have occurred in:   Mali,   Zimbabwe;
     on technology and science matters:
     -   a social media platform is trying to combat the spread of fake news;     another exposé on social media advertising;
     on economic and financial matters:
     -   “betting agencies restrict punters who win too often or too much” (which has been known for decades – and yes, it is unfair, and is one of the many reasons I opposed Melbourne’s casino);
     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?):
     -    a self-managed and community-owned not-for-profit building where the tenants (disability, environment, health, social justice, multicultural and other groups) can set their own rent in my home city’s CBD;     the community land trust model “develops permanently affordable housing for working class families by separating a house's title from the land underneath”;     the evacuation of an apartment tower with faults has led to a 16% drop in “off the plan” apartment prices;     more Australian house prices fall;
     on health and medical:
     -   “miscarriage shouldn't be the 'Voldemort' of pregnancy”;    a call for Australians to make sunscreen part of their daily routine (then bloody make the stuff less greasy and unpleasant!!!);
     on other matters in the category:
     -   a violent drunk caused an international flight to be diverted so he could be arrested;
• 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 … ):
     -   another freelance journalist in Europe has been accused of unprofessional conduct;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in:   Nicaragua,   UK;
• With regard to education:
     -   objections to public single sex schools (I am staggered that public money is used for such misguided and, frankly, perverted things);     a University ignored the bullying of a toxic supervisor – and actually rewarded him;     calls for safe, inclusive schools for all;     from China, using dance to keep students fit;
     -   other education matters have occurred in:   Nigeria;
• 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):
     -   police database and procedural (they refused to make a phone call) robbed a carer of her car, dignity, and ability to care for a vulnerable person;     “The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Italy to pay [compensation to a US citizen] for police failures to provide her access to a lawyer and a translator during questioning over the 2007 killing of her British flatmate . . . [which] opens the way for [a] challenge [to] her last remaining conviction”;     “youth advocates say they are concerned . . . courts [in one Australian state] are shunning effective diversionary programs – and don’t understand the benefits – after a magistrate said he thought restorative justice was “’airy fairy’ ”.

Location based News:

• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
     -   the African Union will facilitate ”long-awaited peace talks between the government of the Central African Republic and militia groups”;
     -   “ten UN peacekeepers from Chad were killed and at least 25 were wounded while repelling an attack by armed assailants near a village in northern Mali”;
     -   the political crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has deepened after that nation’s top court rejected a challenge to the declared election result – see here for thoughts on a way out of the crisis;     “dozens of Congolese Ebola survivors are dispelling rumours and caring for patients and lone children in the world's second deadliest outbreak”;
     -   a ceasefire in an Ethiopian state;
     -   after dozens of LGBT refugees in Kenya were moved to escape homophobic attacks, they have become ill;
     -   “why education is a vital step on route to peace and prosperity for Nigeria”, where armed conflict continues to increase humanitarian needs;
     -   the problem of fires in South Africa’s slums, and a possible solution;
     -   as the death toll from the military response (which has used live ammunition to disperse crowds, and hundreds have been arrested) to opposition supported protests against an economic crisis climbs to between 29 (authorities) and 40 (human rights groups), calls for “the western celebrities and the human rights industry”, who have formerly been so active, to help the Sudanese people now, as they try to improve their lives – which has led to a response that Westerners are “going after the regime's loot”;
     -   a “ ‘surge’ in female genital mutilation in Uganda”;
     -   Zimbabwe’s leader has cut short an international trip to return to his protest-riven nation, where, despite the Presidents pledge, beatings, abductions and torture continue – see also “revolt and repression in Zimbabwe”;     “Zimbabwe seeks wiser ways to use water amid erratic rains”;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   “as many as 200 people are missing after three dams operated by [a] mining giant . . . collapsed in [Brazil], releasing a wave of red mining waste and prompting fears of widespread contamination”;     a gay congressman has fled Brazil, citing death threats;     “an American missionary operating in Brazil has exposed an isolated indigenous tribe to disease and possibly death”;
     -   in response to a violent extremist attack, “thousands of people across Colombia have taken to the streets demanding peace and chanting ‘no to terrorism’ ” and the UN has been urged to nurture peace. . . but the bomb has shattered peace talks with Colombia’s last guerrillas;
     -   “a bid to give amnesty to all those found guilty of grave human rights crimes during Guatemala’s decades-long civil war, by amending the National Reconciliation Law, could represent a ‘drastic set-back’ to the whole legal system and overall accountability”;
     -   in a very belated victory of rationality over small-minded, presumptuous and idiotic bigotry and hate, “a Mexican woman who miscarried in a department store toilet has been freed after three years in prison”;     Mexico has opened its doors to Central American refugees;
     -   “Nicaragua’s best-known journalist has gone into exile after armed police raided and ransacked his newsroom in what experts called the latest chapter of the country’s slide into autocracy”;
• 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:
     -   concerns that China “will struggle to repay an ever-increasing mountain of debt, with potential detrimental consequences for the global market” – see also here;     authoritarian and socially backward China has decided to “blur out the ears of actors who wear jewellery” because it is considered effeminate . . . ;
     -    as “an undeclared . . . headquarters of one of North Korea’s ballistic missile programmes [is uncovered], calls for the next US-North Korean summit to be a turning point, and used to declare an end to the Korean war, as well as for a focus on more pressing threats;
     elsewhere in Asia:
     -   an examination of the political ramifications in Indonesia of the imminent release of a jailed former Presidential candidate;
     -   Malaysia has been “urged to make stalking a crime”;
     -   “Muslims in the southern Philippines are voting in a referendum on a new autonomous region that seeks to end nearly half a century of unrest”;
     -   the bodies of two anti-government activists who disappeared from Laos have been found in Thailand “in what are feared to be political killings”;
     -   an “Australian citizen and pro-democracy activist . . . has been detained” in Viêt Nám;
     and in the Pacific:
     -   lack of money for repairs – and lack of money for treatment overseas - has caused a “cancer crisis” in Papua New Guinea (PNG);     the sixth annual Australia–Papua New Guinea Emerging Leaders Dialogue;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
     -   “the yellow vests are going to change France. We just don’t know how”;
     -   more clashes in Greece over the change opf name of Macedonia to Northern Macedonia – which has been supported by Greece’s Parliament;
     -   thousands of Poles have attended the funeral of a progressive Mayor who was murdered;
     -   “police in Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, and European Union member Ireland have warned that a return to a hard border between the two after Brexit, complete with customs and other checks, could be a target for militant groups.”;
• With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
     -   “extreme winter cold is making life harder for thousands of people whose lives have already been torn apart by conflict”;
• With regard to Russia,     Russian influenced nations     and     eastern Europe,     Central Asia,     and responses to same (see also elsewhere):
     in Central Asia:
     -   climate change-related security risks;
• 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):
     -   violent extremists “have killed more than 100 Afghan security personnel at a military compound” 45,000 have been killed since 2014;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     on India:
     -   “violent protests are continuing in India's north-eastern states over a proposed amendment to the country's citizenship law”;     India is India rushing “to save vanishing groundwater”;    “the many lives of land in India”;
     on Pakistan:
     -   “Pakistani authorities have removed a counterterrorism police commander in the province of Punjab and will charge five officials with murder over a shooting last week in which an innocent family was killed”;
     elsewhere in South Asia:
     -   “more than 100 Sri Lankan Tamil families demanding the return of their land nearly 10 years after the end of a civil war, plan to occupy their former homes . . . if the government does not hand over the properties as agreed”;
• 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 paper on making West Asia nuclear weapons free;
     on Israel and Palestine:
     -   as a call is made for empathy, “there is . . . just a rebranding of the status quo, maintained by force by Israel, and with Palestinians within and without Israel’s borders subjugated and dependent. Israelis must turn away from the occupation, which is debasing their society and suffocating the Palestinians”;     “the possibility of establishing a ‘viable, contiguous Palestinian state’ has been ‘systematically eroded by facts on the ground’ ”;     the “fuel crisis [is] rapidly draining [the] last ‘coping capacities’ of Palestinians in Gaza”;     Israel is abusing Palestinian prisoners;
     -   on other violent incidents this week, see:   here;
     -   other events concerning Israel/Judaism and/or Palestine have occurred or are developing in:   Germany;
     on the  conflict and the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis in Yemen:
     -   recommendations on how to preserve the peace deal;
     on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
     -   Israel has attacked Iranian forces in Syria;     medical supplies have been airlifted to areas in desperate need;
     elsewhere in the region:
     -   “an Egyptian TV presenter has been sentenced to one year of hard labour for interviewing a gay man”;     an “Australian . . . has been locked up for a year in Egypt waiting for charges to be laid” (and how many locals?);     Egypt is still not free;
     -   a detailed, law-based examination of the USA’s criticism of Iran’s “space launch vehicles” find the concern is excessive;     an assessment of the status of the Iran nuclear deal after three years;     some brave Iranian women are continuing to protest the imposed mediaeval dress code, despite a “bitter backlash” from the religious bigots;
     -   “as their country approaches an economic precipice, Lebanese are protesting once more”.

Other News:

• good sporting behaviour (with sexist writing).

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.