Post No. 1,301 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 257

For the sake of my health, until I retire or change to an easier day job , I have cut back these posts.
Throughout 2019, these posts are likely to be cut back even further as a family illness is dealt with.

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);
      4. Ensuring opposition to POTUS45 is unified, cohesive and FOCUSED, NOT fractured or divisive;

(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   Iraq and the DR Congo,
       (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,     BPM leadership in response to a terrible event, combined with constructive, inclusive responses and calls for holding to account - elsewhere, and in other matters and contexts, as well - and reflection on contributory/causative matters, offset by examples of those problems;      catering for people who are out of place or different continues to be a problem for some people;     against a background of continued delusional denial and causative behaviour, some have taken action - some exemplary – against climate change;     the effects of rampant commercialism and poor to bad capitalism on society and democracy is becoming more apparent;     totalitarian techniques continue to be used the power hungry, big and small – exacerbated by denialism, cognitive dissonance, and favouritism / nepotism;     bigotry and bias, conscious and unconscious;     violence exacerbated by an inhuman absence of any empathy;     failure to think / get out of the norm;     continued degradation of rights to create a totalitarian cultural hegemony;     good guidelines on various governance matters;     inflammatory actions, including for maintenance of grip on power;

(e)   may all BPM attributes and behaviours continue unabated, and even grow stronger and more widespread;

(f)   may all people have a BPM flexibility, adaptability, and responsiveness to new matters and BPM changes;

(g)   may all people have the BPM courage and objectivity to face the consequences of reality, actions, and change, including – and especially – climate change, and to take the appropriate BPM actions and responses;

(h)   may rampant commercialism, poor to bad capitalism, and materialism be actively rejected and countered by all people;

(i)   may all people who are addicted to power have the inherent flaws and problems in that BPM exposed;

(j)   may all people have the wherewithal to recognise that social media, surrender of privacy to data acquisition, and the like, are creating a world that is actively harmful, and actively BPM reject same and take the appropriate BPM actions and responses;

(k)   may all people be aware of and refuse to response to provocation, and instead actively choose to take appropriate BPM actions and responses;

(l)   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;     the responses of New Zealand’s Prime Minister to the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand;
     a special section this week on the terrorist attack in a Christchurch, New Zealand mosque:
     -      -   on last week’s terrorist attack in New Zealand, with emerging details including     several acts of courage that saved lives, some from passing strangers,     that the shooter used violent extremist online techniques, including sending a manifesto (with a perverted twisting of terminology) minutes before the attack,     investigations that reached Australia and Europe,     frustration at the conflict between religious observance and police investigation,     the mosque at the centre of these terrible events has reopened, with NZ women wearing headscarves in support, 2 minutes silence, and a sermon denouncing the “evil ideology of white supremacy”;    
     -   an ANALYSIS of the mass murder by shooting from the aspect of identity, with a heading that these “shootings remind us that in the war of identity, the casualties aren't strangers — they're our neighbours”, is supported by this “stark warning of [a] toxic political environment that allows hate to flourish”;     a critique of the responses;     a call for political restraint;     commentary on media ethics (“avoid giving unnecessary oxygen to the terrorist, and avoid unnecessarily violating standards of public decency”);     the “the ‘both sides’ argument has rung hollow for years, but at this moment it is disgusting”;     as one Australian states is revealed to have downgraded its hates crime section to one officer, actions to stop fear and hate (especially in teenagers);     a reminder of Australia’s history of hate and export of violence against Muslims by selling military weapons;     ponderings as to how the threat was missed;
     -   the RESPONSE – brilliantly  led by NZ Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern, who “has vowed never to say the name of the Christchurch mosque gunman”, will include changes to New Zealand’s gun laws (progress is being made already [in stark contrast to the USA] but some are allegedly buying up guns while others seek to hand weapons in even without changes, and others have called for more change [registration has still not been introduced]), and she has called for a global anti-racism fight;     a call for bystanders to speak up has been made (lack of bystander action is why I no longer bother with some workplace complaints, for instance);     a call to “confront the right’s hate preachers”;     an appalling incident where a Muslim was asked to condemn Islamist/pseudo-Islamist violence;     calls by New Zealand Muslims for “security agencies to target right wing extremists”;     Australia’s neoliberal party will now not direct preferences to the far right party that put a notorious Senator into Parliament – or is that still not firm? The PM – see here on his history - won’t admit that the party is racist (time now for the ALP in NSW, currently struggling with racism allegations, to do likewise and not make a preference deal with the gun nuts party);     Australia’s PM has made a highly questionable claim that he has “always” sought to confront, not exploit, Islamophobia;
     -   in OTHER flow-on effects and responses, while there has been some good, responsible journalism, white supremacists have “celebrated” the mass murder online;     Australia has called for global restrictions on social media (the video was taken down after 17 minutes, which is apparently less than the length of the video, but that was long enough for damage to be done – 1.5 million copies were removed in the first 24 hours – except in China, which used the video to allege security flaws in the West – and social media platforms have defended themselves, saying the speed and scale of the spread was unprecedented [which is a useful reminder that the watchers also have a responsibility to not watch, and those who choose to do so may need psychiatric help: do others notice this, or are they loners?]);     a controversial social media platform –which was “deafeningly” silent for four days – will review its live stream policy, after admitting it only prioritises suicide videos, and that there are flaws in its AI moderation;     commentary on how harm is done and self-care – see also this nuanced article;     the US White House has tried to defend their (racist, lying, dishonourable, autocratic, dangerous, obnoxious, and misogynistic) moronic POTUS45 after he supported an Islamophobe (as a late night show host said, “if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, then why does it keep goose-stepping?”);     and a professional provocateur has finally been banned from entering Australia (but there are concerns about neo-nazi musician who wants to come here;     appallingly, Turkey’s Grand Sultan Erdowan (“Erdogan”) has been using the murderer’s video to score political points . . .  (leading to a diplomatic incident with Australia after the Sultan threatened to kill anti-Muslim Australians);     concerningly, a stupid teenager egged a notorious extreme right politician (which IS a puerile assault, lacking humour or any other remedial attribute, likely to give ammunition and motivation to conservatives, and, when done from behind to a public figure, will create fear), but the over-reaction included the politician (who, in a reminder of the importance of making sure candidates are worthy of office, cannot be expelled for his Islamophobia, although moves are underway to use a loophole to suspend him) hitting the teenager twice (the first hit may be a reaction, but not the second), who stupidly referred to the politicians supporters who restrained and apparently choked him (one of whom has an outstanding warrant for violently terrorising a church congregation) as bogans (and he will not seek to press charges, which may be an admission of the shaky ground he is on), and both sides of this incident are being investigated. In a similar vein, another idiot has attacked a famous person as being Islamophobic for criticising anti-Semitism, and another xenophobic Australian MP has attacked critics of the hate mongers;     Indonesia has summoned Australia’s Ambassador to issue a rebuke, and Bangladesh has – understandably -  warned its citizens of Islamophobia in Australia and New Zealand;     a rugby club known as “the crusaders” may change its name;     a rejection of “shapeshifting” into forms of Islam acceptable to others;
     -   STORIES on the victims (as young as three) include this, this, a Syrian refugee and one of his sons were the first victims to be buried;     relatives stories (including one young girl’s comment that “my dad is a real hero. He got shot in the back to shield my brothers”);     a list of the victims;
     -   meanwhile, SUPPORT has included projecting a silver fern, an emblem of New Zealand, on to the Sydney Opera House as a symbol of solidarity,   tributes,   a haka,   a memorial event;
     on the Rohingya  genocide this week:
     -   the struggle to educate child Rohingya refugees;
     on other matters requiring particular attention:
     -   the Special Prosecutor’s report on the investigation into Russian interference and alleged election from POTUS45’s election team has been finished and submitted; (if I was a sub-editor who didn’t care about things like truth and nuance, I’d probably use a heading along the lines of “Mueller’s done; is Trump?”);
     -   “the idea that ‘the markets’ make all the big decisions about our society has eaten away our democracy”;     a warning that “the resentments and anger caused by unemployment, poverty and widening inequality are dangerous for liberal democracies, including Australia, and the ‘worry for us is the aftershocks of the great recession have yet to stop’ ”;
     -   “students are striking [1.4 million took part], the [Australian] central bank is warning of ‘damaging outcomes’ and denialism has to be met with scorn”;     “energy analysts forecast 'the end of coal' in Asia as Japanese investors back renewables”;     as major oil firms are revealed to have spent millions lobbying against climate change measures, and POTUS45 is accused of using “Stalinist” techniques against climate change science, “in the first significant check on [POTUS45’s] “energy-first” agenda, a US judge has temporarily halted hundreds of drilling projects for failing to take climate change into account”;     “Cyclone Idai shows the deadly reality of climate change in Africa”;     the link between climate change and disasters, and child and adolescent poverty;
     -   “Football Federation Australia’s decision to support Asian Football Confederation [the Bahraini president’s] bid for re-election has been labelled “sickening” and “difficult to understand”, following the case of” the detention of an Australian refugee from Bahrain in Thailand;     “a United Nations appeals court [has] increased the 40-year sentence initially imposed on [a] former leader of the [Serb] region of Bosnia and head of the Bosnian-Serb Army, to life imprisonment” – but hero worship of that evil criminal continues;
     -   China’s latest propaganda campaign (ho-hum . . . yawn);     the growing  economic power of totalitarian China;
     -   major problems continue to occur in Venezuela and Zimbabwe, as discussed in sections below;
     -   a notorious Australian territory will pass laws about the powers of guards that “directly contradict the recommendations of the 2017 Royal commission into juvenile detention”;
     -   bias in reporting polls (these ones in the USA, but applies elsewhere as well) summed up as “white men are considered everyone”;     European bias may be limiting our understanding of disease and potential treatments;     Australia’s indigenous suicide crisis is continuing, with 35 deaths by suicide in three months – including three 12 year old children;
     -   20% of indigenous women have been the victims of violence, and thousands are missing;
     -   Kachin women from burma have been raped in China until they become pregnant;     “Pakistan women’s march organisers [have highlighted] online death threats”;     an Afghan singer known for promoting women’s rights has defied death threats to return to conservative rural Afghanistan;     “UN discloses rise in sex abuse cases [but] ascribes it to better reporting”;     a commercial TV network gave in to trolls who posted misogynistic – and sexually abusive - remarks;     a South Sudanese “ ‘superhero’ [has won the Bond Humanitarian Award] for [her] work with children born of rape”;     “a corporate event attended by [an Australian state] Premier has come under fire for including a striptease performance”;     broader programmes, rather than targeting girls, are more likely to get and keep girls in schools (by changing social attitudes etc), but are often not found because the title, key words, etc don’t include “girl”;
     -   in a talk on the pervasiveness of data acquisition, disturbing parallels between business propaganda (aka “marketing”) techniques and grooming for violent extremism - see also here, on “surveillance capitalism”;
     -   “international legal standards for placing human dignity and sustainable development at the centre of [nation’s] responses to illicit drug economies”;
     -   in its next round of destabilising diplomatic stupidity, “the USA will recognise Israel’s [claimed] sovereignty over the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in 1967” – which is likely to increase the chances of POTUS45’s mate, the Israeli Prime Minister (currently facing corruption charges), being returned to power in upcoming elections. POTUS45 will also remove sanctions against North Korea because he lies that nation’s despot . . . ;
     -   “life on the breadline is not a lack of character, it’s a lack of money”;
       this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists   Iraq and the DR Congo;
• 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:
     -   an outline of upcoming elections in five Asian nations;     a European city will trial free public transport;     a commentary on social media encrypting data;     priorities for improving Australia’s public service;     insufficient of diversity and inclusion is hindering the nuclear monitoring/non-proliferation industry;     examination of “norms of disclosure”;     “thalidomide survivors [are] owed [an] apology and compensation from Government”;
     of concern internationally this week:
     -   “Pakistan lodges formal complaint to UN over forest damage [caused] by Indian air strike”;     Libya is at a crossroad;     evidence may be emerging between the former East Germany’s Stasi and former Libyan dictator Gaddafi’s secret service, but some “believe the Lockerbie bombing was carried out by Palestinian terrorists on behalf of Iran, in retaliation for the US downing of an Iranian passenger jet in 1988”;
     of concern in my nation (Australia) this week:
     -   the lease of a major northern Australian port to China cannot be undone;     questions over the allocation of emissions reduction funding;     “two million Australians avoid or delay going to the dentist each year” – because of cost;     an analysis of the cost of emissions reduction was poorly performed (on what I have read and heard, I would say it was incompetent);     as “more people than ever need a second job to help pay the bills”,“120 labour market researchers [have signed] an open letter calling for intervention to boost wage growth”;     supposedly free education is being subjected to fees;     privacy concerns about the neoliberals latest online data scheme, which is ostensibly to give control over financial data . . . ;
     -   other concerning events have occurred or are developing in:   Bangladesh,   Indonesia,   Uganda,  Venezuela,   Zimbabwe,   Colombia;
     with regard to cyber warfare and other cyber problems this week:
     -   deterrence;     the under constant threat of a world-renowned expert destroying ransomware;     guidance to government departments on sharing data;     opting out of facial recognition options is being blocked at US airports;
     in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
     -   events in the grey or neutral area have occurred or are developing in:   DR Congo,   Taiwan;
     good news this week includes:
     -   my home State Parliament may switch from a neochristian prayer to a multi-cultural prayer for its daily opening;
     on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense):
     -   “poor people's right to water cut off by thirsty exports, unequal supply” (pay up to 20 times more than the rich);     “South-South cooperation is key to the world’s sustainable development and the fight against global warming” – see also here and here;    “safe drinking water, sanitation, are ‘basic human rights’ ”;
     and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
     on the Royal Commission into banks, and similar matters:
     -   evidence to the aged care Royal Commission has include the despair of carers seeing “their taxpayer subsidy eroded by administration fees”;     “eight out of every 10 applicants seeking to provide a home care service to ageing Australians are "bottom feeders" and see it as nothing more than a ‘business opportunity’ ”;     “potential criminal acts in the financial services industry exposed at the banking royal commission may never hit court”;
     on other matters:
     -   the balanced budget is largely due to income tax;     “the Australian government is fighting to hide. . . letters to the Queen about a][ much-ridiculed bid to bring back knight and dame honours, despite the information watchdog ordering the documents be produced”;     Australia's coal export bonanza continues to be at risk as the ‘ban’ spreads amid restructuring and diplomatic tension;
• With regard to the USA and their schoolyard BULLYING, unpresidential, uncomprehending, murdering, lying, dishonourable, delusional 45^th “President” (POTUS45) (see here on actions for US residents, and note that the VP is at least as bad):
     -   renewed consideration of reparations for descendants of slaves;
     -    a summary of the current investigations into POTUS45;
     -   divided views by those who will be directly affected by POTUS45’s wall;
     -   POTUS45 faces a backlash – including from his own party - after reviving attacks on deceased Senator McCain;
     -   two senior US White House official related to POTUS45 are being dangerously irresponsible with electronic communication;
     -   financial moguls think POTUS45 would win any election held now because of a strong economy – see also here, on the strength of the US dollar;
     -   criticism of prolonged “emergencies” – up to 40 years;
• 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 2 attacks in Iraq, 7 attacks in Afghanistan,   and 2 attacks in Syria   (out of a total of 27, causing at least 131 deaths [95 in Muslim nations] and 97 injuries [87 in Muslim nations]);
     -   in addition:     actions (Note: there are many others that don’t reach the media I read) have occurred this week against violent extremists in:   Indonesia;
     -   “how US military aid can backfire”;
• With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration), and remembering Haiti, Ethiopia, Madagascar, DR Congo, and the Philippines), people seeking asylum and migrants:
     -   an Italian charity ship has defied that nation’s government to rescue 50 refugees off the Libyan coats;     refugees in Australia’s gulag on Nauru have been exposed to asbestos;
     -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in:   USA;
• 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 criticism of human rights treaties, based on signatures not leading to change;     status of LGBT rights globally;     a rebuttal of myths and misunderstandings around testosterone in women show the lack of a valid scientific basis for gender rules;
     -   in addition to any opportunities below on child abuse and human trafficking, general opportunities to take action on human rights here, here, and, this week,   here (Iran);
     -   other human rights matters have also occurred in:   China,   Colombia,   Zimbabwe,   Venezuela;
     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):
     -   an explanation of why the transgender policy of a sporting code is transphobic (if the criteria were higher than 50^th percentile, I’d consider it, but that standard is clearly designed to exclude);
     -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in:   USA (good news),   Japan;
     on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
     -   “white critics don’t know how to deal with the golden age of Indigenous stories”;     a review of last week’s High Court decision that native title in Australia has a specific monetary value, and compensation is owed for “cultural loss - a loss of the fundamental spiritual attachment of the people to the land”;     a TEDx talk (last year) on the Uluru  Statement  from the Heart as an idea whose time has come;
     on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week (from Thomson Reuters Foundation, Freedom United, and other sources):
     -   the ongoing, cross-generational legacy of child abuse;     a suggestion to use traffickers’ cash to help compensate victims;
     -   also on child abuse, including institutional, this week:   the neochristian catholic church,   Australia,   China,   Australia;
     -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week:   Viêt Nám/Japan,   USA,   Niger (good news);
     on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone, and the potential value to women of using anger):
     -   a film “director [has been] rehired after axing over rape jokes”;     in a northern Australian state, a call has been made by a former judge “for reform of a century-old legal loophole [the “mistake of fact” defence, based on myths about rape] that can allow accused rapists to walk free”;     a commercial TV channel’s soap on mothers is illustrating “the ways in which the gendered double-standards around mothering have intensified rather than contracted”, and is “mired in the more questionable aspects of the ‘good mother’ stereotype” (“The well-worn stereotypes are all on show: a man's anger is righteous; an angry woman is mentally unwell. A man's tears are courageous; a tearful woman is either frigid or hysterical”): the series “works as a reminder that we need to better address the core conflicts women face as they navigate the world. Mothers — in particular — are required to earn an income, pay off a mortgage, and accumulate savings for their retirement, but also be prepared to drop everything for any member of their family when they call. These demands are clearly contradictory. But so far in Bad Mothers there's a creeping expectation that it's only the women who will have to try harder . . . Female exhaustion is a material problem, and it ought to be a political one”;
     -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see:   UK;
     -   other sexism matters have also occurred in:   airline industry;
     on RELIGIOUS rights this week:
     -   religious rights / Islamophobia matters have also occurred in:   Indonesia;
     on WORKERS’ rights this week:
     -   workers’ rights matters have also occurred in:   Bangladesh;
     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 cruise ship line;
• With regard to war (noting that economic ties do NOT prevent war), violence and hate generally:
     -   “in [non-nuclear] war, dirty water [is] more dangerous to children than violence”;
• With regard to peace:
     -   an interesting examination of the link between kindness and violence in humans, including the premise that, like bonobos, we are “self-domesticated”, and that the most violent people have been killed off;
• With regard to spirituality,   personal growth,    and     psychism generally     (including empathy, revolutionary love, survival after death, good religion, UFOs, being single / asexual / off-grid / non-conformist / true to yourself):
     -   “recorded meditations in Kriol, Ngaanyatjarra and Pitjantjiatjara languages”;     a call to avoid over-simplified, clichéd approaches;     the value of UPG;     turning a common spiritual question around, “why is there joy in the world?”;
• With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
     -   more than 1,000 feared dead amongst widespread devastation in Mozambique, where it has been described as their worst ever natural disaster, and Zimbabwe from Cyclone Idai – 2.6 million people across the region have been affected, aid agencies are struggling to reach those in need, and the floodwaters (which have already created a lake 125 km long and 25 km wide) are still rising;     thousands have been evacuated in floods in the USA, where 200 million people are at risk this year;     identifying the victims of the Ethiopian air crash will take months. On that and the second crash, the reputation of the USA’s Federal Aviation Administration is at risk over its handling of the grounding of the type of planes involved, and Boeing’s reputation may be shaky (Indonesia has cancelled orders for this type of plane) after revelations it made two key safety features (an “angle of attack indicator” and an “angle of attack disagree light”) optional extras (now belatedly made standard issue . . . );     flash floods have killed at least 50 people in Indonesia;     a fire and explosion in a pesticide factory in China has killed 47 and injured 640;     scores (‘nearly 100”) have drowned after a ferry sank in Iraq;     two extreme cyclones are off Australian coasts, with evacuations (excepting pets!) ahead of one;
• 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 – see here],     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,     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:
     -   solutions to the waste crisis (hmm . . . maybe – up to a point);     a disused mine is polluting waterways;     a whale died because of 40 kg of plastic in its stomach . . . ;     an Australian state has rejected recommendations for carbon neutrality;     a wild breeding programme had some success until feral pests outstripped control efforts and killed the reintroduced animals;     a Australian state government will compulsorily acquire the three remaining  properties which remain occupied in a heavily town built for asbestos miners and their families;     “the federal environment department has admitted it does not know whether recovery plans meant to prevent extinctions of threatened species are actually being implemented”;    the importance of looking after forests - and wetlands;     plans to rewild “large swathes” of the Scottish highlands;     a theft of water incident;
     -   other environmental matters have occurred in:   Malaysia,   UK,   USA;
     on technology and science matters:
     -   “farmers fed up with slow internet [have built] their own network”;     a call to focus on autonomous public transport rather than self-driving private cars;     a controversial social media platform “mistakenly stored ‘hundreds of millions”’ of passwords in plaintext, unprotected by any encryption”;     another call for remote IDs for drones;
     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?):
     -    an oversupply of apartments has been exposed as the construction boom slows;     jobs are being lost as housebuilding slows – which could be countered by allowing people to build smaller houses;
     on health and medical:
     -   the story of a US doctor who has been fighting the US opioid crisis for two decades, including an explanation of the changes that led to it;
     -   other health and medical matters have occurred in:   UK;
     on other matters in the category:
     -   interesting ideas for my home city;
• With regard to press aka the media, and freedom of expression     (claims of presenting “both sides” of a debate can be WRONG if the other side is RUBBISH –as is the case on LGBTIQ issues.     Also, media can be unprofessional,     but funding is an issue … ):
     -   a newspaper has been found responsible for a journalist’s PTSD;
     -   other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in:   Iran,   China;
• With regard to education:
     -   a university has rethought a professorship it was offering to a professional provocateur;
• With regard to crime, judicial matters and policing     (noting (1) an uncle of mine resigned when corruption was not comprehensively cleaned out of the police force he served in, I have high expectations of police, and I consider all violence, abuse of power and failure to understand the impacts of their actions [e.g., see here and here] undermines and weaken all police – who are under incredible pressure, and (2) all people charged are innocent until proven guilty):
     -   “investigators were forced to create multiple false identities with the assistance of banks and phone companies to launch covert "sting" operations against ride share company Uber when it first began in Australia” (to overcome its use of “Greyball”);     “the health risks of incarceration”.

Location based News:

• With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
     -   “the election of [a new] President . . . in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), marks ‘an extraordinary opportunity’ for the country to advance civil and political rights” (if it continues to be the first peaceful handover of power);
     -   the problem of urban growth in Ethiopia;
     -   concerns over eviction for mining in Guinea;
     -   divisions over satellite cities in Kenya, where the problem of hunger is being highlighted;
     -   a call for better wastewater systems in South Africa (I know there is work underway on this);
     -   Sudan is making some responses to cost-of-living protests;
     -   “Uganda investigates UN food aid after three die”;
     -   violence and excesses by police and army suppressing demonstrations in Zimbabwe includes beatings, murder and rape;
• With regard to South and Central America:
     -   flight rules in Brazil are forcing flights to remote areas to use fake flight plans;      more info on Brazil’s hardline, divisive, misogynistic, like-POTUS45-and-Duterte, President, who was recently welcomed to the US White House by his brother-in-hate (will POTUS45 now support Brazil entering the OECD?);     a convoy of trucks carrying uranium reached safety after an attack by gunmen was beaten off;
     -   retired Chilean soldiers have been sentenced to jail over a 1986 attack on activists were beaten and burned alive, leaving one disfigured and the other dead; Chile (good news),
     -   Colombian has promoted army officers who have committed human rights abuses;
     -   “the Nicaraguan government has agreed to release all opposition prisoners within 90 days in a bid to restart stalled peace talks”;
     -   “the “magnitude and gravity of the human rights impact” of Venezuela’s current crisis” has made the nation “a worrying destabilising factor in the region”;     why “Chavistas” still support Maduro – and some international trade unions have rejected the swearing in of Guaidó, despite the terrible problems;     the profound risks of a military intervention;     “water is now gold for desperate Venezuelans”;
• 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):
     -   “ ‘growing alarm’ over [the] Fall Armyworm advance, with cash crops ‘under attack’ across Asia”;
     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 nightmare facing single women and lesbians in China around access to fertility treatment I recall the struggle we had here on that – two decades ago);
     -   Taiwan is networking in response to increasing existential Chinese pressure;
     -   “how the Dalai Lama’s dash from Tibet [60 years ago] ‘changed the concept of Buddhism’ forever [and] set off a chain of events that [China] likely could not have predicted, and surely did not intend”;
     elsewhere in Asia:
     -   a call for the USA to do more to help Indonesia counter violent extremism;     a court case is hoping to drive Indonesia away from coal;
     -   a pollution incident in Malaysia;
     -   another article on the upcoming elections in pseudo-democratic (the military is trying to hold on to power through proxy political parties) Thailand;
     and in the Pacific:
     -   Vanuatu will ban disposable nappies, and is now looking at alternatives;
• With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
     -   more stupidity as France’s yellow vest protestors indulge in violence;
     -   in Germany, “Volkswagen's supervisory board has condemned remarks made by the company's chief executive, when he alluded to a Nazi-era slogan while describing the carmaker's earnings potential”;
     -   a star witness against a former Italian Prime Minister may have been poisoned;
     -   thousands of Serbians have demonstrated for free elections, greater media freedoms, and the resignation of the Prime Minister;
     -   Brexit has been left in chaos as a Parliamentary rule prevents a third vote that may have been successful, forcing the divided UK into either a hard Brexit or hoping to convince its annoyed neighbours in Europe (who are expecting the British government to fall) to give it an extension . . . which they may do, if the blocked deal is agreed to . . . (Catch 22 anyone?) (they got a conditional two week extension);
• With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
     -   people in Ukraine want peace;     divisive new laws may increase the risk of ethnic conflict;
• With regard to Russia,     Russian influenced nations     and     eastern Europe,     Central Asia,     and responses to same (see also elsewhere):
     Russia:
     -   Russia’s economic problems;
     in Central Asia:
     -   “Kazakhstan’s president has announced his retirement after nearly 30 years as leader”;
• With regard to the conflict in  sexist Afghanistan (noting that Afghanistan was once a peaceful and modern society, even allowing women in miniskirts, before the Russian invasion – see here):
     -   the war is taking a terrible toll on children – including the sexual trafficking of boys;
• With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
     -   an opinion that peace is possible in Kashmir;     the “India-Pakistan ‘friendship bus’ ”;
     on India:
     -   a large Indian water project, based on a certain amount of rain occurring, has been brought undone by the complete lack of rain;     “hundreds of Indian land laws cause confusion [and] conflict”;     “in a major victory for land rights campaigners, Delhi High Court ruled that forced evictions of slum dwellers without consultation or resettlement plans are illegal”;     India’s job crisis is predominantly affecting women;     organic farming is helping some farmers;
     elsewhere in South Asia:
     -   Bangladesh’s Prime Minister has had an extreme over-reaction to mild criticism, having his critic arrested and charged with defamation;
• 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:
     -   Israel’s Supreme Court has disqualified the leader of a far right party and reinstated Israeli Arab parties;     “Gaza economic protests expose cracks in Hamas's rule”;     “Israel [is] depriving Palestinians of clean water”;
     on the  conflict and the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis in Yemen:
     -   hunger in remote areas of Yemen;
     on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
     -   60,000 civilians - “mostly” civilians - have fled the last violent extremist held enclave in Syria, where hundreds of civilians are reported to have been killed (the violent extremist group is also likely to change to guerrilla tactics and existence);     growing risks for the last rebel-held enclave;
     elsewhere in the region:
     -   protests in Algeria for the delay of elections to be reversed have been met with unusual restraint by police;
     -   calls to address Iran’s harassment of journalists;
     -   economic problems in Turkey.

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 (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.