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.
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 energies we use and manifest in our daily lives contribute to the larger soup of energies that influence world events, so it pays to address those as well, to the extent that one can, or to at least stop oneself projecting them into the psychic soup.
The reminders /
explanations about Sunday’s meditation-clearing
are here; see also here, here, here, (here and also here and here are interesting), here,
here, here, and
this
post reminds us to be patient and persistent, like a “speeding oak”.
There are some notes at
the end of this post about other options for those who do not like this way of
working.
Finally, one of the biggest concerns I have about spirituality in the
world now is that the concept of agape type love has been perverted into both a
quest for emotional warm fuzzies, and an excuse to avoid doing the hard work of
improving oneself and
all that one does. See also here
and here.
The themes that come to mind for my work
this week, after I review all this news, are:
(a) based on my interpretation of information here and here with Uranus in Aries contributing to fresh and possibly radical starts (until March 2019), and Pluto in Capricorn contributing to a transformation of power and business (and careers) (until some date in the Year 2024), conditions are ripe for a change for the better in world politics;(b) there is an enormous need to clear nonBPM energy – the thought forms, unattached energy and scars of the collective unconscious created by millennia of violence, including spirit rescue, and healing the warped views, seemingly “inherent” biases, and other damage created. Also, remember:
(1) the counter to fear is genuine EQ and clear thinking, expressed through calm, de-escalating speech,
(2) where problems exist, advocating for BPM responses, and being as BPM as one can be, are constructive solutions,
(3) peace is powerful, but it is a process requiring patient, persistent and nuanced nurturing, and a blend of conventional spiritual work, clearing nonBPM units, and physical world activism;(c) dealing with the 45th “President” 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 Syria, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of the 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, learnings on generosity and goodness; fear that holding those who abuse temporal power to account could result in one’s own temporal power being lessened and thus failure to act against war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity (and crimes) – but others who are exercising accountability over others’ use / misuse / abuse of (any form of) power; the cognitive dissonance and appallingly bad governance (including corruption) of climate crisis deniers, partly offset by some good actions and wins; realistic actions on technological problems; revelations about business and industrial propaganda; some authorities are acting on the side of hate and control, whereas some others are choosing decency and actions against hate anywhere; stereotypical hyper-macho contests of power continue to plague the world on all scales – including large scales that could lead to war; lies, deceit, taking credit for / failing to acknowledge other’s work; all the –isms, which are based on seeing human beings different to oneself as “other” or somehow lesser;(e) may all people learn to realise and manifest their essential BPM kindness, generosity and goodness;(f) may those who have power recognise the impossibility of keeping that and thus learn to BPM love good, selfless and responsible use of that power more than the having of it;(g) may people learn to BPM accept, be comfortable with, and take what actions they can on disasters of all scale, from personal to the climate crisis;(h) may all that is new, glitzy or flashy be BPM objectively assessed, and only used to the extent that is good, with ALL harmful aspects being BPM constrained, balanced or neutralised;(i) may all people act to BPM realise and manifest their better selves – the loving “better angels of their nature”, and may that BPM triumph over fear, hate and negativity;(l) may the consequences of actions be truly, deeply and genuinely BPM comprehended and given proper BPM consideration;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 crisis and environment, technology
and science, economic and financial, housing, health and medical); media;
education; crime judicial and police;- Location-based News:
Africa; South and Central America;
mainland China, East and South East Asia, and the Pacific; Europe;
Ukraine; Russia and Central Asia; Afghanistan; South Asia;
West Asia and northern Africa;- Other Sites;opportunities/good news (in my opinion) are shown in green;comments (by me) are shown in purple; andWARNING: some of these links may contain triggers around issues such as violence, sexual assault, discrimination, etc.
Permanent Issues and Thematically Arranged News:
- Permanent issue: may all actual and potential BPM Leaders and their Significant Others be kept BPM safe, undetectable and inviolable against indirect psychic attack, and may they have all the BPM resources (including an assured income), opportunities and assistance for them to be BPM effective, all as is for the Highest Spiritual Good;
- Permanent issue: may all humans recognise, irrespective of the appearance of difference, the essential shared humanness of other people, the strength of BPM collaboration, and the opportunities of having a diverse, inclusive and welcoming population, and may all people choose fairness, when such decisions are before them;
- Permanent issue: may all actual and potential BPM Violence Interrupters (and Interrupters of hate / fear / anger) of be kept BPM safe, and may they have all the BPM opportunities and assistance for them to be BPM effective at containing and stopping – along the lines of the Cure Violence model - the spread of violence (and hate / fear / anger), all as is for the Highest Spiritual Good;
- Permanent issue: may all humans choose to live modestly – to forgo outdoing others, or trying to have more than they need - for the sake of an easier, more manageable life, if they cannot do it for the sake of the planet, and may we all exercise our human characteristics of reason, self discipline and improvement to overcome the often evil flaw of seeking social status;
- Permanent issue: may all humans be in better communication with the better parts of their nature – especially those who need that more than other, better people;
- Matters warranting particular attention:
this week on reversing the deliberate, well-funded, long-term strategy (from about the 70s) to make self-interest seem normal and a commitment to fairness (such as former US President Franklin D Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms) an aberration (see also here, here, and here): the entirety of this blog and all other spiritual work and physical activism I and many others do; reflections on generosity and misperceptions; in contrast to the so-called “dark triad” of psychopaths/sociopaths, the “light triad” (Kantianism - appreciating people for themselves, as opposed to seeing them as a means to an end [based on the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, and the opposite of Machiavellianism]; humanism - valuing the dignity and worth of each individual person; faith in humanity - believing that people are fundamentally good) that indicates good people;
on the Rohingya genocide and similar matters this week:
- Bangladeshi police have prevented scores of Rohingya women being trafficked; ways the world could help the Rohingya; a call for aid to be allowed in to Rakhine state in burma, where Rohingya continue to be forced out and are dying; “Myanmar’s military commanders must answer charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in a credible court, a United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar said . . . urging the international community to cut off all financial and other support to them”;
on other matters requiring particular attention:
- a US city has banned the use of facial recognition, citing its notorious unreliability;
- a major conservative and controversial news outlet began its life in 1922 as “a company that was secretly established by a mining company owned by the most powerful industrialists of the day, and it was created for the express purpose of disseminating ‘propaganda’ ”;
- climate crisis concerns are causing some to rethink having children; as the “United Nations Secretary-General [warned that] the world was ‘not on track’ to limiting global temperature rises to 1.5°C”, 8 Torres Strait islanders have taken the Australian government to the UN Human Rights Committee for failing to meet the Paris agreement targets; the world’s deepest dive ever has found . . . plastic; “fears over rising violence in Amazon as 'forest guardians’ battle logging”; a call to protect the solar system from mining; “the wellbeing of families is central to healthy societies, but is threatened by climate crisis, especially in the poorest parts of the world”; “event attribution, a ground-breaking new field of study that seeks to determine what proportion of a specific extreme weather event can be blamed on climate change”; the UN and Pacific leaders have discussed the climate crisis; toxic pollution in Europe; an “historic legal battle has been won for an indigenous group in Ecuador, now the war begins to protect the rest of the Amazon that humanity critically depends on”; concerns about the possibility of human survival; “stop soil erosion now or face starvation soon”; “ ‘extraordinary thinning’ of ice sheets revealed deep inside Antarctica - new research shows affected areas are losing ice five times faster than in the 1990s, with more than 100m of thickness gone in some places”; the environmental impact of plastic – which is manufactured from oil; one media outlet has changed its terminology;
- a violent homophobic neochristian US preacher has been banned from Ireland; some UK police are choosing to be on the wrong side of history and are actively leading an anti-trans backlash; a critique of the UN’s recent resolution condemning wartime sexual violence – which , although gutted by the USA (on abortion) and homophobic and transphobic Russia, but it still managed to include men and boys who were victims; the continuing (generational) need to teach boys about consent; the hypocrisy of anti-abortion politicians, as one US state effectively bans abortion (and another) – thereby attacking poor women to keep the status quo - on the basis of a myth and confused thinking – and a very effective tweet (“If a [foetus] is a person at 6 weeks pregnant, is that when the child support starts? Is that also when you can’t deport the mother because she’s carrying a US citizen? Can I insure a 6-week [foetus] and collect if I miscarry? Just figuring if we’re going here we should go all in”); “women are free as individuals, but constrained as mothers”;
- Jacinda Ardern is continuing her push to end online extremism, with growing support from other leaders and tech companies as the USA uses a flimsy pretext to opt out of decency;
- “the fiancée of . . . the journalist killed at a Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey last year, has said she could not believe that no one had yet faced serious consequences for the crime”;
- Germany’s chancellor has said that “Europe must unite to stand up to China, Russia and US”;
- Iran has jailed one its citizens for allegedly spying for the UK; “the top British general in the US-led coalition against Isis has said there is no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq or Syria, directly contradicting US assertions used to justify a military buildup in the region”; the grave consequences of a war with Iran, and the possibly hidden pressures that may be moving the USA towards it; an assessment of the risks of war – see also here; a Guardian exclusive reports “Iran tells Middle East militias: prepare for proxy war”; Iran claims it can hit US ships; one Iranian legislator has called for talks; (although this is good, does the person have enough clout to achieve anything?); the USA has withdrawn “non-essential” staff from Iraq; “Iraq caught between US and Iran again”; reactions in West Asia;
- “Chinese foreign policy is not responsible for the ‘Asian Peace’ ”; China’s expansion into South East Asia (a port is being considered in Cambodia); a reminder that China is not alien to Western thinking – after all, the communist party there is firmly founded on Karl Marx’s theories (interesting comment also about Sun Yat-sen’s use of so called Western thinking on human rights in 1911, and other acts aimed at democracy [there is also PC Chang’s work on the UDHR]); “after months in detention, China has formally arrested two Canadians accused of espionage”; examination of a railway project in Laos shows the problems of China’s Belt and Road Initiative;
- despite a five month State of Emergency, “the second attack on Christians in two weeks in [Burkina Faso,] a nation increasingly overrun by [violent extremists”, which is seeking a broad-based anti-violent extremist coalition; Sri Lanka is showing signs of splintering along religious lines – see also here;
- “aid agencies in Libya [have] called . . . for a UN resolution to support people caught in fighting around Tripoli, where the United Nations says 66,000 people have been forced out of their homes and at least 454 killed since early April”;
- Australia continues to see people who are differently abled as a liability;
- a surprising and nuanced article on “preppers” (I blame the tourism propaganda industry for us not knowing to prepare for disasters now: we used to have broadcast advice and warnings, but there was a view that the short term costs of some tourists being scared was more important than the long term damage of not being prepared for disasters);
this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists Syria, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of the 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:
- lessons on the dichotomy between winning on the battlefield and winning politically in a civil war illustrated from a currently popular TV series; “the Kenya–Somalia maritime dispute”; a critique of the USA’s flawed humanitarian exceptions to sanctions; a call for a better attitude towards Algeria on the part of the USA; an opinion that “circumstances today differ considerably from the Reagan-era standoff during the Cold War. However, Reagan’s strong rhetorical stance, use of economic pressure and other means still could be applied to better oppose Moscow”; an examination of North Korea’s resumed missile testing; concerns about possibly closer ties developing between Russia and China (that would be inconsistent with history, but it is a possibility);
of concern internationally this week:
- grave concerns over Singapore’s anti-fake news law; claims several Saudi oil tankers were “sabotaged” – a Reuters exclusive reports that the insurer considers Iran “highly likely” to have organised the attack ; “the Venezuelan politician fighting to depose [the current President] has accused his rival of attempting to obliterate the opposition challenge to his rule with a campaign of ‘state terrorism’ ”;
on the US-China trade war this week:
- POTUS45 claims “the US is ‘right where we want to be with China’ as both sides remain locked in a bruising trade battle”, and stocks fall in response to China’s retaliatory tariffs and tougher rhetoric; the forgotten history of the accidental US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in 1999 as part of NATO’s bombing campaign in the former Yugoslavia; so far, “ASEAN and Europe are the winners of [the] US-China trade war”; on the other hand, tariffs against Mexico and Canada will be lifted, and tariffs against Europe and Japan deferred;
of concern in my nation (Australia) this week:
- an ABC investigation has revealed that the CSIRO was “pushed to formally accept the Federal Government's approval of Adani's water plans in a single afternoon”; a Guardian Australia exclusive reports that “fury over water allocations has led irrigators in south-eastern Australia to file a class action . . . seeking $750m in damages from the federal government’s Murray-Darling Basin Authority”; “modelling . . . that has been used to attack [the ALP’s] climate policies is a ‘complete outlier’ according to an analysis of more than 20 other recent modelling exercises on the effect of higher climate targets on the economy and electricity sector”; the desperation of trying to live on social security is compounded for older Australians; “misogyny, violence, racism, classism: the toxic forces behind our shameful poverty rates”; a police raid that was so badly bungled it left an innocent man hospitalised with serious injuries is being investigated; concerns about Australia’s export industries; the “coalition's climate policy has allowed heavy industry to increase emissions by nearly a third”;
- other concerning events have occurred or are developing in: Azerbaijan, Mexico, India, Benin, Cameroon, Burundi;
with regard to cyber warfare and other cyber problems (including programmable machine learning (aka AI, or “artificial intelligence”) this week:
- “hackers were able to remotely install surveillance software on phones and other devices using a major vulnerability in [a] messaging app” – a fix has been rolled out, but allegations have also been made it is an attempt to hack a human rights court case against Israel; police have “smashed” a cybercrime group; the growing “right to be forgotten”; “Australians’ Medicare details are still being illegally offered for sale on the darknet, almost two years after Guardian Australia revealed the serious privacy breach”; in a slightly mind boggling revelation, it turns out that a gay dating app is owned by a company in rabidly homophobic China – and they’ve just agreed to “sell it by 2020 after security concerns were raised by US authorities over the potential sharing of personal information”; an opinion that the USA is losing cyber secrets to Chinese hackers largely because the Chinese are getting better (I wonder if that should be “getting better faster than US defences are improving” – none of this is static, on either side);
with regard to whistleblowers / whistleblowing this week:
- “Swedish prosecutors have reopened an investigation into a rape allegation made against [a whistleblowing website’s] co-founder . . . in 2010”, which raises the question as to which extradition case the UK will give priority to; a former US intelligence analyst “has been ordered back to prison after again refusing to testify before an inquiry into” a whistleblowing website;
on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense):
- digital transfers of school payments to parents in Bangladesh are being well received; from a proposal to build skill development partnerships, a pilot European-Moroccan project to develop ICT skills;
and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
on the Royal Commission into banks, and similar matters:
- the problem of having to pay for aged care accommodation;
on the Commonwealth election:
- a minor party’s candidate does not work at a University, despite her claims – and see here for a critique of the advertising saturating party’s leader; Islamophobic posters are being circulated in at least one electorate; repeat vandalism of election signs; stats on Australia (the graph on the increase of housing prices is particularly significant – and clearly, in my opinion, tied to the shift to viewing houses as a way to make wealth); a warning this is our last election to take useful action on the climate crisis; “the lowest blow of this election campaign may have come from a firm of real estate agents that abused its position of trust to scare renters about [the ALP’s] proposed negative gearing changes”; concerns over voter data collected by a company with US-based servers; a reminder that major events are happening in the world; police were called to booth after fight between a candidate and a volunteer – and another volunteer elsewhere has been stabbed as another minor party volunteer is fined for exposing himself; counter-terrorism police are investigating a homophobic email about federal Member of Parliament which names her children; the toxicity of Australian politics for women; Australia’s remote polling stations (including in the Antarctic); independents tend more to the centre than the left; “a local ports worker who asked [the leader of the ALP] a question about tax relief during a campaign visit was subsequently suspended, then re-instated”; a critique of LGBT aspects; allegations of misleading voters;
on other matters:
- personal insights into former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke - and a reminder that, before Medicare (which was and still is opposed by most of the the rich and conservative elites [some didn’t and don’t]), many Aussies were bankrupted by medical treatment, just as the suffering people of the USA who are not rich too often still are; as the “worked any time at all number” number declines, a critique of the stupidity of the number for modern times; “gas exports blamed for soaring electricity prices and job losses”; “two Rwandan men accused of murdering tourists in 1999 were recently settled in Australia as part of a refugee swap, after spending years in US immigration detention”, causing distress to survivors of that event (it could possibly be argued that their time in detention is punishment enough, particularly as an attempt to convict them on this was unsuccessful, but the secrecy around this is quite disturbing, as is the lack of any offer of support); an examination of war powers reform; - With regard to the USA and their
schoolyard BULLYING, unpresidential, uncomprehending, murdering, lying, dishonourable, delusional 45th “President” (POTUS45) (see here on actions
for US residents, and note that the VP is at
least as bad):
- Democrats’ reluctance to impeach POTUS45, in part because it is likely to fail in the Senate, may be overcome by POTUS45’s continuing obstruction of congressional efforts to oversee his administration; the US Attorney General “has assigned a senior federal prosecutor to examine the origins of the Russia investigation” –as long requested by POTUS45; after reading this I am wondering if, much as we include specific statements about Acts binding the Crown, the USA has to start including specific statements about acts binding their elected monarch;
- concerns that POTUS45 will weaken the US Presidency;
- the USA is looking at “merit-based” immigration . . . ; “a US appeals court ruled . . . that [POTUS45] cannot end a program that shielded from deportation immigrants brought into the country illegally as children, the second time the administration has lost an appeal on the issue”; - 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 3 attacks in Iraq, 7 attacks in Afghanistan, and 3 attacks in Syria (out of a total of 39, causing at least 157 deaths and 131 wounded);
- thoughts on countering the use of new technology by violent extremists; - With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration), and remembering Haiti, Ethiopia, Madagascar, DR Congo,
and the Philippines), people seeking asylum and migrants:
- since Italy took a jump to the right, Malta has been leading official efforts to save refugees in the Mediterranean; guidance on ways to support internally displaced people;
- other refugee-related matters have also occurred in: Kenya/Kenya; - 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]):
- opportunities to take action on human rights here, here, and, this week, here;
on HOMOPHOBIA/TRANSPHOBIA (including heteronormativity and cisgender-normativity and noting that trans kids are the same as cis kids of the trans kids’ true gender):
- “Bangladesh [has charged] eight over murder of LGBT+ activists”; the first playing male Australian soccer player has come out as gay; calls for nuance and listening to local LGBTIQ+ activists after a well-known activist celebrity said the backlash against Brunei was a warning to its neighbours; Taiwan has legalised Equal Marriage;
- other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in: Cuba, Taiwan, Poland, Azerbaijan, Thailand (good news), Indonesia, UK, Kenya, USA (in progress, but good), South Korea (good news);
on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters generally this week:
- “racism alleged as Indigenous children taken from families - even though state care often fails them”; a US police officer “has resigned after confronting a black student picking up rubbish outside his shared accommodation”; a message stick on treaty will soon be delivered to Australia’s capital;
on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week (from Thomson Reuters Foundation, Freedom United, and other sources):
- “I survived abuse - now I'm starting to date at 47”;
- also on child abuse, including institutional, this week: USA;
- also on slavery / human trafficking this week: UK, Brazil (good news), North Korea/China;
on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone, and the potential value to women of using anger):
- an eloquent video on the sexism against women in sport, particularly pregnant women and mothers; a boxer “has been fined, suspended and ordered to take sexual harassment prevention classes after kissing a reporter” without consent; a “Georgian weightlifter [has sued her] coach in [a] rare harassment case”;
- other sexism matters have also occurred in: Pakistan / sport, Spain (good news);
on RELIGIOUS rights this week:
- religious rights / Islamophobia matters have also occurred in: UK (Islamophobia);
on ANIMALS’ rights this week:
- a suspected psychopath is killing pets in an Australian city; another Australian legislature (they’re not the first, as I understand it) has recognised sentience of animals, albeit with a focus on pets;
on PRIVACY, AGED, DIFFERENTLY ABLED, AND OTHER forms of human rights this week:
- questions over an airlines claimed companion animal policy, particularly with regard to legal requirements; - With regard to war (noting that
economic ties do NOT prevent war), violence
and hate generally:
- a debate on arms embargoes has now included the case for; a heart-warming story of a reunion of a boy isolated and scarred by war with his family (may many more find that relief, and may we eventually evolve to no-one being traumatised that way in the first place); concerns over violence amongst sports’ fans – and, as police charge four men over a serious brawl at a sports game, a reminder that, although social values now do not consider such value acceptable, it has occurred for decades; - 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):
- witchcraft is political (very good comment near the end about the origins of the term “black magic”); discussion around the topic of whether or not humans are still evolving; - With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
- lessons for the next Ebola outbreak; “with the right policies and planning, hazards like storms and wildfires need not always lead to homelessness”; “fights to end polio, contain Ebola made tougher by rising violence”; “as risks rise, too little is spent to avert disasters”; more controversy over the handling of changes to a new version of a popular commercial jet; an article on “disaster resilient farming”; - 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 crisis (our World War III?) and other environmental matters:
- “upcycling”; the visible plastic pollution on an Indian Ocean island is only a small part of the problem; low carbon refurbishments of existing houses; “East Timor is set to become the world's first country to recycle all its plastic waste after it teamed up with Australian researchers on Friday to build a revolutionary recycling plant”; in Australia, some “farmers [have turned their] back on harsh chemicals [to] improve biodiversity and lower costs”;
- other environmental matters have occurred in: Zimbabwe;
on technology and science matters:
- in a move of the gravest concern given their past ineptness around ethics and the precautionary principle, notwithstanding the enormous potential it has, “scientists have created the world’s first living organism that has a fully synthetic and radically altered DNA code”; a social media platform is connecting “strangers struggling to put food on the table” (why are they in such dire straits? Can we do better as a society to prevent people falling through the cracks this way? Haven’t we finished evolving beyond mediaeval times? {no, sadly – particularly in poorer nations]);
on economic and financial matters, including consumer complaints:
- a critique of a simplistic approach to managing money;
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 housing market is kicking locals out; “the business case for social housing as infrastructure”; a “tiny-house company has won an international award for helping to make cities safer, more resilient and sustainable”;
on health and medical:
- some common sense on the claims around so-called “super foods” – and a caution that, while they can be beneficial, weighted blankets do not necessarily help everyone; a sports player has retired as a result of mental health problems, and has chosen to educate by speaking out about this; the need for better control of alcohol propaganda; the problems of loneliness; processed foods cause people to eat more, which leads to weight gain; - 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, and was notoriously so the case with a violent extremist attack. Also, media can be unprofessional, but funding is an issue … ):
- a new international journalism course; “the US government's efforts to protect journalists around the globe are falling short”; - With regard to education:
- the appallingly backward practice of corporal punishment is still used in Lebanese schools; - 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):
- a police officer has shown (in my opinion) questionable (past) judgement in choosing a short term, easier solution, and another has been found guilty of assault; a rare intervention by a conservative political party in a northern Australian state with a demand for an investigation into possible destruction of evidence for a gang rape case by police; “a review of contempt of court laws in [my home state] will consider whether jurors and court officers need to be educated about social media, and whether messages about court proceedings sent to groups through private messages on social media should be considered as a breach of a suppression order”; more police does not necessarily constitute a solution to policing problems;
- other crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in: cybercrime (good news), USA.
Location based News:
- With regard to Africa, the Africa
Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
on Africa generally:
- “climate change pushes farmers to [the] ‘tipping point’ in Lake Chad crisis”;
- “assessing attitudes of the next generation of African security sector professionals” (46% view corruption as their biggest challenge, and 97% hold international training in high regard);
on specific African nations:
- “Benin has inaugurated its new parliament following elections in which opposition parties were banned from taking part”;
- “Burundi’s Supreme Court has ordered the seizure of assets belonging to opposition activists in exile, the latest swipe in an internationally-condemned crackdown”;
- concerns continue to grow in Cameroon;
- “aid workers have negotiated with fighters to enter a remote part of Central African Republic for the first time in years, raising hope for other areas”;
- “political games hinder efforts to end Ebola outbreak in Congo”;
- in Kenya, “the clamour for land in and around Isiolo airport is pushing farmers further from their traditional grazing land and [fuelling] historic conflicts between tribes”; Kenya is continuing to try to close a refugee camp, despite returnees’ experiences;
- an appeal for a war crimes court in Liberia; “the struggle for land security in Liberia is just beginning”;
- an assessment of Malawi’s elections;
- a call for negotiation to end the violent extremist insurrection in Somalia;
- as the military’s suspension of talks is denounced, 14 protestors have been injured in Sudan - 7 shot – see also here;
- China’s financial aggression has led to it becoming the leading investor in Tanzania;
- “electricity providers in Uganda are teaming up to find a new business model to boost the speed and efficiency of getting power to those living without it, in the hope it can be copied in other parts of Africa and Asia”; “media groups are challenging a decision by the country’s communications regulator to remove dozens of senior journalists from their news management roles over coverage of [a] music star turned politician”, who “says [the] state is financially strangling him”;
- farmers in Zimbabwe are adapting to low rain; Zimbabwe has sold elephants to China;
- South Sudan has “sacked 40 overseas diplomats for not showing up for work”; - With regard
to South and Central America:
- some items have been rescued from the ruins of Brazil’s National Museum, tragically destroyed in a recent fire; a Reuters exclusive reports that “the US FBI is investigating corporate giants . . . for allegedly paying kickbacks as part of a scheme involving medical equipment sales in Brazil”;
- concerns about the impact of Mexico’s new President on democracy; - 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):
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:
- a “new crop-destroying pest [has entered] China amid [a] devastating swine fever epidemic”;
elsewhere in Asia:
- “Filipinos have started voting in midterm polls that are being seen as a crucial referendum on [their President’s] brutal crackdown [30,000 deaths so far] on illegal drugs, unorthodox style and contentious embrace of China”; a drought in Manilla;
- “motherless villages” in Indonesia “where almost all young mothers have gone to work abroad”; an analysis of the death toll amongst election officials in Indonesia’s recent elections;
- “Thailand's four new LGBT+ members of parliament have prompted the house to relax its gender-based dress code, in a small victory for the ground-breaking politicians who have vowed to push for greater LGBT+ rights in the country”; some indigenous Thai farmers have swapped opium production for land and growing coffee; - With regard to the (forgotten or
ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
- another article on getting aid into separatist-held Ukraine; - With regard to Russia, Russian influenced nations and eastern Europe, Central Asia, and responses to same (see also
elsewhere):
Homophobic, transphobic, and imperialist Russia:
- “about 2,000 people have protested against a church being built on a park square in Yekaterinburg in Russia”; - 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):
- a female former journalist has been murdered in Kabul; a peace deal is unlikely before the elections in September; “a US-led airstrike in Afghanistan has accidentally killed at least 17 government officers and injured more than a dozen”; - With regard to South Asia (aka
the Indian
sub-continent), The
Hindu and other sources have:
on India:
- the plight of India’s farmers, 300,000 of whom have died by suicide over the last two decades, is finally getting some political attention; “India's next government will have [an economic] growth problem”; inadequate air quality monitoring in one city; in the Punjab “focus on ‘religious issues’ by political parties distracts from pressing concerns on unemployment, agrarian distress, and the drug trade”; more concerns about Indian democracy; an assessment of India’s foreign policy; the youth unemployment crisis;
elsewhere in South Asia:
- the remaining 20% of Tamil land that has not been returned may never be; - 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:
- as a rival “Gazavision” is held nearby on rubble strewn streets, where the blockade has caused a 1,000% increase in food dependency, the move of this year’s Eurovision to Israel has been “marked by protest as Israel ramps up security” – see also here; “Israeli soldiers have shot 16 people at the Gaza frontier on a day of rallies commemorating the mass displacement of Palestinians during the war that led to Israel’s creation in 1948”; as the world seems to polarise into either anti-Israel or anti-Palestine (no pro- either side, it seems), Germany has declared the non-violent BDS movement (which seeks to end the occupation of Palestinian land, grant Arab citizens equal rights and recognise the right of return of Palestinian refugees) anti-Semitic; Palestinian concerns over media reporting; the Israeli army has claimed there is no evidence that a Palestinian paraplegic who was killed by a bullet was killed by Israeli soldiers (who else had bullets?); “April was the first month in over a year that no Israelis were killed or wounded in attacks”; “Palestinian foreign minister urges international community to take the lead in the Israel-Palestine peace process”;
- on other violent incidents this week, see: here, here;
- other events concerning Israel/Judaism and/or Palestine have occurred or are developing in: France;
on the conflict and the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis in Yemen:
- calls for a time-frame for peace as rebels start leaving Hodeidah (they withdrawal has been verified); talks are underway; the “Yemen war [is] ‘a test of our humanity’, and we’re ‘badly failing’ warns [the] UN Children’s Fund chief”; “the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen carried out several air strikes on the Houthi-held capital Sanaa . . . after the Iranian-aligned movement claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Saudi oil installations” – attacks on 9 targets also killed 6 civilians and wounded 60;
on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
- Iran’s growing (pro-Assad regime) influence in Syria; “British doctors and humanitarians have launched a pioneering field manual to help medics in Syria and other warzones treat catastrophic injuries in children caused by explosive weapons”; the Assad regime has claimed more Israeli air strikes against Syria; the “UN says three million people at risk, [and] hospitals and schools bombed as [Assad regime] forces, aided by Russia, continue bombing”;
elsewhere in the region:
- scores have been killed in fighting between violent extremists and Egypt’s army in the Sinai;
- Saudi Arabia claims its hardline conservatism was due to an insurrection in 1979, and that it is moving to a more moderate position . . . ;
- an opinion that “the UAE’s military interventions have led to disaster - not stability”.
Other News:
- I have just come cross a couple of long past events that influenced the development of democracy in the UK: the Peterloo massacre – see also here, and the Putney debates.
- RIP “Grumpy Cat”.
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.
