Sunday, 9 June 2019

Post No. 1,343 – Gnwmythr’s News Ed. No. 268


For the sake of my health, until I retire or change to an easier day job , I have cut back these posts.
Information and Summary of News with Opinion / Advocacy / Analysis:
Notes:
(1) I am NOT a journalist (this blog was created for spiritual reasons, including a course), and make NO claims to objectivity or freedom from bias.
(2) Furthermore, I do NOT hold copyright to any of the articles I link to, nor do I claim authorship, except for those links to material I have written for this and my related blogs, and my commentary in these posts. (I try to make sure quotes are shown using quotation marks.)
The purpose of posting these news links is not only to inform; it is also to
     stimulate a connection to:
      - nonBPM units that need to be cleared, and
      - BPM units that need to be strengthened,
     so that you can do the clearing / strengthening that is required.
That only works if you don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by this, so take it in small chunks if you need to, but remember to actively clear and heal! … including yourself.
As part of that, note that there are key uncooperatives to be cleared (rescued): you should ONLY address those that are within your ability – if you get a sense (e.g., through meditation) or are told by your BPM Guides/Higher Self to back off, do so, and content yourself with clearing the smaller nonBPM units within your capability – which will weaken those uncooperatives. More importantly, there are many people doing this sort of work, and others are quite likely to be able to clear the uncooperatives concerned.
That is also one of the many reasons it is OK to take a break or cut back this work if you need – in fact, doing so will help you deal with the next point, which is …
… the energies we use and manifest in our daily lives contribute to the larger soup of energies that influence world events, so it pays to address those as well, to the extent that one can, or to at least stop oneself projecting them into the psychic soup.
The reminders / explanations about Sunday’s meditation-clearing are here;     see also here,     here,     here,     (here and also here and here are interesting),     here, here,     here,     and     this post reminds us to be patient and persistent, like a “speeding oak”.
There are some notes at the end of this post about other options for those who do not like this way of working.
Finally, one of the biggest concerns I have about spirituality in the world now is that the concept of agape type love has been perverted into both a quest for emotional warm fuzzies, and an excuse to avoid doing the hard work of improving oneself and all that one does. See also here and here.
The themes that come to mind for my work this week, after I review all this news, are:
(a)   based on my interpretation of information here and here with Uranus in Aries contributing to fresh and possibly radical starts (until March 2019), and Pluto in Capricorn contributing to a transformation of power and business (and careers) (until some date in the Year 2024), conditions are ripe for a change for the better in world politics;
(b)   there is an enormous need to clear nonBPM energy – the thought forms, unattached energy and scars of the collective unconscious created by millennia of violence, including spirit rescue, and healing the warped views, seemingly “inherent” biases, and other damage created. Also, remember:
       (1) the counter to fear is genuine  EQ and clear thinking, expressed through calm, de-escalating speech,
       (2) where problems exist, advocating for BPM responses, and being as BPM as one can be, are constructive solutions,
       (3) peace is powerful, but it is a process requiring patient, persistent and nuanced nurturing, and a blend of conventional spiritual work, clearing nonBPM units, and physical world activism;
(c)   dealing with the 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   Sudan, and schools throughout much of the world,
       (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,     governments (sometimes supposedly democratic), elites and other groups/individuals are suppressing freedom of the press and suppressing/twisting truth for at times vengeful, vindictive, and vicious reasons;     minorities remain targets, and face ongoing despair and worse;     limited press coverage;     continued attempts to impose – including by violence and other manifestations of hate - the gender and other stereotypes developed over the last few centuries or so;     limited holding to account, including some utter cluelessness around the abuses, misuse and excesses of power;     revisionism of history and facts – including, appallingly, a human rights organisation that should have known better;     the desperation of survival is influencing people’s commitment to ethics and morality, but the powerful are also preventing those who wish to live ethically or honourably from doing so;     some of those with power are conniving in intimidation and other forms of suppression of dissent;     indifference – particularly for those who are out of sight;     I know there are good people at all levels of society – including the elites – but they didn’t make the media this week – that I saw;     superficial “solutions”;     sheeple behaviour;     invasion of privacy in many guises, by many governments and groups;     working conditions continue to decline;
(e)   may all people have BPM access to BPM accurate knowledge that they need in order to live well, and to fulfil their duty of ensuring those they have entrusted with power are exercising such power in a BPM proper manner;
(f)   may the evil social engineering performed in the second millennium, up to around the mid-20th Century, be BPM reversed, neutralised, and utterly undone;
(g)   may those who abuse, misuse or fail to BPM use their power and/or influence be BPM held to account, and their evils BPM reversed, neutralised, and utterly undone;
(h)   may all societies everywhere BPM commit to ensuring survival is feasible and enacted for all, without guilt, graft or gift, but in recognition of the human rights of all;
(i)   may all who wish to live ethically be BPM able to do so, free or restraint or criticism, and all who seek to prevent that be BPM held to account;
(j)   but all people BPM think deeply and carefully, and BPM stand up for their rights, including and especially privacy, and those who seek to invade privacy or unjustly be BPM reversed, neutralised, and utterly undone;
(k)   may all workers and bosses be BPM respected and treated well by each other;
(l)   may all people be BPM healed to the extent that they can do begin to BPM care;
(m)   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 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; 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;
       on the Rohingya  genocide being committed by  historically  violently  expansionist  burma and similar matters this week:
       -   a report on threats and violence against minorities has highlighted the role that social media has played;     “for Rohingya refugees, there’s no return in sight”;
       on other matters requiring particular attention:
       -   this week I found nothing in the news on Yemen;
       -   staggering allegations about an Israeli company – which has responded with a defamation suit – include claims that it was hired to SUPPRESS complaints of sexual abuse against a US film producer, currently being tried, and allegedly to smear a government minister to influence tax policy;
       -   “saying a woman will regret [being childfree by choice] returns to the idea of motherhood as the natural position and anything else as deviant”;     rampant sexism in picture books;     the violent oppression of women (and others) in Pakistan – but some are breaking down barriers;     the “world is way off track to meet a 2030 deadline for achieving gender equality, with not one country having reached the ‘last mile’ ”;     “women who suffer domestic violence have almost three times the risk of developing serious mental health challenges” (yeah, yeah, we all know that – so what is going to be done about it?);     arrest on a pretext and abuse of two Canadian women in Somaliland for aiding a local woman who was being abused;     a doctor who said some women deserve to be raped has FINALLY been suspended “indefinitely”;     more evidence that modern gender stereotypes did NOT apply millennia ago;     “sexism, slander, hatred: Sri Lanka’s culture of online abuse”;     “the US policy on abortion is a form of extremist hate that amounts to the torture of women, the UN deputy high commissioner for human rights told the Guardian”;    the “brutal silencing of a Saudi feminist”;     “world leaders [have been] urged to make female circumcision a priority like HIV”;     appalling risks for women prisoners in male jails;
      -   a special commission has found the deaths of more than a thousand Indigenous women and girls in recent decades in Canada to be a national genocide;     police in one Australian state have said the “ ‘vast volume’ of Indigenous children shouldn’t be in custody”;     a call for an indigenous voice to the Australian Parliament and a constitutional referendum;
       -   possibly a serial murderer of trans women in the USA;     a social media platform “has removed advertising from material by a user who subjected a journalist to repeated homophobic abuse in videos, after the platform faced criticism over its failure to act”;
       -   a rebuttal of claims an ill child was euthanised at home;
       -   on the 30th  anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre: see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, this insight, and this incredibly brave vigil in Hong Kong - but also, news of this massacre contributed to a USSR cover-up that stopped the world hearing of a train disaster that killed hundreds, and other non-violent movements in the world were successful;     “three Chinese warships have arrived [unannounced] in [Australia} amid increasingly strident rhetoric from [China] over its territorial claims in the South China Sea” – see this analysis;     Australia has dodged attempts by the USA to get involved in the China-Taiwan “debate”;     China and Russia are developing closer  ties;
       -   thousands have protested POTUS45’s mission to the UK to spread “hate and division”;
       -   a former Iraq war combat veteran has rebutted (the comment that murderous units have murderous leaders is particularly apt) comments by POTUS45 and others about a current war crimes trial –which was initiated by other soldiers;     fact checking a politician’s claim has exposed misleading by a respected human rights organisation (this is appalling – it is their dedication to objective accuracy that is the basis of their respected position and moral authority!);
       -   “in failing to hold Egypt and Saudi Arabia to account over the deaths of Giulio Regeni and Jamal Khashoggi, the west is making a rod for its own back”;
       -   the continuing external support of what has become a proxy war in Libya appears to have killed any possibility of a political solution, and thus made a future war inevitable;
       -   the USA will now – uselessly - seek social media, email and phone number histories from nearly all visa applicants, not only those who had travelled to areas controlled by violent extremists (and what will they do with this – set people up? Mock people? Build up what HG Wells referred to as “dossiers”? Think themselves better? Interfere in people’s personal lives? Apart from the human rights breaches, why should anyone trust a group that seems rabidly blind to respect?);     “as privacy is lost a fingerprint at a time, a biometric rebel asserts our rights”(why do so many people blithely hand this over? It’s a bit like using e-signatures without any questions about unauthorised use [as has happened to me, which is why I no longer allow this);     “Russia is requiring [a] dating app . . . to hand over data on its users . . . to . . . intelligence agencies”;     an opinion that social media platforms “are no longer disruptors, but incumbents, gatekeepers and publishers” (personally, I consider the slow response on fake news, as compared to the speed of dealing with fake accounts, shows the personal discomfort, bias and emotional incompetence of those who run such platforms [are they still predominantly male?]);     a university was hacked and lost 19 years of personal data, which could wind up being sold;     privacy concerns after facial recognition was used at an Australian sporting event without any announcement;
       -   concerns after an Australian journalist was raided following an article alleging intelligence agencies were seeking broader powers include questions about what bipartisanship has led to – all of which has been compounded by subsequent raids on the ABC over a series revealing human rights abuses, and this on the global attacks on freedom of the press – see also this (on the threat to democracy), this (on the deceitful denialism of governments that created the laws being used by the AFP – and the ALP’s participation in that is a stain on it), accusations of hypocrisy, this on a past raid of PARLIAMENT, this on a raid in response to embarrassing leaks that raised issues of abuse of power, the “sham” of whistleblower protection, here, Parliament will grill the AFP, this (on the way that the AFP have been used), this (on the addition of media to the “freedoms” agenda), the opinion of the ABC that this was meant to intimidate, a call for a law to protect journalists and their sources, and “Australia's national security laws should protect the country, not its politicians in power”;     finally, and on a slightly different note, thoughts on how to work for progressive changes with the re-elected neoliberal government;
       -   a call for a Climate (crisis) Minister;     the world’s shortage of water – including in Chile;     much as some criminals are such a risk to the community that they need to be jailed for the safety of the community, so too, in my opinion, do climate crisis sceptics/deniers/agnostics need to be sidelined for the sake of the community – but, having said that, here is an article on the various categories of climate problem person (including which one lacks moral courage);     the “latest data shows steep rises in CO2 for [the] seventh year”;     the US military is ignoring its commander in chief to prepare defences against the effects of the climate crisis;     a call for a rethink, as “contrary to popular belief, crimes against the environment are not ‘victimless’ ”;     “deforestation of Brazilian Amazon [has surged] to [a] record high”;     if global heating is not curbed, “every year nearly 5,800 people are expected to die in New York, 2,500 in Los Angeles and more than 2,300 in Miami”;     air pollution facts;
       -   forcing an apology on to a victim of bullying can reactivate the power imbalance (I hope every school anti-bullying programme thinks on that!);
       -   “last week the World Health Organisation re-labelled [burnout] as an ‘occupational phenomenon’ to better reflect that burnout is a work-based syndrome caused by chronic stress”;
         this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists   Sudan, and schools throughout much of the world;
  • 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, here)     and     ethics:
    Note: I have a section specifically for POTUS45 below
       analyses, research and commentary this week include:
       -   a call to extend the rigour and relevance of academic policy research to also include relevance (i.e., ethics);     thoughts on taxing problem foods for health;     in Caspian Report’s “how France maintains its grip on Africa” (which has staggering information on that topic), there is an interesting comment at 00:30: “power doesn't corrupt, rather power inevitably attracts the corrupted” – which I don’t entirely agree with, but it does reflect the idealism of founders and the good start of many things that may subsequently go wrong;     a call to rethink national security as something that can be had at other nations’ expense;
       of concern internationally this week:
       -   the USA approved seven nuclear licences to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Saudi-born US journalist Jamal Khashoggi;     POTUS45 has backtracked after a massive backlash against his attempt to attack the UK’s outstanding health service (why do the rich think their removal of access to health is a good thing? It happens here as well, and, frankly, they are MORONS for continuing to push it);     POTUS45’s comparison of the Ireland’s northern border to his Mexican wall project was immediately rejected by Ireland’s leader;     a near collision between US and Russian naval vessels;     Norway has joined Saudi Arabia and the UAE is saying “a State actor” was behind the sophisticated attack on their oil tankers (while the motives of Saudi Arabia and the UAE are suspect – especially given their naming of Iran, one would hope Norway’s involvement – and the fact that no specific nation has been named – are adequate grounds for this report to have reasonable credibility);     a company’s “own emails and documents reveal a disinformation campaign to hide its weedkiller’s possible links to cancer”, including manipulation of academics, regulators, and media, conduct that “three juries have found so unethical as to warrant punishing punitive damage awards”;
       on the US-China trade war this week:
       -   “China has issued a travel warning for the US, saying Chinese visitors have been interrogated, interviewed and subjected to other forms of what it called harassment by US law enforcement agencies”;     China’s retaliation may include slowing the world’s supply of rare earth minerals that are used in advanced electronics and some medicines;     in an eye-for-an-eye move, China has come up with its own “list of unreliable entities”;
       of concern in my nation (Australia) this week:
       -   fears that survivors of the Rwandan genocide may meet their attackers – especially as Australia has accepted two self-admitted attackers;     the problem of booms unwinding “occasionally in spectacular fashion, especially when they've been supercharged with debt”;     my home state has been criticised for major spending on prisons while (comparatively) “neglecting social housing”;     questions about the personal injury insurance industry;     a reported breach of online gambling rules;     superannuation changes will remove insurance – but will prevent super being defrayed by premiums;     a criticism of jails as a failure over recidivism rates;     an examination of the how the lie about an ALP tax was spread, and a call for better responses;
       -   other internationally concerning events this week have occurred or are developing in:   Sudan,   Italy,   Saudi Arabia,   Armenia;
       with regard to whistleblowers / whistleblowing this week:
       -   see also previous reports on police raids on investigative journalists in Australia;     the staggering personal toll of being a whistleblower;     attempts to extradite the controversial co-founder of WikiLeaks to Sweden over rape charges have “received a setback” because he is currently in detention in the UK (basically, he cannot be detained in two places at the same time, so no arrest warrant can be issued and extradition proceedings cannot commence, but the investigation is continuing);     the experiences of a whistleblower who ran a blog from a city in Iraq occupied by violent extremists who is still in hiding;
       good news this week includes:
       -   the UK will make it easier for investors to put money into causes they care about;     a new campaign in my home state on how to report public corruption;
       on development (in an “end poverty/thirst/hunger” sense):
       -   a critique of the G20’s Principles for Debt Transparency;
       and democracy/governance/political matters in my home nation this week:
       -   juggling factions and obligations in Australia’s opposition;     a call for the ALP and the Greens to join forces for the sake of the environment;     although Australia’s military spending will reach the neoliberal’s 2% of GDP target, not enough sailors have been recruited to crew ships and the use of autonomous systems is being urged (they might also have to look at how man social dinosaurs they have, and sack them);     a state ALP leadership hopeful wants to ban donations from the fossil fuel industry;     criticism of the neoliberals economic management;     my home state “failed to prevent the state sleepwalking into a recycled waste crisis, amid signs China was curbing imports six years ago, a scathing watchdog report has concluded”;
  • 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):
       -   POTUS45 has been compared to a “20th Century fascist”;
       -   the debate amongst US Democrats on impeaching POTUS45 is continuing (it would lose in the Senate, and just turn him into a martyr: my opinion is, focus on a united campaign to vote him out next year);     the first of a series detailing what is and isn’t in the “Mueller report” on Russia’s interference in the 2016 US Presidential election;
       -   why some Republican members of Congress may finally be losing patience with POTUS45 . . . over tariffs;
       -   a list of law suits against POTUS45’s southern border wall;
       -   an outstanding young US Congresswoman has “said the federal tipped minimum wage was tantamount to ‘indentured servitude’ ”;
       -   “a total of 272 whales were spotted last year[in New York City waters] , compared with five in 2011, thanks to legislation mopping up pollution”;
       -   this week’s stupidity from POTUS45 includes this, this;
  • 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 7 attacks in Iraq, 5 attacks in Afghanistan,   and 3 attacks in Syria   (out of a total of 32, causing at least 123 deaths and 176 wounded);
       -   “campaigners accuse France of ‘outsourcing’ [violent extremist]-related trials and say suspects should not be tried by abusive justice systems” (such as allegedly exist in Iraq);     a large group of women and children who have been cleared of being a risk have been released from a camp for family members of 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:
       -   a call for a better approach to refugees by Australia – such as one of the several prior regional schemes;     the UN has condemned “Australia for detaining[a]  blind Tamil refugee for nine years”;    refugees in Libya with tuberculosis are being left to die;     “Cameroon tops [the] list of [the] world’s most neglected displacement crises”;
       -   other refugee-related matters have also occurred in:   Italy;
  • 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]):
       -   another US chain of stores will close for diversity training;     the neochristian catholic church’s the “quite  problematic but promising“ Pope, has apologised to the Roma people for discrimination;     “one of the organisers of an employee-led walkout at [a major tech company] last year left her job, saying . . . she experienced retaliation, something the tech company denies”;
       -   other human rights matters have also occurred in:   for-profit businesses;
       on HOMOPHOBIA/TRANSPHOBIA     (including heteronormativity and cisgender-normativity and noting that trans kids are the same as cis kids of the trans kids’ true gender):
       -   “the Swiss supreme federal court [has] ordered the IAAF to suspend its testosterone regulations”;     a video on being intersexed;     “two women were punched and robbed in what police . . . called a disgusting homophobic assault on a London bus, after . . . their attackers tried to force them to kiss each other” (this is the sort of reason I do not use public transport);
       -   other homophobic/transphobic (and heteronormativity / cisgender-normativity) matters have also occurred in:   USA (a mayor),   Hong Kong,   USA,   Nigeria;
       on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters (including land rights) generally this week:
       -   a conservative Australian MP supports changing the anthem’s wording;     an Aboriginal woman who fought segregation in Australia in the 1960s;
       -   other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in:   Thailand;
       on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week (from Thomson Reuters Foundation, Freedom United, and other sources):
       -   the “separatist conflict in Cameroon [is trapping]s girls in sex and servitude”;     the appeal against a recent conviction for child abuse is continuing, and new civil case has been launched against him;
       -   also on child abuse, including institutional, this week:   here,   Zimbabwe,   Ghana,   Cameroon,   India;
       -   also on slavery / human trafficking this week:   Italy/the tobacco industry,   Cambodia,   Thailand,   canned tuna,   Mexico (good steps),   Portugal (good news);
       on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone, and the potential value to women of using anger):
       -   the continuing programme against domestic violence in my home state now includes training health workers in hospitals to spot signs of DV and offer help;     a reminder that aspects of a dystopian TV series have happened in reality;     “Mexico City [has unveiled a] gender-neutral school uniforms policy”;     “more than nine in 10 girls and young women said female bosses could expect unwanted physical contact and to be treated unfairly”;     the risk of “trauma porn”;
       -   on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see:   Kenya (nice words, if they deliver . . . );
       -   other sexism matters have also occurred in:   politics,   Honduras;
       on WORKERS’ rights this week:
       -   another underpayment episode;     The Guardian Australia reports a fruit fly eradication programme in northern Australia in the 1990s poisoned some workers – who were treated deplorably by the medical profession;
       on ANIMALS’ rights this week:
       -   more abuse of animals live exported from Australia – this time horses sent to South Korea (the claim it is ‘out of our hands” is disingenuous: that is WHY animal rights activists want the animals kept in our hands);
       on PRIVACY, AGED, DIFFERENTLY ABLED, AND OTHER forms of human rights this week:
       -   for those with the qualifications/experience, a job ad for a more spiritual (“meaningful”) aging project officer;     support for those helping people living with a disability in my home state; 
  • With regard to war (noting that economic ties do NOT prevent war), violence and hate generally:
       -   the moral conflict and injury of the trauma of war;     as Colombia works at capitalising on the peace agreement, a call is made for business to benefit more in the long term by willingly engaging with and aiding the change of norms;     four shot dead and one injured in a mass murder by gun incident in my nation (the suspect had an illegal shotgun, and was on parole and had a monitoring bracelet, but that went to a private company, not police) – see also here;     an armed deputy who stood outside a school while a massacre took place has been charged (which further illustrates the fallacy of pro-gun nuts’ arguments);     my home state is examining the effectiveness of firearm legislation – including 3D printing;
       -   other war, violence or hate related matters have occurred or are developing in:   Saudi Arabia,   Cameroon;
  • With regard to spirituality,   personal growth,    and     psychism generally     (including empathy, revolutionary love, survival after death, good religion, UFOs (now “UAPs”), being single / asexual / off-grid / non-conformist / true to yourself):
       -   an article on official rules for sightings including, amongst other things, the change from UFO to UAP;     interesting thoughts on breaking curses, perspectives, and methods;
  • With regard to natural and other catastrophes:
       -   $1.2 billion of the $3.2 billion Mozambique needs to rebuild has been pledged;     “the US Congress [has] approved legislation providing $19.1 billion in emergency funding for disaster recovery efforts throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico”;
  • 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:
       -   a movement aims to offset the emissions caused by musicians on tour;     “the Australian Nuclear Association, which advocates for nuclear science and technology, said nuclear power could provide cheap, reliable, carbon-free energy in Australia, but it would only be cost competitive with gas and coal generation if pollution was priced” (and there’s still the waste disposal problem);     a former US Vice-President and climate crisis activist has said “economics will break fossil fuel dinosaurs”;     an opinion that “carbon neutral livestock production . . . is achievable” by 2030;     a call for urban forests;     a guide to communication on climate change (I haven’t read this, so don’t know how good it is);
       -   other environmental matters have occurred in:   Indonesia,   Red Sea (Arab-Israeli cooperation to save coral),   Uganda,   South Africa,   a seed bank (good news),   Kenya (reuse of waste),   Singapore (water);
       on economic and financial matters, including consumer complaints:
       -   “open plan has no place in the office of the future” (thank the Goddess – the comparison to factory/workhouses is, in my opinion, very appropriate);     if managers “use humour the wrong way at work, it actually has a negative impact on our mental wellbeing” (I am truly fortunate in having an excellent manager, but I have also had the misfortune of bad managers such as those referred to in the article – mostly last century, though);
       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?):
       -    30 years of success with a low deposit house buying scheme (does Australia’s government not like this because it cuts rentals and private industry profits?);     more than 200 people a day are falling through the cracks in Australia’s homeless services;     ways to improve low cost rentals;     a $1,000 “sustainable home” shows the problems of affordability (which is driven to large extent by the myth of houses as a source of wealth: we have a right to housing, NOT a right to be wealthy from housing);
       on health and medical:
       -   a reminder that lung cancer can occur in non-smokers;     the problems of the arrival of gene therapy;     whether surgeons should be allowed to charge massive fees – which is legal (maybe the costs of medical degrees also needs to be reconsidered . . . );     animal therapy;
       on other matters in the category:
       -   a warning that de facto relationship break ups are also expensive;     a criticism of the cruise ship industry;
  • 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 … ):
       -   five specific suggestions for better media coverage of elections (I particularly like the comment about “superiority signalling”;
  • With regard to education:
       -   the benefits of meditation in schools are being recognised (this is good, but the mindfulness fad is not);     as my home state introduces measures to support principals, teachers are recognised nationally as generally being more depressed than most Australians;
  • 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 “push to stop women being imprisoned for unpaid fines” (my first reaction is towards them having done wrong so they should be punished, but the devastation caused by being jailed for fines – some from decades ago – is disproportionate and cruel: I consider finding another way is better);     a tide is slowly rising against the death penalty in the USA – and even some Republicans are joining in;
      -      other crime, judicial and policing matters have occurred in:   Ukraine,   Mexico,   Saudi Arabia.
Location based News:
  • With regard to Africa, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
        on Africa generally, and multi-African nations:
       -   another article on the intrinsic position of China in Africa’s communication infrastructure with a call to keep that alignment;
       on specific African nations:
       -   “Gambians are trying to come to terms with the horrors committed during brutal rule of the former regime”;
       -   thousands of Liberians have protested the cost of living;
       -   the challenges facing Nigeria’s re-elected President;
       -   “Sudanese security forces [actually, they were the notorious Janjaweed militia, many wanted for human rights crimes in Darfur] have attacked a pro-democracy protest” – killing at least 100 people, with bodies being disposed of in rivers, and committing rapes, and intimidating medics . . . and will have elections in nine months;     the African Union has suspended Sudan “over violence against protesters” – see also here, and this call for accountability;     the opposition  would accept Ethiopia’s Prime Minister as mediator;
  • With regard to South and Central America:
       -   the struggle for legal abortion in Argentina;
       -   “human rights groups and analysts in Guatemala have raised alarm over the announced deployment of United States law enforcement personnel to the country to stem migration”;
       -   “Mexico has warned [the USA] that tariffs . . . could worsen illegal immigration . . . and end up hurting both countries” . . . but an agreement appears to have been made;     “Mexico’s hydra-headed crime war”;
       -   the USA’s envoy has contradicted POTUS45 by pointing out that Russia still supports the current regime in Venezuela – where four million have now fled and towns are falling into isolation as a result of banditry;
  • 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:
       -   China has used a sea-going barge to launch several satellites;
       -   “North Korea's most important propaganda event, the Mass Games, has been put on hold after criticism from the country's leader” - and see also this call for a boycott;
       -   South Korea has concerns that air pollution is coming from China;
       -   a win for same sex relationships in Hong Kong, which is gearing up to fight the extradition (to China) law – see also this, on China’s use of state-sponsored kidnapping;
       elsewhere in Asia:
       -   “sharks [have been] killed in secretive Indonesian trade despite government efforts to protect some species” (Indonesia’s good efforts on this should be acknowledged);     Indonesia is modernising and extending its naval capabilities to include more offensive capabilities;
       -   a petition in Japan to end the physically damaging and dangerous (to the extent of breaching OHS principles, I consider) practice of forcing women to wear high heels at work;
       -   how Thailand’s military finally inveigled their way into power;
       and in the Pacific:
       -   Australia is stepping up its aid programme to the Pacific - and a call has been made to include a focus on keeping girls in high school, but see this on Australia’s “dereliction of duty” on international aid, and “Australia's standing in Pacific has plummeted because of our climate change failure”;     opinions that New Zealand’s welfare budget only partly addresses indigenous needs (true, but I still consider the budget was a marvellous goal), and doesn’t do enough to reduce unemployment;
  • With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need to step up, as the USA steps down):
        on Europe generally:
       -   “voters looked set to return the third left-leaning government in a year to the Nordic region”;
       on specific European nations:
       -   “Finland [has pledged] to become carbon neutral by 2035”;
       -   “a simmering row over the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Italy has erupted after the far-right interior minister publicly singled out three magistrates who have challenged his hardline anti-immigration policies”;
  • With regard to the (forgotten or ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
       -   two Ukrainian police have been charged with killing a 5 year old boy by shooting their weapons while drunk, exacerbating public concerns after problems with corruption and cover-ups;
  • 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):
       -   an investigation into an airstrike by the New York Times that indicates – despite denials - likely US responsibility;    “the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor has sought [permission] to appeal the court’s rejection of an investigation into crimes linked to the conflict in Afghanistan by armed groups, government security services and US forces”;
  • With regard to South Asia (aka the Indian sub-continent), The Hindu and other sources have:
       on India:
       -   “job loss fears in India after [the POTUS45] tariff shock”;     “street thugs have taken advantage of the post-election triumphalism to stage attacks on minorities in parts of north India”;     water shortages in parts of India;     “severe dust storm and lightning . . . claimed at least 26 lives and left 57 people injured”;
       elsewhere in South Asia:
       -   in Bangladesh, a design for low cost “resilient floating homes that enable families to stay and survive the aftermath of extreme flooding”;
  • With regard to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and Northern Africa, the Middle East Eye, the Times of Israel, and other sources have:
       -   the spreading influence of the Gulf Crisis;     “how [POTUS45’s] approach to the middle east ignores the past, the future, and the human condition”;
       on Israel and Palestine:
       -   as a result of helping Palestinian children get medical treatment in Israeli hospitals, “one of Australia's most progressive Muslim leaders is taking legal action in Lebanon to clear his name after being labelled a ‘collaborator’ with Israel”;
       -   other events concerning Israel/Judaism and/or Palestine have occurred or are developing in:   USA (New York hate crimes),   Belgium (the decision to drop charges must be publicly explained, given the apparent clarity of the evidence);
       on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
       -   POTUS45 has “urged Russia and Syrian government forces to stop bombing Syria's Idlib province”;     “sinister” statues being erected by the Assad regime;
       elsewhere in the region:
       -   “thousands of people have gathered in the Algerian capital calling on interim President . . . to quit after he vowed to stay in power until a new head of state was elected”;
       -   an opinion that the narrative of “proxy war in Iraq” does not meet the nuance and evidence of reality;     the consequences of the under-acknowledged civilian toll and inadequate subsequent aid in a city where violent extremists were pushed out (see also here);
       -   as the USA introduces more sanctions, another opinion on “what a war with Iran would look like” – see also here, this one year review of POTUS45’s approach, and this report that Iran is accelerating its production of uranium in anticipation of the former agreement completely collapsing;
       -   torture in Saudi Arabian prisons;
       -   the USA has starting “withdrawing” Turkey from the F-35 jet fighter programme over Turkey’s purchase of a Russian air defence system.
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.
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