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 an objective or free-from-bias journalist (this is a spiritual blog);
(2) I do NOT hold copyright to, nor claim authorship of, any of the articles I link to, except for links to material I have written for this and my related blogs, and my commentary in these posts.
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.
Note that clearing (rescue) of uncooperatives
should ONLY be 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 (many others
are doing this work, including some who will be stronger), and content
yourself with clearing the smaller nonBPM units within your capability – which will
weaken stronger uncooperatives. It is OK to take a break or cut back this work
if you need. Be mindful that the energies we use and manifest in our daily
lives contribute to the larger soup of energies that influence world events, so
address those as well (or keep them out
of the psychic soup :) ).
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”, and there
are notes at the end of this post about other options for those who do not like
this way of working.
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 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, clear thinking, and calm, de-escalating speech; (2) where problems exist, advocate for being BPM and BPM responses; (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 th POTUS45 requires: 1. eroding POTUS45’s nonBPM influences and strengthening his 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 POTUS45’s marginal supporters to allow them to “come to their senses, and simultaneously strengthening their BPM influences; 3. physical world activism – e.g., this, helping those who are doing this work including clearing nonBPM blockages; and 4. ensuring opposition to POTUS45 is unified, cohesive and FOCUSED;(d) the major events this week are:
(i) as the search for humans rights abusers continues, further to the current map of genocides this week there are risks of mass atrocities in Mali, Iraq, Philippines and South Sudan,
(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, macho posturing between Iran and the USA has degenerated to a situation where, whether justifiable or not, war is possible; resources continue to be mis-distributed across the world, leaving millions facing famine and other shortages; ideologues continue to preach hate, ignorance and fear, and others continue to show “tone deafness”, cluelessness and passive perpetuation of bigotry, hate and fear; the world continues to struggle with technology; elites continue to use and apply power in ways biased towards their desires, rather than people’s (and businesses’) needs, and casually suppress or erode people’s dignity and rights as they go (including the furphy that rights – due to al humans simply by existing - have to be earned by responsibilities); a suggestion to enable better aid of refugees; more people, businesses, and members of the elite are taking action on the climate crisis; the delivery of justice continues to be flawed, including misuse/abuse of gag orders; disingenuousness; suggestions to manage the growth of an abusive autocracy;(e) may all people of good will in all nations involved, especially the USA and Iran, act in a BPM manner to restrain all ill-judged, aggressive and unwise words, actions and threats, BPM de-escalate the situation smoothly and quickly, and may whoever is truly responsible for the attacks on oil tankers be BPM identified, neutralised, and their harm undone;(f) may the world’s resources be distributed and used fairly;(g) may people exercise discernment, intelligence and objectivity always, in all situations;(h) may people always be considerate of others;(j) may people have the BPM courage to stand up to the unjust and abusive, whether it is of them or others, and may such action be free of the farce of attempts to misappropriate rights;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 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 people (a) recognise, irrespective of the appearance of difference, the essential shared humanness of other people, the strength of BPM collaboration, the benefits of diversity, and choose fairness and inclusivity; (b) choose to live modestly; (c) be in better communication with the better parts of their nature – especially those who need that;
- 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 other matters requiring particular attention:
- attempts by Japan’s Prime Minister to ease US-Iran tensions (see here for a critique of POTUS45’s actions and motives, and here for an opinion that POTUS45 and his clique have embraced the wrong Reagan policy for their approach to Iran) appear to have been undone by an insanely provocative suspected torpedo attack – or limpet mines - that sank one tanker, damaged another, provided compelling evidence of state-level involvement, and raises the stakes (if a torpedo or limpet mine was used, yes, I consider it highly likely a State actor was involved, and that the world is closer to war) - Iran has denied responsibility, and the UN has warned against a confrontation – see also here;
- seven million people in South Sudan face hunger (don’t forget Yemen and North Korea);
- the neochristian catholic church, notorious for abusing children and women, has made its transphobic hate official; a social media platform has been criticised for allowing and profiting from homophobia – although some users are trying to overcome all hate speech on social media platforms; a homophobic gun threat at a Gay Pride event in the USA; a fifth teenage boy has been arrested for a violent homophobic attack on two defiant women (one has written this outstanding call to broaden the sympathy and action) in the UK, where homophobic hate attacks have risen by 27% - and 17% of all hate crime victims in the United States in 2017 were LGBT+ people – see also this, on homophobic attacks in Kenyan slums; “policymakers in most parts of the world are taking decisions in the dark when it comes to sexual orientation and gender identity”;
- a playwright wants to make a play about a man awaiting trial but “rape and harassment are not some kind of interesting philosophical exercise”; “nearly 200 business leaders have signed an open letter arguing US moves to restrict abortion are ‘bad for business’ ” – see also this, examining the issue as a form of state violence; victims of domestic violence are being evicted BECAUSE they are victims of domestic violence; “Indian factories [have been] found endangering seamstresses’ health with illegal pills”;
- the IMF has warned that “giant technology companies might cause significant disruption to the world's financial system”; a tech company made almost as much money from advertising from news content as the online news industry; “no secret [is] safe in [the] age of AI” . . . “we might not employ or insure someone because they risk depression, or a country might use predictions about your sexual orientation against you”;
- “EPIC [and the U.S. Technology Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery have urged the ] election commission to protect secret ballot [and] ban internet-connected voting machines”;
- a call to allow refugee host nations to recoup their costs from the foreign assets of the nations the refugees fled from (interesting – I’ll keep thinking about that: I don’t think it would be complete nor a sustainable solution, but it would create pressure for change);
- a US billionaire’s philanthropic foundation will work against POTUS45’s delusions to close the remaining 250 coal-fired power plants across the USA by 2030; a “ ‘frightening’ number of plant extinctions [were] found in [a] global survey”; the push toward more ethical travel (aka “flight shaming”); “Canada will ban ‘harmful’ single-use plastics as early as 2021”, and the bottled water industry is backing a global scheme to reduce plastic; Amnesty International has awarded its 2019 Ambassador of Conscience Award to young Swedish student who has inspired climate crisis action; “nearly a billion people are facing climate change hazards globally”; the links between social justice and climate action; “development banks’ climate funding at all-time high in 2018”;
- “Britain must stop the widespread abuse of so-called gagging orders to silence victims of discrimination and harassment, parliamentarians [have] said”;
- the risks being created by the USA’s “disingenuous” (hawkish?) statements about nuclear testing;
- China is continuing to misuse social media for surveillance; more on the legacy of the Tiananmen Square Massacre; a China strategy proposed for Canada (that Australia could learn from);
- hundreds of thousands have protested (which sometimes used to work, before Xi’s ascendancy to power) the new (and politically questionable) Hong Kong “extradition” law which “legitimises abductions” by China, but, as Australia’s government is criticised for a weak response (while China broadens its suppression of Australian media), Hong Kong vows to push ahead with the bill and meets the protests with violence, leaving the city in shock, and Reuters reports that tycoons are moving assets offshore and police feel “trapped in the middle”, all while China mounted a cyber–attack on a Hong Kong firm and an automatic translation had a suspicious fault;
- from Australia: “how the media raids will silence whistleblowers”, questions about when Ministers were told, a public servant who complained about being criticised has been cautioned after he was accused of intimidation, the need for more public outrage, and a conservative media outlet has accused the government of ignoring media concerns; “Australia has been seduced by creeping authoritarianism – and its citizens need to wake up”; a criticism of the change from targeted surveillance to bulk collection;
- “Venezuelans are slowly starving to death - and fleeing to Peru, and some are disappearing [Reuters] - as [the incumbent and self-declared rival Presidents] battle for power”;
this week’s atrocity alert at R2P lists Mali, Iraq, Philippines and South Sudan; - With regard to democracy (which can be measured [as can goodness], requires protection of minorities and the vulnerable), freedom, governance (e.g., here, here, here, here, here, here)
and ethics:
analyses, research and commentary this week include:
- “George Orwell's prescient novel 1984 is turning 70 and only growing more relevant with age”; an examination of whether New Zealand’s dethroning of GDP as a measure of success will be transformational; the “US fought for[the] right to launch [a] fresh case against two Rwandans accepted by Australia”; a critique of the neoliberal’s flawed approached to gender equality; an examination of the unnoticed rise of US hegemony, followed by its decline to factors that were also unnoticed, leaving only the ideas of Franklin D Roosevelt;
of concern internationally this week:
- concerns that Russia is setting up a journalist – who has been hospitalised for injuries from “injuries during arrest”; a Guardian exclusive shows the extent of Russian attempts to influence Africa; concerns that a “Russian diplomat who heads the U.N. Counterterrorism Office, is . . .due to visit Xinjiang”; “Undetectable in the dispute on the right is any acknowledgment of the criticisms of liberal democracy by those who have been fighting for their fundamental rights in battles that are measured in decades and even centuries; that the social contract implicitly excluded them from the very rights white Christian men have been able to assert from the beginning. Perhaps to do so would be to acknowledge the fundamental immaturity . . . that what they describe as a crisis of liberal democracy is really just them not getting exactly what they want when they want it”; the “US Senate [has warned] Israel against letting China run Haifa port”; “a large and influential part of the news media which blithely abdicated its role as the eyes and ears of the people - and turned into an undisguised, unthinking and unquestioning mouthpiece of the reigning ideology”;
on the US-China – and other - trade war this week:
- India will impose retaliatory tariffs against the USA;
of concern in my nation (Australia) this week:
- a north Queensland MP has admitted being a chauvinist and joining an extremist group; the benefits for the rich of the neoliberals’ tax deal; “how poorly we debate and treat issues of the [fraying] economy and climate change”; more concerns about possible links between an opposition MP and the Chinese Communist party; “Australian children are being placed in harm’s way by the legal structure designed to determine their best interests — the family law system” – see also this abuse of power, and “more babies will die if the Tasmanian Government does not do more to prevent child abuse and neglect in Tasmania”; some idiots want outstanding student loans recovered from the estates of the deceased; a notorious trade union leader, currently planning to plead guilty to charges of harassing a woman, is facing expulsion from the ALP for claiming a family violence advocate was “harming men’s rights”, but has refused to resign from his union position (I’m a female member of a union, and he doesn’t represent me);
other internationally concerning events this week have occurred or are developing in: Liberia, Moldova, Libya, Angola, Tanzania, Australia;
with regard to cyber warfare and other cyber problems (including AI) this week:
- a warning not to be too focused on AI; in what was likely a test of possible hypocrisy, a social media platform has “allowed” a “deepfake” of one of its co-founders to stay posted, which does NOT address the real issues (abuse, right to privacy, sexism/misogyny, etc); current actions against cyber threats; guidelines on AI by my nation’s neoliberal government have been criticised;
- other events related to cyber warfare have occurred or are developing in: USA;
with regard to whistleblowers / whistleblowing this week:
- “a UK judge [has] set the extradition trial of WikiLeaks co-founder . . . for February 2020”;
in the grey/mixed [good and bad aspects] or neutral area this week:
- events in the grey or neutral area have occurred or are developing in: Sudan (brave but risky action);
good news this week includes:
- “an Obama Fed appointee is scuttling Wall Street's bid to ease rules”; Turkey’s opposition is using “radical love” rather than confrontation;
on such matters in my nation this week:
- a conservative MP “has broken ranks to endorse a push by the Centre Alliance to legislate an economy-wide power to break up big [energy] companies”; my home state has increased penalties for “rogue operators who illegally store or dump dangerous waste”, but work is required on better detection (drones checking air quality would be good); “the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has issued compliance orders . . . amid continued concerns about [a] company’s management in the wake of the financial services royal commission”; “10 of the most powerful Australians you've likely never heard of”; thoughts from Bob Hawke’s memorial include Hawke’s comment “Why do I have credibility? Because I don’t exude morality” and “long live love”; “instead of locking in future tax cuts, we should increase Newstart and boost social housing”; “one of Australia’s biggest lobbyist firms has said it ‘strongly supports’ the introduction of an independent commissioner to investigate and oversee the sector”; - With regard to the USA and POTUS45 (see here on actions
for US residents, and note that the VP is at
least as bad):
- one of the Democratic hopefuls for the 2020 US Presidential election has outlined a “third” approach to economics based on building national resources, which led to this interesting analysis;
- POTUS 45 “has said he would accept damaging information on his opponent during the 2020 election campaign, even if it came from a foreign government”;
- “a U.S. appeals court ruled . . . that the U.S. government cannot deny access to abortions for unaccompanied immigrant minors in federal custody, delivering a blow to a [POTUS45} administration policy”;
- “good riddance”;
- 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 by “Cure
Violence“,
BPM counter-narratives, and good, old fashioned police
work
(I don’t name groups to reduce their publicity):
- according to this Wikipedia page, in the last week (actually, only until the 12th, it seems, this week) there have been 1 attack in Iraq, 1 attack in Afghanistan, and 1 attack in Syria (out of a total of 9, causing at least 178 deaths and 18 wounded);
- a call for better use of “soft” intervention and more action generally against far rights extremists in Australia – including from a former extremist; - With regard to refugees (noting the New York Declaration), and remembering Haiti, Ethiopia, Madagascar, DR Congo,
and the Philippines), asylum seekers, and migrants:
- the UN has warned that the “Mediterranean will be [a] ‘sea of blood’ without rescue boats”; Lebanon is forcing refugees to demolish houses and live in tents; as Australia’s asylum seeker policy is described as “a story of blunders and shame”, the governor of the island with one of Manus Island’s gulags on it demands action in response to the post-election spike in self-harm, and an opinion is published that “Australia can reset and reform its refugee and asylum seeker policy by looking to its past successes and best current practice from around the world, . . . to create a ‘principled and pragmatic’ approach”
- other refugee-related matters have also occurred in: US/Mexican border; - With regard to other human (and other)
rights and discrimination (incidentally,
NOT all people choose to
discriminate so those that do aren’t thinking clearly):
- an airline will allow staff to have visible tattoos – which allows some cultural expression; an interesting analysis of cultural, religious free will aspects of bans on face veils;
- 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):
- academic quibbling over numbers of same sex attracted people; a man has been charged over the murder of a trans woman (as always, innocent until proven guilty); slow progress in getting rid of the evil known as “conversion therapy” in the USA;
- other homophobic/transphobic matters have also occurred in: Botswana (god news), Malaysia, Samoa, India, USA, Israel (good news);
on white supremacist and other forms of RACISM / CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION and Indigenous matters (including land rights) generally this week:
- “6 actions Australia’s government can take right now to target online racism”, and the problem of (unaddressed) racial abuse in junior sports;
- other white supremacy / racism problems have also occurred in: Cambodia, Indonesia, POTUS45;
on TRAFFICKING, and CHILDREN’s and associated human rights this week (from Thomson Reuters Foundation and other sources):
- an explainer on modern slavery; a call for nominations for the “stop slavery” awards; “a damning report . . . has found that [a] charity failed to disclose allegations of child abuse”; in my home state, “survivors of institutional abuse will be able to apply to the courts to overturn unfair historical compensation payments under new landmark reforms.”;
- also on child abuse, including institutional, this week: India, Togo;
- also on slavery / human trafficking this week: Ireland, Cambodia, Rohingya, Lebanon;
on SEXISM this week (keeping in mind the overblown influence given to testosterone, and the potential value to women of using anger):
- “richest countries skimp on parental leave”; an interesting conversation between two feminists of different backgrounds;
- on sexual harassment/misconduct/violence this week, see: here, workplaces, Japan, FGM, Kenya (good news), Uganda (good news);
- other sexism matters have also occurred in: country music, humanitarian aid, India, Switzerland;
on ANIMALS’ rights this week:
- animals’ rights matters have also occurred in: Thailand, Thailand (good news);
on PRIVACY, AGED, DIFFERENTLY ABLED, AND OTHER forms of human rights this week:
- “elder abuse is the perfect crime”; the accountant-led NDIA has lost a case where it tried to push dysphagia aids on to others;
- other privacy differently abled and other forms of human or other rights matters have also occurred in: travel insurance industry (ignoring a court decision), here, USA (hypocritical / racist concerns); - With regard to war (noting that
economic ties do NOT prevent war), violence
and hate generally:
- intergenerational trauma; “conflict prevention and mediation are two of ‘the most important tools at our disposal to reduce human suffering’ ”; “threats related to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear use are evolving rapidly alongside changes in the political environment and developments in technology”; - With regard to peace:
- “the World Food Programme’s contribution to improving the prospects for peace”; - With regard to natural and other disasters:
- “a heatwave gripping India has killed 36 people with the poorest workers bearing the brunt”; a cyclone is re- threatening an area of India where hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated; floods in China have killed more than 60, displaced 350,000, and damaged 3.7 million ha of farmland; - With regard to overcrowding and “modern“ lifestyle issues (such as smart phones’ environmental harm, child labour, conflict minerals, FOMO [which can be overcome], addiction or unthinking pro-technology bias [new is NOT always good – see here], AI ethics,
plane pollution,
and work, busy-ness and lifestyles causing depression and burnout, being
duped by modern mantras, management fads and corporate misuse of mindfulness as a distraction, “failing“ at being well, life options, financialisation of homes,
agroforestry, raising
Prince Boofheads and forcing everyone to have children, the “Earth3” model [SDGs + 9PBs]):
on climate crisis (our World War III?) and other environmental matters:
- a reinvention of an old concept sees a “drain sock” used to clean up stormwater; carrots wasted by consumers precious sensibilities will be reused as animal feed; an example of helping marine animals; a Russian court has fined a Russian company that ran a “whale jail”; international experts’ “concerns about a plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall because of its likely impact on the Blue Mountains”; a “mangrove tree on cattle property [has been] carbon dated as more than 700 years old”, and a river red gum is 300 years old and of significance (it was once defended by a war veteran, and has been awarded Tree of the Year), and a fight is underway to save Mumbai’s “last green lung”; a decision to allow a controversial coal mine in northern Australia could lead to more coal mines . . . but a legal challenge over water has been successful - see also these outstanding questions and here; a northern Australian farmer has spent nearly a million dollars on carting water; in Australia, “adopting existing global [energy efficiency] standards for household appliances and factory equipment would also save billions in bills”; an opinion that “old-school climate denial has had its day” – which is wrong when it comes to everyday people who consider they are losing their jobs as a result of the climate crisis; a 40 year old plastic bag has been found; as an oil project in the North Sea is halted, a call for the UK to “end financial help for fossil fuel projects abroad”; “a new U.S. law offers cuts in debt obligations to nations that channel the saved funds to protect critical forests and coral reefs”; Australia's largest solar and battery farm has opened in my home state; “most of the meat people eat in 2040 will . . . be either grown in vats or replaced by plant-based products that look and taste like meat” (one of the biggest problems getting people to stop eating meat is the ideological fanatics who hate the taste of meat and have tried to impose that on others, or belittle others’ taste preferences);
- other environmental matters have occurred in: India, cities, India;
on technology and science matters:
- Ethiopia shut down its internet for three days – allegedly to stop exam cheats . . . ;
on economic and financial matters, including consumer complaints:
- reverse mentoring (my current manager is brilliant at this);
on affordable, sustainable and decent housing and homelessness matters (politicians with “investment properties” have a conflict of interest):
- social housing is better than private rentals for preventing loneliness among older people; evacuations after problems at another high rise;
on health and medical:
- “seatbelt covers showing emergency medical information prove a viral hit”; the staggeringly excessive price of insulin in the stupid US system is driving people to the informal market or outside the USA – and killing some people; “if confirmed by future research, two hours in nature [per week] could join five a day of fruit and veg and 150 minutes of exercise a week as official health advice”;
on other matters in the category:
- “children have fun playing sports and don’t need to satisfy adults’ ambitions”; “too many fearless people on a team make collaboration less likely”; - With regard to press aka the
media, and freedom of expression
(claims of presenting “both sides” of a debate can be WRONG if the other side is RUBBISH –as is the case
on LGBTIQ issues. Also, media can be unprofessional,
but funding is an issue … ):
- the slackness of consumers for not checking news; more media is following the Guardian Australia idea of getting funding directly from audiences, rather than advertisers;
- other media / freedom of expression matters have occurred in: India (good news), Turkey, Saudi Arabia / social media, India; - 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):
- in one Australian state, “juvenile justice officers [have walked] off [the] job after [a] string of violent attacks by offenders”; the challenges facing women after jail; a police officer who headed my state’s African-Australian Community Taskforce has been charged for allegedly leaking information; “the father of . . . has rejected an apology from . . . the policeman who shot and killed her” as inappropriate (I understand his position, consider that his right, and also consider this is appropriate in terms of rejecting granting the murderer any power, which is similar to this); the costs of going to court;
Location based News:
- With regard to Africa, the Africa
Center for Strategic Studies (and other sources) has:
on Africa generally, and multi-African nations:
- “in the uncertainty that follows the removal of long-standing leaders, the African Union … can - and should - have an important role to play”;
- a call to “subsidise solar mini-grids to power rural Africa”;
on specific African nations:
- “high court judges in Botswana have ruled that laws criminalising same-sex relations are unconstitutional and should be struck down, in a major victory for gay rights campaigners in Africa”;
- the Ebola outbreak has spread beyond Congo; more than 50 people have been killed in eastern Congo, as the UN says more armed groups are willing to surrender – see also here; the founder of a notorious “security” company has moved into the DR Congo;
- “while the Ethiopian government has made considerable progress on human rights”, “a giant dam and irrigated sugar plantations are ‘wreaking havoc’ in southern Ethiopia and threaten to wipe out tens of thousands of indigenous peoples”;
- water shortages in the Ivory Coast;
- “Liberians are angry about the apparent disappearance of state funds - and are planning a protest march”;
- disputes over the death toll from a recent violent extremist attack in Mali, where the peace process is in “a critical phase” (in the absence of specifics around methodology, I’m with the villagers);
- “discrimination against persons with albinism in Mozambique”;
- “insurgents overran a Nigerian army base in the country’s northeast”;
- South Sudan’s President has called for a one year delay in the formation of a unity government owing to the inability to “to disarm, house, train or integrate various forces”;
- as Sudan’s deposed war criminal president is charged with corruption, “millions [have joined a] general strike in Sudan aimed at dislodging [the] army”, who claim they should head the interim arrangements; “a government propaganda trip . . . went awry, exposing the country’s political schisms”; a call to provide international aid – including getting back the money corruptly taken out; “social media users are changing their profile pictures to blue to express solidarity with protesters in Sudan”;
- recommendations for preventing election violence next year in Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago; - With regard
to South and Central America:
- Brazil’s new regime wants workers to work until they die; the “Brazil Supreme Court rules homophobia a crime”;
- “Mexico [has admitted] it has 45 days to reduce the number of US-bound migrants” and is selling its presidential plane to raise funds for that purpose – see also here, and the Migration Minister has resigned; - 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 violently occupied nation of Tibet:
- an analysis that Chinese leader Xi is facing conditions that he “may yet regret assuming the mantle of concentrated power”;
- 318 sites in North Korea used for public executions (for offences ranging from stealing a cow to watching South Korean TV) have been identified;
elsewhere in Asia:
- “Cambodia's banned opposition movement has mounted a show of defiance against the Government with a mass noodle-eating effort”; - With regard to Europe and the European Union (EU) (which need
to step up, as the USA steps down):
- the USA will move 1,000 troops and equipment from Germany to Poland;
- the leading, controversial (“ruthless”) candidate for leadership of the UK’s conservatives “has vowed to withhold Britain’s £39bn Brexit ‘divorce’ payment until the EU agrees better terms for the UK to leave”; - With regard to the (forgotten or
ignored and underreported) conflicts in Ukraine, particularly in the east:
- an examination of Russia’s “waiting” (ambush predator?) policy in eastern Ukraine following the recent election results; NATO’s challenges; - With regard to Russia, Russian influenced nations and
eastern Europe, Central Asia, and responses to same (see also
elsewhere):
in Central Asia:
- “hundreds of people have been arrested in Kazakhstan while protesting against a stage-managed election that they say will deprive them of a political voice”; - 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 opinion that the USA has not learned the key lessons of Robert McNamara’s “In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam”: know thy opponent – in this case, a misogynist violent extremist group who are driven by ideology, not a quest for political power; neglect, rather than war or violent extremism, has led to the collapse of an ancient tower; - With regard to South Asia (aka
the Indian
sub-continent), The
Hindu and other sources have:
on India:
- lack of water is driving people out of some west Indian areas; “India's Supreme Court has ordered the release of a journalist who was arrested and jailed for tweeting about [an Indian state’s] chief minister”;
on Pakistan:
- the BBC reports “tens of thousands of people have been killed in Pakistan's long battle with militants as part of the post-9/11 "war on terror". Evidence of murder and torture by soldiers and insurgents is emerging only now”;
elsewhere in South Asia:
- “a ground-breaking study in Bangladesh has found that using data from mobile phone networks to track the movement of people across the country can help predict where outbreaks of diseases such as malaria are likely to occur” (I hope the privacy aspects are being properly managed); - With regard
to West Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and
Northern Africa, the Middle East Eye, the Times
of Israel, and other sources have:
- “UN cooperation with League of Arab States [is] ‘pivotal’, [the] UN chief [has told the] Security Council”; the “International Court of Justice [has said that the] UAE request [for] measures against Qatar over blocking of visa site is not justified”;
on Israel and Palestine:
- an Israeli perspective on US-Iran tensions; arguments for reversing Israel’s policy of annexing East Jerusalem; as a Palestinian organisation denies responsibility for rocket attacks, Israel’s military calls for “a campaign”;
- other events concerning Israel / Judaism / anti-Semitism and/or Palestine have occurred or are developing in: Germany, USA, US Pride;
on the conflict and the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis in Yemen:
- a tit-for-tat escalation of violence is causing concern for Yemen’s neighbours;
on Syria (where the Assad Dictatorship has lost all pretence of legitimacy, and partition is needed):
- “up to 2 million Syrians could flee to Turkey if clashes worsen”;
elsewhere in the region:
- Algerians are continuing their protests.
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 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 healers on Saturdays. 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.
