Post No. 2,024 - Interesting reading, and on Uganda, Burma, and from the news

On psychic, spiritual and related matters, including interesting reading: 

• from here: "Howard's new book traces the reasons that he and millions of others have, over the past several decades, moved away from fundamentalist Christianity with its emphasis on sin and eternal punishment. It provides a roadmap for those who want to develop a rich spiritual life outside the confines of a religion that no longer makes sense to them"
  "Prisons with Stained Glass Windows: Untying the Bonds of Dogma - Embarking on the Path of Spirit", by David Howard;  
  
• a video on pre-birth memories;  
• "In this remarkable book, Ring presents evidence that merely learning about the near-death experience has similar positive effects to those reported by people who actually have had near-death experiences"
  "Lessons from the Light: What We Can Learn from the Near-Death Experience", by Dr Kenneth  Ring; 
• animal souls, survival after death, and reincarnation - and a video on a whale which saved a woman's life, and recognised her the next year; 
• "how watching a good deed elevates and inspires"; 
• "ten surprises when you die"; 
• what looks like it could be quite interesting: a set of "mediumship cards"; 
  
• an interview by Whitley  Strieber which is worth listening to (but keep your thinking caps on: I don't accept all of the points of view); 
• a near 12 hour session on UFOs and CE-5; 
• "Do we consider extraterrestrial life when [we] create laws to regulate outer space?"; 
• thoughts on how to stop over-apologising; 
• a reflection on where we could have been if we listened ... ;

(Mægan)

 

On Uganda this week:

• Museveni is continuing his stay in, and abuse of, power; 
• concerns about police claims; 
• details of the abuse of a woman who was murdered;

On Burma this week:

• the protests and killing continue;

 

From the news this week:

• on the climate crisis and the environment:
  human population may peak earlier than expected;   external pressure, "especially from China", is needed to stop Brazil's rampant destruction of the Amazon;   most cat owners keep their cats indoors to protect their cats, rather than wildlife (some, like me, do it to protect wildlife, but say it is to protect the cat because we get fed up with being abused by ****wits);   the dinosaurs at the stock exchange still use paper mail ... ;   "a record 227 people were killed worldwide in 2020 for their defence of nature -- more than four a week on average, and almost three-quarters of them in Latin America";   wind power has a recycling problem;   doctors and farmers want Scott to take action on the climate crisis;   "climate inaction is driving a mental health crisis in children";   more than 200 million people could be displaced by the climate crisis;   smoke from the 2019-20 climate bushfires created an algae bloom larger than Australia;   following a secretive  deal that also includes accepting more US bombers, changed our position in the world, and led to France withdrawing its Ambassadors, we will be moving to nuclear propelled submarines ... ;   products are being made from captured CO2;   the pandemic has NOT slowed climate change;   Indigenous people have turned to tourism in an attempt to save a forest in Chile;   the UN has urged "'repurposing' of global agricultural subsidies";   "an Indonesian court ordered ... President ... and other senior government officials to improve the hazardous air quality of the capital Jakarta after finding them guilty of environmental negligence in a civil lawsuit";   "animal-based foods produce about twice the emissions of plant-based ones, a new comprehensive study finds";   unsurprisingly, we're going to miss the climate targets;   "rich countries have a moral and economic responsibility to significantly increase funding as their higher consumption levels put greater stress on natural resources";
  
  
  (responsibility)
  
  
  
• on international relations including war:
  Afghanistan:  Ministerial Direction 80 and other problems besetting Hazaras seeking asylum in Australia;   the UN has warned the misogynistic and discriminatory violent extremists (mVEs) in control of Afghanistan over their abuses;   "UAE operating aid air bridge to Kabul as Pakistan's PIA to resume commercial flights";   the mVEs have instituted sexist segregation in higher education, and have replaced the Women's Ministry with "morality" police;   the mVEs are putting Afghanistan's rich cultural diversity  at risk;   internal divisions in the mVEs are growing;   what might happen to refugees who have escaped the mVEs running Afghanistan;   the USA has admitted its second strike against (alleged) VEs killed civilians, no VEs;  
  
  elsewhere:   the UN and Iran will resume talks on the nuclear deal;   North Korea is trying to bully / intimidate /threaten the world - again ... and again;   criticism of China as its own worst enemy over the South China Sea;     Egypt's abuse of fears of VE to grab military aid to commit abuses;   ten challenges the UN is facing in 2021-22;   criticism in Germany of the apparent conflict between morals and money in foreign policy;   summaries of issues in Ethiopia and Lebanon;      despite their history of human rights abuses, Russian mercenaries may be allowed into Mali;   the Tigray conflict risks extending to all of the Horn of Africa;   male Iranian guards are GROPING female nuclear energy inspectors;   Russia has voted to extend the chaos and suffering in Libya;   clashes on the Libya-Chad border;   Armenia has filed a case at the ICJ against Azerbaijan for discrimination;   Russia and China's attempts at vaccine diplomacy were a mixed bag;      the pandemic has stopped what little talking was happening on nuclear weapons in South/Central/East Asia;   as a VE attack in Germany is foiled, signs neo-Islamism is on the way out in West Asia;   an assessment of the possibility that Belarus will be absorbed into Russia;   the "UN's ... history of peacekeeper sex abuse scandals";   moves are growing in southeast Nigeria to secede - again;   a review of the USA's largely inept so-called "war against terror";  
  
  
  (BPM group leadership)
  
   
• on the COVID-19 pandemic:
  personal CO2 meters to ensure adequate ventilation;   possible legal action against an MP over alleged pandemic misinformation is becoming more likely ... with one cease and desist letter being sent;   more on the numbers and reopening;   "pair applauded for volunteering to spend two weeks in isolation to keep kids in residential care company";   more warnings life will not return to normal at high vaccination rates: Singapore, and Denmark;   links between climate crisis denying fantasists and pandemic denying/anti-vax fantasists;   a proposal for responsible, inclusive, and safe check in/vaccination passport technology;   finally others are catching up with what I have known for years: mobile phones are a bacterial hotspots (also keyboards, remotes, etc);   months after even the USA has agreed to decency on vaccine manufacture, we have FINALLY agreed to a TRIPS waiver ... but might still sabotage decency and compassion;   despite claiming not to be, mass infections show a school that broke rules is part of the "lunatic fringe";   poor compliance with lockdown in my home state (which I can vouch for, having seen how many people are still driving compared to other lockdowns);   "an aggressive lockdown strategy that saved more lives would impose lower economic costs (about $1 billion per week lower) in part because it would end up producing fewer lockdowns";   more on the mispayment of financial aid - including to foreign companies that boosted their profits ... ;   an examination of the ethical aspects of vaccine passports;   a reminder that "people should have the right to prove their vaccination status without needing to carry a smart phone";   not COVID-19, but on another zoonotic disease, "Ebola survivors can relapse and trigger outbreaks at least five years after infection, and long-term follow-up of former patients is needed to prevent devastating flare-ups";   "the African Union (AU) now needs six member states to ratify the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty in order to establish an agency that will be tasked with ensuring access to safe, efficacious, and good quality medicines and health technologies on the continent";   a social media platform has deleted conspiracy fantasist pages;   the organisation that appeared to argue for early reopening - or at least allowed itself to be portrayed as such - is now backtracking ... ;   Brazil's nut job leader is going to the UN without any vaccination;  
  
  
  (Berkana - healing & compassion)
  
  
  
• on genocides and other human rights issues:
  violent abuses:   more information on China's abuses of Uyghurs;   ongoing child abuse in a religious group;   "critics of Turkey's President Erdogan [are] under threat in Germany" (not the first time this has been reported);   war crimes against children in Niger;   opponents to the government of Rwanda have been reportedly dying in mysterious circumstances;  
  
  social and political:   an entirely unsurprising (to me and every other person who hasn't had their head in the sand) revelation that social media web page owners are accountable for what people say on those pages (which is why I've never got into hosting comments on blogs, etc) which is good news in terms of managing trolls and the evil they do;   Nicaragua's silencing of dissent is now extending to its management of the pandemic - as Australia's suppression of dissent extends into education;   abuse of workers this week includes of chefs and unpaid overtime for Australian workers, but a Dutch court has ruled that Uber drivers are employees;   a notorious social media platform has continued its gross disrespect of and invasion of privacy with wearable tech;   two Tibetans have been arrested for speaking Tibetan;   controlling welfare payments harms, not helps children - and costs more than the funds being controlled;   more suppression of the media in Algeria;   action against corruption in Africa;   a rebuttal of claims that Australia does well on accepting refugees (Turkey and Uganda are much better);   declining housing affordability;   a law has been introduced to lift the age of criminal responsibility in Qld;   regrets after a  Uni that was STUPID enough to let itself get used for racist research found out what it was involved in;   the ICC will investigate possible crimes against humanity as part of the Philippines' president Marcos-lite's "war on drugs";   the murdering obfuscation of officials against refugees on the Mediterranean is being shown up by those who do rescue them;   continuing repression in Hong Kong;   child abuse in sport;   "a Tamil family who have been fighting for years to remain in Australia have been offered three-month bridging visas in a surprise development";   "one million Nigerian children to miss school due to threat of violence" (particularly the threat of abductions);   the struggle faced by children who have been orphaned by Ebola in the DRC;   abuses are worsening in Burundi;   Greece is extending its fence along the border with Turkey to keep refugees out;   a rescue centre for people accused of superstitious versions of "witchcraft" in Kenya;   Tunisia continues to suppress human rights;   "Chinese scammers enslave jobless teachers and tourists in Cambodia";  
  
  genocide:   an atrocity alert for Afghanistan, Yemen, and China;  
   
• from Human Rights Watch:
  rollback of women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan, and credible response needed to human rights crisis in the country; US must end war on terror; hope for refugee children’s education in Greece; repression in Tunisia proliferates; new UN envoy for Yemen should press all parties to the conflict to end abuses; murders of environmental defenders hit record high; authorities in eastern Libya release photojournalist; sharing knowledge and technology is critical to curb COVID-19; regime in China obstructs COVID-19 origins investigation; young LGBT+ people in South Korea experience isolation and mistreatment; Turkey defies European Court; landmark reproductive rights rulings in Mexico; the future looks bleak for reporters in Afghanistan; European Parliament calls for a more robust China strategy; people with disabilities in Iraq face election barriers; Eritrean refugees targeted in Ethiopia's Tigray region; UN Commission of Inquiry finds ample reason to remain concerned about Burundi's human rights situation; massacres persist in DR Congo; broad facial recognition use undermines rights in Russia; some very welcome news from the Philippines; campaign to stop the crackdown on civil society in Belarus; why the UN Human Rights Council needs to continue investigating Burundi's rights situation; raids targeting critics and activists in India; world leaders should tackle rights abusers at upcoming UN General Assembly; political persecution of vigil organizers in Hong Kong; exhibition in Paris raises awareness about abuses by Myanmar's junta;
  
  
  
  
  
• on democracy:
  the connection between democracy and security;   Lebanon has agreed to a new leader (fingers crossed);   against a background of electoral controversy, Libya is becoming such a complex and unstable "mess" (incipient failed state?) there is a chance the son of Gaddafi could get a political role . . . ;   concerns over a major Chinese real estate company;   an opinion that the USA is an oligarchy - and that capitalism should be abandoned for worker controlled businesses;   as sanctions are imposed, reports talks may be held to transition Guinea back to democracy;   the opposition in Angola has protested against proposed law changes;   Scott's continuing push for secrecy;   criticism of ASIC ("now less a corporate watchdog, more a lapdog");   South Sudan is facing persistent crises;   Sudan's military is still dominant;   more on the actions to prevent #45 causing a war after he lost the 2020 US Presidential election;   Indonesia's health problems;   a US Supreme Court Justice thinks the future of democratic institutions is up to young people;   a warning to the Greens and the ALP that the next election is NOT a foregone conclusion;   more media suppression in Pakistan;   "the January 6 riots at the US Capitol and the terror attacks of September 2001 were an "assault" on democracy, the House speaker says. She also claimed ex-President George W. Bush did not "accept" climate initiatives";   "the Lebanese government has resumed a long-awaited forensic audit meant to shed light on why the nation is on life support. But the political establishment is trying to hamper the scrutiny";   "elections" are underway in the Union of Soviet Socialist Russia;   the soldiers behind Mali's two coups have arranged for themselves to be given amnesty;   continuing problems in Somalia;  
  
  Australia:   Australia - as well as the USA, UK, and Hungary - is at risk of democracy corroding to “competitive authoritarianism”;   concerns about abusive behaviour (allegedly "bullying, harassment, racism, homophobia and assault") in the SA Parliament and the lack of accountability for same;   "Australia’s capacity to manufacture goods lowest in developed world";      a denialist MP thinks that being sued for improper use of a trademark means he can rope in people from overseas to talk on his conspiracy fantasies;   calls for my home state to move Parliament online;   a joint Parliamentary Committee has found that social media is predominantly positive on electoral matters, but has recommended 33 changes including truth in advertising to manage those harms which do occur;   concerns  about an alleged "blind trust" used by an MP in a court case he initiated;   the ATO is discriminating against micro-businesses;      judicial concerns about a Minister's "'sudden' decision to sign $21 million fracking grant agreement";   national neolib nitwits may lose their seats to independents;  
  
  
  (democracy)
  
  
  
• on LGBTIQ+ matters:
  protests against homophobic violence in Spain;   the violent transphobia in NSW against young TGD people ignores science;   the global evil of conversion therapy;  
  
  
• on racism:
  concerns over what appears to be whitewashing in ALP pre-elections;   racism in remembrances of the Holocaust;   "vaccine hesitancy isn't exclusive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, but factors like traumatic historical events, barriers to access and supply, and misinformation, have turned a tool of protection into a tool of fear";   concerns that mining royalties are not providing the benefits they should to Indigenous communities;   "the federal government has announced seven new Indigenous Protected Areas in an initiative to allow Traditional Owners to manage biodiversity conservation on their own land";   in Qld, "renewed calls for greater training of police in Aboriginal towns after a court found officers used unlawful force during the arrest of an elderly Indigenous man";   a sport club has been found guilty of a breach of the sport's "Code of Conduct by failing to remove spectators who were yelling racist slurs at female Indigenous players";   racism in Australia causes migrants 8% more expensive house prices;   another historical figure may have taken part in massacres of Indigenous people;   
  
  
• on sexism and misogyny:
  a female Presidential candidate in sexist Somalia;   a dissenter from the US Supreme Court on the Texas abortion ban;   sexism in PNG politics;   GIGO, cultural,  and lack of understanding of people concerns about Qld police's planned "trial using artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the future risk posed by known domestic violence perpetrators";   recommendations for scanners at ACT prisons after a forced strip search was found to have infringed an Indigenous woman's human rights;   FGM in Uganda;  
  
  
• on ableism:
  a personal experience of autism that doesn't fit preconceptions;   an alleged assault by a carer of a disabled person is in court as another assault by a carer results in a fine;  
  
  
• on animal rights: 
  toilet training cattle for environmental reasons ... (at least the article gets it right that cattle in Australia are predominantly kept outdoors, but it is silent on animal rights issues);   another mass murder of dolphins in the Faroe Islands;  the NEED for national pet-friendly laws;   a chimpanzee rescued decades ago has recognised his rescuers;   the EU may introduce laws to end animal experimentation;   a rooster and a goat have combined to save a hen from a hawk;  
  
  
• on other matters:
  a biosecurity threat to our citrus industry;   "Australia’s major banks are breaking their own rules by failing to cancel direct debit payments for household bills";   an annual report on cyber threats;   an obscene (IMO) bonus to an executive heading an organisation that is trying to lay off hundreds of employees;