Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked
articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For
anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering
seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/.
The purposes of this post are:
(1) to provide information, including news, which may be of interest, value, or use to Readers;
(2) to identify both BPM and nonBPM opportunities to do the work of this blog (particularly clearing nonBPM nonphysical units, BPM healing, and BPM strengthening of BPM units - the news items helps draw in/helps me find those people and other units in need of any of the help I can provide); and
(3) to help engage and frame my emotional, mental, and other nonphysical (psychic, spiritual, Higher Self, BPM Guides, etc) aspects both for doing my weekly PWR and for doing the work that flows from the PWR - which may also occur for some others.
Some of the news information will likely be distressing - hence the content warning, to allow people to choose times they have high energy and/or are in a good state to view these, or to ensure they have access to support resources if they may be triggered, or to choose to either temporarily or permanently skip viewing this post or the “News” sections, as is best for their health and wellbeing.
Within the news section, I generally try to identify what is considered “good” news in green, possibly also with green background, but owing to time, energy, and health limitations, may not always be able to do so.
URLs of sources of news and/or information are included as in-text hyperlinks.
News:
On the existential climate crisis and nuclear threats this week: as a call is made to craft climate action in ways that appeal to deniers & blockers self interest (e.g., action will lead to cleaner air, cheaper health care, etc - and lower insurance rates), celebration of planting trees and reforestation, a reminder that the simplest way to restore nature may also be to do nothing; a global coral bleaching event has harmed 80% of the world’s reefs; in a particularly concerning example of obeying in advance, some aid groups are self-censoring mention of climate change (which is causing a massive increase in the need for aid) from their websites.
In the global war against the radical right/f_s c_sm (including their networks, and their goose-stepping thugs - who can, must, and will be held to account for their sadistic abuses and usurpations that have been so egregiously destructive of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness) this week (and for links on what can be done - now, see Resistance Labs, “How to Think (and Act) Like a Dissident Movement” (The Bulwark), here [Indivisible], Hands Off 2025, and Dem-Optimism and this [Robert Reich] and this [AOC] and this [Devon Price] aand this [PBS Voices] and this [on burnout] and this [efficacy of nonviolent protest] and this book and this book and this and these links ):
§ On historical and general matters, a reminder that the current renditions and deportations are the latest in a long line of events “in American history of the government choosing to disregard the rights of certain people for the convenience of the government or specifically for the convenience of the people in power in the government at that given moment”, including renditions or extraordinary renditions and indefinite detention during the so-called war on terror, the internment of US citizens of Japanese heritage (and some of Italian/German heritage) during World War Two, “Jim Crow” laws, and going back to the USA’s foundational wrong of slavery - there are also even comparisons to 1930s Germany, and major criticisms of the current US president, and concerns and/or criticisms from the political right. In my nation (Australia), we have the deplorable offshore detention in extremely abusive conditions (including CSA) of asylum seekers who arrive by boat, and our own deplorable history of white supremacism - which is also why our constitution does not have any form of Bill of Rights. There is also this reminder from US and other history, “18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. The sudden disaster that requires the end of checks and balances, the dissolution of opposition parties, the suspension of freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Do not fall for it.” Elsewhere in the world, we have seen a possible preview of future abuses of power from Tunisia (where political opponents have been sentenced to up to 66 years in jail), but also a preview of possible accountability, as Orbán’s stance on Ukraine puts Hungary at risk of losing EU voting rights, and continuing powerful protests against fascism in the USA - where new leaders are also emerging, such as candidates who are “bold, visionary, and unapologetically pro-people”. Courage is catching. Here’s hoping some existing CEOs finally catch it ... And there are thoughts on how to prevent a future recurrence ...
And as a final point here, I have seen a media report by the noted Mother Jones journalism magazine that El Salvador's President is being so compliant with the current US regime to cover up past negotiations he had with the violent and abusive gangs that are a key part of the current crisis, which is based on work by “El Faro, founded in 1998 as the first digital newspaper in Latin America. In 2020, El Faro began publishing a blockbuster investigation that exposed secret negotiations between the Bukele administration and leaders of the MS-13 gang who were imprisoned in El Salvador. The goal was to reduce violence on the streets and win the gang’s support in mid-term elections in exchange for prison privileges. Some of the MS-13 leaders were eventually released as part of the deal, according to El Faro’s reporting. It was later discovered that during this period El Faro’s staff was the target of a massive cyber attack with Pegasus spyware. Experts suspected it was a state-sanctioned hack. The Pegasus attack on El Faro was featured in a Reveal episode in September, 2023”. This is also reported, including the El Salvadorian President’s denial, in Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia, Time magazine, and also this, from AP News: “Bukele was not the first president of El Salvador to negotiate with the gangs that held an iron grip on its streets. But when local media reported that Bukele’s administration was not only negotiating but granting gang leaders benefits in return for maintaining a lower level of bloodshed, Bukele vehemently denied it. Then in 2022, the carnage of March 26 happened. Gangs killed 62 people in a single day across the country, a toll not seen for years. Bukele sought and received special powers: arrests without warrants, no access to a lawyer, broad authority to intercept communications. Any secret negotiations were replaced by a highly publicised crackdown.”
§ On protests and resistance, A consideration of what a national civic uprising in the USA would really look like which draws on lessons from the “Moratorium to End the War in [Việt Nam]” “... the idea for the moratorium started out as a call for a general strike. Sam [Brown] ... changed the concept from general strike to a “moratorium” ... [because] he wanted protests to take place in communities rather than on university campuses so that “the heartland folks felt it belonged to them.”” He also thought having a “respectable” face would win the support of the largest number of Americans, and considers the word “strike” now is seen as having an off-putting air of militancy, and a term is needed to “resonate with a small business person or a farmer or most of rural America” and that conservative leaders like David Brooks need to be brought on side.
§ Warnings this week include, that M_ sk and AI are amongst the biggest threats to companies’ brand reputation; US philanthropists have warned that charitable organisations could be next in the firing line, but they must ‘stand together’ to resist capitulating to the current US regime;
§ Accountability this week include, six men have been charged after woman was forcibly removed by them from a US town hall meeting, and legal action has commenced in a separate matter for false online claims;
and a call to stop giving attention seekers the attention they are craving.
Also in the USA, where their current president, who has been persistently sanewashed by the mainstream media, has committed abuses and usurpations that are egregiously destructive of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, this week, we have:
- a 90-day report card; an exposé of the appalling perversion that the current US regime has committed inside Dog-E - but hope for future rebuilding of a DOGE;
§ On rendition, deportations, and associated legal matters, four more Congress members have travelled to El Salvador - at their own initiative and cost; another US federal judge has halted “Homeland Security efforts to remove non-citizens to foreign countries without due process”; the arrest of a native-born US citizen (subsequently released) involved ignoring and not mentioning legitimate ID and charges “under a Florida law that has been blocked from enforcement by Judge Kathleen Williams of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida as of early this month”, and a US federal judge has ordered that detained Türkiye student who was moved allegedly “as part of a standard procedure due to a lack of space” although “court documents submitted by Ozturk’s legal team note that local facilities had ample space, and this move conflicts with standard booking and detention procedures”, be returned to Vermont to await trial (these two exceedances of authority show my greatest concern: the possible presence of unprofessional, irresponsible, amathiac, bigots in police/positions of authority/coercion [in ALL nations - not only the USA] who will undermine democracy and decency overtly and covertly ... see also this); “Judge castigates Trump administration for ‘bad faith’ in Abrego Garcia’s deportation case” - and a ‘Medieval Inquisition’ as another deportee is ordered returned; fears of racial profiling from registration policy in the USA; the USA’s FBI has arrested a judge for allegedly interfering in an immigration enforcement matter - I suspect there will be a lot more on this gravely concerning action over the next few days;
- This sort of problem occurs, to varying extent and degree, elsewhere as well - for example, the UN has warned of rising deportations of Haitian mothers and newborns from Dominican Republic;
§ Also, a US-regime-lite state in the USA (e.g., disinviting the head of NAACP from speaking to their bar over legal action based on supporting the US constitution) has created its own state-level version of Dog-E; an executive order that could have disenfranchised millions of US voters has been blocked; consideration of whether the USA should be declared to be in a humanitarian crisis; in an extremely worrying step, opposition (Democrat party) fund raising is being attacked.
This week, noting this call to bear witness (further noting the cautions on hate speech here, here, here, and here, and this and these “links for activism”, see the decision on the “Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”, and note this pending [and disputed] case [South Africa v. Israel] regarding alleged genocide and this pending [and disputed] case regarding the “Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organisations and Third States in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory” from the ICJ), the Israel-Palestine war has seen:
- the deeply unpopular (with Palestinians), allegedly corrupt, Holocaust denying president of the gravely underfunded & deliberately undermined, seen as collaborationist & ineffective Palestinian Authority has, in a move almost certainly doomed to failure, “urged H___s to release all hostages, claiming their captivity provides Israel with justification for its attacks in Gaza” - which claim, sadly, is a true statement;
- communities of IDPs in southern Gaza are facing a nightmare of rubbish, wastewater, and disease;
- after a month of absolute denials, Israel has finally admitted that the IDF DID kill a UN worker;
- Israel has been continuing its attacks etc in the occupied West Bank.
In other international news, including the illegal and unprovoked war against Ukraine (noting the pending [and disputed] alleged genocide cases for The Gambia v. Myanmar, with seven States intervening, Ukraine v. Russian Federation, Sudan v. United Arab Emirates at the ICJ and these “links for activism”):
§ Ukraine: an Easter truce was proposed and broken; as the USA backs away from the current US president’s commitment to end the war “within 24 hours” and reportedly considers betraying Ukrainian sovereignty (with one description making that worse than Munich in 1938), Russia describes a ceasefire as “unrealistic” ... but was suddenly open to direct, bilateral talks including President Zelenskyi (although the wording was deliberately insulting and dismissive of Ukraine’s legitimate government) ... and hinted at a cut back in its territorial demands - but ceding Crimea has been ruled out by Ukraine, Tatars, and Europe (which is reportedly facing increased hybrid attacks from Russia), which the US president has responded to a manner showing a deep lack of understanding of this situation and the principles involved (and has made a ludicrous comment on Russia’s alleged “concession”). Also, Russia may have expected talks amongst Ukraine’s allies to collapse, but they didn’t. Ukraine is allocating ⅓ of its budget to high tech weapons (drones, etc) as Russia’s president admits to key weapons gaps; a critique of sanctions calls for improvements - including “to support the brain drain of talented specialists” as well as addressing circumvention; suppression of the media in Belarus has seen dozens of journalists been jailed (there are also allegations of an attack on press freedom in Indonesia - and see this warning about the USA [and this, on the broader context/background]); an opinion that the current US president has, in effect, given Russia a green light to bomb Ukraine’s capital and other cities (which led to Ukrainian anger and scepticism towards the US president [who was told to be angry at Putin, not Ukraine {the USA is getting angry at Russia over a naval base in Sudan}] and negotiations generally) - and Russia has again reserved a claimed right to use nuclear weapons;
§ On the USA’s tariff war against its own citizens and the rest of the world, China - which is continuing to prepare for the tariff war - has warned nations against appeasing the USA (that, IMO, is a fair and reasonable call - bullies must be resisted) as a warning is made inside the USA that a trade war with China is not sustainable (and China denies it is in any talks) - and, perhaps partly in response to China cutting off the supply of rare earths, the US president has approved massively destructive deep sea mining for rare earths (which would take years to implement, so is functionally of no value other than spite); an expectation that the USA will have an economic crash (far exceeding what has been seen so far), and that the world will follow ... and what is needed to prepare for that (and after the current US president generally);
§ Elsewhere, Iran says a nuclear deal is possible the USA “does not make ‘unrealistic demands’” ... ; the situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate; Sudan and Russia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding about Russia’s possible exploitation of Sudan’s oil resources; journalists in Sudan are risking all to report on the war - which is becoming increasingly sophisticated; concerns about possible misuse of sensitive information seized by Ethiopian police from journalists; Türkiye is supporting Somalia’s fight against violent extremism; one of the lawyers for 40 opposition figures sentenced to long jail terms in a criticised trial has also been arrested; recommendations for managing democratic backsliding in Asia; another opposition leader has been arrested ahead of elections in Tanzania; Algeria has been criticised for cracking down on dissent;
- there has been a mass killing of tourists in Kashmir, leading to increased tensions including India expelling Pakistani citizens and Pakistan closing the border, the suspension of a water treaty, and a general sense of increasing risk of more conflict (and potentially more human rights abuses) - see also this analysis & recommendations;
§ on the passing of Pope Francis, an outsider whose push for modernisation, social and economic justice, and an urgent response to the climate crisis made him an ally of progressives and champion of the forgotten, the President and CEO of GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organisation, said “Pope Francis was a transformational leader who included LGBTQ people in historic ways. Having had the honour of meeting with Pope Francis twice, I witnessed first-hand his dedication to make a Church for all, not just some. His principles of empathetic listening, inclusion, and compassion are exactly what this divided world needs right now. When Pope Francis spoke out against the act of criminalising LGBTQ people and when he famously spoke ‘who am I to judge,’ he created an example of unity that faith and civil leaders should follow.” “... Pope Francis ... repeatedly urged acceptance of LGBTQ people and included them in conversations at the Vatican about how best to support LGBTQ people” - see also this. The Pope passed just hours after calling for a Gaza ceasefire, and was hailed by the UN as ‘a transcendent voice for peace’. His funeral will reportedly be much simpler than traditional Papal funerals.
§ On the UK anti-trans decision and other TGDNB matters, a disturbing comment by a former judge is that the UK Supreme Court judgement on trans people has been misunderstood. The former judge says it ALLOWS the exclusion of trans people from single sex spaces, but does NOT compel their exclusion - “He said: “That’s the main point, which I think has been misunderstood about this judgment. I think it’s quite important to note that you are allowed to exclude trans women from these facilities. But you are not obliged to do it. ... I don’t think Baroness Falkner is right to say that you can’t have trans women in women’s sport. Simply that, if you decide not to have them, you aren’t breaking the law... I think they have gone to a great deal of lot of trouble to avoid [taking] sides in the ideological debate.”” In addition, a female to male TV personality and trans advocate has “warned that the emphasis on biological sex opens up a whole host of other issues for single-sex spaces, including that trans men will now be forced to use women’s spaces, including bathrooms and changing rooms. ... [He] said: “If I walk into a [women’s] toilet now and say: ‘Well, I was assigned female at birth’, people are not going to be happy about that. I feel like people are going to be quite intimidated by that. “It not only obviously puts [biological women] in a difficult situation, but it also allows any [cisgender] man to walk into any so-called official single-sex space now and say, ‘Well, I was assigned female at birth.’ How are you policing that? You can’t police that.”” In the meantime, there has been at least one massive massive protest against the decision and in support of trans people, with discussions also of the very real risk of suicide. And this issue could, in my opinion, be added to the factors in favour of Scotland becoming independent - which is a prospect now supported by the majority of people in Scotland. Blatant and outrageous lies about the number of trans women in sport; more gender flat earthism in the current US regime - which is being sued by a US state that wishes to protect trans kids; a reminder that “Trans People Are the Threatened, Not the Threat”;
§ On other sexism and misogyny, sexual violence is being systematically used as a weapon of war in the DR Congo;
§ On racism and white supremacism, white supremacist n__-n_ _s have committed racist disruptions at ANZAC Day events in Australia, with at least one issued a summons;
§ On refugees, on the back of commitments made through the 2018 Global Compact for Refugees and World Bank financial support for refugee rights reforms, Kenya is following the example of other large refugee-hosting nations in the Global South (notably Jordan and Ethiopia) by launching its Shirika Plan, an initiative to turn the country’s two refugee camps – Dadaab and Kakuma – into self-reliant integrated settlements, allowing refugees and host communities to live and work side by side and access donor and government services;
§ On other matters, a marked increase in attacks on asylum seekers and refugee shelters, a sharp rise in far-right crime and a hardening of attitudes towards migration in Germany; a call for the veterinarian whistleblowers who exposed animal abuses to be protected; Human Rights Watch has criticised a crackdown on dissent in Việt Nam; systemic abuses and informal hierarchies in prisons across Europe; an excellent debunking and criticism of fanciful rubbish from a far right UK politician about autism;
§ On suppression of dissent, alarm at reports of psychiatric treatment as punishment for political dissent in Belarus (this notorious abuse was used in the former Soviet Union) and the UAE has been urged to remove terrorism designation of political opponents; a Swedish journalist who has reported extensively on Kurds will be tried on terrorism charges - which are refuted by the journalist’s employer - in Türkiye.
In societal and governance matters:
- a call for a strategic approach to defence for Australia, rather than AUKUS; an opinion that “Australia needs more than hollow words about a fair go – we need brave policy-makers”;
- “Decolonise How? Who owns the story?” https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/column/2025/04/23/decolonise-how-who-owns-story “Crisis reporting often follows a familiar pattern: a journalist arrives, gathers quotes and images, frames a compelling narrative, and departs. ... Stories are told about communities but rarely with them. Their perspectives are filtered, their agency muted, and their knowledge systems dismissed. ... Humanitarian journalism ... must shift from a mindset of extraction to one of relationship – from “telling the story” to honouring community and humanity”; “Want to change the aid system? Start with justice, not charity” https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2025/04/22/want-change-aid-system-start-justice-not-charity;
- a call for a national police approach to domestic violence (which has been accomplished on other topics, so it is possible, although police may have to fix internal and personal problems first).
From a spiritual perspective: courage, especially the courage of sacrifices now for the sake of a long term better future, is a key requirement.
On the resistance to fascism:
- everything in my candles that applies (may all resistance be non-violent and BPM properly informed of and responsive to legitimate grievances that led to this situation);
- “What do we mean when we say women can be ‘too muscular’? | Well actually | The Guardian” https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2025/apr/21/muscular-women-masculinity An excellent commentary on misogynistic stereotypes that can be worshipped by some women ... and fascists
- An important question for media: “All eyes are on Reform right now – but why are they given so much influence? | Zoe Williams | The Guardian” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/21/reform-vote-local-elections-rightwing “A strong progressive vote in local elections will be written off as random or outlying, while rightwing insurgency is considered to indicate some fundamental truth”
- “Is [the current US president] Repeating History? Al Gore Destroys [the current US president]’s Lies With Truth About Power & History” https://youtu.be/mSlMJtjg7UQ “What if truth no longer mattered - only power? That’s the disturbing question Al Gore tackles in this unforgettable speech. ... I understand very well why it is wrong to compare A____ H_t l_r's [regime] to any other movement - it was uniquely evil, full stop. I get it, but there are important lessons from the history of that emergent evil. ... Theodore Adorno who wrote that the first step in that nation’s descent into hell was - and I quote - “the conversion of all questions of truth into questions of power””
Here are some llinks that might also be of interest or value:
- “Wild chimpanzees filmed by scientists bonding over alcoholic fruit” https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/21/wild-chimpanzees-filmed-by-scientists-bonding-over-alcoholic-fruit
- this week’s “afterlife report” by the Zammits: https://www.victorzammit.com/April25th2025/
- also from YouTube:
- from YouTube and elsewhere on neurodivergence:
- “Autistic Pride: How To Embrace Your Difference” https://youtu.be/J3Kg8q3-_PY “Autistic pride is all about reclaiming autism and what it means to be autistic, which has often been seen as an abnormal or negative thing. It is about embracing weirdness and acknowledging that being weird is normal. It is not about thinking that we are superior, or about making others feel sorry for us. Autistic Pride is about celebrating the many positive things about autistic culture.” An excellent, nuanced consideration
If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below, and there’s also other options.
Note that I am cutting back on aspects of my posts - see here.
(Gnwmythr is pronounced new-MYTH-ear)
Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering” (just as binary gendered [men’s and women’s] sporting teams are either both given the gender descriptor, or neither).#PsychicABetterWorld and may all that I do be of value and actively BPM used for and by the nonphysical BPM
.jpg)
