And Why the Stakes Have Never Been Higher

One of my posts on X appeared on @PressTV Iran's First International News Network on Monday, 23 February. This is a reminder that ordinary voices can cross borders and bypass propaganda. We are at an extremely dangerous moment. The pattern is familiar: sanctions, hatred, military build-up, and inflammatory rhetoric.

History has shown that wars are never limited to the decisions of those who start them. A modern conflict between nuclear-armed states would spare no nation or family. A third world war would be fought on many fronts and in numerous countries. Wars are fought by the young and mourned by all, while being decided by a few.

Silence is never neutral; it is a vote for whatever happens next. One post reached Iran. Imagine what millions of posts might achieve.

Powerful decision-makers count on our exhaustion and empathy overload – do not give in to them. Please share and post your comments. Your voice matters more than you can know. 

Cedar Rivers 

​x.com/CedarRivers

Trump told voters plainly that he wanted to be a dictator – and for once, he wasn't lying. Now the world watches as his erratic, authoritarian grip tightens: brutal ICE raids, mass deportations, reckless tariffs, territorial fantasies about Greenland and Canada, and a humiliating spectacle in Argentina – all while he presents himself as a 'Peace President' yet actively pushes for war with Iran, recycling the same discredited WMD playbook that led to the Iraq catastrophe. This time, it is being done at Israel's behest, by two nations that together possess vast nuclear arsenals and some of the most destructive weaponry on earth. The hypocrisy is not just staggering – it is suffocating. A man clearly unravelling psychologically holds the world to ransom, and the voters who believed his promises but ignored his warnings are only now beginning to grasp what the rest of us feared from the start.

Sally JB

Spirit of the wild, keeper of light,
Beloved friend. Kindred soul.

You walked gently on this Earth
and left it brighter than you found it.

In laughter, in courage, in quiet grace,
you touched lives like sunlight through trees.

Your presence still moves through forests, wind, and water,
through memory, and love that does not fade.

Forever companion of the heart,
now at Home in the Great Mystery.

10.3.1979 – 22.2.2018


Photo by Derek Tinkler 1:2017

I warmly invite you to read some of Sal's early messages. 

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Those of us who have been vilified in the past for discussing our experiences with extraterrestrials and spacecraft may be acknowledged within the year. I wonder if gracious apologies will be forthcoming from the sceptics, naysayers, and critics. As the conversation is already shifting, perhaps we can all agree that curiosity and enquiry is a better approach than ridicule. Even better still is to psychologically prepare for how to cooperate with other species. 
​- Cedar

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I'm absolutely shocked and deeply concerned that Pauline Hanson's far-right One Nation party is now polling in SECOND PLACE nationally, surging to record highs of 23-27% primary vote and even drawing ahead of the crumbling Coalition in multiple recent polls. 

If more Australians did their homework, they'd see the massive hypocrisy: Hanson claims to champion the working class, but she DOES NOT represent everyday Aussies. She openly praises Donald Trump - 'I love Trump and his policies. We're on the same page', stayed at his lavish Mar-a-Lago for days - missing two weeks of Parliament, and partied at his Great Gatsby-themed Halloween event—funded and flown by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, who bankrolls One Nation.

Hanson jets around on Rinehart's private plane, enjoys luxury holidays, and has stayed at Rinehart's $66 million Palm Beach mansion. Her own estimated net worth? Around $20 million — hardly the battler she pretends to be.

She peddles divisive, racist rhetoric like her recent shocking claim questioning if there are ANY 'good Muslims': "You say, 'Well, there's good Muslims out there.' Well, I'm sorry, how can you tell me there are good Muslims?'— while smearing entire communities and ignoring the contributions and kindness of millions of everyday Muslim Australians.

She's routinely compared to and aligns with far-right figures like Viktor Orbán, Marine Le Pen, and Geert Wilders —anti-immigrant populists who thrive on fear and division. This is NOT about representing workers — it's elite-funded extremism tearing at Australia's multicultural fabric. Please do your research by independent journalists and not Murdoch's mainstream media. 

One Nation's rise is dangerous. Don't let hypocrisy and hate win. Vote for unity, fairness, and kindness. 
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The Year of the Fire Horse arrives with heat, courage, and a powerful call to aliveness. It encourages you to act with passion rather than hesitation, trusting the inner spark that knows where your spirit longs to go. Fire Horse energy burns away old fears and illuminates the path of bold creation, reminding you that vitality is a sacred force to be expressed, not contained. Gallop into the unknown. Approach this year with a brave heart, clear intention, and a willingness to follow the flame of your own becoming..

Such wonderful, thoughtful responses. Thank you ALL. Questions like this help us reflect on what truly matters and support one another as we each navigate our personal paths. May you discover and master exactly what your soul seeks to learn at this stage of your life.
My own passions centre on the soul's eternal journey: living well, dying well, and more fully understanding this earthly experience with all its chaos, confusion, creativity, joys and challenges. I often find myself asking: Why would my soul choose to incarnate in this particular body, this family, this place, at this pivotal moment in human evolution?
As we witness many people unconsciously perpetuating violence, division, greed and harm, I'm working diligently to understand my own role and purpose during this transitional age – what some might call the end of an epoch.
I'm completing old patterns, becoming more conscious and discerning, and preparing myself for what wants to emerge: a more compassionate world, creative co-creation of healing possibilities, and a deeper sense of myself as a cosmic citizen connected to something far greater than this single lifetime.
It is demanding, beautiful work, and I am constantly learning in the process.
Please keep sharing your responses. Knowing what matters most to each of you helps us support, encourage and learn from one another. We are truly in this together.

​Cedar 

A nation’s strength is not measured by its willingness to follow others into conflict, but by its courage to stand for peace with clear eyes and a long memory. History has shown, again and again, that wars entered in haste or loyalty to powerful allies can leave generations carrying grief, trauma, and debt long after the rhetoric fades. Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and the Gulf War each remind us that the cost of war is paid not only in strategy rooms and budgets, but in human lives, families, and futures.
Before aligning Australia with any new military venture, pause and look beyond the immediate horizon. Consider the second and third consequences. Consider the children who will inherit the outcomes of decisions made today. Consider the soldiers—our sons and daughters—whose courage and loyalty deserve the highest level of care, wisdom, and restraint from those who command their service.
True leadership asks difficult questions:
Would I send my own child to the front line of this conflict?
Is every peaceful avenue exhausted?
Will this action genuinely secure a safer future, or merely prolong cycles of violence?
Australia’s role in the world can be one of principled independence, diplomacy, and peace-building. We are capable of strengthening alliances without surrendering moral judgement. We are capable of defending our nation without abandoning our deepest values. We are capable of choosing dialogue, foresight, and humanity over reflex and pressure.
Nearly 29 million citizens, and many beyond our shores, live with the consequences of your decisions. Lead with conscience. Lead with memory. Lead with the kind of wisdom that protects life wherever possible and honours it always.