violence is a STATE of mind: and ...? | |||
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My source: Financial Times. 9 September, 2026, p.1.
About the Conference
The Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association (GLEPHA) and the ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre will jointly host the 8th International Law Enforcement and Public Health Conference, LEPH2026 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK from 6-9 September 2026.
Following highly successful conferences in North America, Africa and Europe, the 2026 global event in Leeds presents a unique opportunity to spotlight global research and world-leading practice across law enforcement and public health. The 2026 overarching theme will be vulnerability, policing and public health.
The conference will be open to law enforcement and public health agencies, national and local governments, relevant research bodies, academic institutes, policy makers as well as the commercial sector and other partner organisations. Bringing these diverse communities and perspectives together, the conference presents an ideal space for sharing and learning about new approaches, instigating and developing real change in practice, based on the best available evidence internationally.
Full details - conference website ...
My source: Culling followers on Twitter '0 posts', last post years ago ...X may have been accepted legally as a signature, but it might denote injury, illness, or illiteracy. Twitter diehards really are in a 'graveyard'. And yet, amidst the tombstones, I found a POLITICAL care domain gem in @LEPH2026, which led me to @GLEPHAssoc. I will follow when allowed.
Previously: 'law' : 'vulnerability' : 'public health'
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c/o Reuters |
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Clearing books, magazines and journals (to make space for a few new acquisitions) on a trip to Hay-on-Wye, I bought a secondhand copy of:
Weizsacker, Carl Friedrich von. (1980). The Unity of Nature.
I noticed chapters on the definition of health and illness, and information.
Models of Health and Illness, Good and Evil, Truth and Falseness
Chapter Jun 2014
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03671-7
In book: Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker: Major Texts in Philosophy (pp.74-89)
AbstractUnfortunately, I cannot find a copy of the lecture. In my softback copy the title is "Lack of Peace as Psychic Illness".
This essay is the core of our reflections on cybernetics. It is the only essay in this Part that tries to describe concretely what cybernetics can achieve. Written in the fall of 1967 but unpublished until now, it was inspired by a lecture on “Peacelessness as Mental Illness” delivered in Bethel in 1967 (published in Der ungesicherte Friede; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1969). On that occasion the question arose whether it is medically justifiable, or merely metaphoric, to call the inability to maintain peace an illness. As far as I can see, contemporary medicine lacks a sufficiently clear concept of illness to decide this question. Since I had no desire to merely skirt the issue, I was faced with the task of outlining a scientifically justifiable definition of illness. The result is presented in Sect. 6.2 of this essay; its social application is very briefly sketched in Sect. 6.4.
(My emphasis)
We don't tend to think of mental illness in the collective, but history provides many examples within and extended across communities - 'mass psychogenic illness'. More recently there is a literature on the mental health, competency of global leaders, also known as 'hubris syndrome' previously. Even the history of Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker is controversial, his World War II record and knowledge of nuclear physics.
We have a veritable storm across all the domains of Hodges' model (including the spiritual) that point to the model's ongoing relevance, consider:
Link:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/300477492_Models_of_Health_and_Illness_Good_and_Evil_Truth_and_Falseness?
 |
| U2 (RollingStone UK - Picture: Anton Corbijn) |
By Andy Greene
'U2 have emerged from a long hiatus with a surprise six-song EP, Days of Ash, available now, in which they address political flashpoints around the world, including ICE raids in the US, the Iranian uprisings, the war in Ukraine, and Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The six songs — ‘American Obituary’, ‘The Tears of Things’, ‘Song of the Future’, ‘Wildpeace’, ‘One Life at a Time’ and ‘Yours Eternally’ (featuring Ed Sheeran and Taras Topolia) — are all on streaming platforms. They’ve also created lyric videos for each one.'
Continued ...
The 2025 peace laureate
'The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 to Maria Corina Machado “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
In the past year, Ms Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions of people. She has brought her country’s opposition together. She has never wavered in resisting the militarisation of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy.'
'Under the Trump administration, the US is retreating from the global leadership role it has played since the end of the second world war. The world is bedevilled with challenges and there is a desperate need for stability and co-ordinated solutions to global problems. Where will the leadership to solve them come from?Some have argued that we are now in a "G zero" world in which no one is in charge. There is great uncertainty and the powerful dictate solutions to smaller players. Others say we are moving to a regional carve up - a G3 where the US. Russia and China have spheres of influence in a modern day version of the Three Emperors League.
Some version of a new multi-polar order may yet take shape. But it also seems clear that a G minus one world is starting to fill the vacuum in some domains — with countries coming together to find solutions to global problems without the US.' p.11.
nuclear | |
power |
my childhood - memories |  |
my family, community, home, role models, friends from the neibourhood | Why? |
| The Ink of the Scholars: Reflections on Philosophy in Africa |
'THE BEST BOOK I'VE READ IN THE PAST YEAR is a book on African philosophers, The Ink of the Scholars: Reflections on Philosophy in Africa, by Souleymane Bachir Diagne, one of our most brilliant thinkers. He challenges the idea that there isn't a philosophical framework to African societies. There are ideas around Africans being the great architects of hospitality and Diagne reflects on what the African approach to humanity is. What does it mean to be careful, mindful and caring? It's not just about welcoming people to your home or feeding them. Hospitality is carrying people, making people feel comfortable in your environment - it's intellectual and emotional. Everyone should read Diagne, full stop.' p.21.
Shocked: I have just read of Koyo Kouoh's passing - RIP.
Souleymane Bachir Diagne, & Jonathan Adjemian. (2016, May 23). The Ink of the Scholars: Reflections on Philosophy in Africa. CODESRIA Books Publication System. CODESRIA
https://publication.codesria.org/index.php/pub/catalog/book/40
See also: 'hospitality'
Dear colleagues,
The first session of the seminar "Violence, Memory, Networks" will take place on 19th March, 2025, at 2.30 pm (GMT), exclusively online.
PRAY | |
PRAY |
'The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the Peace Prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.
In response to the atomic bomb attacks of August 1945, a global movement arose whose members have worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of using nuclear weapons. Gradually, a powerful international norm developed, stigmatising the use of nuclear weapons as morally unacceptable. This norm has become known as “the nuclear taboo”.
The testimony of the Hibakusha – the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – is unique in this larger context. ...'
Press release. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Sat. 19 Oct 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2024/press-release/>
A purpose of Hodges' model is to help bridge the theory-practice gap. Theory- | ' BRIDGES TO PROSPERITY'We've built more than 500 trail bridges, serving over 1.8 million community members throughout the world. At Bridges to Prosperity, we envision a world where poverty caused by rural isolation no longer exists.' |
Practice Communities Histories | BRIDGES to PEACE |
https://bridgestoprosperity.org/
Suqi, R. Bridge the GAP, HTSI. Autumn Design Special. FTWeekend, 14 October 2023, p.67.
"In December of 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 became the first people to leave our home planet and travel to another body in space. But as crew members Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders all later recalled, the most important thing they discovered was Earth."
See also:
Earthrise: The Story of the Photo that Changed the World | Short Film Showcase
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsShNeDvccc
Thank you Bill and all the Apollo team and subsequent space faring families across the Home planet.
Dear colleagues,
My source:
Politics of Health Group Mail List Messages
Visit the PoHG website for lots of interesting links and publications: http://www.pohg.org.uk/
Visit PoHG on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/282761111845400
Follow us on Twitter: @pohguk
"Higgs theorised that particles would acquire mass by interacting with a new type of field. That field had a very special excitation of its own, another particle called the Higgs boson. The Higgs field solved a huge question in theoretical particle physics, and the Higgs boson was a tantalising target that experimentalists could hunt for in order to tie theory to reality.
“If you remove everything from the vacuum, all matter or quantum fluctuations, all electromagnetic stuff, all gravity, you will be left with the Higgs field,” says Frank Close at the University of Oxford. “And we need that just like a goldfish needs water. It stabilises empty space.”
Working independently from Higgs, Belgian physicists Francois Englert and Robert Brout reached the same conclusion, also in 1964."
Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience Archaeology Theology and Religious Studies Philosophy [Mathematics & Logic] ^Communication as Intra- Interpersonal (Skills) Neurodiversity hence an individual's sense-making | Clinical Medicine (Neuroscience) Public Health, Health Services and Primary CareAllied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy Biological sciences Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Sciences Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences Chemistry Physics Mathematical Sciences Computer Science and Informatics Engineering Architecture, Built Environment and Planning Geography and Environmental Studies Archaeology Area Studies Sport and Exercise Sciences, |
| Archaeology Social Work and Social Policy Sociology Anthropology and Development Studies area studies Education Modern Languages and LinguisticsEnglish Language and Literature History Classics Communication^, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies | Leisure and Tourism Archaeology Economics and Econometrics Business and Management Studies Law area studies Politics and International Studies |
Open to all health and social care professions and disciplines:
A celebration of the Hodges' field.😉
European Public Health Week
13-17 May 2024
Health is a political choice!
"The European Public Health Week (EUPHW) 2024 will focus on the overarching topic - Health is a political choice! - highlighting the interplay between politics and health to create sustainable change for better health in the future.
We will open the dialogue online and in person in Brussels on Monday, May 13, at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, discussing how to integrate health into the political agenda effectively. We will address health within the context of crises and explore the concepts of a well-being economy and politics. Additionally, we'll delve into the importance of community participation in health politics, implementing Health-in-All-Policies, and the broader application of health considerations across all policy areas. This day aims to set the stage for a week of fruitful discussions, laying the groundwork for actionable insights and strategies to ensure health is prioritised across all levels of political decision-making. Stay tuned for more information on this event!. ..."
Mental health Self-esteem Personal and Cultural Identity Sense of security: Crisis <> Peace Public mental health & well-being Individual health literacy | Planetary health Global pandemics - Local inequities Environment - Cities, Rural, Remote Pollution control Evidence (across policy contexts) local, glocal, global [Geo*] |
Social policy Housing: Climate/Demographic mitigation Healthy societies, Living alone, Families Inclusive communities Social media - Information provenance | Elections - National/International *Politics Economics Policy, Regulation Health systems Yes, health is a political choice! |
When the only thing
on the table is your history,
there is no space, even as corners multiply.
No longer is there space for a future,
no longer space for hope,
no space for a peace to be thought of -
let-alone shared.
When you give - absolutely! - no quarter
and act to prove the same,
Yes, you stand.
But how do you stand?
You stand to lose insight,
and so much more -
you stand to lose
humanity
CON-SCIENCE | SCIENCE geo- |
Time & Land | politics PEACE? |
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| Brian E. Hodges - c/o Brian's family. |
Born in Liverpool, NW England, UK.
Community Mental Health Nurse NHS, Part-time Lecturer,
Researcher Nursing & Technology Enhanced Learning
Registered Nurse - Mental Health & General
Community Psychiatric Nursing (Cert.) MMU
PG Cert. Ed.
BA(Joint Hons.) Computing and Philosophy - BIHE - Bolton
PG(Dip.) Collaboration on Psychosocial Education [COPE] Univ. Man.
MRES. e-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, Lancaster Univ.
Live and work in NW England - seeking a global perspective.
The views expressed on W2tQ are entirely my own, unless stated otherwise.
Comments are disabled.
If you would like to get in touch please e-mail me at
h2cmng AT yahoo.co.uk
orcid.org/0000-0002-0192-8965
