Stay safe - wash your hands,
practice social distancing, and follow informed medical advice - and be considerate towards those at risk or in
situations of vulnerability (including economic) while the COVID-19
pandemic is a problem.
This is a new, very
cut down series of posts based on some observations on matters that struck a
personal note: unlike the former “Gnwmythr’s News”, it is not
trying to convey key events.
Content Warning: the linked articles and their descriptions here may be
about violence, abuse, hate, and other problems.
My articles this week
include: an article on a
psychic exercise for others’ wellbeing that I will be using during the
pandemic.
This week: the need
to improve online teaching at Universities;
the problem
of mis-remembering warnings against fake news as an endorsement of the fake
news; “The coronavirus exposed
America’s authoritarian turn - independent expertise always dies first when
democracy recedes”.
In the environmental
arena: Indonesia’s plastic and other
wastes problem; a third
mass bleaching event in the Great Barrier Reef; thoughts on improving
marine parks; camels
may become key in animal husbandry (but
please consider vegetarianism or, better yet, veganism); with 90% of protected forests in the east of
my home state devastated, calls to bring
forward the phasing out of logging;
last summer’s bushfires caused at least
400
extra deaths; confirmation of
the blindingly obvious: electric cars ARE
BETTER for the environment (some ****wits claimed manufacturing
GHGs were more significant than a lifetime of usage); a call to reduce water
use; an alternative
to intensive farming; wind power has increased by 20% over the last year; Europe’s
green deal “still
matters”; “fossil-fuel giant Russia tiptoes towards [a]
low-carbon future”.
On human and animal rights:
shipping containers have been turned into affordable homes in Spain;
the (1995) concept of “stereotype threat” - “where people feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about groups that they identify as belonging to”;
prejudice is stopping qualified disabled people get jobs;
how to improve the home rental market for older people;
Egypt is disappearing and torturing children; after more than a year of abusing him in detention, China will now charge an Australian man - and possibly execute him; continued oppression of West Papuan activists by Indonesia;
reflections on institutional bias (sexism);
Singapore is easing its anti-pet stance to allow some rescue dogs;
thoughts on ensuring human control over autonomous weapons.
trafficking/slavery/child abuse matters (good and bad) have occurred in: Italy (an arrest), the Internet;
LGBTIQ+ matters (good and bad) have occurred in: USA (more transphobia).
shipping containers have been turned into affordable homes in Spain;
the (1995) concept of “stereotype threat” - “where people feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about groups that they identify as belonging to”;
prejudice is stopping qualified disabled people get jobs;
how to improve the home rental market for older people;
Egypt is disappearing and torturing children; after more than a year of abusing him in detention, China will now charge an Australian man - and possibly execute him; continued oppression of West Papuan activists by Indonesia;
reflections on institutional bias (sexism);
Singapore is easing its anti-pet stance to allow some rescue dogs;
thoughts on ensuring human control over autonomous weapons.
trafficking/slavery/child abuse matters (good and bad) have occurred in: Italy (an arrest), the Internet;
LGBTIQ+ matters (good and bad) have occurred in: USA (more transphobia).
In
the governance, politics, and society arena:
the clarity of New Zealand’s Prime Minister’s communication is a
major asset; staggering hypocrisy
by a neoliberal government minister; a critique of
conservatives’ lies; the Australian
neoliberal “government” will have to repay
half a billion dollars over the Robodebt catastrophe . . . I wonder how they’re going to make up for the people
driven to suicide by their viciousness? And how do those who carried the policy
out sleep at night?; the
responses to the current COVID-19 pandemic show the
ALP’s response to the GFC was right; months after
the start, Australia’s public service has been asked to get ready for the
pandemic . . . .
On disasters this
week: Croatia experienced an earthquake
while under COVID-19 lockdown; survivors
of a cyclone a year ago are still without
help.
Internationally: “Women in
rural Kyrgyzstan bring change through water, technology and better infrastructure”; North Korea has fired
more
ballistic missiles (for internal distraction?); two aid workers have been murdered
in Yemen; a former Tibetan political
prisoner has died
of ill health caused by abuse by his Chinese captors; concerns
about Nepal’s attempt to control (suppress?) NGOs; some Russians
are standing
up to Putin; concerns about gang
violence in New Zealand; a call
for the 1994 Israel-Jordan treaty to be revived,
despite evil influences of POTUS45 (and others); there is a possibility that two violent extremist groups could join together; protests have resumed
in Hong Kong; as deaths still
occur in Kandahar, the Afghan government and misogynistic violent extremists
are communicating by internet
over the “peace” deal - see here
over what could happen if the USA pulls out before a peace deal is in place,
including what could influence those options;
an eastern European regional
scheme, akin to China’s BRI, that would improve that region’s situation,
but also balance out Russia’s threat and Turkey’s influence; a prediction the war in Libya will “haunt”
the “blinkered” West; Turkey has charged
20 Saudis over the gruesome murder of a journalist; the US has made a stupid attempt to topple
Maduro in Venezuela, rather
than focusing on the people’s needs; the pandemic may
bring peace to Yemen, with a ceasefire agreed for now by the various
parties; China has said
it wants better relations with the USA; Taiwan is less
likely to reunify with mainland China following the stuff ups over COVID-19.
In Africa: an Australian woman who spend six decades helping women
in Ethiopia has passed
away; Uganda has its first
COVID-19 case; a second round
of locusts; fatalities
in violence as Guinea tries to vote in a referendum; the dispute over the Nile dam is spreading;
opportunities
for South Africa to resume taking a
lead in the quest for peace; an
opposition leader in Mali has been kidnapped; the COVID-19 pandemic will
affect future politics; a coronavirus ceasefire
in Cameroon.
On COVID-19 (seven
major risks to watch here): Greta
Thunberg has pointed out the pandemic has shown that the world CAN react quickly; thoughts on how
the world will be different after the pandemic;
good stories of people coming together: here, Spain, teddy bear hunts for children, here; some people are enjoying more home time; a free Pagan colouring-in book; free online courses;
medical aspects: an EXCELLENT diagram placing COVID-19 in context with other diseases; there is a possibility of acquiring an immunity - and thus not contracting this twice; kids and young people can and do contract this - and some do die; details of more missed warnings are emerging - such as this 2015 book; the WHO has called for public health measures beyond lockdowns (identify all those with the SARS-CoV-2 virus) to prevent a future resurgence; actions must reach everyone - including minorities; the pandemic is still accelerating; the coming post-COVID-19 “pandemic of severe depression and anxiety that will sweep over the world as the unemployment rate pushes into previously unseen digits, families who’d prefer to be socially distant are thrust together and young people are denied the certainty and structure of school”; some idiot nurses think they are a substitute for family when a patient dies; a comparison of approaches; a pre-pandemic examination of contagion risks in cities . . . ; “flattening the curve” means ultimately 60% infected and a herd immunity to prevent a recurrence as opposed to the attempted eradication being attempted in New Zealand; Germany’s lower death rate may be connected to higher nurse ratios;
on human rights aspects: a health insurance company is trying to exclude people with COVID-19; UN Women is monitoring the impact on women and girls - and, sadly, from past events this is likely to be severe - including in Asia; far right extremists are trying to weaponise the virus; the gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous people still applies; the lockdown is exposing the digital divide; more concerns about a possible permanent loss of digital privacy; the risk of a freedom backslide; terrifying details collected by “smart” phones; another article on the looming disaster in refugee camps in morally backward Greece - and problems generally in Europe; authoritarian (despotic?) Cambodia - and Thailand and Egypt - is using the pandemic as an excuse to further restrict free speech; missionaries are putting isolated tribes at risk; Qatar’s migrant workers are being locked into a camp; two US states are trying to use the pandemic to stop forms of health care and to implement discrimination; Hungary is also using the pandemic as an excuse to further crush freedom; Norway’s workers objected to paying for the lockdown - and won; the holding of an election in Singapore is at risk; a call for physical distancing to also include time separation; a reminder that civil rights suppressions to manage COVID-19 must be temporary;
resources: rental assistance resources at here, here, and here; why we make poor ethical decisions, and how to manage that; a site to debunk myths; suggestions for business leaders; what banks are doing; rules in various (Australian) states here; relief packages - see also here, info on delays here;
Australia: as my nation passes a milestone moment, my home state is providing home deliveries for those who cannot get out, but also creating a police taskforce (see here on militarisation, which does NOT help with crime and sets up barriers with members of the public). We could control the outbreak by July if most people stayed home; we have a historical precedent for banning evictions; more changes to Centrelink rules but Australia’s vicious neoliberal government PLANNED to NOT tell welfare recipients when they were cut off . . . ; two Australian states are acting ahead of the national government, but schools are still a point of confusion; internal states are closing their borders - which is legal, in this instance; after this, the airline industry will be different; more stimulus of Australia’s economy - but Parliament has to sit to enable this to happen, and analysis here; a billionaire is bragging about “doing a roaring trade” the community (comments I’ve seen on social media suggest his reputation has sunk lower as a result, and several people are vowing to avoid his companies); responses in Australia would be discriminatory if the Mediaeval Theocracy Re-establishment bill proposed by the Morrison “government” was in force; temporary visa holders need help; some prisoners need to be released; rapid testing has been approved; house prices could fall; the issuing of refunds will be watched; some prisoners will be released; a call for the data to be made public; the arrogance, selfishness and stupidity of some students - and those in the elitist schools; farmers in remote areas are having to drive for eight hours to get enough supplies because of supermarket rules; disabled people may wind up dying in poverty; Israeli anti-Palestinian acts are threatening public health; criticism of how Australia is handling compulsory isolation;
internationally: a call to end to sanctions on Iran to allow the pandemic to be effectively fought (there is bloody-mindedness on both sides there); Germany is banning groups of more than two; doctors in Russia are making accusations of a government coverup; a catastrophe is looming in Europe’s biggest refugee camp; an Italian town has shown the benefit of mass testing - and a call for wider testing in Australia; industry in India - where social ostracism is becoming a problem but social isolation conditions are being tightened, although that is IMPOSSIBLE for the poor and a catastrophe is looming - wants a stimulus package; tens of thousands of tribal workers in India have had to walk hundreds of km to get home (state disaster funds will now be used for them); actions in Sri Lanka; Venezuela has arrested a journalist who was reporting on the pandemic; “Israel’s caging of Gaza is a recipe for coronavirus disaster”; as young black men are being found dead are being disappeared by police, Brazilians have been protesting the “muddled” response of their despotic Trump-lite “leader”; doctors in the war-torn northwest of Syria are bracing for the pandemic; Israel - which is still struggling to form a government (those in power are putting staying in power ahead of democracy . . . and have now moved away from a unity government to the old conservative despotism), against background of concerns about democracy and a court order to the Speaker to respect democracy - will shift some prisoners to home detention, is considering a tighter lockdown - focusing on the elderly, and is looking at 25% unemployment (the USA, which now has a larger economic package, might reach 30%); Italy continues to suffer, with a death rate higher than China’s, but Germany’s is low; the USA is misdirecting funds to the clueless POTUS45’s wall project; Spain - where the last survivor of the 1918-19 flu epidemic has urged people to be careful - has declared a State of Emergency; Singapore has closed its borders; against a background of some doubt (caution?) over whether it has beaten the virus (it has closed its border to more categories of people), China has started trials of a possible vaccine; rough sleepers in London have been given hotel rooms; POTUS45 is showing more signs of being a ****wit - yet again; anger in Italy at “lockdown dodgers; the olympics are likely to be postponed; Malaysia may increase its lockdown and stimulus measures; China has upped its spat with the USA over journalism; as water shutoffs are paused in the USA, the lockdown is raising concerns about water shortages in Jordan - and the ability to wash hands globally; mixed responses in Africa (Mali, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Nigeria), where COVID-19 cases have included peacekeeping troops and young people with HIV will bear the brunt, and “public distrust hampers Africa fight against virus misinformation”; concerns about Mexico; lockdown in UK - and a call for volunteers (our local MP here in Australia made a similar call a couple of weeks ago); Singapore is working with six nations to maintain the flow of goods; gangs in Brazil are imposing a lockdown; Germany’s aid package includes the arts; a list of US policy responses; “preppers” are feeling vindicated; another large Australian company is abusing its workers; civic technology helped Taiwan; parts of the US have banned evictions; an opinion that POTUS45’s “narcissism” has cost lives;
globally: a call for a global ceasefire to allow the pandemic to be addressed - which has already happened in Libya; the global economic impact as nearly one billion people are confined to their homes - and maybe a recovery in 2021; big government may be back - certainly the provision of services is being appreciated; a comparison of economic responses; the UN will create a global fund for developing nations; the risks facing delivery drivers - who are now crucial; the US culture of arrogance and selfishness is contributing to their incompetence; a detailed criticism of the US economic response; another call for UBI; Mexico wants to stop Americans coming in over the latter’s health risks.
good stories of people coming together: here, Spain, teddy bear hunts for children, here; some people are enjoying more home time; a free Pagan colouring-in book; free online courses;
medical aspects: an EXCELLENT diagram placing COVID-19 in context with other diseases; there is a possibility of acquiring an immunity - and thus not contracting this twice; kids and young people can and do contract this - and some do die; details of more missed warnings are emerging - such as this 2015 book; the WHO has called for public health measures beyond lockdowns (identify all those with the SARS-CoV-2 virus) to prevent a future resurgence; actions must reach everyone - including minorities; the pandemic is still accelerating; the coming post-COVID-19 “pandemic of severe depression and anxiety that will sweep over the world as the unemployment rate pushes into previously unseen digits, families who’d prefer to be socially distant are thrust together and young people are denied the certainty and structure of school”; some idiot nurses think they are a substitute for family when a patient dies; a comparison of approaches; a pre-pandemic examination of contagion risks in cities . . . ; “flattening the curve” means ultimately 60% infected and a herd immunity to prevent a recurrence as opposed to the attempted eradication being attempted in New Zealand; Germany’s lower death rate may be connected to higher nurse ratios;
on human rights aspects: a health insurance company is trying to exclude people with COVID-19; UN Women is monitoring the impact on women and girls - and, sadly, from past events this is likely to be severe - including in Asia; far right extremists are trying to weaponise the virus; the gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous people still applies; the lockdown is exposing the digital divide; more concerns about a possible permanent loss of digital privacy; the risk of a freedom backslide; terrifying details collected by “smart” phones; another article on the looming disaster in refugee camps in morally backward Greece - and problems generally in Europe; authoritarian (despotic?) Cambodia - and Thailand and Egypt - is using the pandemic as an excuse to further restrict free speech; missionaries are putting isolated tribes at risk; Qatar’s migrant workers are being locked into a camp; two US states are trying to use the pandemic to stop forms of health care and to implement discrimination; Hungary is also using the pandemic as an excuse to further crush freedom; Norway’s workers objected to paying for the lockdown - and won; the holding of an election in Singapore is at risk; a call for physical distancing to also include time separation; a reminder that civil rights suppressions to manage COVID-19 must be temporary;
resources: rental assistance resources at here, here, and here; why we make poor ethical decisions, and how to manage that; a site to debunk myths; suggestions for business leaders; what banks are doing; rules in various (Australian) states here; relief packages - see also here, info on delays here;
Australia: as my nation passes a milestone moment, my home state is providing home deliveries for those who cannot get out, but also creating a police taskforce (see here on militarisation, which does NOT help with crime and sets up barriers with members of the public). We could control the outbreak by July if most people stayed home; we have a historical precedent for banning evictions; more changes to Centrelink rules but Australia’s vicious neoliberal government PLANNED to NOT tell welfare recipients when they were cut off . . . ; two Australian states are acting ahead of the national government, but schools are still a point of confusion; internal states are closing their borders - which is legal, in this instance; after this, the airline industry will be different; more stimulus of Australia’s economy - but Parliament has to sit to enable this to happen, and analysis here; a billionaire is bragging about “doing a roaring trade” the community (comments I’ve seen on social media suggest his reputation has sunk lower as a result, and several people are vowing to avoid his companies); responses in Australia would be discriminatory if the Mediaeval Theocracy Re-establishment bill proposed by the Morrison “government” was in force; temporary visa holders need help; some prisoners need to be released; rapid testing has been approved; house prices could fall; the issuing of refunds will be watched; some prisoners will be released; a call for the data to be made public; the arrogance, selfishness and stupidity of some students - and those in the elitist schools; farmers in remote areas are having to drive for eight hours to get enough supplies because of supermarket rules; disabled people may wind up dying in poverty; Israeli anti-Palestinian acts are threatening public health; criticism of how Australia is handling compulsory isolation;
internationally: a call to end to sanctions on Iran to allow the pandemic to be effectively fought (there is bloody-mindedness on both sides there); Germany is banning groups of more than two; doctors in Russia are making accusations of a government coverup; a catastrophe is looming in Europe’s biggest refugee camp; an Italian town has shown the benefit of mass testing - and a call for wider testing in Australia; industry in India - where social ostracism is becoming a problem but social isolation conditions are being tightened, although that is IMPOSSIBLE for the poor and a catastrophe is looming - wants a stimulus package; tens of thousands of tribal workers in India have had to walk hundreds of km to get home (state disaster funds will now be used for them); actions in Sri Lanka; Venezuela has arrested a journalist who was reporting on the pandemic; “Israel’s caging of Gaza is a recipe for coronavirus disaster”; as young black men are being found dead are being disappeared by police, Brazilians have been protesting the “muddled” response of their despotic Trump-lite “leader”; doctors in the war-torn northwest of Syria are bracing for the pandemic; Israel - which is still struggling to form a government (those in power are putting staying in power ahead of democracy . . . and have now moved away from a unity government to the old conservative despotism), against background of concerns about democracy and a court order to the Speaker to respect democracy - will shift some prisoners to home detention, is considering a tighter lockdown - focusing on the elderly, and is looking at 25% unemployment (the USA, which now has a larger economic package, might reach 30%); Italy continues to suffer, with a death rate higher than China’s, but Germany’s is low; the USA is misdirecting funds to the clueless POTUS45’s wall project; Spain - where the last survivor of the 1918-19 flu epidemic has urged people to be careful - has declared a State of Emergency; Singapore has closed its borders; against a background of some doubt (caution?) over whether it has beaten the virus (it has closed its border to more categories of people), China has started trials of a possible vaccine; rough sleepers in London have been given hotel rooms; POTUS45 is showing more signs of being a ****wit - yet again; anger in Italy at “lockdown dodgers; the olympics are likely to be postponed; Malaysia may increase its lockdown and stimulus measures; China has upped its spat with the USA over journalism; as water shutoffs are paused in the USA, the lockdown is raising concerns about water shortages in Jordan - and the ability to wash hands globally; mixed responses in Africa (Mali, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Nigeria), where COVID-19 cases have included peacekeeping troops and young people with HIV will bear the brunt, and “public distrust hampers Africa fight against virus misinformation”; concerns about Mexico; lockdown in UK - and a call for volunteers (our local MP here in Australia made a similar call a couple of weeks ago); Singapore is working with six nations to maintain the flow of goods; gangs in Brazil are imposing a lockdown; Germany’s aid package includes the arts; a list of US policy responses; “preppers” are feeling vindicated; another large Australian company is abusing its workers; civic technology helped Taiwan; parts of the US have banned evictions; an opinion that POTUS45’s “narcissism” has cost lives;
globally: a call for a global ceasefire to allow the pandemic to be addressed - which has already happened in Libya; the global economic impact as nearly one billion people are confined to their homes - and maybe a recovery in 2021; big government may be back - certainly the provision of services is being appreciated; a comparison of economic responses; the UN will create a global fund for developing nations; the risks facing delivery drivers - who are now crucial; the US culture of arrogance and selfishness is contributing to their incompetence; a detailed criticism of the US economic response; another call for UBI; Mexico wants to stop Americans coming in over the latter’s health risks.
On personal /
spiritual matters: thoughts on maintaining
spiritual practice during the COVID-19 pandemic; from historical precedents, keeping a plague
diary; a long article (I haven’t
finished it yet) on considerateness; an Australian
Indigenous approach to healing: “listening in silence”; an article on shielding which is similar to what I use.
Reading I found
interesting this week included: “for the full
life experience, put down all devices
and walk".
