Post No. 1,622 - In this week’s news

Black Lives Matter!

Stay safe - wash your hands, practice social distancing and wear a face mask in public, 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 news aggregation 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. Also, I am now going to start referring to specific Australian states using accepted abbreviations.

Content Warning: the linked articles and their descriptions here may be about violence, abuse, hate, and other problems.

My articles this week include:   a draft proposal for a “gold standard” for inclusion and diversity in organisations, and thoughts on racism and militarism, personal responsibility, the pandemic, and new deputy police commissioners.

On personal / spiritual matters:   “the psychological toll of rude e-mails”;   will we be good ancestors to future generations”.

Reading/viewing I found interesting this week included:   the geopolitics of Oman, which is apparently “the Switzerland of West Asia” - and a repressive  monarchy;   reflections on queer identity;   examination of the problems with historical analogies;   a call for a “new social compact that directs markets and empowers communities towards public goals”.

Overall Commentary:
   this week the egregious violence of bullies has been met, and moves are being made against other abuses and abusers (including a warning by the UN against the USA) - but many still remain, while the struggle for democracy, freedom, and inclusion continues, with lip service still being a problem (sometimes despite good intentions - the need to raise consciousness remains an imperative, especially around the impact of authorities such as police on minorities). The current nonviolent resistance is setting a good basis for what could happen after the US presidential election. The environment and the climate crisis also remain secondary considerations, as people and nations continue to struggle with the pandemic (which is challenging some ideologies with a mind crushing severity), but some good steps and activism are happening. China and burma continue with their genocides, the privileged continue with their discrimination, and tensions are growing or being struggled with between several nations - and others are meddling, notably Russia.

In This Week’s News:   a critique of social media “debates”;   work on using machine learning to detect “foreign” trolls (how is unconscious bias of the programmers being dealt with?);   an article on being bipolar;   bacteria appear to be more dangerous in space;   genocidal burma is launching a satellite.

In the Environmental Arena, where we have been fighting World War III for some time now:   a win against the depredations of #45;   rushed and concerning environmental laws in Australia;   more on the devastation caused by last summer’s bushfires in Australia;   plastic waste in the ocean continues to grow;   a formerly sceptical builder now supports green homes;   sharks are “functionally extinct” in some areas;   illegal fishing by China off North Korea;   the influence of peer behaviour on adoption of more sustainable behaviour;   a social media map of engagement on climate change.
   other environmental matters have occurred in:   NSW;   Kenya (good news);   USA;   Senegal;   Malawi (good news).

This week on the Protests in the USA and associated protests/issues elsewhere:
   THE UN HAS ISSUED A WARNING TO THE USA OVER DISPROPORTIONAL POLICE VIOLENCE;   more on the crisis in Portland, Oregon, where mothers and others have forced the thugs to retreat into a building several nights in a row, and the mayor, after being tear gassed, accused #45 of urban warfare - other mayors have also decried the jackbooted thugs (whose actions were foretold by immigration savagery), who are actually increasing resistance;   US air force surveillance of the protestors (and direction of the thugs, perhaps?);   a well-articulated call for social investment, not social control;   before the appalling widespread egregious excesses of police and paramilitaries in the USA over recent months, particularly in response to the BLM protests, I looked at the possibility of violence after the upcoming US presidential elections: this article (by others, not me) updates that, and highlights the need to be ready for mass nonviolent civil resistance - of the type where mothers have successfully and nonviolently forced thugs back into buildings, for instance - see also this, on preparations by the US Democrats;   two rich people who pointed weapons at BLM protesters have been charged - as they should be;
   in Australia:   appalling racism by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan (if they want to claim ignorance, they are incompetent and unfit to be in uniform);
   Police:   an update on the militarisation of police;   three police in my home state have been convicted of assault of a disabled pensioner (now, how is a recurrence of that going to be prevented?);   police violence in Israel against protestors who were unable to escape;
   suggestions/recommended actions / noteworthy Responses:   creative wording has allowed the US military to ban a racist flag without using the word “ban”;
   Analysis/Commentary:   here;
   #45 and his 20,000 lies:   a former associate of #45 has been released after a judge determined that he was re-jailed for planning to write a book (those persons who did that are unfit, and must be removed from duty and charged).

On Human and Animal Rights:
   more abuse of Uighurs in China;   a former concentration camp guard has been convicted of being an accessory to murder;   a call “for Australia’s SAS to stop its culture of cover-up and take accountability for possible war crimes”;   France/Libya;   Indian police;   Malaysia is aiding and abetting burma’s genocide against the Rohingya;   forced relocations, online suppression, and propaganda by China in the occupied nation of Tibet -  and a tech-based protests at the Chinese Embassy in the UK;   a couple charged after they protested in Hong Kong have been acquitted;
   unconscious bias;   “sportswashing”;   the risks of China’s new social control system being applied to foreign businesses;
   “unconscious” racism in newsrooms;   even healthy black children have worse outcomes after surgery (possibly because of unconscious bias);   a call for truth telling in the NT to be considered urgent;   a racist cheese name will finally be changed (the dates don’t support claims around the name being of a person’s);   Indigenous people are being excluded from Australia’s water market;
   generating movements for change inside companies;
   trans rights and feminism are compatible;   bias against same gender parents;
   moves to encourage women to stand for local Council positions in elections in my home state;   staggering revelations that vetting by a conservative party in one Australian state included sexual histories;   women’s pay is still less than men’s;   grave concerns over a judge with more than 20 decisions having been overturned;   toxic masculinity (“how rigid ideas of ‘manning up’ harm young men and those around them”);
   disturbing dinosaur responses on consent in the extradition trial of an alleged child abuser in Israel - but possibly valid concerns about a possibly unfair trial;   an examination of the re-victimisation of child abuse survivors;
   two murderers have been let off the hook because they “mistook” their victim for someone else . . . (? Really? WTF, Israel?! Murder is OK if it is done against the people you intended to murder?);
   after seven years of us being savage butchers, more delayed medical care of asylum seekers;
   a Reuters exclusive reports that more than 1,000 employees at a social media platform had the power to have hacked it.
 - Torture, Disappearances and Execution/Killing matters (good and bad) in:   a review of legal aspects;   Iran;
 - Refugee, immigration, and migration matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   Australia;   France;   Uganda;
 - Racism/caste based matters including land rights (good and bad) have occurred in:   Australian media;   UK;   Brazil;   the International Baccalaureate program’s marking algorithm;
 - Trafficking/Slavery & Extreme Worker Abuse/Child Abuse matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   Japan;   Australia;   possibly Queensland;   France;   Israel;   a call to use existing laws to stop traffickers taking advantage of the pandemic;   Mexico;   Africa;
 - LGBTIQ+ matters (including internalised homophobia/transphobia) (good and bad) have occurred in:   Morocco;   Israel edges towards the late 20^th Century - despite the bigots’ outrage;   Poland;   Uganda;
 - Sexism (including internalised sexism), misogyny/misandry and domestic violence matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   Ukraine;   US Republicans;   Indonesia (egregious misogyny);   UK university;
 - Disability matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   the Royal Commission is not receiving submissions from Indigenous and CALD people;   Singapore (good news);
 - Freedom of the Press / Expression matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   the Philippines;   a protest in China;   Malaysia;   Turkey;   Hungary;   Sudan;
 - Privacy/Surveillance matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   mobile phones;
 - Repression/Oppression / reduction of democracy and other civil & political rights matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   China;   China/the rest of the world;   Russia;   DR Congo;   Cuba (of their doctors);   Iran;   Belarus (good news);   a global perspective;   South Sudan;   Zimbabwe;   Nigeria;   Tanzania.

In the related human rights arena of Employment:   the neolibs have perverted flexible work (in the 80s, I was told I could do work on the train, if I wished, but could only book half of it: I told them to shove that “offer” and kept using my train commute for reading);   a challenge.

Risks or occurrences of Atrocities, Mass Violence and/or War(s) this week in:   accusations Russia has started weaponising space - the article is not quite correct when it says no other nation has done this: there was the non-missile SDI system of the USA, which never became functional, but was tried;   Israel;   West Bank;   the Philippines, China, Venezuela, and Afghanistan;   signs of ethnic cleaning in Ethiopia;   “police violence and property destruction during evictions in Kenya’s Rift Valley [the Mau Forest] and a lack of support afterward has caused deaths and desperation for the [more than 50,000] people evicted”;   USA;   Syria;   Lebanon/northern Israel;   India’s nuclear arsenal;   Israel-Syria border;   Iranian aligned threats against US forces in Iraq;   the USA may resume nuclear weapons testing;   South Sudan;   Central African Republic;   Sudan;   Nigeria;   Somalia;   Uganda;   Sudan;   DR Congo;   Egypt;   Sierra Leone;
And:   mistaken identity led to a wrongful killing by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan (which is a failure of what? Intelligence? Cultural briefings? Procedure?);   India and China are talking over their border dispute on the India-Tibet border;   shielding education from violent extremists in Kenya;   a buyback scheme in Nigeria for guns.
Other atrocity/violence matters have occurred in:   Israel.

In the Democracy, Governance, Politics, Public Ethics, and Society arena:
   our debt problem is household, not governmental;   the rich aren’t taxed equally on earnings from savings;   company disclosure laws in Australia have been watered down - despite advice not to;   a Guardian Australia exclusive reports a power company was invited to apply for a grant two days after it was awarded the money . . . ;   an open letter by 73 professors to the Education Minister on the recent mangling of the Uni sector;   cut-backs are crippling our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade;   Israel’s attempts to buy favour is struggling (wow - what MORONS in the photo with this article);   some conservatives in the USA are trying to ensure #45 loses;   attempts to open up #45’s classification “system” are underway;   after the UK Labour party apologised, several whistleblowers and a journalist have sued a former leader of that party for defamation.
other democracy, governance, politics, public ethics, and society matters have occurred in:   Australia.

On Disasters this week:   a dengue outbreak in Singapore;   flooding in China;
And:   improved volcano warnings in NZ;   better warning of cyclones in the Pacific.

On Humanitarian Aid and Development:   ways to  get around Russia’s ad China’s attempt to force the rest of the world to allow Syrians to be killed (the referral to the General Assembly option is a matter that is long overdue).

Internationally:
   the racist (and supported by racists) #45 is again threatening to not accept the election result if he loses (that will be a time for sitting in the streets and shutting everything down until he leaves - the sort of People Power that peacefully overthrew the despot Marcos: I hope preparations are being made - including how to stop the violent thugs in uniform);   more post-Brexit fallout for UK residents;   more protests in Israel - some against corruption, some morons against virus containment measures;   speculation the US-South Korea military alliance is under strain;   an examination of the possible causes (including poor maintenance) of recent fires and explosions in Iran;   “when great powers fail, New Zealand and other small states must organise to protect their interests”;   the problems of Joghaz Reservoir, between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which has not been maintained since a 1992 war;
on China and the new ideological Cold War this week:   Australian consideration of visa applications from Hong Kongers could be based on Australia’s self-interest, not merit;   multi-national naval operations in the South China Sea - with Chinese ships engaging in confrontations in international waters;   the USA has ordered China to close a consulate to protect US IP, which China has threatened to retaliate over - and has done so by closing a US consulate;   China is threatening to stop recognising a class of passports used by Hong Kongers;   the USA has extended its economic blacklist over China's treatment of Uyghurs;   claims a popular social media platform is not controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, as the app is not available in China, stores its data in the USA, and is planning on moving its headquarters to London (but is it subject to Chinese law, given that is where it originated? It may still be banned);   China is boosting its capacity to invade Taiwan;   a spy for China in the USA;
on Israel’s intended Annexation of the West Bank:   media silence . . . ;
on the Nile Dam:   calls for the African Union to mediate;
other international matters have occurred in:   Taiwan.

In Africa - Democracy, Governance, Politics, Public Ethics, And Society and International Relations:   digital rights activism;   a local drug problem in Somalia;   “second thoughts” about Chinese funds;   Malawi’s new leader is seeking change;   an opposition leader will stand for election in Uganda;   anti-government protests in Guinea;   US sanctions on a Russian to stop him “meddling” in Sudan;   tensions are growing between Egypt and Libya;   calls for a hybrid court in South Sudan.

On the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus (there are other novel coronaviruses) (seven major risks to watch here, and seven sins of thought to avoid here), and Wear Masks!!!):
   neighbourhood and social media tensions over premature/uninformed judgementalism vs. ensuring people are doing what they should;   the personal heartbreak;   dangerous misinformation by a conservative media conglomerate;   a clumsy (many of the issues raised as being debated now have been covered off previously - e.g., in Gareth Evans book [Amazon]) and noncommittal attempt to consider applying R2P to the USA over its mishandling of pandemic (I’m going to say no, as diluting R2P from violent deaths to health issues is counterproductive - I’m more inclined to consider R2P applicable to BLM);   the need to overcome psychological biases;   “a job guarantee costs far less than unemployment”;

   good stories/news:   a virtual window  swap project;   solar power in Kenya; 

   medical aspects:   the exhaustion of ICU staff;   A Promising Vaccine;   deaths from the virus are causing more lost years of life than the three leading causes of death, showing this is not only an old person’s disease;   single use masks have to be disposed of properly;   a rebuttal of some of the myths around wearing facemasks;   six types of the virus;   regulators is multiple nations will cooperate to speed the spread of a vaccine;

   resources:   data on numbers (Australia is 127^th on cases/million people, and 141^st on deaths/million people - the USA is 10^th on both counts, despite what their moron-in-chief claims);   guidance on my home state’s face mask requirements;   safe workplace guidelines;   a general guide;   terminology;

   Human Rights Aspects (crisis . . . running summary of impacts on elections here):   concerns that Chinese facemasks may have been made by inmates of re-education/concentration camps;   a 9.2% rise in murders of women in Mexico has occurred under the pandemic lockdown;   xenophobia in Italy;   recovery and the SDGs;   a UN report has suggested a temporary basic income for the world’s poor;
   also including
   racism:   Brazil;
   sexism:   women’s sport;
   work / workers’ rights:   the benefits that came from a higher unemployment benefit;
   increased opportunistic repression/oppression / reduction of democracy:   Israel;   Zimbabwe.

   Environmental Impacts:   the opportunity facing Australia during recovery;   reopening is ending the pause in GHG emissions;   improved monitoring of minor earthquakes;   reduced air travel has reduced data from planes and thus limited weather forecasting;

   Australia:   an Indigenous person’s commentary that Indigenous Australians survival of the ice age and the British invasion left them well placed to survive the pandemic;   50 leading economists support increased government debt to deal with the economic fallout;   tighter border closures (changes are needed to deal with health emergencies - and how STUPID is it to send POLICE to check on whether some has terminal cancer. FFS!) as problems are developing in NSW, as my home state continues on a rollercoaster (the emerging details around the hotel quarantine guards are staggering) and a warning is made the virus may already be circulating in other states - this is leading to: some panic buying, calls for paid pandemic leave (now provided in my home state), mask wearing “being embraced”, calls for other places in Australia to enforce wearing face masks - and comments by experts that we were late, arguments pointing out that the neolibs are “channelling” the USA’s moron-in-chief, as 100,000 Australians wait for approved home care and Australians say they would pay more (in taxes) for better aged care there is a risk of collapse of our aged care sector, an examination of the vagueness aka flexibility of the new rules and their enforcement (excessive of minorities) and a valid question as to people’s motivations for asking questions, and lockdown in prisons;   an article that includes a reasonable discussion on why people don’t answer phones - except it does NOT cover those with hearing problems - who also have problems with face masks, and the need for callers to leave messages;   the ongoing trauma faced by tower residents;   as the inaccuracies and shortcomings of our “unemployment” rate are revealed, the possibility of millions winding up in poverty;   as our neoliberal PM tries to get businesses and schools to reopen, he HYPOCRITICALLY  shuts down the national Parliament . . . which is being belatedly opposed by the ALP;   ideas for flexibility around business operations;   how to better communicate with CALD communities - according to those communities;   neoliberal interference with social welfare in accordance with their twisted thinking (I’d like to see the same rules applied to them one day);   the struggle with the second lockdown;   some of the complexities around Australians trying to come home;   wearing facemasks is now compulsory in parts of my home state (where, staggeringly, people have not been self isolating after being tested), but police will allegedly “be lenient”, and people have been asked to not vilify those not wearing masks (like those us who wore masks were “not” vilified?);   more (concerning) use of military personnel;   flu deaths are down this year (one of the battles I lost in the 1980s was over disinfecting the air flow in air conditioning - which CAN be done);   our manufacturing industry might finally get a boost;   allegations some medical insurance companies “failed” Australians are disputed;   the international student sector will start to reopen;

   Internationally:   in India, where “43% children with disabilities planning to drop out due to difficulties faced in e-education”;   Hong Kong;   the reopened UK - which has stopped reporting death figures allegedly over accuracy concerns - is at risk of a second wave;   divisions in the EU;   Iran has released more accurate data;   parents breaking isolation regulations have killed a childcare worker;   India;   South Africa;   France has made face masks compulsory in all enclosed public spaces;   Canada;   Europe is moving closer to  a pandemic aid package,   as the US continues to engage in its preliminary dithering;   protests seek more nurses in Israel, which has closed its borders;   not enough use of contact racing in the USA;   India’s numbers may be low, and it is making returning migrant workers pay for quarantine, but a farm revolution may be underway;   additional control measures in Singapore;   Hong Kong spike may have been from seafarers;   Ecuador’s Indigenous people;

   Africa:   tech savvy young people in Zimbabwe are fighting disinformation;   health workers are being overloaded;

   Globally:   more nations are reimposing lockdowns;   a multinational is using an app to aid its workforce in returning to offices;   against concerns about guidelines not addressing airborne virus (air flows can be disinfected, but it takes money - as I stated above, I lost a battle on that in the 1980s), corporations are downsizing their office sizes now that they’ve finally switched on to the benefits of home working;   the devastation facing global workers;

   Stupidity:   #45 is trying to stop testing (by cutting off funding) and accurate advice;   an Israeli school;   Israel.

WLNGRHDMT

And finally . . . Black Lives Matter!