Post No. 1,628 - 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 comment on hypocrisy;   a quote from Abraham Lincoln that bears on these times;   grave concerns about the light slap on the wrist for police who committed an egregious assault on, and humiliation of, a disabled pensioner (does the judge concerned actually understand the flow on implications, and that justice must be seen to be done?);   a book which introduced me to “authoritarian predisposition”;   a comment on the jackbooted thugs (aka federal agents) in the USA;   psychological scars.

On Personal / Spiritual Matters:   the incompetence and bias of some mediums is well to the fore when they try to WHITEWASH RACISM - or be, based on my experience, transphobic- and undermines genuine psychic phenomena;   the four types of people with regard to expectations;   toxic positivity;   a sigil for stability (if it leads to change, a certain amount of chaos may be required).

Reading/Viewing I found interesting this week included:   “disenfranchised grief”.

Overall Commentary on this week’s news:
   some wins for the less conventional aspects of life, and a mix of good and bad on the environment and human rights this week, but resistance to being decent human beings, including power politics, disingenuousness, and the whole gamut of spitefulness, abuse, and lies continue to plague us - with the USA, China, Iran, Turkey, Israel, the pandemic, and the undermining of and attacks on democracy remaining prominent and particular concerns.

In This Week’s News:   a rare win for a tenant against a landlord;   a health journalism opportunity in the Asia-Pacific;   scientists have said UFOs (“UAPs” . . . yeah, right, nice try at dodging) should be investigated (do they understand that this is “again”?);   why one person does not drink alcohol (good on them!).

In the Environmental Arena, where we have been fighting World War III for some time now:   Viêt Nám “will ban wildlife imports and close wildlife markets”;   an invention to help manage the health of bee hives;   effects of the climate crisis on the mesosphere (highest part of the atmosphere);   legal action against the Australian government “for failing to disclose climate change risks to investors in Australia’s sovereign bonds”;   a satellite city near Cambodia’s capital threatens to devastate vital wetlands and unleash untreated wastewater into the Mekong River, “putting more than 1 million people at risk of dangerous floods and water pollution”;   China’s fishing vessels are now threatening the Galapagos Islands;   feral livestock are having a devastating effect;   the staggering scale of last summer’s bushfires on wildlife;   heat problems for workers will get worse.
   other environmental matters have occurred in:   Yemen.

This week on the Protests in the USA and associated protests/issues elsewhere:
   “acts of humiliation convince people that punishing the humiliator is a just duty along the lines of jus ad bellum”;   details of how jackbooted thugs (every single one of whom should be SACKED and CHARGED) are escalated violence in the USA;   a call to avoid feeding the troll #45 by responding to violence with violence;   Portland’s protests are continuing;   “perspectives on ‘everyday’ transnational repression in an age of globalisation”;   “six U.S. mayors . . . [have] urged Congress . . . to halt [troll #45’s] deployment of federal forces to their cities, saying the move has escalated tensions at anti-racism protests spreading across the country”;
   in Australia:   a protest will be cancelled if an investigation into a black man’s death is held;   over-policing and other racist problems in the Northern Territory;
   Police:   concerns about the nitwit who has been misapplying lessons from war in his advice to police (although I suspect his concerns on violent video games may be right);   in an appalling decision, a court has not convicted three police who were found to have assaulted a disabled pensioner and showed NO remorse or responsibility - they are unfit to wear the uniform: I hope the decision is appealed;   police are complaining about BLM protestors again on the basis of the pandemic - which would have a lot more credibility if they weren’t racist - or at least said something supportive of keeping black people alive;   fossil fuel companies and other corporations are secretly funding the police;   abuses by police in Turkey;   Uganda;
   attacks on and actions by the Media:   media photos of protestors are being used by the jackbooted thugs to track down and victimise protestors;
   Analysis/Commentary:   “instead of demonising Black Lives Matter protesters, leaders must act on their calls for racial justice”;   alarm at the attacks on protestors (which could be considered an attack on freedom);   a panel of experts’ views;
   #45 and his 20,000 lies:   the thuggery is an attempt to shift attention away from the fascist’s pandemic incompetence;   the increasing risk of violence after the US presidential elections this year, and the bigots who - together with the jackbooted thugs - are making that more likely;   troll #45 can't  delay the US presidential election - even under martial law.

On Human and Animal Rights:
   a report on, and critique of, the 44^th Session of the UN Human Rights Council included welcome “that the resolution ‘the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests’ was adopted by consensus, and that the Council stood strongly against some proposed amendments which would have weakened it”;   after a threat of legal action, Israeli police delayed using dangerous water cannon on anti-Netanyahu  protestors - who are also being attacked by thugs who support the controversial PM - and the police minister’s home has been surrounded by protestors after he urged stronger police thuggery. Israel’s President has warned against attacks on protestors and “political” murders;   a call to end burma’s shutdown of the internet, which is affecting humanitarian aid - and hiding their ongoing genocide;   a call for sustained pressure against Nicaragua’s abusive government;   the use of terror, intimidation, and humiliation against citizens that occurs when the “war against terror” is turned inward;
   Content Warning: the abuse of children in jails in Australia;
   a call for better protection of TGD and intersex people in the workplace;   “sexual violence against men, trans women in Syria”;   “candidates in the elections to the Upper House of the Tasmanian Legislative Council have  signed a pledge that they will not indulge in campaigns that lead to hate, inspire fear or demean LGBTQI people”;   “in a truly free society, religious liberty is fundamentally less important than protecting [marginalised] people from persecution”;
   the Uluru Statement from the Heart is “deliberate structural reform”;   a rock shelter has been saved;   the problems (e.g., need for support to deal with racism) of “colour blind” adoptions;   the situation of mixed race people;   a new  closing  the  gap agreement;   a third Indigenous death in custody in WA in two months;
   Poland wants to allow women to be bashed;   Egypt has stepped backward into misogyny and sexist suppression;   women forced back to North Korea are raped;   an Australian University will let a student accused of sexual harassment by a female student, amid dozens of similar allegations by women in Australia and his native Indonesia, get away with it;
   the problem of linking behaviours to specific names (not all people named Karen are “Karens”);
   in a rare bit of good news on Australia’s refugees, Behrouz Boochani has been granted refugee status in the infinitely more decant nation of New Zealand;   more despotic behaviour by Australia’s home minister;   in an appalling example of spite, the Australian government held a refugee separate from his wife for long enough that their relationship could be declared not to exist before it gave him a visa;
   a major tech company - which SECRETLY funded a body to make submissions against change in a digital enquiry - is being sued over its privacy policy (“for allegedly misleading consumers to give away a lot more personal information than they had expected”) - and grilled in the USA;   Israeli’s phones have been tracked for years;
   a US chemist chain used facial recognition in poor areas (Reuters investigation);
   my home state’s “mental health wards are putting more patients in seclusion and the [damage] may be long-lasting”;
   a protest on social media against anti-Semitism;
   Queensland “conservatives” (bigots?) will not meet with assisted dying campaigners, despite 80% public support;
 - Racism/caste based matters including land rights (good and bad) have occurred in:   sport;
 - Trafficking/Slavery & Extreme Worker Abuse/Child Abuse matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   Lebanon;   a church in Australia;
 - LGBTIQ+ matters (including internalised homophobia/transphobia) (good and bad) have occurred in:   Saudi Arabia;   WA;
 - Sexism (including internalised sexism), misogyny/misandry and domestic violence matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   online misogyny;   mass kidnappings and rape in the DR Congo;
 - Freedom of the Press / Expression matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   defamation laws in Australia will be “overhauled” (to whose favour?);   Turkey;   Belarus;
 - Privacy/Surveillance matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   user privacy vs. cyber sovereignty;   UK;
 - Repression/Oppression / reduction of democracy and other civil & political rights matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   online (good news);   Iran;   Kyrgyzstan;   USA/Hong Kong (good news);   Pakistan;   Hong Kong;   Tibet.

In the related human rights arena of Employment:   am ombudsperson has described “immoral and unethical practices” in parts of Australia’s works compensation system (details here);   the problem of aid policies that rob people of what they have set aside for a rainy day.

Risks or occurrences of Atrocities, Mass Violence and/or War(s) this week in:   Lebanon/northern Israel;   Cameroon;   “growing inter-communal violence plagues Darfur”, in Sudan;   “tensions build ahead of December elections in Central African Republic”;   right wing terrorism in Israel;   India’s nuclear weapons may soon be able to access all of China;
And:   thoughts on averting Egyptian interference in Libya;   a right wing domestic terrorist in Australia is trying to appeal his conviction;   the ICC trial of alleged abusers from the CAR has commenced.

In the Democracy, Governance, Politics, Public Ethics, and Society arena:
in Australia:
   a call for economic reform to “improve lives of all Australians, not just privileged few” (the article has good presentation of data);   a political scandal has led to four Ministerial resignations in the state of South Australia;   as expected, families have withdrawn from childcare as fees were reimposed (who are the neolibs trying to hurt? Their hate has made them vague);   our neolib nitwit national government are refusing to release information they should;   international travel restriction “solutions” are being sought to address an agricultural worker shortage (if it is not, food prices will rise, and there may be some shortages - in the future, not just now, as these supplies are also used for manufacturing, not only fresh food);   Australia’s “water market could be set for major reform after a report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found ‘significant faults’ with trading regulation” (can we get rid of it? I have always questioned this privatisation of a public essential);   learner profiles are more effective than numbered ratings;   a possibly better rental environment in NSW;   the neolib nitwits’ “21^st century book burning”;   tech companies “will have to pay traditional news media to publish their content under a new code of conduct developed by the . . . ACCC that could be implemented by the end of this year”.
The Unexceptional States of America:   troll#45 and his supporters (and conspiracy nuts, no doubt) may be positioning #45 to become the next “Lost Cause” . . . ;   a warning against the indivisibility of facebook and the USA;   concern that US election officials are using vulnerable emails . . . but they are preparing to win the fight against disinformation (whether from overseas, troll#45, or elsewhere);   good, factual information about the US postal service (the duplicity of opponents is truly staggering);   incompetence in setting up the US judicial system is exacerbating the incarceration problem;
Elsewhere in the World and General Matters:   a series on governing during crises;   measuring the Rule of Law;   “New Zealand claims [a] world first in setting standards for government use of algorithms”;   the greatest crisis liberalism is facing for decades cannot be blamed on despots;      a critique of the Philippines response to the pandemic from the perspective of its constitution;   a rebuttal of Reagan-Thatcher neoliberalism;   an investigation into perceived impunity for the rich in Thailand;   Singapore’s new opposition leader (person and position) will donate half his salary to various causes;   a former Malaysian prime minister has been sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined nearly US$50 million) after being convicted of corruption, but systemic change may be limited . . . ;   moving beyond strategists’ racist obsession with Ancient Greek history;   the dangers of conflating intelligence and policy;
other democracy, governance, politics, public ethics, and society matters have occurred in:   Norway;   Bolivia;

On Disasters this week:   a cyclone in the Pacific;   future coastal flooding from the climate crisis;
And:   the role that lightning generated by last summer’s mega-bushfires;   improved disaster management in Vanuatu;
Bushfires have occurred in:   coastal deltas in Argentina.

Internationally:
   Iran has staged a (fake) attack on its mock up (fake) of a US aircraft carrier (ho hum) - more concerningly, it has also launched a ballistic missile from underground;   under Brexit, an ages old dispute between France and the UK over fishing rights is resuming;   Belarus has arrested dozens of Russian mercenaries;   Turkey is cutting off its nose to spite its face;
on China and the new ideological Cold War this week:   a nuanced explanation of the situation around China’s claims (above water claims to several islands is accepted) suggest a DFAT staffer may be misleading the press;   an opinion that China - which is rattling its sabre at anyone who stands up to its bullying - “has essentially established military control over the vast South China Sea, and efforts to challenge their authority may even work to enforce that view” (this drifts into appeasement territory, in my opinion - you don’t reward bullies);   Australia has “reaffirmed” the alliance with the USA - but won’t push China further in the South China Sea;   as Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movements becomes like water, “12 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists [have been] barred from election”;   China intends to hold people in Hong Kong;   China’s terrifying control over water resources;   thoughts on managing China’s economic coercion;
on Israel’s intended Annexation of the West Bank:   former Israeli politicians are urging the US Democrats to make stopping the annexation a part of their platform.

In Africa - Democracy, Governance, Politics, Public Ethics, And Society and International Relations:   recommendations for how Algeria should respond to protests and its current situation;   an examination of South Africa’s possible constitutional fragility.

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!!!):
   the cost of preventing the next pandemic is 2% of the economic damage of this pandemic - and protecting rain forests has to be a key part of that;   a rebuttal of a ****wit’s claim Australia should have followed Sweden’s extremely expensive approach to the pandemic;   face masks do NOT impinge on freedoms - see also here (although the comment that the UNDHR does not apply is not actually correct), and this, on why the IPOCs resist masks (including “groupish righteousness”) and how to change their behaviour (if not their “minds”);   the terrible Warsaw Ghetto of World War 2 also shows how social distancing and hygiene can stop pandemics;   a rebuttal of latest manifestation by a jackboot of the lie that BLM protests are connected to spread of the virus;   the pandemic will compound the devastation the GFC caused young people;   not only has the US administration totally stuffed up the search for vaccine, it is leading the rush to deny other nations help so it can deal with itself first;   concerns that “media coverage elevates fringe views” (I suspect that depends also on HOW the conspiracy nuts are covered);   worldwide responses to troll #45’s lies about their responses;   historical use of emergency powers to address epidemics/pandemics;

   medical aspects:   a call to keep pointing out that the virus is airborne;   a video showing the benefits of wearing masks;   somewhat extreme recommendations about staying safe in workplaces - which should, nevertheless, be considered;   excellent TV ads on the effects of the pandemic;   the risks to health workers;   rip offs in pandemic research;   pregnant women are “maxing out credit cards [and] withdrawing super” to be able to homebirth rather than go to hospital;   the devastating limitations of privatisation on US pandemic testing;   it is possible that testing is only detecting one tenth of infections;   examination of the term “superspreader”;   vaccinations of children have been disrupted;   a reminder of the need for caution on vaccines;   ongoing problems for pandemic survivors include heart problems, but a mutation that made the virus more contagious also makes it more vulnerable to vaccines;   a review of border closures;   some of the very real reasons people have trouble wearing face masks;

   resources:   a rebuttal of lies, myths, and disinformation;

   Human Rights Aspects (crisis . . . running summary of impacts on elections here):   calls to protect postal voting in the USA;   hundreds of women are “missing, feared dead” in Peru;   a critique of the possibility that women might get a fair go under Australia’s neoliberal nitwits;   thoughts on how to continue jury trials;   an examination of public space and protests in a pandemic;   concerns about what has happened to bank ethics during remote working;   a guidance note on addressing pandemic-related hate speech;   as a company tries to force its workers to attend despite concerns over how it handled an outbreak (it was later shut down by DHHS over pandemic issues), the inequity of pandemic responses and job types;   refugees will be particularly hard hit by job losses.

   Australia:   my home state’s struggle  continues - see this analysis (and here) of why (and this, on which numbers to watch), especially in aged  care - where casual workers have finally won paid pandemic leave nationally (that will help one of my sisters - there are more calls for a wider paid pandemic leave system) but the crisis has confirmed what the recent Royal Commission warned about - and meat  works, see also this review;   revelations some public servants had been withdrawn from aiding hotel quarantine over safety concerns (why was this not escalated up the chain of command?);      as military nurses (not soldiers, thank the Goddess) being helping, patients in aged care are being secreted into hospitals;   police are complaining about BLM protestors again on the basis of the pandemic - which would have a lot more credibility if the police weren’t racist - or at least said something supportive of keeping black people alive;   claims trucks were allowed across the border without checks (police said they don’t check all trucks . . . what?!);   Sydney has been declared a hot spot, two young Queensland women who lied that they hadn’t been to Victoria (possibly to avoid paying for hotel quarantine) are in serious legal trouble (although naming them publicly hasn’t helped, and may cause more racist attacks), and outbreaks are occurring in Queensland;   “coronavirus border and quarantine measures [are] costing NT Police $2 million a month” (and what would be the costs if nothing was done?);   a mourning of our lost winter;   the call for better multicultural messaging has now reached Queensland;   concerning claims that a medical error by a Border Force officer led to passengers being - notoriously - let off a cruise liner;   the ATO will attack people who illegally took their super (so . . . any sensible suggestions on how those people and their families live, ATO? After robodebt, all government agencies are cause for concern - and, particularly given some duplicitous displays, );

   Internationally:   hundreds of surrogate babies are stranded in Russia;   allegations of corruption in South Africa are being investigated;   possible second waves in Viêt Nám, Germany, and Hong Kong;   as the USA experiences record deaths, troll #45 is demonstrating that he is a nitwit - again - by peddling a debunked non-cure (for which his son has been thrown off a social media platform) - again - but then again, in the midst of a zoonotic pandemic that is devastating the world, scientists have revived bacteria which lived more than 100 million years ago and were now dormant . . . ;   Bolivian jails;  Brazil’s gravediggers are suffering;   a call to end the “haggling” over responses to the resurgence of the pandemic in Israel;   concerns over possible negligence in Germany;   a local lockdown in Viêt Nám;   Spain has backed away from an immunity passport plan;   Said Arabia has restricted the Hajj;   Europe’s economic package has been agreed;   dodginess by India’s government;   PNG; 

   Africa:   concerns over possible corruption in Cameroon; 

   Globally:   the link between the pandemic, food insecurity, and social upheaval;

   Irresponsibility and Unthinkingness:   Australia;   Victoria;   a conservative US dinosaur-in-the-house blames finally wearing a mask for getting COVID-19 . . . ;   UK. 

WLNGRHDMT

And finally . . . Black Lives Matter!