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: the risk
of violence after the US presidential election; part
of my submission on a whole-of-government LGBTIQ+ review; the utter
stupidity of “pushing through” and the cover up that is “fast tracking”; a
human rights perspective
on pandemic containment measures.
Reading/Viewing I
found interesting this week included:
the differences
between Australian and US values.
Overall Commentary on
this week’s news:
the privatisation & capitalism, personal convenience, and environmental clearing chooks are well and truly coming home to roost this week, included explosions, degraded responses to problems, and more zoonotic disease problems - and calls for currently unfashionable responses like income redistribution, competence & independence, and caring as protests continue, are called to continue, and explained as needing to be strong and direct action. Nevertheless authoritarianism, irresponsibility, cheap shots for personal attention, and the abdication of personal thought and caring which underlay those and the preceding problems are still far too common.
the privatisation & capitalism, personal convenience, and environmental clearing chooks are well and truly coming home to roost this week, included explosions, degraded responses to problems, and more zoonotic disease problems - and calls for currently unfashionable responses like income redistribution, competence & independence, and caring as protests continue, are called to continue, and explained as needing to be strong and direct action. Nevertheless authoritarianism, irresponsibility, cheap shots for personal attention, and the abdication of personal thought and caring which underlay those and the preceding problems are still far too common.
In This
Week’s News: a devastating (equivalent
to 1.3
kt of TNT) explosion of stored
chemicals
off an abandoned
ship in Beirut’s
port
(Lebanon), possibly caused by burning
fireworks, has killed
more than 100 people, left many missing,
led to some looting,
and left 300,000 homeless
- and raised questions about transport
of chemicals and similar
stockpiles elsewhere
(maintenance and proper design clearly help, but do not address the
fundamental question of appropriateness), whether the world will provide -
and have accepted
- aid
(see here),
and led to acts of unity,
blame
shifting, and calls
for political change and impartial
investigation; a peace
crane commemoration of the nuclear bombing
of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki; warnings against using mystery seeds that are being mailed under
false descriptions; the Arab
world’s first
nuclear plant has started in the UAE; calls
for an independent body, not
the mining industry, to oversee a standard to prevent dam collapses; income inequality
in Australian workplaces; a cyberhack
of Uni exams; how
to detect self-appointed pseudo-experts (unrealistic expectations on the
part of the audience are also a problem - i.e., “I would have thought _”).
In the Environmental Arena, where we have been fighting World War III for some time now: a crack
in the denialist d***header at the top of an evil
conservative media conglomerate; “rising
temperatures will cause more
deaths than all infectious diseases”; a call to not
give the four types of deniers publicity of any type; zoonotic diseases
are connected to clearing of the environment; calls for Europe to help
save the Amazon; “extreme” melting
of glaciers in New Zealand; recommendations
to mitigate
the next bushfires.
other environmental matters have occurred in: Qld; France (good news).
other environmental matters have occurred in: Qld; France (good news).
This week on
the Protests in the USA and
associated protests/issues elsewhere:
the need for direct action;
in Australia: a call for the BLM protests to continue;
Police: Israel;
Analysis/Commentary: a review of the diversionary tactics behind the authoritarian behaviour of POTUS45 and his minions.
the need for direct action;
in Australia: a call for the BLM protests to continue;
Police: Israel;
Analysis/Commentary: a review of the diversionary tactics behind the authoritarian behaviour of POTUS45 and his minions.
On Human and Animal Rights:
Australia is a safe haven for war criminals and human rights abusers; police in Israel visited a house to demand a social media photograph of that nation’s Prime Minister be taken down; commemoration of the Yazidi genocide; an ex-Saudi Arabian spy wants compensation for his nation trying to murder him; “change of command for Australia's special forces ahead of explosive war crimes report”; the Philippines is considering moving from extrajudicial murders to legalised murders aka the death penalty; in a move that has been compared to “the illegal surveillance of activists during the civil rights era”, the US Department of Hate Spreading is “targeting activists it considers antifa and attempting to tie them to a foreign power”;
an Indigenous kids TV show is creating positive role models; an Indigenous model with vitiligo; the desire for more money led to a mining company ignoring three other options and selecting a fourth which destroyed heritage caves; calls to remove “racist” (colonial) names for places in Australia (I quite like the double name approach, if nothing else); a reminder that curfews used to be applied against Indigenous people; a social media platform has banned a notorious white supremacist, but allowed anti-Israeli to stay up; racism stops Indigenous patients self-identifying; a racist “naming and shaming” in the media;
“all 187 member countries of the International Labour Organization (ILO) have now ratified ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor”;
a neochristian church has finally noticed that women can manage money; misogyny and generally 18th century attitudes online and elsewhere in South Korea; Qld has left a long out-of-date loophole that allows rapists to evade justice in place; 400,000 older women in Australia are at risk of homelessness; a woman has been charged over an incident of revenge porn (while the woman is innocent until proven guilty, all the sexual assaults I’ve had - including as a child - have been made by women);
sexual assaults by medical professionals - and by two footballers on a teammate;
a mental health website has been designed for people with intellectual disability; a world renowned MND researcher has been forced to find care at short notice; a disability care worker who allowed a death through prolonged neglect has been charged with manslaughter (and at this point, to ensure a fair trial, it is important to remember that people are innocent until proven guilty);
an interim report on homelessness in my home state;
lack of diversity is harming food reviews.
- Genocide matters (good and bad) in: western China (against the Uighurs);
- Refugee, immigration, and migration matters (good and bad) have occurred in: a toolkit for the media;
- Racism/caste based matters including land rights (good and bad) have occurred in: Belgium;
- Trafficking/Slavery & Extreme Worker Abuse/Child Abuse matters (good and bad) have occurred in: gymnastics; Indonesia; Greece;
- LGBTIQ+ matters (including internalised homophobia/transphobia) (good and bad) have occurred in: Australia; the law; Australia; Poland; Bolivia; El Salvador; Russia;
- Sexism (including internalised sexism), misogyny/misandry and domestic violence matters (good and bad) have occurred in: Mauritania;
- Freedom of the Press / Expression matters (good and bad) have occurred in: Yemen; Indonesia; Pakistan; Mauritania; Belarus;
- Repression/Oppression / reduction of democracy and other civil & political rights matters (good and bad) have occurred in: Russia; Viêt Nám; Thailand; Jammu and Kashmir; Zimbabwe; Kyrgyzstan; Hong Kong; an Australian university; Zimbabwe; Liberia; Cambodia; Belarus; and
- Other animal and human rights matters (good and bad) have occurred in: France.
Australia is a safe haven for war criminals and human rights abusers; police in Israel visited a house to demand a social media photograph of that nation’s Prime Minister be taken down; commemoration of the Yazidi genocide; an ex-Saudi Arabian spy wants compensation for his nation trying to murder him; “change of command for Australia's special forces ahead of explosive war crimes report”; the Philippines is considering moving from extrajudicial murders to legalised murders aka the death penalty; in a move that has been compared to “the illegal surveillance of activists during the civil rights era”, the US Department of Hate Spreading is “targeting activists it considers antifa and attempting to tie them to a foreign power”;
an Indigenous kids TV show is creating positive role models; an Indigenous model with vitiligo; the desire for more money led to a mining company ignoring three other options and selecting a fourth which destroyed heritage caves; calls to remove “racist” (colonial) names for places in Australia (I quite like the double name approach, if nothing else); a reminder that curfews used to be applied against Indigenous people; a social media platform has banned a notorious white supremacist, but allowed anti-Israeli to stay up; racism stops Indigenous patients self-identifying; a racist “naming and shaming” in the media;
“all 187 member countries of the International Labour Organization (ILO) have now ratified ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor”;
a neochristian church has finally noticed that women can manage money; misogyny and generally 18th century attitudes online and elsewhere in South Korea; Qld has left a long out-of-date loophole that allows rapists to evade justice in place; 400,000 older women in Australia are at risk of homelessness; a woman has been charged over an incident of revenge porn (while the woman is innocent until proven guilty, all the sexual assaults I’ve had - including as a child - have been made by women);
sexual assaults by medical professionals - and by two footballers on a teammate;
a mental health website has been designed for people with intellectual disability; a world renowned MND researcher has been forced to find care at short notice; a disability care worker who allowed a death through prolonged neglect has been charged with manslaughter (and at this point, to ensure a fair trial, it is important to remember that people are innocent until proven guilty);
an interim report on homelessness in my home state;
lack of diversity is harming food reviews.
- Genocide matters (good and bad) in: western China (against the Uighurs);
- Refugee, immigration, and migration matters (good and bad) have occurred in: a toolkit for the media;
- Racism/caste based matters including land rights (good and bad) have occurred in: Belgium;
- Trafficking/Slavery & Extreme Worker Abuse/Child Abuse matters (good and bad) have occurred in: gymnastics; Indonesia; Greece;
- LGBTIQ+ matters (including internalised homophobia/transphobia) (good and bad) have occurred in: Australia; the law; Australia; Poland; Bolivia; El Salvador; Russia;
- Sexism (including internalised sexism), misogyny/misandry and domestic violence matters (good and bad) have occurred in: Mauritania;
- Freedom of the Press / Expression matters (good and bad) have occurred in: Yemen; Indonesia; Pakistan; Mauritania; Belarus;
- Repression/Oppression / reduction of democracy and other civil & political rights matters (good and bad) have occurred in: Russia; Viêt Nám; Thailand; Jammu and Kashmir; Zimbabwe; Kyrgyzstan; Hong Kong; an Australian university; Zimbabwe; Liberia; Cambodia; Belarus; and
- Other animal and human rights matters (good and bad) have occurred in: France.
In the related human rights arena of Employment: wage theft at an Australian
university; workers compensation for people working
at home; Jordan; a call for Australia to end
its century of stigmatising unemployed people (on that, from Paul Krugman’s
weekly email of 5th August, 2020, is the following quote from B.
Traven’s 1927 adventure novel “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”: “Anyone who is willing to work and is serious about it
will certainly find a job. Only you must not go to the man who tells you this,
for he has no job to offer and doesn’t know anyone who knows of a vacancy. This
is exactly the reason he gives you such generous advice, out of brotherly love,
and to demonstrate how little he knows the world.”).
Risks or occurrences of Atrocities, Mass Violence and/or War(s) this week in: a right wing violent extremist in Germany has admitted
guilt; Israel/Syria; Lebanon; North
Korea, Yemen and Iraq;
And: a US city has commenced legal action to shut down a notorious gun advocacy group over charitable status and other breaches; this month’s crisis watch; thoughts on how to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Other atrocity/violence matters have occurred in: Iran; Afghanistan.
And: a US city has commenced legal action to shut down a notorious gun advocacy group over charitable status and other breaches; this month’s crisis watch; thoughts on how to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Other atrocity/violence matters have occurred in: Iran; Afghanistan.
In the Democracy, Governance, Politics, Public Ethics, and Society
arena:
in Australia: missed opportunities to prevent the suicide of a sexual assault survivor; proof that a public servant recently lied to the Senate, and should be dismissed; a call for growth to be by taxing the rich; moves to increase cybersecurity and act against the sections of the web that are used for illegalities (with the neolib nitwits, any increase of police power is always of concern); now that we have several decades of the horrors of privatisation, a proposal for another public bank; problems with authoritarian changes to laws.
The Unexceptional States of America: “young black Americans [are] not sold on Biden, the Democrats or voting”; POTUS45 tax returns are being scrutinised over possible criminal activity (no news likely for some time); what could happen amongst conservatives if POTUS45 loses; a warning that, although POTUS45 cannot delay the US presidential election, he can try to delegitimise it; a judge has ordered a common sense inclusion of absentee votes in democracy;
Elsewhere in the World and General Matters: despair over democracy in Israel; suppression of allegations in Malaysia; ex-pats have rallied against Israel’s Prime Minister; Brexit has led to a “brain drain” from the UK; yet another criticism of GDP; the value of informal care;
other democracy, governance, politics, public ethics, and society matters have occurred in: Australia; Lebanon; US jail system.
in Australia: missed opportunities to prevent the suicide of a sexual assault survivor; proof that a public servant recently lied to the Senate, and should be dismissed; a call for growth to be by taxing the rich; moves to increase cybersecurity and act against the sections of the web that are used for illegalities (with the neolib nitwits, any increase of police power is always of concern); now that we have several decades of the horrors of privatisation, a proposal for another public bank; problems with authoritarian changes to laws.
The Unexceptional States of America: “young black Americans [are] not sold on Biden, the Democrats or voting”; POTUS45 tax returns are being scrutinised over possible criminal activity (no news likely for some time); what could happen amongst conservatives if POTUS45 loses; a warning that, although POTUS45 cannot delay the US presidential election, he can try to delegitimise it; a judge has ordered a common sense inclusion of absentee votes in democracy;
Elsewhere in the World and General Matters: despair over democracy in Israel; suppression of allegations in Malaysia; ex-pats have rallied against Israel’s Prime Minister; Brexit has led to a “brain drain” from the UK; yet another criticism of GDP; the value of informal care;
other democracy, governance, politics, public ethics, and society matters have occurred in: Australia; Lebanon; US jail system.
On Disasters
this week: an explosion
in Beirut’s
port,
in Lebanon; a plane
crash in India;
And: a resilience index;
Bushfires have occurred in: the Amazon.
And: a resilience index;
Bushfires have occurred in: the Amazon.
On Humanitarian Aid and Development: a very generous donation
from PNG for a bushfire damaged Australian town.
Internationally:
calls for a progressive foreign affairs appointment in the USA; an imminent court decision over an assassination in Lebanon could cause unrest; an assessment of the border tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and how to prevent violence; South Yemen is unlikely to be able to secede;
on China and the new ideological Cold War this week: more scrutiny of a Chinese-originated social media platform; criticism of an Australian body that was supposed to improve relations with China; values are making a reappearance (the article is wrong to suggest their use is new) in Australia’s diplomacy; POTUS45 has banned two Chinese-originated social media platforms.
calls for a progressive foreign affairs appointment in the USA; an imminent court decision over an assassination in Lebanon could cause unrest; an assessment of the border tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and how to prevent violence; South Yemen is unlikely to be able to secede;
on China and the new ideological Cold War this week: more scrutiny of a Chinese-originated social media platform; criticism of an Australian body that was supposed to improve relations with China; values are making a reappearance (the article is wrong to suggest their use is new) in Australia’s diplomacy; POTUS45 has banned two Chinese-originated social media platforms.
In
Africa - Democracy,
Governance, Politics, Public Ethics, And Society and International Relations: an assessment
of the situation between Somalia and Somaliland; Niger lost
tens of millions to corrupt arms deals;
Rwanda is addressing
its shortage of ambulances.
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!!!):
a notorious social media platform “has removed a video by [POTUS45] for the first time, saying it violated rules against sharing misinformation about the coronavirus” - but has done so for many other malicious/dangerous posts; the outcomes of working at home include longer working days and less net time in meetings; the need for a human rights focused approach to pandemics; lockdown fatigue and mental health issues; RW nitwits and that malaria drug; misuse of relief money in the USA; more reports of airlines forcing passengers to buy more expensive tickets; rebuttal of an appalling lie by a conservative MP against my home state’s Premier; nine key points; grief; no planning included an IPOC like POTUS45;
a notorious social media platform “has removed a video by [POTUS45] for the first time, saying it violated rules against sharing misinformation about the coronavirus” - but has done so for many other malicious/dangerous posts; the outcomes of working at home include longer working days and less net time in meetings; the need for a human rights focused approach to pandemics; lockdown fatigue and mental health issues; RW nitwits and that malaria drug; misuse of relief money in the USA; more reports of airlines forcing passengers to buy more expensive tickets; rebuttal of an appalling lie by a conservative MP against my home state’s Premier; nine key points; grief; no planning included an IPOC like POTUS45;
good stories/news: some people are responding well to the crisis - outstandingly so; an ethical
company is busy making face masks; a slum
in India;
medical aspects: new
detection methods; deaths are at around
3.7%
of cases globally; “unusual
symptoms like inflamed eyes, skin rashes and, in rare cases, hair loss”; support
for the US’s leading medical expert;
Human Rights Aspects
(crisis
. . . running summary of impacts on elections here): the neolib nitwits are reintroducing
job seeking requirements for the dole; the
experience of being forced back in to a ‘dead
end’ job; anti-LGBTIQ+
hate in the UK has forced people back into the closet - see also here,
on bigoted relatives; a message
for the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples; Ukraine; visa holders are desperate;
also including
racism: Australian media; Israel;
increased opportunistic repression/oppression / reduction of democracy: the Philippines; Australia; Zimbabwe.
also including
racism: Australian media; Israel;
increased opportunistic repression/oppression / reduction of democracy: the Philippines; Australia; Zimbabwe.
Australia: as contact tracing struggles
and my home state declares a state
of disaster and introduces
(see also here)
a curfew
and other
measures (which are not
the most severe in
the world - and an interim
review has had a reasonable outcome, and data
shows 19,000 or more cases were prevented),
which are challenging,
impact on food
supplies, mental
health (see here
on how to get help without talking on the phone), a
sense of relief,
and the economy
(particularly multicultural
businesses), calls for doctors and nurses
in my home state to get more
protection (including better
standards); unjustified vigilantism
has occurred - and been deplored; more
on the benefits of not
commuting; the housing market is likely
to crash
(giving affordable homes at a time when no-one has any money); a staggering breach
of pandemic regulations in two other states is being investigated; ongoing concerns
about the safety of asylum seekers; the
neoliberal
neglect that stuffed up our aged care sector (having known some of the
early movers for reform of that sector in the 90s, I consider it was their
incompetence as human beings that led to a focus on physical matters and an
absolute denial of emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects); amongst other appallingly
stupid behaviour (people are feeling “at the mercy
of fools”), some IPOCS are attacking
police over facemasks - and even some f***wits who are following
down the utterly wrong so-called “sovereign”
citizens - see also here,
on why they are wrong; as a coronial
investigation begins, residential
disability facilities are linked to cases, and an article points out the downsides
of moving aged care patients to hospitals (but overall, probably better to
do so), an order to wear facemasks averted one disaster at an aged care facility (and an abattoir saved
a disaster by acting
ahead of official advice) - will others learn?; a Commonwealth “disaster
payment” and easing
of JobKeeper rules; limited
support childcare centres; dangerous, gross
dereliction
by a denialist MP; predictions
of a smaller future population from the
pandemic; a bird
flu outbreak has started in my home state;
Internationally: a detailed examination of New Zealand’s success; one UK aged
care home went into lockdown early, without waiting for advice, and didn’t
lose a single patient; the
struggle to re-bury
victims; Australian health workers are helping
in PNG; an obituary has directly
blamed the appallingly indifferent
POTUS45 for a death; as their national
government pays
people to eat out, local Councils in the UK
are introducing their own contact tracing systems; long term neglect
of health systems in Hungary; the despair
of young people in West Asia; mental
health problems in Singapore,
where incoming travellers must wear electronic tags; Germany; fake
news in Central and South America; differences
in Indonesia between Java And Bali; Israel
is easing
its rules - again; the pandemic may
lead to a “political reckoning” in pseudo-democratic Thailand; a warning
against false job hopes; Pakistan;
Africa: Nigeria’s president has finally
worn a facemask; Uganda’s president has firmly supported
science;
Globally: a world
review; suggestions to make the UN Security
Council’s resolution more
effective; a second wave in Europe; the world
economy.
WLNGRHDMT
And finally . . . Black Lives Matter!
