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.
To counter despots, abuses of human rights and incompetent governance, and enable responsible, inclusive and participatory democracy, which is the ONLY sustainable basis for liberty and freedom, all people must embrace, instead of fearing, uncertainty, and commit to clear and objective/dispassionate thought, goodwill, and competence at being human, including having emotions.
This is a new, very cut down series of news aggregation posts focusing on existential (nuclear weapons and the climate crisis) threats, threats to peace, human rights, minority groups and those who tend to miss the mainstream, and matters that struck a personal note: unlike my former “Gnwmythr’s News”, it is not trying to convey the bulk of the news or even key events. This one person working (unpaid) on this - after hours, and amongst many other commitments.
Also, being an Australian, I am now going to start referring to specific Australian states using accepted abbreviations. Editorial comments / personal opinion by me in grey (and possibly also italicised). “Quotes are shown italicised and in quotation marks.”
Content Warning: the linked articles and their descriptions here may be about violence, abuse, hate, and other problems.
My Articles this week include:
why
we should care about . . . the US
Vice-Presidential debates;
“management - failure
to learn, and a call for business unit diaries”.
Overall Commentary on this week’s news:
the
violence threatening regional stability in Nagorno-Karabakh may have been
reined in, as POTUS45’s foolishness gallops down the back straight and out of
sight. We saw the pleasure of this year’s Nobel Prizes, and some good holding
to account, but abuses and the climate crisis continue, and thus the need to
strive for a better world also does.
In This
Week’s News:
after a week which saw counter
claims about the military situation followed by an escalation
(and the deaths
of more than 360 people [including civilians] ), social media taking the
fighting to those
living elsewhere and reporting Azerbaijani
shelling of civilians, Turkey sending
Syrian fighters to die on behalf of Azerbaijan (as opposed to Russian
backing for Armenia), calls
for both
sides to stop using cluster bombs, and counter claims
about negotiations, France, the USA and Russia will
meet for talks as fears of human
rights violations
grow into fears of a regional war
(the old CIS
might be a useful mechanism for Russia to work through), and Armenia has sought
the
help
of the European Court of Human Rights. “Stop
the Press” - Russia has mediated
a ceasefire (that’s great, but it must start, and then continue - and
it isn’t a peace); - my take on the situation (before the ceasefire)
here;
from a Guardian reporter: a right wing extremist has told other 45ettes that they should prepare for civil war . . .
- see also this on white supremacists being the BIGGEST violent
extremist threat in the USA, this,
this,
this,
this,
this,
and this
on alleged (this is now subject to the court process, as charges have
been laid, and the presumption of innocence and requirements for a fair trial
apply) plans to kidnap a US state governor, and this
example of their hate and threats of violence (and official
inaction). See also this
assessment of the risks, which includes
recommendations for individuals, communities and organisations on how to
minimise the risk of violence and/or respond
if it does happen;
a call for human rights abusers to be excluded
from the UN’s Human
Rights Council; the 2020 Nobel
Peace Prize has gone
to the UN’s World Food Programme;
a call for trolls to be held
accountable; what
doctors do to stay healthy; a critique
of a social media critique, including suggestions
on what to do; a call
to end the destructive, ineffective and farcical drug war against Mexico of
the hypocritical USA; an online
services company has been ordered
by a court
to talk
to news producers about paying for their content - see also this; more concerns
about gambling venues continuing
to fail to meet their obligations
towards self
excluded
gamblers.
In the Environmental Arena, where we have been fighting World War III for some time now:
a migratory bird species appears to be
in extremely
serious decline at one nesting site;
before the pandemic, London’s air quality was already improving in response to reduced vehicle emissions; microplastics in the ocean;
environmental damage in Russia may be from leaking
rocket fuel; a trial run of an electric
car suggests
more
recharging stations are needed (I know people have travelled around
Australia in electric cars, but how convenient is that as a mainline option?); the Amazon, and
thus its contributions to the world’s environment, is at
risk; an example
of the combined impact of bushfires and pandemic; insurers are looking to get out
of climate crisis risks; a Guardian EXCLUSIVE reports
that “air pollution particles in young brains [are] linked
to Alzheimer’s damage”; the problem of nitrous oxide; as a call is made for a nationally
standardised way of measuring tree clearing, a wide study found “thinning
forests doesn't
reduce bushfire risk and could make some blazes worse”; the impact of
China’s environmental commitment will be “huge”
- especially for Australia (maybe now
we can get serious about exporting solar power, and value adding our other
exports?);
other
environmental matters have
occurred in:
UK (food companies); Australia; India; Indonesia.
This week on
the PROTESTS IN THE DESPOTIC USA and
associated protests/issues elsewhere:
online tracking of white supremacists by
one of their victims; a Reuters special report on how the US
Justice Department sabotaged
(my
word) its police reform effort;
more disturbing
evidence about the police shooting of a black woman in her home.
On HUMAN AND ANIMAL RIGHTS:
legal action in the USA against its sanctions of ICC officials; a call for Australia to have a permanent
war crimes investigation unit; an
examination of the use of mercenaries;
the extreme vulnerability
of Dalit women to rape;
a major
hate crime in New Zealand led
to other, smaller hate crimes;
criticism
of Saudi Arabia’s “image laundering”;
Somalia appears to be backing
away from human rights commitments;
Nigeria’s “special police” have been reined
in over human rights abuses;
a social media platform that has
banned ill wishes against #45 but allows the same and death threats against
women and others has been
accused
of hypocrisy; social media
users have campaigned cleverly against a white supremacist group; “satellite imagery and virtual reality
may be putting sacred
spaces and privacy at risk” - see also here; a social media platform will ban
an extreme right wing conspiracy fantasist group;
after a massacre 180 years ago, an Indigenous people have started a healing process so they can return to their ancestral lands
(the
talk about the Pleiades, a constellation I also love, was particularly moving); the long and
powerful tradition of message
sticks for diplomatic purposes has
reached Australia’s Parliament - again; mining companies want
to be able to continue destroying Indigenous sites; the Vic. ALP is set to finally get its first Indigenous MP - a Yorta Yorta woman;
victims of racist abuse are not
speaking up; a controversial
(see also here
and here),
bigoted
(see also here
and here),
climate change denial
fantasist politician
has been associating
with white supremacists - again
(and again);
anti-Semitism in the USA;
IOC;
the
Australian military.
Genocide, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity matters (good and
bad) in:
burma;
Torture, Disappearances and Execution/Killing matters (good and
bad) in:
Chilean police threw
a boy off a bridge during a protest (their victim is in hospital);
Refugee, immigration, and migration matters (good and
bad) have occurred in:
Djibouti
(deaths from piracy); LGBT asylum seekers;
Racism/caste
based matters including Indigenous, multi-culturalism, colonialism and land
rights (good and bad) have occurred in:
mental
health advice in Australia is now available in languages other than English; #45; UK;
Child Abuse/Trafficking/Slavery & Extreme Worker Abuse matters (good and
bad) have occurred in:
concerns
over parts for my home state’s trains possibly
involving Uyghur slavery (relying on assurances from suppliers is not enough); the
Philippines;
LGBTIQ+ matters (including
internalised homo-/bi-/trans-phobia/hate)
(good and bad) have occurred
in:
a
Russian airline; New Zealand (good news);
sport;
Sexism (including
internalised sexism), misogyny/misandry and domestic violence matters (good and
bad) have occurred in:
online harassment of girls
and
young
women; helping teenage mothers; El
Salvador (partial, belated good news, but more needs to be done); India; a forced
marriage in Australia; #45; cricket
(good news);
Religious Discrimination matters (good and
bad) have occurred in:
USA;
Disability matters (good and
bad) have occurred in:
condescending
attitudes towards those living with mental illness; 60 nations still chain people with mental illness; “cautious”
support for moving younger disabled people out of aged care; appeals against NDIS decisions each year
have increased by 700%
- that is, by seven
times since 2016; good news for
trains in South West Victoria . . . in three
years’ time; #45;
Housing matters (good and
bad) have occurred in:
Egypt; NT wants
to continue providing inadequate housing;
Privacy/Surveillance matters (good and
bad) have occurred in:
concerns
about a home security drone;
Repression/Oppression including Police Abuses /
reduction of democracy and other civil & political rights matters (good and
bad) have occurred in:
a female prisoner in Iran
has been refused treatment for COVID-19;
In the
related human rights arena of Employment:
age
friendly workplaces; another
example
of the devastation
the gig
economy causes; Indonesia.
Risks or occurrences of Atrocities, Mass Violence and/or War(s) this week in:
Afghanistan; burma; Cameroon; Sudan
Good news); Mali; Libya-Turkey-UAE; Nagorno-Karabakh,
Central African Republic and Sudan;
And:
Israel’s defence forces have claimed
a video
by a violent extremist organisation shows a munitions factory in Lebanon; Turkey and the UAE are ignoring the arms embargo on Libya; an examination
of the world’s status with regard to peace/conflict;
Other atrocity/violence
matters have occurred in:
Egypt.
On DISASTERS
this week:
a storm in Europe; a hurricane in Mexico; a high rise fire
in South Korea;
And:
a farm dam at risk of collapse in
regional Vic. led
to evacuations
until the dam was drawn
down;
Bushfires have occurred in:
Qld.; USA
- see also here,
on the “gigafire”; Israel.
On Humanitarian Aid and Development:
actions
against malaria are mostly on track;
addressing
food problems in Timor Leste; the UNDP has started a consultation process for its next strategic plan.
In the DEMOCRACY, GOVERNANCE, POLITICS, PUBLIC ETHICS, AND SOCIETY ARENA:
General Matters:
a
historically based reminder that big budgets worked (before
neolibs with their zombie ideas destroyed society) - see also this,
and this
historical and disastrous example of the drive to balance budgets; doubts
grow over Palestinians being able to vote in an election in West Bank and Gaza;
in Australia:
summaries of the key aspects of the
BUDGET
“of heroic
optimism” (but possibly not
much stimulus) can be found here
(7 “big” charts), here,
here
(6 charts on post COVID recovery), here,
here
(winners and losers), and in this
tabulation of “winners” and “losers”: key aspects include inaction on the climate crisis, inappropriate
Indigenous spending, increased
health spending, women
being left out, nothing on homelessness,
questionable
(“mates rates”) tax
cuts, more
(xenophobic)
cuts to and conditions
on migration but an increase to foreign
aid, a missed opportunity for social
housing, assistance for the agricultural
sector, reliance
on a lot of things
“going right
for Australia”, a little
more for research, and more neglect
of vulnerable groups (e.g., the
aged) and more “iatrogenic
unemployment” (sending people back into poverty needlessly);
the national neolib’s proposed changes
to university funding will
be passed after two Senators say they have got a concession (the
concession looks minor, to me [the cuts will still be devastating], and will
only mean anything if it is incorporated into an amendment now); a need
for multi-language advice on strokes; an
examination of Qld.,
in the lead up to its elections; continuing
concerns over the national neolib nitwit government’s allocation
of community funding (described as “a slush fund”); an energy price comparison service has
been
fined
by
the
ACCC
for misleading its customers;
The Unexceptional (and despotic) States of America and its white supremacist fascist despot
lyin’ 45:
as the US Democratic candidate continues
to gain votes over the Republicans and 45’s mishandling (lack of
handling?) of the pandemic, a mask wearing 45 briefly left hospital
to wave hello
to some of his 45ettes
(supporters)
from the back seat of a car before going back to hospital for more treatment focused
on his lungs. Then, as conspiracy
fantasists go
wild over 45 getting COVID-19, his doctor also shows unprofessional
behaviour
(another doctor showed good ethics by quitting,
and a medical journal called for 45 to be voted
out) and social media deletes posts
from 45 underplaying COVID-19 by comparing it to the flu. Then, after a week of
reports of seriousness
and reflections
on mortality, with the USA having several
military chiefs in
quarantine (that’s OK, Russia, China and North Korea are probably too
busy laughing to attack [yes, sarcasm, Joyce]),
and showing signs that, unlike the UK’s leader (but like other
fools), he won’t
learn (not to mention to won’t listen to doctors),
the USA’s white supremacist fascist despot lyin’ 45 bragged an experimental
treatment no-one else can access (and developed using tests on cells from an
aborted
foetus), claimed he is “feeling
better” (which is not the same as being
better - which is why doctors warn people to take the full course of prescribed
medicine) is leaves
hospital, followed by blaming
relatives of veterans and refusing
to do a virtual debate
(leading to a cancellation
of the debate);
a US Republican Senator has claimed the USA’s political system is not about democracy; (he is quibbling the
term “constitutional republic, without understand historical context, change,
and what that term actually means);
positive virus test results have led to
a call
for a delay
in the nomination process for
a replacement
for the US Supreme Court; legal action
by US citizens living outside the USA to allow
them to vote electronically; a win by the US Democratic candidate in the USA would end
the easy conditions the US financial industry has been luxuriating
in; white supremacist fascist despot lyin’ 45 has abruptly
ended talks over COVID-19 relief until after the election (is he trying
to extort voters?); the US
Vice-Presidential debates will be significant;
the lyin45ettes are organising to “watch”
for what they consider to be voting irregularities
. . .;
Other democracy, governance,
politics, public ethics, and society Matters:
a coup
appears to be underway
in Kyrgyzstan - but the leader has apparently told police not to shoot at
protestors; the
women leading protests in Belarus; after a delayed change of leader, said to be
as a result of food poisoning, there are concerns Malaysia may be regressing
on the freedom scale; police
violence in Israel against anti-corruption protestors; an internal neochristian feud in Italy
has spilled
over into a past child abuse case in Australia; a dispute
over which Venezuelan president has access to Venezuela’s gold in the UK
continues; burma; a repeated call for the EU to defend
democracy; a neo-fascist organisation in
Greece has been found to be criminal, not
political; the need
to defend Colombia’s grassroots community leaders;
INTERNATIONALLY:
the deadly, polarising effect of “cold wars”; New
Caledonia
has
voted
- again
- to stay
a part
of the French Republic; the imminent
2020 US Presidential election is likely to defer
any commitments by East Asian nations; the
EU has
hardened
its
stance
against
Russia over the most recent poisoning
of Russia’s leading opposition figure - see also this; a call for US deliberations around a
violent extremist group in Yemen to also consider the wellbeing
of Yemen itself;
on China,
China’s Communist Party (CCP) Regime and the reinvigorated ideological
Cold War this week:
the CCP has tried to impose
its internal censorship and suppression on other nations - again; as
global warming makes the Arctic navigable, the UK Navy consider China’s navy would
become a threat; China will soon
be militarily strong enough to realistically attempt to invade Taiwan, but that
would create problems for the winner and loser; an Australian
and has been formally charged with spying, and in the USA a Singaporean has
been jailed
for spying for China;
Other international matters
have occurred in:
Cambodia.
IN AFRICA - Democracy, Governance, Politics, Public Ethics, And Society and International Relations:
Continent / Thematic Matters:
teachers in Zimbabwe have refused
to return to work over low pay and COVID-19 risk;
Peace and Conflict:
the decades old conflicts in Sudan may have been ended by a peace
deal; Mali appears
to have made a prisoner exchange with violent extremists; separatist fighting in Cameroon;
Environment:
climate change adaptation in Zambian farms;
Democracy and Other National matters:
Sierra Leone’s President is “cracking
down” on his predecessor (unlike #45 in the USA, the land of Watergate - driven by
desire for revenge, to quite an extent, this could be genuinely intended to
reverse past, endemic corruption).
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 challenges
of job hunting
in a pandemic; the WHO has warned 10%
of the world’s population may have the virus;
the challenges of managing economic impacts through aid; statistics show reduced
sick leave since the lockdown was imposed - possibly because of reduced
transmission of flu, but possibly also because
of the benefits of working from home;
good stories/news: a FIFO ballet teacher in WA;
medical aspects: an article on another statistical parameter to monitor COVID-19; the complexity of test results; the USA has finally overcome obstructionism enough to at last admit the pandemic is airborne; the virus can survive nine hours on human skin . . . but 15 seconds hand sanitising; a study has found young men are the worst at adhering to physical distancing requirements (as always, there would be plenty of exceptions to this - in all age groups! This is looking at generic trends, and reports 30-40% non-adherence cf. 15 - 30% non-adherence for women, but the sample had fewer men in it: the study’s main output was a call for more nuanced strategies).
Human Rights Aspects (crisis
. . . running summary of impacts on elections here,
and the balancing of public health against other rights here):
a report
that older people in care in the UK were “abandoned to die”;
also including
racism:
US
employment;
sexism:
academia;
housing:
cutting social security will lead to a
rental crisis
and a “second
wave” of domestic violence; evictions
are “surging” in the USA despite
a ban;
work /
workers’ rights:
an examination
of glove making in Malaysia;
increased
opportunistic repression/oppression / reduction of democracy:
police fined protestors who
were complying with new regulations in Israel.
Environmental Impacts:
a Reuters investigation into what
has happened to recycling of plastic under
the pandemic.
In My Home State:
as the numbers in Melbourne continue
to improve, two regional
infections (the number of cases in one are growing)
from a visitor from Melbourne have emphasised that the 5 km restriction on
travel may be left in place for longer,
possibly for a longer distance, at the next easing of restrictions, but some
people need to access regional blocks to manage
fire fuel. Also, the definition of “close contact” has been broadened; regional immunocompromised Victorians are “pleasantly
surprised” by continuing
good compliance with COVID-19 restrictions (mask-wearing and physical
distancing); more on the bird
flu outbreaks; as a phone company refuses to release key
records on the basis of disputed
legal
claims
(after
reviewing this, this, this, and this, I consider
the claim to be utterly pretentious, highly questionable, and without merit -
the data is going to be accessed, not destroyed), more on the hotel
quarantine problems; calls for a relaxation of testing
requirements (to fortnightly, rather than weekly) in border zones as repeated
tests are reported to lead to health problems (headaches, blood noses,
anxiety over testing); apparently
some people think
we will get out of lockdown within a couple of weeks . . . (my
[prediction remains end of year);
regional students are benefitting
from being able to study at home;
Australia:
the neolib national government has
rejected the powerful criticism of the Royal
Commission into deaths in aged care - and
the real world facts that criticism is based on (are the neolibs all conspiracy
fantasists?); Australia is driving
away the international students that have become so important to the
tertiary education sector; a resurgence
in gambling; an ABC EXCLUSIVE reports that
the RBA was internally worried about inadequate support during the pandemic (see here
for an example of the effects of this);
WA’s Chief Health Officer has warned that a relaxation of the state’s
hard border would result in a return
to stricter lockdown; two
“infection clusters” (hot spots) in NSW; LGBT Australians are at elevated
risks of suicide;
Internationally:
shortages
of oxygen
in India; South Korean police have isolated
a potential protest area (see this)
with buses; the city of Madrid in Spain
has been locked
down, and then declared
to be in a State of Emergency; in
Israel, where infection rates may
be slowing, as some ultra-Orthodox try to maximise
compliance with pandemic containment, others are part of violent (on
both sides) anti-lockdown
protests; more
cases in the USA - where COVID-19 is now the third
leading cause of death - as the northern hemisphere’s winter
approaches; resistance in Ireland
to a proposed European lockdown;
restrictions have now been lifted
in New Zealand; a computer
error
(!) in the UK led to a massive
undercount of cases in the UK; as cases
increase, a curfew
in Germany; Thailand will delay
reopening to foreign tourists; Italy; Argentina; Iran; Malaysia; face masks have been made compulsory in
bigoted
Poland;
Africa:
the WHO has called to keep health
workers safe;
Globally:
the
pandemic has led to some women in Asia becoming the breadwinners for their families;
Irresponsibility, Selfishness, and Unthinking Behaviour:
Vic.; Israel; Israel; Israel; USA; Europe; a
UK uni.
WLNGRHDMT
I am now on Patreon.
And finally . . . Black Lives Matter!
