A permanent question:
Hey @TheElders and @AfricanUnion, are you going to do anything about Museveni this year?
This week I have made the following posts on my other blogs:
- My
current reading - "peacekeeping" and politics
Among the many books I am currently reading are two that stand out as potentially being of interest to the work I am aiming to do on this blog:
Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land”, which provides excellent insights into the deal-making and realpolitik that is unfortunately necessary in many political systems; and
Roméo Dallaire’s “Shake Hands with the Devil”.
. . . When the sort of egregious violence I just mentioned occurs, there is no peace - anyone who thinks peace is just the absence of military conflict is, in this context, effectively being misogynistic, an enabler of domestic violence and the abuse and murder of women. A society that allows that culture of violence is INCAPABLE of being peaceful. It may take time for the forces of violence within that culture’s psyche to swirl into cohesions for long enough to manifest as the sort of physical conflict that those who arrange “peacekeeping” generally seem to think of - or did so before the Rwandan genocide - but it will happen.
. . . - Random
thoughts
There have been times when I despair that businesses are run by exclusively "Type A" (aggressive, somewhat blind, very insensitive, very self centred, rigid [small] minded) people, who assume everyone else in their business has the same personality and obsession with meeting the goals of the initial Type A person (I can't really call it a personality ... its more a set of pathologies), and all their customers are mindless dupes deserving nothing more than to be ordered what to buy in order to support the goals of the initial Type A person.
There have been those times ... but change is underway,
. . . - Currently
underway: an attempted coup in the USA by Trump
After weeks of encouraging from Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell and their ilk, months of violent white supremacist behaviour aided and abetted by US police, and careful placement of Trump acolytes in positions of power, Donald Trump loyalists are effectively attempting a coup a coup in the USA.
What an utterly appalling bloody attack on democracy.
This behaviour was entirely predictable as a result of the rhetoric of Trump, McConnell and other fascists - I and others have been writing about it for months
. . . - Gravely
concerning behaviour of Liberal Victorian MLC
Update: I have now received a reply advising that the President is only responsible for behaviour within the Chamber of the Legislative Council, and what happens outside is none of their business. The President cannot make comment on personal opinions of Members of the Chamber expressed outside of the Chamber - not as President, at any rate.
So if a member wants to support, say, white supremacism outside the Chamber, the President can't comment in their role as President - but no doubt could and would as an individual or possibly even as an MLC.
Frustrating, and comes across poorly in view of yesterday's attempted insurrection in the USA (and the bloody-mindedness I am reading of in Roméo Dallaire’s “Shake Hands with the Devil”, where nit-picking resulted in the UN effectively enabling the Rwandan genocide), but understandable given the pragmatic realities of trying to manage an institution like Parliament.
It means I know the limits of that office, and will not seek their support again on matters outside the Chamber (and I know the President manages events in the Chamber correctly and well).
At least the MLC's colleagues have made their displeasure known.
***
On the day of Trump's attempted insurrection / coup, a Victorian Liberal party member for Western Metropolitan Region of the Legislative Council of Victoria, Bernie Finn, has posted conspiracy fantasy rubbish, showing a belief in the "Deep State" lies, a misguided belief that Trump was somehow "good", and delusions that the violence committed by Trump supporters was the result of leftist infiltration - for details, refer to https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-07/victorian-liberal-bernie-finn-donald-trump-election-posts/13039040 (note the important qualification in that article that there is no suggestion MLC Finn supported the violence).
Of considerable significance is that the article reports growing irritation amongst his colleagues with MLC Finn,
. . .
Now, we have a tradition - but limited laws - on free speech. That does not mean people can say whatever they want. Shouting fire in a crowded theatre is the classic example, but hate speech and incitement are also not covered by legal mores on free speech.
. . .
In fact, I would go so far as to say they breach Section 13 (1) of the Members of Parliament (Standards) Act 1978:
. . . - One
more key and urgent lesson from yesterday's insurrection in the USA
There is one more lesson from yesterday's insurrection in the USA, one that has been made clear through the recent BLM protests and over decades beforehand: police have been infiltrated by far right wing extremists.
. . . - Trump
must go - NOW: invoke the USA's 25th Amendment to their constitution
From https://www.crisisgroup.org/united-states/thirteen-days-peril-managing-chaotic-end-trump-presidency:
. . . - Lessons
and fall out from this week's attempted insurrection in the USA
As the death toll reaches five (including a police officer), photos of an insurrectionist with mask and flex ties (for hostages???!!) circulate, discussions include the pipe bombs and "Molotov cocktails" and other weapons the insurrectionists had, and more details emerge about how openly the domestic terrorists had planned this and the active involvement of police (one of the best comments I've read is a call for an investigation to see how far white supremacism has infiltrated police in the USA: include Australia & the UK, expand it to include authoritarianism [and I note this cop was quite rightly charged for spying on Tibetans], and look also at the police in central Africa who are abusing and killing so many - especially in Uganda), there are a few points I would like to touch on.
My ramble for this week is embedded below:
Interesting reading / sites this week:
- Tuesday,
Thursday,
Friday,
Saturday,
(these candles are the “lite” substitute for my former news posts).
