A permanent question:
Hey @TheElders and @AfricanUnion, are you going to do anything about Museveni this year?
A little late, but I have a ramble to add, one triggered by yet another spurious claim that something was from dimension X, with the unstated implication that it was supposedly true and to be followed as a result of an unproven - and ridiculous - claim:
This week I have made the following posts on my other blogs:
- One
more: on self pardons
The topic of self pardons was discussed thoroughly at the time of the Watergate conspiracy in the 1970s, with Nixon eventually resigning without pardoning himself (accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt), and his successor doing so in order to be able to get on with his Presidency . . .
The topic has naturally come up now (see, for instance, here), as trump has been issuing pardons (note previous comments about acceptance and admission) to his criminal accomplices and lickspittles.
In light of that, this assessment from a couple of years ago,
. . . - Police
and other fall out / reactions from last week’s attempted coup in the USA
This is needed in other police forces around the entire world (e.g., the Philippines, Greece) - including because, in my opinion, police become more authoritarian and right wing as they become more scarred by the excessive expectations we, society, place on them:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/01/09/investigating-police-rioters/.
This analysis of data and trends is concerning, but
. . . - Australians’
right to free speech
There has been quite a bit of commentary about the right of Australians to free speech, and that we don’t have explicit definitions / protections / limitations of that. Well, setting aside for the moment that Victorians actually do have an explicit definition of that right (Section 15 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities), Australia is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, one of the "twin Covenants" providing a legally enforceable version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
. . . - Information
and thinking
Recently, in response to an ignorant comment by a former sports player, I posted a link (see also here) to ACLED’s data on the BLM protests showing that 93% of the protests were peaceful and the majority of violence was white supremacists (including police). Other comments in response had addressed the cluelessness aspect (that all lives matter is actually a white supremacist response to Black Lives Matter), but no-one was addressing the issue of violence, which is why I posted the link.
In response to my post, I had a comment - polite, not aggressive, absolutely NO need to block or mute the person - saying that may be "my perception", but television showed blacks committing violence.
We are both correct.
Why? Because
. . . - Charges
against US domestic white supremacist terrorists now include inauguration day,
and other matters
The Lawfare site listing documentation relating to charges from the attempted coup in the USA now includes a charge relating to threats against the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
There is also a sombre article on the Political Violence at a Glance site titled: "The Attack on the Capitol Was a Success. So What Happens Next?"
On the other hand,
. . . - What
drives right wingers?
Engineering is a notoriously conservative profession. It has improved over the last decade, but I’ve had more than three decades before that of abuse, hostility, and an infantile lack of understanding of the basics of human functioning (NOT, I hasten to add, my current managers and team members and most of my work colleagues).
I’ve come across racists, religious bigots, homophobes/transphobes, misogynists, hypocritically emotional rants against "being emotional", discomfort with anything to do with emotions (for instance, one now long former colleague thought it was important for aged care homes to focus solely on physical details, but was utterly clueless about mental and emotional wellbeing), authoritarian (almost militaristic) management, and people who think abusing people is motivating - or that others will gladly adopt targets that are harmful to themselves or their families because a particular manager likes those goals/actions that will boost the manager’s KPIs.
In a word, stupidity - or, perhaps more accurately, incompetence at being human.
Those dinosaurs have included many right wingers - including people who have, over the years, advocated for Trumpist-style views.
It was, therefore, no surprise to me at all to come across an article (see here) reporting that people lacking in emotional intelligence (EI) are more likely to be right wing.
Note that what that says is:
NOT all people lacking in EI are on the right of the political spectrum - some will be on the left; and
NOT all right wingers lack EI.
As with all such articles, it is addressing trends.
. . . - From
this week's news
I'm going to start this post with an article analysing the political cost of abusing human rights, based on the CIA's kidnapping and torture (aka "rendition") programme. The article found that there was a cost, but:
. . . - An
OHS speculation
Given the “white male effect” on risk assessment and valuation, is the preponderance of white males in workplace OHS positions - certainly in engineering and construction - why the psychological damage of risks to and actual breaches of privacy, not to mention lack of psychological safety and comfort, are inadequately taken into consideration?
- I’ve going to begin this with an article that I find utterly sickening: scientists have created a pig-human chimera - a blend of species. They made a nod to “ethical concerns”, and destroyed their creations after a few days, but their actions are utterly appalling - and, frankly, stupid;
- “The Science of Spiritual Narcissism” (“Self-enhancement through spiritual practices can fool some of us into thinking we’re evolving and growing when all we’re growing is our ego”) - but see also this.
- Sunday,
Monday,
Tuesday,
Wednesday,
Thursday,
Friday,
Saturday,
(these candles are the “lite” substitute for my former news posts).
