This was originally posted on my political blog at https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2021/05/on-uganda-burma-attempted-coup-in-usa_22.html.
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On Uganda this week:
- Museveni is continuing his stay in (see here on his changing views on that), and abuse of, power;
- a Ugandan student faces prison over a tweeted joke.
On Burma this week:
- the protests and killing continue - see here,
- the unity of opposition against the coup is showing signs of a movement to lead to a true (federal) democracy in Burma;
- Burma's military have been shelling civilians again;
- Burma's banking system is collapsing;
- Australia's shameful inaction;
- insufficient support for an arms embargo ... ;
- the military has shut down the Internet;
- soldiers are enslaved to the Burmese military - and sentenced to death (commuted to life imprisonment) for leaving ... yet a number are, in disgust at current atrocities;
- connections between urban protestors and country rebels could make violent resistance (which would be a moral backstep) to the army more effective.
On the attempted coup in the USA:
- the US House of Representatives has voted to establish a Commission on the coup ... but that will be blocked by the retrograde party in the US Senate.
From the news this week:
- on the climate crisis and the environment:
a devastating court decision shows the need for better protection of at-risk areas and flora and fauna populations/species; "more alleged illegal logging" in our key water catchment; a pledge to reduce plastic waste significantly by 2025; past "megadroughts" in our wheatbelt; more on the social nature of plants; Sierra Leone has sold rainforest for a Chinese harbour; a collaborative local government approach to addressing the climate crisis; one airline has started using "biofuel"; the IEA has shown Scott and his crew to be out of touch IPOCs; illegal deforestation is behind many daily foods; after natural disasters, nations "cannot possibly “build back better” without addressing underlying causes of global warming"; students have marched for climate action; the banks have rejected a fantasist comment from one of our backwards political parties; need for better use of water in the Murray-Darling basin; the proposed baiting response to a mouse plague will also kill wild animals; - on conflict and tensions between Israel and Palestine:
the violence has spread to the West Bank and may spread elsewhere in West Asia; Israel's attacks have included media offices; 40% of Palestinians killed are women and children; talks are continuing; Arab Israelis and street fights in Israel; increasingly out-of-step US President Biden has spoken to the Palestinian President; a critique of the causes of the current conflict (verging on open war) shows Israel - validly - in a poor light; lies from Israel on social media; thousands around the world have been marching in support of Palestine; the famous news agency whose offices in Gaza were destroyed by Israel is horrified and has called for and investigation - and for Israel to release its alleged evidence; a call to monitor anti-Semitic groups in pro-Palestinian protests; the problem of accountability for war crimes; Gaza's health services are being overwhelmed; the violence has spread to the Israel-Lebanon border; far right Jewish extremists are threatening Israeli journalists; the USA is blocking a UN statement against the violence; children are being used in propaganda; opinions on the "complexities" of the situation, Israel's loss of the moral high ground, lessons from the still ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland, and how to resolve tensions and violence inside Israel; an anti-Semitism rally;
as predicted, a ceasefire has been agreed . . . and tested;
- see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here,
- on international relations including war:
in what seems akin to a re-run of Da'esh's early tactics, activists in Iraq are being assassinated - by militias; another warning of spying on social media; France will cancel Sudan's debt; now we are joining the race to militarise space ... ; a controversial Indonesian military group (referred to by some as a "death squad) will use its Australian training against Papuan independence groups (who have been using violence); alliances are being nurtured to try to end conflicts in Africa; piracy in the Gulf of Guinea; the ongoing need to deal with legacy UXO; an examination of the Russia-China relationship; Sudan-Ethiopia border fighting; in a move suggesting something to hide, Ethiopia has expelled a New York Times journalist; a right-wing extremist German soldier planned a false flag terrorist attack as if he was a Syrian refugee to fan xenophobic hate and violence; more fantasy-land "thinking" from China about the South China Sea;
- on the COVID-19 pandemic:
lessons from the mishandled 1990s recession that were proven in the GFC, combined with improved technology, enabled the pandemic lockdown; rather than a spate of suicides, mental health in Australia has improved under lockdown (perhaps not having to go into the office?); despite airline claims to the contrary, some re-tests of Australians who were allegedly COVID-19 positive in India and thus unable to return home have shown they were actually free of the virus - and the lab the airlines used had been suspended over an inaccurate test result; in a blow to education hopes for children, they have been shown to be vulnerable to a new variant; an airline CEO is being glib about killing people; discussions in France on the economic impact of the pandemic in Africa; the dangers of reopening international borders too early are being ignored; the pandemic is slowing in India's cities, but not the regional areas and the response is "patchy"; - on genocides and other human rights issues:
a Royal Commission has found that a notorious neochristian priest knew of child abuse committed under his watch (the heading is "history will not be kind to"); "Russian mercenaries are raping and murdering civilians they’ve been hired to protect"; the CCP is now grabbing the money of those it has arrested under it's anti-democracy repression; a Cuban dissident has been hospitalised after a hunger strike; repression in Algeria, Belarus, and Venezuela; more suppression of freedom in Zimbabwe; Thailand is again considering an act of refoulement against refugees from Burma; the ever ongoing fight for cybersecurity and privacy; an attack on justice in El Salvador; devastating personal experiences have been relayed to the Royal Commission into a gambling casino; mental health problems for veterinarians; religious communities are angry (and using false equivalences) about a ban after a religious knife was allegedly used in a stabbing (but no anger about the stabbing?); a notorious social media platform is continuing to target children; Putin is so terrified of Navalny he is seeking to outlaw Navalny's opposition movement; Australian governments have been "accused of hiding evidence supporting lift in age of criminal responsibility"; Egyptian authorities arrest mother for reporting son’s torture; growing anti-Semitism in Europe; suppression of free speech in Malaysia; Denmark wants to return refugees to unsafe Syria; more refugees have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea; border controls have made criminal smuggling profitable; the terrible conditions in Tigray (CW on the link - child abuse, horror); "Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday it is extending until further notice a moratorium it imposed last year on police use of its facial recognition software"; "Genocide Watch considers the situation in Hong Kong to be at Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 5: Organization, and Stage 6: Polarization"; "Genocide Watch considers the border area between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to be at Stage 6: Polarization and Stage 7: Preparation"; remembrances of the genocides against the Crimean Tatars & the Tamils & the Greeks; a media outlet found one of its journalists lied to get an interview decades ago with a famous and respected woman, but the interview is likely to have been unaffected by that - but her also famous and respected sons' have contrary views; an example human story of those fleeing violence in Central America; blatant anti-LGBTIQ+ hate from the ex-cop "Minister for Culture Wars"; micro-homes in slums; 55 million people were displaced last year; the European Parliament has voted to freeze its trade deal with China over China's human rights abuses; Indonesia needs to suspend and revise its new internet regulation; Canada has shown itself to have a decency my nation lacks; a US state has committed another legalised murder but allegedly "neglected" to tell the media ... ; racism against Indigenous protestors in Colombia; Bangladesh authorities have arrested a journalist reporting on COVID-19; the government in Belarus has blocked another popular media outlet;
thoughts on activism being for "those who carry the label", not those outside the community; - on democracy:
steps towards ending the political crisis in Georgia; growing concerns about upcoming elections in Nicaragua; Chileans have elected people to rewrite the constitution written by a past dictator; more questioning of Scott's unconscionable use of red carpet; our fuel security is going backwards again; Samoa is sliding into autocracy; Ethiopia has again delayed elections; Mali will form a "broad based" transitional government; legacy corruption and judicial problems are threatening Sudan's transition to democracy; an official investigation of 45's "commercial" organisation has now changed from civil to criminal; a reflection on citizenship and Scott's cost cutting approach to the rights of citizens; legacy corruption in the Sudan; the AU has called for democracy in Chad; finally, actions give a firm basis for hope in Libya; how to prevent the next elections in Nicaragua being rigged;
inappropriate behaviour (consensual sex in a Parliament office) of an MP in my home state has been referred to the Speaker for investigation; - on LGBTIQ+ matters:
a timely reminder that it is not always safe for TGD people to nominate pronouns on social media; the general (endemic!) systemic bigotry of police is coming back to bite them with another ban from a Pride march - and calls for same at another; a homophobic MP in Ghana has threatened an international diplomat who is advocating decency; IDAHOBIT and an example of what is needed and what needs to be addressed; the pandemic has enabled anti-LGBT violence in France; LGBTIQ+ people are fleeing homophobic Poland; active judicial transphobia in Spain; - on racism:
jailed for stealing an ice cream ... ; a police stuff up or set up has resulted in two men being freed and paid nearly A$100 million compensation; "a new anti-racism network is encouraging people in Australia to report racist attacks"; racism in the US medical profession; the 107 year old survivor of a militarised racist massacre in the USA a century ago has given her testimony; - on sexism:
a tool to help police make better decisions about domestic violence risks; 45's puppets on the US Supreme Court have made a religious misogynistic challenge to US abortion laws possible; experience SHOWS gender quotas WORK; more police incompetence on domestic violence; - on ableism:
concerns about errors in at least one of the independent NDIA assessments; - on other matters:
"China has become the third nation to land on Mars and the second to deploy a rover"; as the "Australian Retailers Association urges businesses not to take the law into their own hands", a solicitor warns of the risks of legal action for shaming ALLEGED offenders on social media and of the dangers of identifying young people - who are protected by courts for good reasons; support and empowerment for hairdressers - who often hear intimate, sometimes disturbing or concerning, details about their customers' lives; good thoughts on arrogance in professional titles (it takes five years to become proficient: until then, you're a junior); a win for gig workers; the damage done by "carrot and stick" schooling; overwork is causing doctor errors; a community legal service using lawyers, financial counsellors and social workers is providing effective assistance with mortgage stress; more simple minded approaches to health that ignore work stresses and pressures.
