Finally, the truth is being admitted: “Palestinians will not be allowed to return to homes in northern Gaza” The recently sacked Defence Minister “reportedly says Israeli army has nothing left to do in Gaza”. He apparently also said Israel‘s Prime Minister Netanyahu “rejected peace deal against advice of his security officials”.
This must lead to sanctions - without waiting for the lead of the now defunct USA, and on property developers and purchasers who take land from northern Gaza.
And preferably before Tr_ mp 2.0 gives such an enormous blank cheque to Netanyahu that a war with Iran begins (and Iran’s alleged assassination plot is clearly as wrong an act as any other incident of such violence).
However, the deliberate egregious mass violence - which “seemed like ambushes” by hit-and-run squads and has left some Israelis unaccounted for and led to scores of arrests and a rescue mission from Israel - against Israelis at a sporting match in Europe was utterly unacceptable.
Elsewhere in the world, in response to North Korea sending troops to Russia, South Korea is 'not ruling out' sending weapons directly to Ukraine.
And thus Putin’s aggression starts to spread ...
At least UK sanctions on Russia also include Russian forces in Africa. Will Europe step up?
Also in Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is still at risk of a major nuclear accident,
Concerns have also been growing about the election result and aftermath in Mozambique, with South Africa closing their border; and the stalled peace talks for South Sudan, but, in happier news, in a ‘historic’ financial agreement, the USA has cancelled US$1.1 billion of Somalia’s debt and Botswana’s new government will legalise undocumented Zimbabweans. Africa - optimistically, given this likely appointment by Tr_ mp - has called on Tr_ mp to honour US vaccine pledges.
Closer to home there are concerns that “Labor’s ankle bracelet and curfew regime was part of an ill-conceived game of ‘who can be toughest’ on detainees”, further shown by an admission that “We don’t want them in Australia at all”. On top of that, the trial of a whistleblower who revealed problems in the ATO will proceed. What the hell happened at the national level to the party of Doc Evatt and Whitlam? (Mind you, that party is still going strong in my home state.)
And, close at hand, although this has been of growing concern in Aotearoa (“New Zealand”) under the new right wing government, that government’s recent introduction of a bill to “reinterpret” Treaty of Waitangi has raised fears they want to undermine Maori rights. Back in Australia, where racism and colonialism is driving self harm, the National Reconciliation conference in Meanjin (Brisbane) has had to confront the fallout from the Queensland government freezing the Truth-Telling Inquiry, and there are ongoing concerns about prisons in WA, with calls for fundamental change to address overcrowding and poor conditions, and the jailing of children in the NT (“Their solution is to lock up Black people and pretend we never existed”). At least a major food security roundtable held in Canberra has discussed the serious health impacts of food insecurity in remote communities and focused on solutions for freight and wholesale costs.
But a NSW hospital has contravened the spirit of Australian laws by placing restrictions on abortions ...
There has also been some thoughtful reflection and analysis in response to Tr_ mp‘s victory, including by Robert Reich, which included: “Tr_ mp_sm is the consequence, not the cause, of a long-term structural change in the American political economy. Over much of the past 30 years, as the Republican Party embraced bigotry, lies, and hate to stir up working-class fears and resentments, the Democratic Party abandoned the working class and embraced global trade, deregulation of finance, and lower taxes on the wealthy, and has allowed corporate bashing of labour unions and monopolization of industry.” Unusually, the prosecutor leading a major case against Tr_ mp may wind down that case to prevent Tr_ mp committing and act of corruption.
There has also been an examination of what will happen in workplaces: “If we don’t act now unchecked negativity, divisive behaviour and discriminatory practices will creep in, FAST. Get ready for more microaggressions. More toxic communication. More bullying, harassment and that general sense of unease in the air. This isn’t just a fear of what could happen. Let me tell you, it’s happening. It’s a breeding ground for hostility, toxicity and psychological UNSAFETY. This isn’t abstract, friends. It’s coming. And it’s going to hit hard. ... Right now, you need to set the tone. Set clear expectations for your team. Draw boundaries and make it crystal clear what behaviour will not be tolerated in your team or organisation. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from years of working with organisations, it’s that leadership sets the culture, and that starts with YOU.”
But there has also been a reminder that the world can get together and work on global climate action: “If we stick together, it’s the US that will lose out. ... How damaging this presidency is to the planet depends very much on how other countries react. There’s no time to waste.”
Also, “The Sky is Falling; We've Got This” https://margaretkilljoy.substack.com/p/the-sky-is-falling-weve-got-this (which was in John Beckett’s Under the Oaks e-newsletter this week - and neither he nor I are anarchists, by the way) includes some very sage advice:
“Deescalate all conflict that isn’t with the enemy.
Deescalate all conflict that isn’t with the enemy.
Deescalate all conflict that isn’t with the enemy.”
Also, “Maybe the biggest problem with election years is that we seem to collectively forget that we have agency outside of voting. ... Things don’t get done unless you organize to get them done.”
As a final point, there was a very telling point here that if people are planning to leave the USA, they aren’t Indigenous ...
The reason is explained in the (short) video.
On the resistance to the reign of hateful, untrustworthy, lying, misogynistic, philandering, rapist, racist/transphobic, democracy threatening, fascist Tr_ mp 2.Ø:
- everything in my candles with the label (Blogger version of hashtags) #PsychicABetterWorld - Viva La Résistance à Tr_ mp! ;
- a message of hope and persistence from the newsletter of Jewish Currents, and from Robert Reich, Legal AF, Tennessee Brando, and Leeja Miller;
- “What is the ‘boycott men’ 4B movement? Some American women want to know after Tr_ mp’s victory” https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/article/no-dating-no-sex-no-babies-and-no-marriage-with-men-inside-the-anti-men-4b-movement/potc61mt3 “PhD researcher Yun-Hee Cho from South Korea’s Yonsei University said while the movement’s popularity has dimmed since its initial emergence, she rejects the idea that it didn’t impact cultural expectations in South Korea. “It really helped [with] empowering women to know they can have other lives, their own life, other than just being married to men or just being a wife or mother.” But she said a movement like this one risks vilifying certain women, including married women. “Feminism must be for all women,” she said.” This also addresses that the movement is not sexuality based, and the history of other such movements back to the 1970s.
- “What do people think about smartglasses? New research reveals a complicated picture” https://theconversation.com/what-do-people-think-about-smartglasses-new-research-reveals-a-complicated-picture-242762 At least they mention privacy.
- “Elephants can wash with a hose – and sabotage shower time, scientists say | Animal behaviour | The Guardian” https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/nov/08/elephants-wash-hose-sabotage-shower-time-scientists I think the scientists may have forgotten about simple jealousy as a motivation
Here are some llinks that might of interest or value:
- climate proofing farming by protecting and improving the microbial population of soils;
- wood may be used in space;
- this week’s “afterlife report” by the Zammits:
https://www.victorzammit.com/November8th2024/
- also from YouTube:
- from YouTube and elsewhere on neurodivergence:
- “Autistic Regression In Adults - Can Autism Get Worse Over Time?” https://youtu.be/fq2ZsTly1HY There are some excellent points and analogies in this (especially the marathon runner at the end of a marathon, recharging needs time, self discovery/exploration, and the obvious one of unmasking)
If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below, and there’s also Instagram.
Note that I am cutting back on aspects of my posts - see here.
(Gnwmythr is pronounced new-MYTH-ear)
Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering” (just as binary gendered [men’s and women’s] sporting teams are either both given the gender descriptor, or neither)..jpg)
