Saturday, 16 November 2024

Post No. 2,937 - Reflections on the past week, and some interesting reading/viewing [Content Warning - mention of/links to articles on war, violence, SA/CSA]

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/. 

 

I’ll begin with an interesting article that helps to frame how we could consider a lot of the ... “baggage” we live with:   

“Is Cultural Technical Debt Sabotaging Our Survival?”   https://www.joanwestenberg.com/is-cultural-technical-debt-sabotaging-our-survival/       

And on survival, Qatar has paused its Gaza ceasefire mediation role “until Israel and H___s show '‘seriousness’” - and the USA actually asked Qatar to expel H___s after that group rejected a hostage deal (and my nation is amending or ending 16 defence export permits - FINALLY).   Elsewhere, Iran has denied any plot to assassinate Tr_ mp, and called for confidence-building - and Iranian analysts and insiders have apparently said that a Tr_ mp presidency may bring a detente between the two countries (but will embolden those wanting to annex Gaza [only the northern part, at the moment ...] ). 

Tr_ mp’s claims of having told Putin not to escalate the war against Ukraine have been denied as M_ sk’s contacts with and possible back door role with Putin are cause for concern about the extent of Russian influence (I saw one satirical video on YouTube labelled “Putin wins US Presidential election: ‘Tr_ mp asks now what?’” - and Putin is being emboldened in Africa). 

With regard to Tr_ mp’s win, Detroit’s older Black men understand why their younger brothers embraced Tr_ mp (although the younger will be disappointed when Tr_ mp does not deliver on his promises), angry incels have been given enormous power and there has been some appalling behaviour (“this is sport for them”) including threatening SAs etc of children, executions, rounding up gays, etc. and sending slavery texts, etc., and pro-Tr_ mp Latinos have received an unwelcome surprise from a Tr_ mp Judge. 

At least Australia’s opposition front bench has rejected backbench calls to emulate Tr_ mp _sm. 

There has also been some thoughtful analysis by Robert Reich , by Sarah Chayes, and on YouTube by “Dana Inspired”, and this, on “why hatred of Tr_ mp fuels his success as much as his supporters’ love”. (If I get the time and energy, I would like to summarise those and the warnings in Anne Applebaum’s “Autocracy, Inc.” [Penguin, 2024, ISBN 978-1-802-06213-7; reviews by NPR, Foreign Affairs magazine, Good Reading; purchase at Penguin, Kobo, Apple Books, Amazon] into a stand alone post.) 

And on hate, I am fearing the Israeli-Palestinian situation has become ... irredeemable ... The recent appalling antisemitic violence in The Netherlands - which led to a ban on a pro-Palestinian rally, the deployment of troops, and Israeli evacuation flights -  was actually preceded by appalling anti-Palestinian violence that was not reported until today, and that changes everything - as commented on by the Jewish Council of Australia. 

Of relevance to this is the Lemkin Institute’s   “12-Point Genocide Prevention Agenda for U.S. Presidential Candidates”   https://www.lemkininstitute.com/_files/ugd/9bc553_f3ac27c358e240afb489c596be1b5041.pdf   which should be recognised and applied everywhere ...   (This analysis of the lack of post-election violence in the USA should also be noted.)   

Another article which should be noted is   “Ta-Nehisi Coates describes what he saw in Palestine as ‘apartheid’, resembling America’s segregated Jim Crow South”   https://theconversation.com/ta-nehisi-coates-describes-what-he-saw-in-palestine-as-apartheid-resembling-americas-segregated-jim-crow-south-241021   “In May 2023, renowned Black American writer Ta-Nehisi Coates spent ten days in the West Bank and Israel, where he spent half his time with Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers who now oppose the occupation.”   

And on long-lasting hate, North Korea has been jamming GPS signals, affecting planes and ships in South Korea, and a n__-n_ z_ in my home state has threatened to become a t_rr_r_st (and another such person is being investigated). 

And also on bad decisions, in another appalling global choice, abusive  oil exporter Azerbaijan is hosting COP29 and seeking to boost its gas exports, leading to commentary from experts that COP summits are no longer fit for purpose - noting that Tr_ mp has vowed to reverse US commitments to addressing the climate crisis (and, under a Tr_ mp-like extremist, Argentina has withdrawn from the conference).   Furthermore, Shell has defeated on appeal the landmark 2021 climate ruling ordering it to cut carbon emissions by 45% by 2030,   and Australia may give one of Australia’s biggest CO2 emitters a fifty-year extension, which would result in billions of tonnes of climate pollution.   On top of all that, there has also been pushback by a goldmine owner against a decision to protect Aboriginal heritage decision,   and a blatantly white supremacist action by WA police which could be interpreted as an attempt to sabotage rehabilitation/diversion and a staggering claim by NT that they don*t have racist police ... ,   there are fears for local news diversity in Australia if a rightwing fringe news streaming channel startup succeeds in buying  Southern Cross regional TV network of 93 regional free-to-air stations,   there has been a call for the RBA to admit its fears of a wage-price spiral were misguided and cut interest rates accordingly,   “Australian police are trialling AI to analyse body-worn camera footage, despite overseas failures and expert criticism”,   and Australia is continuing its xenophobic hate of asylum seekers. 

And a pre-empting of possible bad decisions with a warning that energy transition must not crush those who are poor, and that AI is about outsourcing, not unleashing, our imaginations to serve others’ profits.  

Another key problem with bad decision making is denialism, and that is being shown both by Israel’s denial of the possibility of it committing genocide (despite warnings by expert organisations that it is committing ethnic cleansing) - and the warning that it is creating future t_rr_r_sm, and also by a recent report that known/reported sexual assaults  BY WOMEN is increasing - and, as someone who has experienced SA and CSA only from cisgender women, my experience is that their responses can be as bad as any males or child abusers, and the reference to needing more support services is valid, and VICTIMS, especially male, must be foremost in that planning. On that, a neochristian church has won a High Court appeal against a ruling that it was vicariously liable for alleged sexual abuse by a priest, which is disappointing, but two survivors of alleged past child sex abuse have won a High Court battle to sue for compensation, and another church leader’s global leader has quit over incompetent handling of child abuse allegations (disturbingly, one of those who may select a replacement also failed to act on this CSA). 

Good evidence is important, such as this expert advice that there IS evidence of harm to children from social media, but there is a very telling comment about that proposal, which is that the government needs to listen to children and agree to a duty of care bill on the climate crisis. 

In the “bad evidence” camp, a fake accounts on a notorious social media platform have been used to meddle in elections in Ghana.

More positively, the UK has set an example of good decision-making with regard to the climate crisis, seaweed farming is helping adaptation in Kenya, and enhanced geothermal energy is being used more;   a sporting club, an author, more academics, and a major newspaper have left a notorious social media platform;   an Aboriginal led anti-DV programme in the NT has received funding;   and   Australia has backed a UN resolution  acknowledging the permanent sovereignty of Palestinians. 

 

 

On the resistance to the reign of Tr_ mp 2.Ø:

  • if the wheels of justice turn too slowly, their turning is a meaningless sham or illusion.
    Justice is meant to be prompt, and thus, for example waiting more than five years of death row is considered cruel and inhumane punishment by most of the world, the inability of electoral officials here to act against breaches of the electoral act on the day of elections has been criticised (including by me), and the are time limits for many crimes. 
    And Tr_ mp has won against the USA    ’s     farcical “justice” system ... 
    See:   “Tr_ mp hush-money judge delays ruling on whether to throw out conviction”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/12/tr_ mp-hush-money-conviction-presidential-immunity   “Postponement follows numerous successful attempts to delay case in which he was convicted on 34 felony counts”      
  • some very sound thinking and commentary in this - along the lines of the result shows who the USA really is (see from 4:36), that Biden should have stuck to one term so someone genuinely progressive could have been chosen early by the US Democratic Party, the power and value of unions - and of nonviolent resistance (from 11:05 - and also from 14:44; diversity of people & forms of action are needed, but authoritarians are getting better organised at resisting resistance - which leads in to the importance of community [from 13:33]):   “The US Chose Fascism. Where Do We Go From Here?”   https://youtu.be/9q7Bd-C_4-o   

Here are some llinks that might of interest or value:

  • “Responding To: Why White Sage (Smudging) Is a Closed Practise | Learn Something New”   https://youtu.be/5MoF7FU4nas   This is an excellent explanation - and includes some relatively recent discriminatory laws      
  • “How attaching kinship to land can help biodiversity | Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen | TEDxTralee”   https://youtu.be/0R-2Cj3Kous   “Rune is a Danish Historian of Religion. He uses current anthropology to outline how white people can draw inspiration from indigenous thinking to understand themselves and navigate environmental collapse in non-exploitative ways”   and for an illustration of the sorts of problems (invasive species, monoculture, lack of natural chaos, etc) to be dealt with see:   “The Dark Truth of Scotland's Forests”   https://youtu.be/W8FP8UnziJI      
  • a thoughtful commentary on the transphobic backlash - “it’s a form of ‘respectable bigotry’ because it’s a soft target where a lack of legal protections currently exists and you can legally attack minorities”;   
  • “A Massive Study of 16,000 Participants in 23 Countries Finds People Are More Prejudiced Against Trans Women Than Trans Men”   https://drdevonprice.substack.com/p/a-massive-study-of-16000-participants   “Are we ready to take transmisogyny seriously yet??”   A powerful, excellent analysis of a transphobic investigation - which nevertheless has some redeeming value      
  • also from YouTube:
    • this explains many problems I have encountered with online adjudications:   “Factcheckers often 'young kids' who misunderstand experts, Prof Anne Twomey tells inquiry”   https://youtu.be/wKNqU6yST3U   (The Guardian)   “Constitutional law expert Prof Anne Twomey says social media platforms tend to outsource their fact-checking to young people fresh out of university who often misunderstand the experts they are relying on. 'They're taking on this really important role of making a decision that will lead Meta or Google or whatever to make decisions about what is true and what is false, when the factchecker themselves hasn't properly understood what the experts have said,' she says”    

    • from YouTube and elsewhere on neurodivergence: 

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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).
 
#PsychicABetterWorld   and      and may all that I do be of value and actively BPM used for and by the nonphysical  BPM  
 
Copyright © Kayleen White 2007-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-ShareAlike basis https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/   

 



 

 

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