[Note: Content Warning - links to reports on oppression/bigotry/hate, violence/abuse/war. Reader discretion is advised]
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/.
“Moral failure” has been a bit of a theme this week, beginning with the failure to agree on a plastics convention, and including H_______h and Israeli ceasefire violations in Lebanon, the bullying by M_ sk, the US state of Texas hiding deaths resulting from its abortion-and-“also-usable-procedures” ban and attempts in the US legal system to kill trans kids, the USA ignoring the massive problem of melting permafrost as concerns are raised about charges against climate protestors, US republicans voting to NOT release an ethics report, a US police officer accused of SA of black women over decades has died by suicide rather than face trial, a warning of Tr_ mp’s use of distraction “as his GOONS act IN SILENCE” - and see also this, Australian Border Force have been criticised by the Ombudsman for injecting ex-detainee with drug during deportation (the article also details failures to follow procedures), social media platforms are throttling access to news, a warning about phone spyware surveillance as a major US cyberhack and data theft is blamed on China and an Australian MP committee seeks surveillance powers that our intelligence services HAVE NOT ASKED FOR, the Northern Territory government in Australia trying to overturn a legal requirement to provide safe drinking water to Indigenous communities (which strikes me as verging on genocidal - and that government is also failing to act on DV killings) and a WA public servant afraid to call out racism because of an appalling work culture, a climate denialist has been committing in more conspiracy fantasies, a real estate agent has failed to properly secure the personal identity documents of renters, NSW planning to scrap community justice centres and evidence that NSW police failed to learn from a previous Taser killing, are ignoring laws about diversion programmes to continue committing active authoritarian style harm (and NSW is ignoring expert recommendations on managing drugs as the UN warns of the complete failure of the “war on drugs” amathia), and had to settle a case for prolonged abuse of a transwoman - as an inadequate sentence is provided to a pair of n__-n_az_s, defence against SA cases relies on r_ pe myths, concerns about how men are raised, animal activists racially vilified the leader of an Indigenous group, conservative media falsehoods about a so-called exclusive that was actually a paid advertorial, wrong business claims about which state is best in Australia, RBA errors about fighting inflation, and Australia is arguing AGAINST international law measures to address the climate crisis - as is the USA.
The USA is at risk of probably one of the larger moral failures of late - although a moral failure not as severe as the climate crisis: the risk of potential civil war ...
South Korea also showed both moral failure, with that nation’s president arbitrarily declaring martial law, and moral courage despite the shock, and that nation’s Parliament, MPs, and people resistance leading to the order being rescinded and the president facing impeachment (which will be resisted by the ruling party, but police are also investigating). This also provided a useful example for the USA - see also this ... and this, from Georgia, and this excellent and inspiring analysis and recommendations from the USA by a Ukrainian-American.
There has also been a violent, antisemitic act of hate with an arson attack on a synagogue in my home city.
This week has also seen over 100 Jewish peace activists stage a sit-in protest inside a parliamentary building to demand Canada stop arming Israel, resistance to racism in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Germany has returned ancestral remains that were “taken” in the early 1800s, an interesting analysis of and counter to short term thinking, the The European Federation of Journalist deciding to exit eX-Twitter, a corrupt abusive practice by TSA at US airports has been stopped, the Supreme Court has thrown out parts of a mining company’s ‘embarrassing’ case against an activist - but considers what is left should proceed to trial, a conviction for SA in Ireland - and Australia’s defence forces very belatedly realising they should have been sacking those convicted of sexual assault (and a cautionary note about behaviour at end of year work functions), proposals in Australia to protect people against scam texts and rent to buy, a debt company ceasing to exist for circumventing a ban, moves to reduce the risk of children entering out-of-home care in NSW, and Australia developing a moral backbone and changing our official stance of more than two decades to split with the USA and back a UN resolution demanding an end to Israel occupation of Palestinian territories, and denying a right wing provocateur Israeli a visa (whilst allowing an Israeli general who an official representative in), as the UN emphasises that peace and security in West Asia can only be achieved through dialogue, mutual recognition and a commitment to a just, comprehensive, and lasting solution based on international law - all done as a human rights organisation definitively declares Israel’s actions in Gaza to be genocide, with some comments pointing out the need for judicial decisions on this.
And a very noteworthy article this week is: “Australia and much of the world is on the cusp of profound change. What happens next is up to us” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/01/australia-and-much-of-the-world-is-on-the-cusp-of-profound-change-what-happens-next-is-up-to-us This article compares Australia in 1964, when Donald Horne’s book “The Lucky Country” (goodreads, Penguin) was published (and the nation-state Australia’s failure to develop a native space industry then is comparable to the nation-state Australia’s failure to become a powerhouse exporter of renewable energy over the last couple of decades - not to mention the nation-state Australia’s failure to match the innovations of the First Peoples of this island-continent, IMO - and the nation-state Australia’s follow-the-leader adoption of neoliberalism is a further example of mediocre leadership/management), with Australia now - and argued that Australia and the world globally now are on the edge of major change, but “... if it is the beginning of a period of autocracy, new methods of transformational advocacy, already modelled by the community independents, we will need to reassert the best of humanity; signing online petitions will not be enough.” Definitely some good food for thought in that article - on several matters.
See also this insightful opinion on democracy, and these suggestions on improved reporting of politics. Also note that financial insecurity and pressure, together with anxiety, social isolation, and loneliness, are showing in record demands on phone counselling services in Australia ...
In international matters, Türkiye has said the opportunist attack on Aleppo in Syria (with a response - including Russian forces - that includes bombing hospitals) was the result of the Assad regime failing to engage with the “opposition” (noting there are multiple opposition groups - some quite flawed), rather than Iranian influence; there is a vast and growing division between the “haves” and the “have nots” in the Arab world; there is a growing risk of Australians abroad being detained and ‘used as pawns’ by rogue nations; Australia has increased its police assistance to the Solomon Islands; China’s influence in Africa is increasingly militarised; rebels have made unexpected and significant gains in Syria - threatening Assad’s regime, but also putting dreams of Kurdistan again at risk; and in Africa China has adopted the EU approach of no tariffs for least developed nations.
On human matters, there is some very good analysis, commentary on background, and perspective on Biden’s pardon of his son here, here, and here, and an interesting suggestion that Biden should go further and pre-emptively pardon all those who Trump intends to target (although that, and the current pardon, can also clearly be used by Trump) - which is reportedly now under consideration, and a key whistleblower.
I started this with moral failure: it is worth considering that everything we do, fail to do, or actively decide to NOT do contributes to the moral soup of the society we live in, and, to some extent the world.
The personal IS political ...
On the resistance to the reign of Tr_ mp 2.Ø:
- everything in my candles with the label (Blogger version of hashtags) #PsychicABetterWorld - Viva La Résistance à Tr_ mp! (may all resistance be non-violent and BPM properly informed of and responsive to legitimate grievances that led to this situation);
- “Post Election Boundaries | A Therapist's Advice on Protecting Your Peace” https://youtu.be/CimXwVryXBQ I strongly endorse this - far right wingers are a threat to life and limb, including of those close to them, and, as James Baldwin put it, “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist”.
Here are some llinks that might of interest or value:
- “I gave up bulk buying – and changed my attitude to money | Emma Brockes | The Guardian” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/05/i-gave-up-bulk-buying-and-changed-my-attitude-to-money An excellent reflection on the sort of consumerism that was part of what Aldous Huxley warned against in “A Brave New World”
- this week’s “afterlife report” by the Zammits:
https://www.victorzammit.com/December6th2024/
- also from YouTube:
- “Company hires 1 cat for every 3 human employees” https://youtube.com/shorts/-oGoAeou-QE The comment on better motivation and rest breaks is excellent management!
- from YouTube and elsewhere on neurodivergence:
- “ADHD diagnosis & labels” https://youtube.com/shorts/_czR0Uz_l14 An excellent comment and perspective
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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)..jpg)
