This is a new, very
cut down series of posts based on some observations on matters that struck a
personal note: unlike the former “Gnwmythr’s News”, it is not
trying to convey key events.
In the environmental
arena:
as Germany continues to successfully
shut down its coal industry and Australia’s
2019/20 climate bushfires are revealed to have
affected
75% of the population (although some of the bush is starting
to recover - and this
reviews the benefits of Royal Commissions),
a warning has been made that environmental laws are
more
fatal than the recent bushfires on Australia’s animals;
hail does
far
more damage than falling trees;
Australia’s opposition ALP commits
to the Paris targets (again) and no new
coal
mines;
a way to value urban
forests;
a call for a carbon price;
Singapore will
phase out petrol and diesel
vehicles by 2040.
In human rights: mass
graves from the civil war that ended in Burundi in 2005 are being
investigated;
Singapore has
(finally) taken some action against
domestic violence and India’s top court rebukes
that authoritarian nation’s
government over sexist stereotypes
(and meanwhile girls in a school are abused);
men in a sport react with
hysteria
to a sensible non-sexist suggestion;
sexual
abuse in the workplace
continues
to be unmanaged;
sexism in data
science is a
barrier
to women;
misogyny in
Cambodia;
my
home state has made reporting of child abuse mandatory
- to the chagrin of notorious religious organisations
(and a conservative
media personality has put
his foot in his mouth),
and started an education
campaign on autism;
a Thai coffee company will
repay farmers;
a survivor’s
appeal
to
use constructive language and images around
slavery;
LGBT
veterans are fighting for real equality and acceptance in Ukraine;
grandmothers are fighting back against Duterte encouraged
murderous thugs;
my nation has
idiotically
given legitimacy and credibility to the
genocidaires in burma;
the legacy of
Australia’s
slave trade (“blackbirding”) is still being felt - as is more recent
hypocrisy;
a
racist
terrorist
attack against Muslims in
Germany
is
not
labelled as such by mainstream media,
but is
strongly protested
by the public and other
actions are contemplated, as information
emerges over disturbing
multi-national
cooperation of white supremacists and anti-Semitism in
Belgium
and
Iran;
appalling
racist
bullying of a child at school as a child sexual abuse scandal at another
school
continues
to grow (guidance for parents here),
and Australia’s army
warns
soldiers against racist gestures
(the need to have to issue that warning is part
of why I don’t want military representing, or purporting to represent, my
nation) as
racist
degradation of education is highlighted;
a Chinese app may be
targeting
children;
police admit they
mishandled raids on media, but still remain
oblivious
to the broader chilling impact on the functioning of a democratic society;
Australia’s NDIS continues to draw flak -
suggestions on working through it
here;
an examination of US
(hypocritical) attitudes
towards
torture
over the last four centuries;
“
epistemic
injustice”
(a broader version of misogyny) was first identified by a
woman in the late 1600s;
a call to
not use
facial surveillance;
one Australian
state’s ex-servicepeople organisation ignores current practice elsewhere and
steps firmly back into the
racist
mid-20
th century;
Indonesia
considers
torturing LGBT people;
a tech company
is
trying to reduce
privacy protections on UK users
; Mexico takes action against femicides;
Brazil
keeps trying to steal
Indigenous peoples’ lands
.
Trafficking/slavery/child abuse matters
(good and bad) have occurred in:
Ethiopia;
LGBTIQ+ matters
(good and bad) have occurred in:
India and
China (good news);
and
other matters
(good and bad) have occurred in:
California (move to reduce [rough sleepers] homelessness).
In the related human
rights arena of employment: a
reminder
that protecting wages need more than only criminalising wage theft
.
In the governance,
politics, and society arena: duping people into “user pays” combined with
patriarchy now means child care is
more
expensive than the elitist private schools of the rich;
Australia’s Centrelink agency has made
yet
another stuff up causing massive trauma;
banks are
allowed
to continue to cause human beings problems;
the
stupidity
and human incompetence of some economists;
as our xenophobic hate
shifts
from boat people to plane people, the politician
who
voted to allow ongoing abuse of refugees wants voters to trust her - but
“understands” not trusting other politicians . . . ;
cyber incompetence and elections
don’t
mix;
one in eight Australians is
living in
poverty
(way to go alleged “good” economic managers - you’re like the reckless US republicans),
and the closure of a major manufacturing company has drawn
criticism
over past policies;
the USA’s Attorney General
has so annoyed people with his questionable conduct that a thousand former US
Justice Department employees called for him to
resign
- mind you, POTUS45
isn’t
helping.
Internationally: a
call has been made for a
solution
to tensions in the South China Sea;
COVID-19
continues to dominate
(with some possible
developments in treatment despite the relevant department in the WHO having major
problems, and the Chinese Communist Party postponing
its annual conference [couldn’t happen to a more deserving
despot] as it continues cybercrime,
becomes more
authoritarian
and launders
money [literally - but Australia
is not doing enough about the illegal money practice called money laundering],
but political,
racist,
and devastating economic
impacts spread - and another nation has evidently been lying);
a major
storm
in the UK - and
floods
in the USA;
progressive
trade
unions could play a role in elections in Hong Kong;
US aggression has given hardliners in Iran
an
electoral
boost;
Malaysia is seeking to
resolve
a fishing dispute with Viêt Nám;
in
Afghanistan,
the Taliban and the USA have reached an
agreement
on US withdrawal - now for actual peace, and I hope the misogynistic Taliban
and the USA’s Groper-in-Chief have not made this too misogynistic
. . . ;
thugs and gangs
are
threatening
Venezuela;
to confirm history rhymes, Russia
is trying to
undermine
the next US Presidential election - and I’d characterise the
US
Democrats that way too, at the moment;
Turkey has
asked
Europe for humanitarian aid in the area of Syria being cleansed by a
Russian-led Assad regime assault;
flash
floods in Indonesia have killed at least six people;
Thailand
continues
to attack democracy;
income
inequality is reducing but still present in Singapore;
Australia is
reviewing
its “commitment” to aid in Asia-Pacific;
Israel
continues
to expand its occupation of Palestinian (East) Jerusalem, although tensions
are
easing
with Gaza;
allegations
that POTUS45 tried to bribe Assange on the latter’s testimony;
questions
over foreign agents in my nation;
PNG
takes a
stand
for herself
.
In Africa:
optimism
is on the rise amongst Africa’s youth, but corruption, jobs, and
climate change
remain
concerns;
Lesotho’s Prime Minister
has
left
the nation - but “not” skipped the nation - and thus was not in court to
face murder charges;
as budget cuts
undermine
attempts to address poverty, the DR Congo continues to have a massive problem
with five million people
displaced
by war - and Cameroon
also
has many IDPs fleeing
violence
and
atrocities;
the India-Pakistan conflict finds
a
new arena;
the Philippines has
booted
the US military out - which will an impact on regional stability;
South Sudan’s civil war
totters
towards peace - again;
Libya’s warring
factions
resume
talks - again;
a feminist has been
released
from prison in Uganda after her sentence was quashed, and Uganda and Rwanda
ease
towards
resolving tensions, while tensions
grow
between Rwanda and the DRC;
Somalia
moves towards
elections,
while Togo raises
doubts
about its upcoming elections;
Ghana’s
President calls on the police to
improve
their reputation;
an
assessment
of the causes of conflict in Mozambique;
“revolutionary guards”
(?!) are trying to stop the
smuggling
of flour that started the recent, successful uprising in Sudan -
which has accepted
the primacy of peace agreements over the transitional constitution;
Algeria’s new President is
trying
to prevent a repeat of last year’s successful protests;
an
opinion
that Nigeria needs 100,000 more soldiers to defeat
violent
extremists - which really depends on how properly they
conduct
themselves (lessons of Viêt Nám etc), and whether other problems are
also addressed . . . and
others want fewer
small arms
(which is a good idea);
Russia’s
cyberwarfare (disinformation) has attacked Africa;
Morocco
suppresses
human rights;
the
EU has (rightly) renewed
the arms embargo against Zimbabwe and will more
stringently enforce
the arms embargo against Libya - where
unexploded
munitions is becoming a significant problem for civilians;
20 refugees were killed in a
stampede
in Niger;
Kenyan police have
killed eight people in poor
areas - several clearly without justification
(murder?), as
civilians
bear the brunt of operations against violent extremists;
the effects of the
locusts in Kenya -
and
South Sudan.
On personal /
spiritual matters: an
examination
of the shared links between religions/spiritual paths
.