Political change

I was talking with a friend about politics recently, and we started speculating about what we would do if we had a time machine. I was a bit stunned when he said one politician in our nation should have been assassinated before he came into power. I should have explained why I disagreed then, but was a bit too stunned to do so, but I want to explain why such violence is never justified:

• two wrongs - and such a murder, as all assassinations are, is inherently WRONG - don't make a right. If that event had happened, everything that happened after that would have been tainted - the means shape the end; 
• killing someone like that turns them into a martyr, and thus further entrenches their hardline supporters - which just splits society further; and 
• quite apart from their hardline supporters, such people come into power in a democracy because people vote for them: if you prevent the situation happening, you just hide the underlying flaws until some future time. Better to deal with the underlying problems - and that includes educating everyone so they are not duped by fake news or biased/misleading news outlets.

One of my biggest fears is that some utter moron will try to physically harm POTUS45. Even an unsuccessful attempt would be enough to make at least the first two points above major problems in the USA, and would give the next president following that a poisoned chalice to deal with.

As the great Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed it:

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral. Returning violence with violence only multiplies violence, add deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.

Achieving change through democratic means is hard work - and work that has to be repeated or maintained for at least three generations, in some cases, but, in the long term, is the only way to make changes for decency that are lasting.

Cross posting: Post No. 1,524 - Friendships at a time of stress

This originally appeared on my main blog at https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2020/03/post-no-1524-friendships-at-time-of.html.

I did an interview today for the Trans Day of Visibility. In that, one question was about what group had been most supportive: my answer was - my friends.

In the course of transitioning, I found a few people I had thought were friends weren't - and I was reminded of that by a Tweet today, in which someone had called out a hoarder, and been blocked as a result.

In that instance, the hoarder had shown they weren't a decent person. The hoarder had decided to end the "friendship", and I agree with those who consider it an acceptable loss - and it will be a double loss, both of whatever  was good about their interactions, as well as the loss of illusions about the person concerned.

I was, however, staggered by those who supported the hoarder.

It is times like this that people's true colours show through: some shine, some don't.

I'm pleased that my friends, some family and some family of choice, have shone.

PS - that evening I re-watched the film "Pride", and was deeply moved - as always with that film (especially the ending). However, I've now got the wonderful song "Bread and Roses" running through my mind . . . could be worse - and I'm certainly not going to try the trick of singing the British anthem to kill that earworm.  

Cross posting: Post No. 1,522 - In this week’s news

This was originally posted on my main blog at https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2020/03/post-no-1521-in-this-weeks-news.html.

Stay safe - wash your hands, practice social distancing, and follow informed medical advice - and be considerate towards those at risk or in situations of vulnerability (including economic) while the COVID-19 pandemic is a problem.

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.

Content Warning: the linked articles and their descriptions here may be about violence, abuse, hate, and other problems.

My articles this week include:   an article on a psychic exercise for others’ wellbeing that I will be using during the pandemic.

This week:   the need to improve online teaching at Universities;   the problem of mis-remembering warnings against fake news as an endorsement of the fake news;   “The coronavirus exposed America’s authoritarian turn - independent expertise always dies first when democracy recedes”.

In the environmental arena:   Indonesia’s plastic and other wastes problem;   a third mass bleaching event in the Great Barrier Reef;   thoughts on improving marine parks;   camels may become key in animal husbandry (but please consider vegetarianism or, better yet, veganism);   with 90% of protected forests in the east of my home state devastated, calls to bring forward the phasing out of logging;   last summer’s bushfires caused at least 400 extra deaths;   confirmation of the blindingly obvious: electric cars ARE BETTER for the environment (some ****wits claimed manufacturing GHGs were more significant than a lifetime of usage);   a call to reduce water use;   an alternative to intensive farming;   wind power has increased by 20% over the last year;   Europe’s green deal “still matters”;   “fossil-fuel giant Russia tiptoes towards [a] low-carbon future”.

On human and animal rights:
   shipping containers have been turned into affordable homes in Spain;
   the (1995) concept of “stereotype threat” - “where people feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about groups that they identify as belonging to”;
   prejudice is stopping qualified disabled people get jobs;
   how to improve the home rental market for older people;
   Egypt is disappearing and torturing children;   after more than a year of abusing him in detention, China will now charge an Australian man - and possibly execute him;   continued oppression of West Papuan activists by Indonesia;
   reflections on institutional bias (sexism);
   Singapore is easing its anti-pet stance to allow some rescue dogs;
   thoughts on ensuring human control over autonomous weapons.
trafficking/slavery/child abuse matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   Italy (an arrest),   the Internet;
LGBTIQ+ matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   USA (more transphobia).

In the governance, politics, and society arena:   the clarity of New Zealand’s Prime Minister’s communication is a major asset;   staggering hypocrisy by a neoliberal government minister;   a critique of conservatives’ lies;   the Australian neoliberal “government” will have to repay half a billion dollars over the Robodebt catastrophe . . . I wonder how they’re going to make up for the people driven to suicide by their viciousness? And how do those who carried the policy out sleep at night?;   the responses to the current COVID-19 pandemic show the ALP’s response to the GFC was right;   months after the start, Australia’s public service has been asked to get ready for the pandemic . . . .

On disasters this week:   Croatia experienced an earthquake while under COVID-19 lockdown;   survivors of a cyclone a year ago are still without help.

Risks of atrocities this week in:   Yemen, South Sudan, Mali.

Internationally:   “Women in rural Kyrgyzstan bring change through water, technology and better infrastructure”;   North Korea has fired  more ballistic missiles (for internal distraction?);   two aid workers have been murdered in Yemen;   a former Tibetan political prisoner has died of ill health caused by abuse by his Chinese captors;   concerns about Nepal’s attempt to control (suppress?) NGOs;   some Russians are standing up to Putin;   concerns about gang violence in New Zealand;   a call for the 1994 Israel-Jordan treaty to be revived, despite evil influences of POTUS45 (and others);   there is a possibility that two violent extremist groups could join together;   protests have resumed in Hong Kong;   as deaths still occur in Kandahar, the Afghan government and misogynistic violent extremists are communicating by internet over the “peace” deal - see here over what could happen if the USA pulls out before a peace deal is in place, including what could influence those options;   an eastern European regional scheme, akin to China’s BRI, that would improve that region’s situation, but also balance out Russia’s threat and Turkey’s influence;   a prediction the war in Libya will “haunt” the “blinkered” West;   Turkey has charged 20 Saudis over the gruesome murder of a journalist;   the US has made a stupid attempt to topple Maduro in Venezuela, rather than focusing on the people’s needs;   the pandemic may bring peace to Yemen, with a ceasefire agreed for now by the various parties;   China has said it wants better relations with the USA;   Taiwan is less likely to reunify with mainland China following the stuff ups over COVID-19.

In Africa:   an Australian woman who spend six decades helping women in Ethiopia has passed away;   Uganda has its first COVID-19 case;   a second  round of locusts;   fatalities in violence as Guinea tries to vote in a referendum;   the dispute over the Nile dam is spreading;   opportunities for South Africa to resume taking a lead in the quest for peace;   an opposition leader in Mali has been kidnapped;   the COVID-19 pandemic will affect future politics;   a coronavirus ceasefire in Cameroon.

On COVID-19 (seven major risks to watch here):   Greta Thunberg has pointed out the pandemic has shown that the world CAN react quickly;   thoughts on how the world will be different after the pandemic;
   good stories of people coming together: here, Spain, teddy bear hunts for children, here;   some people are enjoying more home time;   a free Pagan colouring-in book;   free online courses;
   medical aspects: an EXCELLENT  diagram placing COVID-19 in context with other diseases;   there is a possibility of acquiring an immunity - and thus not contracting this twice;   kids and young people can and do contract this - and some do die;   details of more missed warnings are emerging - such as this 2015 book;   the WHO has called for public health measures beyond lockdowns (identify all those with the SARS-CoV-2 virus) to prevent a future resurgence;   actions must reach everyone - including minorities;   the pandemic is still accelerating;   the coming post-COVID-19 “pandemic of severe depression and anxiety that will sweep over the world as the unemployment rate pushes into previously unseen digits, families who’d prefer to be socially distant are thrust together and young people are denied the certainty and structure of school”;   some idiot nurses think they are a substitute for family when a patient dies;   a comparison of approaches;   a pre-pandemic examination of contagion risks in cities . . . ;   “flattening the curve” means ultimately 60% infected and a herd immunity to prevent a recurrence as opposed to the attempted eradication being attempted in New Zealand;   Germany’s lower death rate may be connected to higher nurse ratios;
   on human rights aspects: a health insurance company is trying to exclude people with COVID-19;   UN Women is monitoring the impact on women and girls - and, sadly, from past events this is likely to be severe - including in Asia;   far right extremists are trying to weaponise the virus;   the gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous people still applies;   the lockdown is exposing the digital divide;   more concerns about a possible permanent loss of digital privacy;   the risk of a freedom backslide;   terrifying details collected by “smart” phones;   another article on the looming disaster in refugee camps in morally backward Greece - and problems generally in Europe;   authoritarian (despotic?) Cambodia - and Thailand and Egypt -  is using the pandemic as an excuse to further restrict free speech;   missionaries are putting isolated tribes at risk;   Qatar’s migrant workers are being locked into a camp;   two US states are trying to use the pandemic to stop forms of health care and to implement  discrimination;   Hungary is also using the pandemic as an excuse to further crush freedom;   Norway’s workers objected to paying for the lockdown - and won;   the holding of an election in Singapore is at risk;   a call for physical distancing to also include time separation;   a reminder that civil rights suppressions to manage COVID-19 must be temporary;
   resources: rental assistance resources at here, here, and here;   why we make poor ethical decisions, and how to manage that;   a site to debunk myths;   suggestions for business leaders;   what banks are doing;   rules in various (Australian) states here;   relief packages - see also here, info on delays here;
   Australia: as my nation passes a milestone moment, my home state is providing home deliveries for those who cannot get out, but also creating a police taskforce (see here on militarisation, which does NOT help with crime and sets up barriers with members of the public). We could control the outbreak by July if most people stayed home;   we have a historical precedent for banning evictions;   more changes to Centrelink rules but Australia’s vicious neoliberal government PLANNED to NOT tell welfare recipients when they were cut off . . . ;   two Australian states are acting ahead of the national government, but schools are still a point of confusion;   internal states are closing their borders - which is legal, in this instance;   after this, the airline industry will be different;   more stimulus of Australia’s economy - but Parliament has to sit to enable this to happen, and analysis here;   a billionaire is bragging about “doing a roaring trade” the community (comments I’ve seen on social media suggest his reputation has sunk lower as a result, and several people are vowing to avoid his companies);   responses in Australia would be discriminatory if the Mediaeval Theocracy Re-establishment bill proposed by the Morrison “government” was in force;   temporary visa holders need help;   some prisoners need to be released;   rapid testing has been approved;   house prices could fall;   the issuing of refunds will be watched;   some prisoners will be released;   a call for the data to be made public;   the arrogance, selfishness and stupidity of some students - and those in the elitist schools;   farmers in remote areas are having to drive for eight hours to get enough supplies because of supermarket rules;   disabled people may wind up dying in poverty;   Israeli anti-Palestinian acts are threatening public health;   criticism of how Australia is handling compulsory isolation;
   internationally: a call to end to sanctions on Iran to allow the pandemic to be effectively fought (there is bloody-mindedness on both sides there);   Germany is banning groups of more than two;   doctors in Russia are making accusations of a government coverup;   a catastrophe is looming in Europe’s biggest refugee camp;   an Italian town has shown the benefit of mass testing - and a call for wider testing in Australia;   industry in India - where social ostracism is becoming a problem but social isolation conditions are being tightened, although that is IMPOSSIBLE for the poor and a catastrophe is looming -  wants a stimulus package;   tens of thousands of tribal workers in India have had to walk hundreds of km to get home (state disaster funds will now be used for them);   actions in Sri Lanka;   Venezuela has arrested a journalist who was reporting on the pandemic;   “Israel’s caging of Gaza is a recipe for coronavirus disaster”;   as young black men are being found dead are being disappeared by police, Brazilians have been protesting the “muddled” response of their despotic Trump-lite “leader”;   doctors in the war-torn northwest of Syria are bracing for the pandemic;   Israel - which is still struggling to form a government (those in power are putting staying in power ahead of democracy . . . and have now moved away from a unity government to the old conservative despotism), against  background of concerns about democracy and a court order to the Speaker to respect democracy - will shift some prisoners to home detention, is considering a tighter lockdown - focusing on the elderly, and is looking at 25% unemployment (the USA, which now has a larger economic package, might reach 30%);   Italy continues to suffer, with a death rate higher than China’s, but Germany’s is low;   the USA is misdirecting funds to the clueless POTUS45’s wall project;   Spain - where the last survivor of the 1918-19 flu epidemic has urged people to be careful - has declared a State of Emergency;   Singapore has closed its borders;    against a background of some doubt (caution?) over whether it has beaten the virus (it has closed its border to more categories of people), China has started trials of a possible vaccine;   rough sleepers in London have been given hotel rooms;   POTUS45 is showing more signs of being a ****wit - yet again;   anger in Italy at “lockdown dodgers;   the olympics are likely to be postponed;   Malaysia may increase its lockdown and stimulus measures;   China has upped its spat with the USA over journalism;   as water shutoffs are paused in the USA, the lockdown is raising concerns about water shortages in Jordan - and the ability to wash hands globally;   mixed responses in Africa (Mali, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Nigeria), where COVID-19 cases have included peacekeeping troops and young people with HIV will bear the brunt, and “public distrust hampers Africa fight against virus misinformation”;   concerns about Mexico;   lockdown in UK - and a call for volunteers (our local MP here in Australia made a similar call a couple of weeks ago);   Singapore is working with six nations to maintain the flow of goods;   gangs in Brazil are imposing a lockdown;   Germany’s aid package includes the arts;   a list of US policy responses;   “preppers” are feeling vindicated;   another large Australian company is abusing its workers;   civic technology helped Taiwan;   parts of the US have banned evictions;   an opinion that POTUS45’s “narcissism” has cost lives;
   globally: a call for a global ceasefire to allow the pandemic to be addressed - which has already happened in Libya;   the global economic impact as nearly one billion people are confined to their homes - and maybe a recovery in 2021;   big government may be back - certainly the provision of services is being appreciated;   a comparison of economic responses;   the UN will create a global fund for developing nations;   the risks facing delivery drivers - who are now crucial;   the US culture of arrogance and selfishness is contributing to their incompetence;   a detailed criticism of the US economic response;   another call for UBI;   Mexico wants to stop Americans coming in over the latter’s health risks.

On personal / spiritual matters:   thoughts on maintaining spiritual practice during the COVID-19 pandemic;   from historical precedents, keeping a plague diary;   a long article (I haven’t finished it yet) on considerateness;   an Australian Indigenous approach to healing: “listening in silence”;   an article on shielding which is similar to what I use.

Reading I found interesting this week included:   “for the full life experience, put down all devices and walk".

Cross-posting: Post No. 1,519 - In this week’s news

This originally appeared on my main blog at https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2020/03/post-no-1518-in-this-weeks-news.html. 

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.

Content Warning: the linked articles and their descriptions here may be about violence, abuse, hate, and other problems.

My articles this week include:   a prediction that Kamala Harris could be Joe Biden’s candidate for VP, if Biden becomes the US Democratic party’s nominee;   an update on my colour breathing work,   “More on dreams and protection”;   “The Timing/Timeliness of Interventions”.

This week:   the need to start talking about human security;   “the challenges of intercultural marriages”;   as prevention pills are provided to more people, a 2^nd patient had been cured of AIDS;   female sports players also suffer endometriosis;   the 2020 World Happiness Report has been released, and shows Finland at the top (Australia is 12^th, New Zealand 8^th, and sadly Uganda is 126^th; Benin has made the most improvement over the last decade, New Zealand at 72^nd has made a slight improvement, Ugandan at 88^th has gone slightly backwards and Australia at 98^th has also gone backwards - Venezuela is worst on this aspect, followed by Afghanistan [in terms of cities, Helsinki tops the list with Windy Wellington 3^rd, my home city is 14^th, [Sydney is 20^th - ha!, but Brisbane is 10^th - darn] - significantly, Kabul, Sanaa, Gaza and Pot-au-Prince are at the bottom of that list] ), there is a lot of insight, including on inequality and environment, and the report is well worth a read.

In the environmental arena:   a government department failed to warn of contamination;   more warnings on the climate crisis;   unburnt koala habitat is being logged;   a legal challenge to a controversial mine over not using a “water trigger”;   reduced travel etc from responses to the COVID-19 pandemic may help the environment;   someone else also thinks we should approach the climate crisis as if it is World War Three;   more problems with Australia’s nuclear industry;   the US Pentagon says the climate crisis could overwhelm the US military within decades;   reshaping infrastructure;   roads through the Amazon would also cause billions of dollars of economic losses;   Venice’s canals, free of tourists, are clear;   gas exploration has been approved in my home state;   more greenery helps people sleep;   rising sea threats in Tunisia;   green guidance in prayers in Afghanistan.

On human and animal rights:
   a Chinese social media app tried to filter out “ugly” people;
   nine years of atrocities in Syria - where small humanitarian groups are making a difference;   new allegations of war crimes - and a culture of cover-up - by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan;   a past far right propaganda is banned and charges are laid against a far right violent extremist, reformed former far right extremists urge starving extremists of conflict and attention; (we have no right wing organisations on our list of violent extremist organisations . . . );
   Greece continues to find new lows to sink to in its abuse of refugees;
   a call in my home state - which is setting up a redress scheme for the Stolen Generations - for the return of Indigenous remains;   “how ancient traditions became a core national custom in little over 20 years”;   racism makes children physically ill;
   “more support needed for victims of sexual abuse by UN personnel”;   “the Law Council of Australia has called for the abandonment of a federal parliamentary inquiry [sic] into the family law system, citing concerns that the hearings are ‘being used for political purposes’ to undermine domestic violence claims made by women” (by a nasty right wing party);   violence in Mexico may be worse than we think;   more women candidates in Vanuatu’s elections;   MeToo in Namibia;
   a mobile anti-slavery group in Brazil has had to stop its operations;
   a “West Saharan group [has taken a] New Zealand superannuation fund to court over ‘blood phosphate’ ”;
   COVID-19 has exposed more problems of the neoliberal government’s Mediaeval Theocracy Re-Establishment Bill;   Sufi sites in Libya have been destroyed by both sides;
   “transgender adults with gender-affirming IDs have lower prevalence of serious psychological distress and suicidal ideas”;   calls for action (an email campaign) to support an artist-activist in Russia;
   the importance of individual privacy, and one tool to help achieve that as a browser improves their protection;
   the greyhound industry should pay to rehouse “slow” greyhounds;
   yet another airline has failed on disabled access. 

Immigration and refugee matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   Europe (hope border brutality will keep them away),   Libya,   South Sudan,   resettlement of refugees has been put on hold because of COVID-19;
trafficking/slavery/child abuse matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   Australia,   Samoa,   India;
LGBTIQ+ matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   Australia,   Hong Kong,   Indonesia; and
other matters (good and bad) have occurred in:   India (against sexism).

In the related human rights arena of employment:   responses to COVID-19 may help introduce more flexibility;   Indian workers are protesting digital surveillance.

In the governance, politics, and society arena:   inequality means public money is funding an “arms race” between elitist private schools;   Australia’s gas industry has been accused of deceiving the Australian government;   “Fox News is poisoning America. Rupert Murdoch and his heirs should be shunned”;   as independent journalism learns to survive in the Union of Soviet Socialist Russia, an opinion that Putin has too many enemies and dependent cronies to be able to retire;   regional cities lack access to most services;   an analysis of an apology for a defamatory opinion written by a controversial “men’s rights activist”, and the journalist who was attacked;   a complaint to my home state’s anti-corruption body over a rail project;   after two years, farmers are still waiting for bushfire compensation;   the need for policy to match technology;   Russia is trying to tap undersea cables, as have others over the years;   a whistleblower was victimised;   the insecurity of an internet voting app.

On disasters this week:   more bushfire recovery aid;   a cyclone is forming off Madagascar.

Risks of atrocities this week in:   North Korea, the Central African Republic, and Burundi.

On humanitarian aid:   a growing crisis in Cameroon.

Internationally:   Israel has killed its 10,000^th Palestinian since 2000, an unarmed 15 year old boy killed by a sniper;   Israel is attempting to form a centrist government (bye bye Bibi?);   a communal eco-village for Arab, Kurdish, and Yazidi women who were victims of Da’esh;   the Nigerian mafia is muscling in on the Italian mafia;   an examination of still troubled Burundi;   more on the Nile Dam problem;   decisive action by Spain’s King over questionable financial conduct in Spain’s royal family;   COVID-19 has made Argentina’s attempts to reschedule its debt harder;   Modi’s policies have entrenched religious divides;   growing risks in Yemen again;   Taiwan’s jets have had to warn off intruding jets from mainland China;   parallels between India’s regressive policies on citizenship - and “last month’s deadly riots in Delhi were a state-sponsored pogrom” - and abuses in burma;   COVID-19 is making the USA’s hardline approach to Iran look unsustainable - and that losing the recent elections may ultimately be good for centrists-reformists in Iran.

In Africa:   a “killer lake” is being used to generate power as it is gradually made safer;   funds are raised to pay an opposition politician’s questionable fines in Tanzania;   intimidation of voters in Nigeria;   Ivory Coast’s President will NOT seek a third term;   claims of an assassination attempt of the opposition leader in Cameroon;   Malawi has sacked the army chief who had anti-government protestors protected, but a new opposition party has been announced;   urban gardens in South Africa;   Kenya is using a military general to address corruption;   COVID-19 has triggered xenophobia, particularly in Ethiopia;   desperate Nigerian doctors have gone on strike as COVID-19 cases rise;   locusts remain a threat to millions;   30 years after independence, Namibia faces a troubled future.

On COVID-19, which could last a long time:
   the destruction of habitats and “bush tucker”/exotic animal trade and markets has allowed Lassa (which has just killed 161 people in Nigeria) and dengue fever, Ebola, HIV, SARS, bird flu, and now COVID-19 to emerge: other zoonotic  diseases may yet be coming;
   an ongoing podcast is keeping people up to date (but NO-ONE is saying how people in quarantine get food), myth busting, and a potential victim of COVID-19 begs for her life (I have family members in this situation);   an epidemiologist thought the comments around “herd immunity” were satire;   a call for an eight to twelve week shut down;   an understanding gained of how the body’s immune system fights COVID-19;   there are gender differences in the effects of COVID-19;   a warning domestic violence - including against LGBTIQ+ people - will rise;   as Senegal goes to home schooling via TV, conflicting  messages on schools (with one being spectacularly stupid) where social distancing is impossible, but a trusted expert says close them;   clarification of terminology (a report that some home quarantine is being used to keep resources free);   concerns at a disconnect between medical actions/advice and what the government is saying to the community;   another expert article on flattening the curve - without which, millions could die;   advice on handling food - including for markets;   how South Korea got on top of this;
   China - which a Reuters exclusive reports monitored Hong Kong protestors - is moving  closer to world leadership on the strength of US ineptness;   near total shut downs in Israel, France, Spain, Malaysia, several major retailers, and    stronger measures in New Zealand, West Asia, Australia (including restricting indoor gatherings and banning all overseas travel, and blocking arrivals), Canada, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia (also this);   a mixed bag on how Africa is responding to this;   Egypt has arrested protestors calling for action on the COVID-19 pandemic;
   as calls are made to respect human rights but Israel has moved to mass unsupervised surveillance, an article on “coronacracy” - see also this series of opinions;   health data is NOT secure;
   as Kenya sets up handwashing stations, the need for “smart health spending in developing countries”;   impacts on humanitarian crises;   the arrogance and other attitude problems that allowed COVID-19 to spread in the West;   calls for more testing in Europe;   a call to better analyse available data (funding is needed);   advice for those with health anxiety;   hoarding is underway;   racism;   face masks are seen differently in different cultures, which is a problem (as has been the case while people close to me undergo cancer treatment, which suppresses immune systems);   social inequality;   some positive  community responses, including online support;   guidance for those wanting to establish online groups;   as human trials get underway, the USA is trying to keep a German vaccine to itself;   care packages to the elderly and vulnerable are finally being offered - now to get over the delivery problem;   the USA is belatedly using war powers to try to boost production of essential supplies;   assessments of Africa (a map of the spread) and the responses, and a reminder washing hands is not always possible;   war is complicating a response in Burundi;   the pandemic is affecting protests in Algeria;   as Iran appears to be worse than admitted, densely populated India is doing better than almost all other nations (although there are privacy fears), and has promised compensation to the poor;   slum dwellers in South and Central America are at risk;   my home state has gone into a state of emergency, and is providing support for the homeless and vulnerable, as well as businesses, but, concerningly, is allowing casinos to stay open;   Indigenous communities are at particular risk, as are the disabled;   regional Australia is preparing;   Australia has been accused of ignoring its Pacific neighbours;   commentary on using public transport (the company I work will allow people to travel in off-peak times);   calls for more aggressive action in south east Asia;   one US state is acting to prevent jails becoming COVID-19 petri dishes;   in a reverse of approaches elsewhere, some US power stations may ask workers to live at work to keep essential services going;   acts of kindness;   in a move that reminds me of this, the G7 will go to video conferencing;   South Africa has united;
   more financial relief in Singapore;   a massive support package in New Zealand;   “the G20 should tell the MDBs to boost crisis lending by $100 to $200 billion”;   Italy has suspended mortgages and household bills;   more financial downsliding;   the economic impact is worst for those who are out-of-sight;   Denmark will cover 75% of employees salaries if they are kept on - and the UK will now follow suit;   POTUS45 is enthusiastically considering adopting Andrew Yang’s proposed  UBI for the period of the COVID-19 pandemic . . . (many others have also proposed this, but apparently POTUS45 sought the advice of Mr Yang - who had been a Democratic Presidential candidate) - but see also this;   the USA is moving towards paid leave;   some deferrals of loan repayments in Australia;   live music venues in my home city may not survive;   calls to delay the sale of the .org domain;   Africa’s economies will be hit hard;   the impact will be worse than the GFC, and existing systems are struggling as the pandemic exposes the fragility of globalisation (which some people have been pointing out for years - and the CEO mentioned in the article is clearly a ****wit because of his attitude over inventory, as are all the other ****wits who have advocated over the years for “just in time” deliveries and removal of duty-standby units and all the other things that ignore risks, the real world and humanness - and also: “climate shocks in just one country could disrupt global food supply”). On the other hand, living costs could come down;
   and a history of toilet paper, and an article pointing out that introverts are pre-adapted for a lockdown (I have to say I am bemused by the panic of stopping people be bored -but then I have two reading wish lists with hundreds of books, a stack of research and writing to do, and daily tasks that also keep me busy).

Reading I found interesting this week included:   a presentation on unconscious bias and human instincts;   an evolutionary missing link has been found (fish fingers - yum).