This post originally appeared on my main blog at https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2020/09/post-no-1667-in-this-weeks-news.html.
***
Black Lives Matter!
Stay safe - wash your hands, practice social distancing and wear a
face mask in public, 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.
To counter despots, abuses of human
rights and incompetent governance, and enable responsible, inclusive and
participatory democracy, which is the ONLY sustainable basis for liberty and
freedom, all people must embrace, instead of fearing, uncertainty, and commit to clear and
objective/dispassionate thought, goodwill, and competence at being human,
including having emotions.
This is a new, very cut down series of news
aggregation 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. Also, being an Australian, I am now going to start
referring to specific Australian states using accepted abbreviations.
Editorial
comments / personal opinion by me in grey. “Quotes are shown
italicised and in quotation marks.”
Content Warning: the linked
articles and their descriptions here may be about violence, abuse, hate, and
other problems.
My Articles this week include: brief thoughts on policing
and changing
careers.
On Spiritual Matters: a goal to
change millions of lives through uncertainty training.
Reading/Viewing I
found interesting this week included:
a call for more
research on honesty.
Overall Commentary on this week’s news:
this week
has seen a fascist despot with minority support work at keeping power - using some
different (possible appointment of a Supreme Court judge) and some
similar (law and order) tools as, but from a similar starting point as,
Hitler, a judge in Australia describing the conduct of a government Minister as criminal (which
is subject to appeal), and other despots have been engaging in
similarly despicable behaviour - with the collaboration of conservative or
duped media. Also on their side, bigotry, too much of which is related to lack
of broad life experience, and too much of it fatal (or at least seriously
harmful), and apparent lack of accountability, ethics, or even caring in the
financial world. On the other hand, the week has also seen an exercise of
Ministerial responsibility, efforts to improve the situation of minorities and
others without power, and a gradually increased resumption of efforts to
address the climate crisis.
In This
Week’s News:
more on Ruth Bader Ginsberg and her
legacy here,
here,
here,
here,
here,
here
(first woman to lie in state), here
(faith in USA’s ability to self-correct), and here; poverty biases in algorithms;
the victims
of scams include those whose identity have been used; unbelievably, a man who had been
searched for went to sea in a decrepit boat again in Force 10 or
worse conditions, and now likely
has died; an apology
and commitment
to improvement by a talk show host over racism and a toxic work culture (is this statement
believable? The host has been directly criticised. Change is possible, and as
someone who was particularly disappointed by this, I hope it does happen)
- see also this,
on double standards; about (psychological)
vulnerabilities
to extreme
scams - and “doomscrolling”; a bumper
harvest from a wet winter in NSW; a
Swedish study
has found that diet is more
significant than BMI in assessing risk of death; a deeper
look at youth suicide in a regional town (for those distressed, see here, here, or here); after a search by police and emergency
service volunteers (locals were asked to spread the word on social media rather
than aid in the search), the body of a boy with autism missing in the bush
after he didn’t return from his regular short morning walk was found; a think
tank has identified
three business groups it considers
most responsible for undermining climate policy in Australia; a man living in regional NSW has been
charged with illegal
importation of parts of guns and drug making equipment after
a joint raid
by Australian police and US homeland security;
calls for more mental health first aid training to reduce suicides.
In the Environmental Arena, where we have been fighting World War III for some time now:
China
has joined
29 other nations (not including Australia) and committed to becoming energy neutral by 2060, raising the
possibility that, if the US Democratic candidate wins the 2020 US Presidential
election, the world’s climate goals could be realised (having seen how keen China was on this even back in the
mid-90s, when lack of money limited what they could do, I do not question the
genuineness of this commitment) which
embarrasses my nation’s neoliberal nitwit national government, but see also this questioning; a somewhat wishy-washy energy
policy by Australia’s main opposition party also
includes renewables; despite
the preferences
of two thirds of voters for renewables and the objections
of farmers, which have been described as “doable
almost everywhere”, Australia’s neoliberal national government has chosen
an energy
approach
that has “good,
bad, and ugly” aspects; a tiny fine for a developer who
dumped
asbestos; another
two
mass
whale
strandings
on Tasmania’s west
coast; following persistent,
prolonged attacks by a pod of orcas,
yachts have been ordered
clear of an area
of ocean off Spain; near record loss
of Arctic ice; medical groups are again
urging
that the climate
crisis be included in long term
health
planning; the role
of fear
/ eco-anxiety
in motivating people to take action; a recent mass death of elephants
was caused
by a toxin
from Cyanobacteria
bloom
(aka “blue green algae”, which are exacerbated by climate change); an assessment
of sea level rises
from melting
Antarctic ice; bushfires release pollutants forests have absorbed over decades;
accusations
of “blackmail” over the Murray-Darling basin;
an assessment
of our chances of a reset by 2030;
other
environmental matters have
occurred in:
a
Finnish city (good news); Australia; UN; USA
(good news); Canada
(good news); RBG
(nuanced legacy); Lebanon; a call for a COVID-19-safe strike
by children; Egypt; “net zero”; Chad.
This week on
the PROTESTS IN THE DESPOTIC USA and associated
protests/issues elsewhere:
angry
but overwhelmingly peaceful
protests
after
the now former police officer who was one of three who, during
execution of a “no
knock”
warrant, allegedly shot and killed a black woman who
was sleeping in her home around nine
months ago has been charged
with “wanton
endangerment”
- of
her neighbours . . . two other officers were not
charged; in response to an order from lyin’
45’s regime, the US EPA cancelled
a series of lectures on problems faced by racial minorities;
Police:
what
police SHOULD
do;
more on the very long History of the Causes of the
protests:
the USA has a “long
history” of forced sterilisations.
On HUMAN AND ANIMAL RIGHTS:
conspiracy fantasists
are harming
the real work against child slavery;
a teenager with a manageable
disability was left crippled, and eventually died, after
being given psychotropic medication;
how to be an ally
to people with disabilities;
against a long history
of Indigenous deaths
in custody and investigations and (only partially implemented)
recommendations,
recent deaths here
and overseas
and the Black
Lives Matter movement
and protests,
a recent death in custody led to protests,
a suspension
of one police employee and a statement by Qld
police
of willingness
to learn (does that mean the content and implementation of this,
this,
this,
and this
will be reviewed and improved?) - but ongoing concerns
that broader problems may not be being addressed (my home state’s Coroners Court
has changed
how Indigenous
deaths in custody are investigated
“to reflect recommendations made in a royal commission almost 30 years ago,
but Aboriginal legal services
say they don’t have enough funding to meet the court’s new commitments”
[funding has been increased
in the past and recently
to meet needs: perhaps time to do so again?]); my home state’s Parliament will hang an Indigenous artist’s painting about reconciliation; a tech company has said it is complying with
a request
to remove virtual walks on the top of Uluru - although ground level virtual
walks will remain; an Indigenous
boy with dwarfism and his family have won compensation
and an apology
from a conservative columnist who claimed
his reaction to bullying was a scam; the first Indigenous Australian win of the Archibald Prize - by the great-grandson of a
great and well known Indigenous artist; appallingly, in such a wealthy nation as
Australia, rheumatic heart
disease continues
to attack Indigenous children; the
world is becoming more xenophobic;
the Federal
Court has criticised
the acting immigration minister, who will appeal the
verdict, for “conduct which can only be described as criminal” after
he defied a tribunal order and kept
an asylum seeker in detention
because he thought - correctly, according to the Federal Court - the
tribunal had got the law wrong. Meanwhile, a Sri Lankan who has been been
determined to be owed “complementary protection”,
still languishes
in detention after eleven years . . . ;
a woman with disabilities who did not
understand letters requiring her to report her partner’s income fortnightly
rather than annually has been left with a debt
that she would have to live to 131 to repay - one of a growing group, says Economic Justice Australia;
appalling stunts by students at an
“elite” school may
lead to their expulsion - and show ongoing
societal problems; some belated common sense
in Australian sport;
the widow of a sports
great who died in a hospital crash which also killed her daughter is suing
a sheriff’s
department over the sharing of graphic photos,
on the basis that those actions breached the privacy
of all involved (I could not find an applicable
privacy policy on their website)
and caused harm;
the worsening
problem of deepfakes.
Genocide, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity matters (good and bad) in:
more reports that China has exported
the repression used against the Uyghurs –
which includes 380 internment camps - to Tibet; calls for Australian to ban
imports made by Uyghur slave labour - as the
USA already has; reflections
by an Israeli on the massacre
“by an Israeli ally”
in two Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon (the anger of Israeli
soldiers is striking - particularly the one who wanted to shoot then Defence
Minister Ariel Sharon); Yemen
- USA/Yemen
- see also here;
Refugee, immigration, and migration
matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
marchers
in Germany have called for acceptance of refugees displaced by a fire in a Greek
refugee camp; Libya; “the human impact
of deportation”; Mozambique;
Racism/caste based matters including Indigenous, multi-culturalism,
colonialism and land rights (good
and bad) have occurred in:
Australian
sport; the challenges facing those
with dementia increase
when they are from culturally
diverse
communities; philosophy; Australia; Kenya; social media image
function; Cambodia; South
Africa;
Child Abuse/Trafficking/Slavery & Extreme Worker Abuse matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
Australia; Bangladesh
(good news); UK; India; India (good news);
Brazil;
LGBTIQ+ matters (including internalised homo-/bi-/trans-phobia/hate)
(good and bad) have occurred in:
personal
experience of the invisibility
of bisexuality; Poland; social media; lyin’ 45/social media;
Sexism (including internalised sexism), misogyny/misandry and
domestic violence matters (good
and bad) have occurred in:
Singapore
(good news); SA
(good news); a painting
in a Tasmanian University; Japan; social
conditioning; India
(where leisure for women is radical);
Brazil; social
media; Kenya; UK; Afghanistan; Nigeria/UN (good news);
Bougainville
(good news); violent misogyny in India;
Disability matters (good
and bad) have occurred in:
the experience
of a woman who is gradually losing her hearing; as more people learn Auslan, this month’s Auslan Parliamentary update from my home state; UK (nice
inclusive option); Indigenous
children (good news);
Housing matters (good
and bad) have occurred in:
the
financial costs to the community of homelessness; the mid-life
aspiration gap;
Freedom of the Press / Expression matters
(good and bad) have occurred in:
a suggestion
for tax rebates to support public interest journalism - see also here;
Hong
Kong; Turkey; Cuba; Algeria; Cameroon;
Privacy/Surveillance matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
EU exports; India;
Repression/Oppression including Police Abuses / reduction of democracy and
other civil & political rights matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
China; Hong Kong; Iran; UK; burma; Belarus; Cameroon; Sudan; Mali;
Other animal and human rights matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
Australia; the
olympics;
In the related human rights arena of Employment:
India; Thailand; Qatar.
Risks or occurrences of Atrocities, Mass Violence and/or War(s) this week in:
Mozambique; France; Venezuela,
Syria and Ethiopia; South
Africa; Nigeria; DR
Congo; Mali; Kenya;
And:
a mourning
of the failure to achieve the potential of R2P; the US military is using a non-explosive
weapon fired from drones in its targeted assassination
programme in an attempt to minimise deaths of civilians
nearby, but concerns remain over oversight/implementation/ethics of the
programme (the article - which is excellent, IMO, and has good links to
further information, mentions the new weapon is “gruesome” . . . so
is blowing people up) ; external
includes in the Afghan peace process; food
shortages in Mozambique are due to violence; three companies have
been sanctioned for breaching
the Libya arms sanctions.
On DISASTERS
this week:
how a fire in the USA
became a disaster; fears
of the next flood in Bangkok
(the “Venice
of the East”), Thailand;
clean air shelters for the homeless in the USA;
Bushfires have occurred in:
USA.
On Humanitarian Aid and Development:
a critique
of gender equality data and accountability;
a critique
of global education data; a guide for tertiary institutions on the SDGs.
In the DEMOCRACY, GOVERNANCE, POLITICS, PUBLIC ETHICS, AND
SOCIETY ARENA:
General Matters and Locations:
a leak
from the USA of highly secret suspicious financial activity reports has been
assessed as showing measures to get banks to be responsible have not
worked, leaving some scam victims/dupes fearing
for their family members’ lives (see also here)
- meanwhile, in Australia, as the national neolib government plans
to wind back
post-Royal
Commission into Banking
misconduct
laws intended to enforce responsible lending
around home loans (to boost home building - at any cost, evidently),
and concerns exist that phoenixing
may be recuring, one bank has reached
a deal
with financial
crime watchdog (“set up to
monitor financial transactions to identify money laundering, organised crime,
tax evasion, welfare fraud and terrorism financing”) AUSTRAC
to settle more than 23 million alleged breaches of anti-money
laundering and child
exploitation laws by paying a record $1.3
billion penalty - almost double the previous record $700 million
fine paid by another bank for almost 54,000 money laundering breaches (revealed
by the ABC) in 2017 - but others
are also of concern; yet more support for a four day working week; more
protests
and actions
calling
for democracy
in military
run Thailand,
but monarchists are resisting; after two decades of trying, years in prison
on probably trumped up homophobic charges, and being betrayed by his long
standing rival, Malaysian politician Anwar
Ibrahim may
have the votes to form government; a former
leader of the Bougainville
Revolutionary Army during the ten year civil
war that left up to to 15 to 20,000 people dead, will become President,
and after 98% voted last year for independence in a nonbinding referendum,
will seek that within five years; an opinion
offices - which were stressful
and not working well before the pandemic - will be less
used after the pandemic; the
character changes resulting
from job insecurity; Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko
has defied protests
(see also here)
and international
concerns
(but see also this)
over a contested
election
result
to have himself secretly
and abruptly re-sworn
in as President
- see also here; a call for better prioritisation in governance; protests
in Egypt;
in Australia:
more mates
rates - this time in taxation, by the neolibs for the their rich
mates; in a confirmation that
placing “a bet on using the old copper and pay TV technologies to build the
NBN [was] a very
big mistake”, the neolibs will belatedly
- and expensively
- extend the NBN to be closer
to what
was originally recommended and has always been needed; a conspiracy fantasist has been ordered
to pay compensation for appalling online posts about an MP; a former Chief of State in an Australian
state has been cleared
of corruption, but did
breach regulations; regional job
vacancies remain
high, and hard to fill (despite people moving out because of the pandemic
. . . it would help if such areas were less backward socially [i.e.,
discriminatory], but lack of government services/responsibility is also an
issue, IMO); a call to rethink the cost of Uni
courses so we can get better teachers;
an estimate
of University research losses
“by 2024”; concerns
about foreign (Murdoch) media interference in Australia; Morrison has mastered
the disinformation/misdirection of media known as “feeding
the chooks”;
an ABC
Radio National special
programme has reported allegations
by a former-barrister turned police informant and the father of her children
that police made an ultimatum of removing her children to control her movements
when she returned - and faced enhanced checking by customs at police
requests - to give evidence to the Royal
Commission into the Management of Police Informants, behaviour not shown
towards other informants although this person is in the highest category of
risk according to police (I consider that assessment realistic, and there is always
the possibility that this behaviour is motivated by genuine concern on the part
of police - we are outsiders looking in, and trying to determine what is in
hearts by outer actions), and that a computer being used by her
lawyer was shut down remotely by an unknown person during a legally privileged
conversation; our unhealthy,
unbalanced and dangerous obsession with the USA;
The Unexceptional (and despotic) States of America:
in the possible realisation of a “nightmare scenario” that US
Senator Bernie Sanders
has been warning
of for some
time (and providing suggestions on how to prepare for/deal with same), lyin’
45 has refused
to commit
to a peaceful transfer
of power
if he loses the 2020 US Presidential election, leading to indication that
the US Democratic contender has prepared
for a wide range of possible outcomes, rebukes even from some Republicans,
a commitment
by the US Senate, reassurances that a transfer of power would occur,
and an opinion that lyin’
45 is using pantomime techniques used in wrestling
- see also here,
and note these concerns about an unclear result (the USA needs to get rid of its IPOC electoral college system, which has been inappropriate for more
than a century at least, and go to direct election); disturbing revelations that lyin’
45’s supporters (the “lyin45ettes”) plotted
their violence in Portland and explored the possibility of charging
officials who were doing their duty; lyin’
45’s memo on firing a former
FBI director has been described
as “tinfoil helmet material”; lyin’
45 has maliciously questioned
RBG’s final
request - his appearance at her funeral was met by chants
of “honour her wish” - and the US Republicans have hypocritically
changed
their stance, leading to a crisis
over honour
in politics
- so a replacement
will be nominated
shortly
- or possibly after
the imminent 2020
US Presidential election, leading to fear
for
the USA’s (and the international
community’s) future
. . . - see also here,
on the process from nomination to appointment, and this
and this
on possible US Democrat responses; a beneficial (call to vote and a rejection of hate speech) foreign intervention – to the irrits of Her
Maj; a judge has banned US state’s ban on transporting voters to polling stations; possible inconsistencies in the mail voting assessments have been found by Reuters;
other democracy, governance, politics,
public ethics, and society matters have occurred in:
Viêt
Nám (this is utterly staggering);
Qld..
INTERNATIONALLY:
a tragedy
has shown the problem of clearing unexploded bombs in former warzones; Russia’s most prominent opposition
leader has been released
from hospital
after recovering
from poisoning
with a nerve
agent, an event of international concern
- see also this,
on a similar event in 2018, and he has been attacked
financially
while in hospital . . . ; an analysis
by a research organisation
found a no-deal Brexit will be three
times worse
for the UK economy than the pandemic; a “battle of billboards” in Brazil reflects
a split
that mirrors the division in the USA; the
continuing crisis
in Lebanon; another
assessment of the possible breakup of the UK;
growing
tension
between Greece and Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean Sea - and recommendations
to defuse; an examination
of ASEAN’s continuing commitment to consensus;
an examination
of US support for Taiwan; India has improved its relations with Japan;
on China, China’s Communist Party (CCP) Regime and the reinvigorated ideological
Cold War this week:
this abuse - including THREATS AGAINST A MINOR - from
several years ago confirms that China’s attacks on journalists and foreigners
has nothing to do with the current diplomatic tensions and everything to do
with China being an insecure despotic regime filled with bullies and petty
tyrants; a call for international
action for the “Wall of Resistance” against the
CCP on 10th October; an
examination
of China’s post-revolution history, including leaders and massacres, and
current impact on the world stage and diplomacy - and it has border disputes (some
centuries old, some new) with 17 nations -
see also here; China’s “gambit”
in Tajikistan; a large Chinese
fishing fleet is causing a major
dispute with Peru; Chinese-US (Chinese-lyin’
45?) tensions
are prominent at the UN this week; hundreds
of fake Chinese social media accounts backing the CCP and the Philippines
Marcos-lite have been removed; a Reuters exclusive
(picked up by others)
reports that a Swedish space services company,
citing a changed geopolitical situation and difficulty making market
assessments (but not mentioning Swedish military concerns), will not
renew its agreement to allow China’s growing space
programme to use its satellite tracker (ground station) in Sweden, Chile,
and WA; China and India have agreed to halt
their military build-up on the disputed India-Tibet border; concerns
over intimidation of Chinese students in Australia, with possible influence on
free speech;
on Israel’s intended
Annexation of the West Bank and
other matters:
a
Reuters exclusive reports
that, following the recent agreement
with
Israel,
an agreement on selling
F-35 jet fighters to the UAE
may be in place by the end of the year (but delivery will take 6
to 7 years); a critique
of the Israel-UAE-Bahrain agreements suggests shared concern over Iran and UAE
desire for access to Israeli technology and F-35s may have been primary
motivations, but four “flawed” ways to an Israeli-Palestinian agreements may
still exist; protests
in Palestine - which has resigned
from chairing the Arab League in protest at the UAE and Bahrain deal;
other international matters
have occurred in:
Bolivia (pre-election
chaos).
IN AFRICA - Democracy, Governance, Politics, Public Ethics, And
Society and International Relations:
electoral violence in Guinea; the IMF has endorsed Sudan’s plans for economic recovery; “epic” corruption has robbed
South Sudan’s people of their future; limited
releases of opposition figures in the Ivory Coast; cryptocurrency; millions
of cyber-attacks this year; concerns
in Kenya over the cost of the Chinese financed railway; Ghana is planning on selling
its gold futures . . . .
On the COVID-19 pandemic
caused by the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus (there
are other novel coronaviruses) (seven major risks to watch here,
and seven sins of thought to avoid here),
and Wear Masks!!!):
the pandemic,
NOT lockdowns, have caused the economic recession - and lockdowns have, in some cases, been actively
beneficial; as contact
trackers try to find 8 passengers, advice on pandemic safety in taxis; the low per
capita cost of preventing future pandemics;
the community
sector; the impacts
of long term school closures;
good stories/news: thoughts
on resilience; a school
organising support for his family enabled a Pasifika student to continue his education - see also here, here, here, and here; the value of friendships are being shown; Thailand;
medical aspects: the pandemic may lead to an increase
of neurological conditions such as Parkinsons;
a “gargle
test” developed in Israel will be used in European
airports (see also here, here,
here,
here
(a review), and here); more
on the impacts of border closures on medical treatment for cancer; the influence of reinfection; another
possible benefit of wearing facemasks.
Human Rights Aspects (crisis
. . . running summary of impacts on elections here):
a Chinese billionaire who criticised
China’s response to the pandemic has been jailed;
sexism:
the experience of a woman who fled
domestic violence during the lockdown; the
pandemic has revealed
sexism in policies over recent years;
the vulnerability
of temporary visa holders; US
prisons;
increased
opportunistic repression/oppression / reduction of democracy:
India.
In My Home State:
against a background of case and death
numbers
continuing to be low and/or declining at better than expected rates (which may-
noting this
- lead to accelerated easing of
restrictions), an exposé on the disconnect
between some sections of media and the reality of public attitudes, and
Commonwealth neoliberal Ministers ignoring powerful criticism (e.g., this),
after a week of ramping drama which saw the enquiry into the hotel quarantine
scheme (dumped on the states by the national neolib government in an
abandonment of responsibility, but expected to be up and working in 35 hours)
see more
concerns over private security (who may be liable
for costs), the Police Minister stating she had not
been informed of plans to deploy
the military, disputes
over accountability, a grieving son launching
legal action, attacks on Health Minister by one
union but not others - and one counterattacked
(which may be linked to internal ALP politics and/or a decision
to build the new Frankston hospital using a public-private partnership), concerns
over staff briefings of the Health Minister and questions
over her evidence capped by the Premier
highlighting
the uncertainty
over decisions but ascribing
responsibility
(blame?) to the Health Minister late on Friday (and disputing that
police did not know about the ADF), the Health Minister has - in an
example of Ministerial responsibility which should be noted by the national
neolibs - resigned from both her portfolio
and Parliament
(which will necessitate a replacement if pandemic legislation is to be
passed in two weeks’ time);
international
support for our approach; a doctor’s call
to stick to the plan - see also this
call for caution; a major
additional boost in funding to ensure
mental health and alcohol and other drug support services can
cope with demand; the hard
lockdown of towers has led to four
African-Australians standing
in local Council elections; a union
has urged regional businesses to adopt a “hire
local” strategy; accusations
of “unbalanced” coverage of the Premier by conservative media; the lockdown has led to more palliative care
being provided at
home – see also here
and death doula; a proposal to reduce
congestion on public transport after the
pandemic by providing off-peak fees; concerns
over aged care residents (on the basis of the experiences of those fairly
close to me, I can back the existence of this as a problem); debunking of a satiric quote misrepresented
as genuine; a call
to reopen indoor pools to prevent the increase in drowning deaths (including
five toddlers (so how about limited reopening - for swimming lessons only, mainly
children?); specific details
of concerns in the proposed increase in police powers;
Australia:
how to avoid a third wave; five useful and interesting insights
about Australians from the pandemic;
more on the dehumanising
impact of the imminent reduction in JobSeeker; a rebuttal
of claims that NSW opened at the same sort of numbers that my home state has; a health worker who contracted COVID-19 has questioned
the comment
to her that, although otherwise fully fitted out with PPE,
she did not
need a P95
mask instead of a surgical
mask; as a dispute between a billionaire
and Western Australia over border
closures to prevent
the spread of COVID-19 extends to include WA’s Premier countersuing
for defamation,
returning
Australians have increased case numbers in WA; a hotel quarantine breach
in SA, and questions
about exemptions to border restrictions;
the challenges
for parents of remote learning; the
Commonwealth will change
insolvency and liquidation rules
to help
businesses
in financial trouble as a result of the pandemic; former Treasurer and Prime Minister Paul
Keating has accused the Reserve Bank of not
doing
enough
for Australia's economy in COVID recession;
concerns
over reduced testing rates in NSW; some
easing of restrictions in Qld; the ADF
will be redeployed
from enforcing border closures to help with quarantine; fears of evictions in Qld as landlords begin
calling
in “deferred rent”; a report that
Australians stranded overseas would be willing
to wear electronic bracelets while in quarantine in order to come home;
Internationally:
the
UK
is looking at six months of increased restrictions; Viêt Nám has again stopped the pandemic (it is also pleasing to see more
people wearing bike helmets - that has improved since I worked there in the
mid-90s); USA; some hospitals in Israel have stopped
taking in new patients; the Czech Republic has appointed an epidemiologist as its next Health Minister; lyin’
45; Israel
- see also here; a blow to women crab farmers in Bangladesh; France; Bali, Indonesia is paying
the price for reopening - see also here; Mexico; Russia; Russia; the food crisis in Turkmenistan is worsening;
Africa:
urban food
may be rebooted;
pandemic rumours are hindering Burkina
Faso’s fight against malaria; agricultural
costs in Kenya
- and concerns of graft
taking aid;
Globally:
lessons from small island nations; the growing
number of cases; the WHO has warned
the global death toll from COVID-19 could reach two million; as the ILO says incomes have been cut
by 10% and the Red Cross warns of twin
impacts from pandemic and climate crisis, a warning
of long term economic effects from the IMF - and calls for help from Africa; internet access is even
more urgent;
Irresponsibility, Selfishness, and Unthinking Behaviour:
an aged
care facility; USA.
WLNGRHDMT
And finally . . . Black Lives Matter!
