Cross posting: Post No. 1,663 - In this week’s news

This post originally appeared on my main blog at https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2020/09/post-no-1663-in-this-weeks-news.html. 

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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.

 

On Spiritual Matters:   conspiracy fantasists are destroying the New Age/alternative spirituality movement - and this doesn’t help;   a criticism of how Asian meditation has been imported to the West.

Reading/Viewing I found interesting this week included:   “how’s your pandemic (still) going?”.

 

Overall Commentary on this week’s news:
   in a week with wonderful news in the DR Congo and elsewhere in Africa, and the EU pledging to actively support democracy, a giant for justice has passed in the USA - where accountability for power and sanity are edging closer to realisation in a tough and close race. More voices are calling for action of the climate crisis, but the voices on the pandemic are split between those wanting to save lives now for the best long term gain, those split between that and addressing short term issues, and conspiracy fantasists who share the same abdication of responsibility as those social media sock puppets putting genuine, real and true freedom and democracy at risk. Abuse of power exists from the large scale of genocide and crimes against humanity down to the personal with rape, sexual harassment, and finally some truth about the sadism of trolls (and, in my opinion - based on my lived experience - school and other bullies, which is why they should NEVER be given the satisfaction of knowing they are causing pain). The sadism of denial and xenophobia and other excuses, combined with incompetent “thinking”, is perpetuating racism, sexism, homo-/trans-/bi-phobia and other bigotry, including against asylum seekers and refugees - compounded by those who refuse to address their discomfort with change, difference, challenges to their world view, and uncertainty.

 

In This Week’s News:
   an assessment of the forthcoming  book by noted journalist Bob  Woodward goes beyond the already staggering revelations that lyin’ 45 KNEW how deadly the pandemic was WHEN he was “downplaying” it, but also that the USA has a new, secret nuclear weapons system (as the journalist says, hello nuclear arms race), came close to nuclear war with North Korea in 2017 (sounds closer than the Cuban Missile Crisis), and there was ACTIVE BLOCKING of intelligence on Russian attempts to interfere with the 2020 US Presidential election (why is #45 still in power, and why do so many US voters still support #45? They are putting the entire human species at risk);   after this week’s anti-science rants by lyin’ 45 (whose anti-science stance also contributed to people not evacuating ahead of a cyclone), the magazine “Scientific American” is endorsing  pro-science US Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden - the first it has ever done so in its nearly two century history, and there have been calls for Australia (particularly MPs) to take note;
   Ruth  Bader  Ginsburg has died, and a replacement must now be found;   conspiracy fantasists are being sock puppets for China and Russia;   improved corporate accountability is the new  norm - and what makes work meaningful;   the diversity on Australia’s Christmas Island;   a man jailed in the USA 37 years ago for rape has been exonerated by DNA evidence;   an ethnic community in Qld has been left shocked by a stabbing death amongst “outliers” from its community;   increasing computing power is putting passwords at increased risk - see also here and here;   research shows trolls are likely sadists (which is WHY those trolls described as bullies should NEVER get the satisfaction of knowing they have caused distress), rate themselves highly, and psychopaths;   teaching young kids about money;   “the Northern Territory coroner is examining the apparent suicides and possible sexual assaults of three teenage girls in separate remote Top End communities, saying police had been unable to determine what happened to them”.

 

In the Environmental Arena, where we have been fighting World War III for some time now:
   in the USA “leaders of the three West Coast states say global warming is to blame for the intensity of the fires”;   Indigenous hunting of feral cats;   a simple reorientation to improve the performance of solar panels;   hottest ever summer in the northern hemisphere;   a regional Victorian council has rejected an EPA approved but community opposed proposal to build the state's first lead battery recycling plant, which would have processed 50,000 tonnes of spent batteries into 28,000 tonnes of refined lead a year, less than two kilometres from the local primary school - but a VCAT appeal may overturn that;   the Earth is warming faster than it has done for tens of millions of years;   whales are attacking boats off Spain and Portugal (this is not like accidental collisions that have happened in the past - it is prolonged, and shows signs of anger);   cockroach farms for recycling in China;   the neolibs started to rewrite environmental laws BEFORE they received experts’ recommendations.

other environmental matters have occurred in:
   lyin’ 45;   USA;   South Africa (coal mining);   Brazil (deforestation for soy farming in the Amazon);   Uganda-Tanzania.

 

This week on the PROTESTS IN THE DESPOTIC USA and associated protests/issues elsewhere:
   the family of the woman killed by police executing a “no knock “ warrant while she slept will receive $16 million in compensation;   this terrible incident shows the risks that police always face: it MAY also show the consequences of police racist violence - i.e., someone retaliating with equally deplorable violence. The protestors calling for the death of police are also . . . unhelpful (I’ve toned that word down several times), as is the arrest of a radio journalist who, contrary to police allegations, had ID on her and had identified herself;

Police:
   calls in my home state - including officially from police - for an independent enquiry after a man with mental health issues was placed in an induced coma in hospital after being hit by a police care and kicked in the head by a police officer - and the police union is trying to abdicate all notion of professional competence and responsibility after another incident (I’ve experienced some very concerning comments - despicable, in one instance - by the police union, however, the issue may also illustrate the problem of current workload on police);   a police sergeant has been jailed for theft of properties using a scam relying in part on her uniform;

Analysis/Commentary:
   facts and myths about protests (this is not quite correct in my home state under a state of disaster - and my home state is unique in having Parliamentary scrutiny of such declarations - [and see also this] ).

 

On HUMAN AND ANIMAL RIGHTS:
   as changes are expected to the SAS before a report on abuses, a former Australian military member has been helping a violent rebel in Libya;   a contentious execution in Iran;   a Jewish terrorist who murdered a Palestinian family has been sentenced in Israel to three life sentences;   police in Belarus are beating and torturing protestors;
   a call to hold social media platforms to account;
   hundreds of self harm incidents in Australia’s refugee prisons;   staggering allegations of mass hysterectomies without consent in US immigration detention centres;
   a trans athlete’s experiences in the early 90s was good;   Poland’s hate is putting its place in the EU at risk;   major tech/entertainment companies are backing trans rights in the UK - and “the British Medical Association has backed letting transgender and non-binary people legally change gender without a medical diagnosis”;   a call to stop bi-erasure;
   an Indigenous man is seeking “$4.1m damages from Federal Government over 500 days spent in immigration detention” when the neolibs tried to deport him;   new Indigenous themed coins;
   “women are not financially illiterate. [We] need more than condescending advice”;   a law on “biodiscovery” that respects Indigenous rights;
   a call for “a global citizens’ assembly on gene editing”.

Genocide, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity matters (good and bad) in:
   Bangladesh;   China;   Venezuela;   Niger;

Torture, Disappearances and Execution/Killing matters (good and bad) in:
   Australia;   Viêt Nám;   the Netherlands has started a case against Syria;   Singapore;

Refugee, immigration, and migration matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
   Greece (good news);   how to improve early childhood engagement of CALD;   Uganda;   the Mediterranean Sea;

Racism/caste based matters including Indigenous, colonialism and land rights (good and bad) have occurred in:
   Australia Post;   sport;   USA/sport;   Colombia;   South Africa;

Child Abuse/Trafficking/Slavery & Extreme Worker Abuse matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
   a rebuttal of conspiracy fantasists on our belowground infrastructure;   what teachers need to know about childhood trauma;   a WA school;   an Amish community;   Brazil (good news);   Bangladesh;

LGBTIQ+ matters (including internalised homo-/bi-/trans-phobia/hate) (good and bad) have occurred in:
   a guide to behaviour towards TGD people;   the experience of a supportive nurse;   NSW (good news);   Barbados;

Sexism (including internalised sexism), misogyny/misandry and domestic violence matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
   addressing bigotry and ignorance around periods (menstruation);   sport;   Hollywood;   Australian military;   NSW;   Hollywood;   NSW;   South Sudan (good news);   Senegal/STEM (good news);   an Indian men’s cricket team will be sponsored by a sanitary pad manufacturer;   Botswana (good news);

Disability matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
   deaths by suicide of prisoners with disabilities / mental health issues in WA;

Freedom of the Press / Expression matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
   Hungary;   Algeria;

Privacy/Surveillance matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
   a small step towards improved cybersecurity/privacy;

Repression/Oppression / reduction of democracy and other civil & political rights matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
   Belarus;   Israel;   India;   Nicaragua - see also here;   Zimbabwe;   Cameroon;

Other animal and human rights matters (good and bad) have occurred in:
   helping a pet calf;

In the related human rights arena of Employment:
   underpayment at the BBC;   backpackers.

 

Risks or occurrences of Atrocities, Mass Violence and/or War(s) this week in:
   Afghanistan;   Israel;   Europe/Lebanon;   Mali;   Mozambique;   DRC (good news);   Ethiopia;   Niger;   Nigeria;   Burkina Faso;   the southern Philippines;   Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo and HRC45;

And:
   since it started in 2011, the cost of the USA’s so-called “War  on  Terror” has included taking the lives of more than 800,000 people (and indirectly possibly 3 million) and displacing 37 million people (I note this link ends with “the $2.4 trillion spent on the War on Terror created 20 million jobs and added $1.4 trillion to the economy. But if it had gone toward education instead, it would have created almost 4  million jobs. It would have added $3.1 trillion to the economy. That may have helped end the recession sooner” - and the costs of lives lost and injuries would have been reduced, although not eliminated);   concerns about proposals to release violent prisoners in Afghanistan as part of the path towards peace - and where, despite those “peace” talks, fighting has killed dozens in Afghanistan - see also here;   a review of the effect of the pandemic on the weapons industry in Europe;   ”70 armed groups agree to end hostilities in DR Congo”;   slow progress towards peace in South Sudan;   arms dealing in Somalia;   “analysts say a peace deal reached between Eritrea and Ethiopia in July 2018 has brought few tangible benefits”.

 

On DISASTERS this week:
   a hurricane in the USA;   floods in Sudan;   possible Ebola in DR Congo;

And:
   “new bushfire resources for first responders to help autistic people [who “can become disoriented because of loud noises and unfamiliar smells and sights”, triggering “flight, fight or freeze reactions”] and those living with disability In emergency situations”;   the west coast fires in the USA are mirroring the 2019-20 climate fires in Australia - see also here;   development is increasing flood risks in Turkey;

Bushfires have occurred in:
   USA.

 

On Humanitarian Aid and Development:
   restrictions on aid in Yemen are putting millions at risk;   simple actions now could help preserve development gains after the pandemic;   gender equity.

 

In the DEMOCRACY, GOVERNANCE, POLITICS, PUBLIC ETHICS, AND SOCIETY ARENA:

General Matters and Locations:
   a call for universities to be part of lifelong learning;   an excellent analysis of why and how people vote (they filter information of key issues through the biases of their affiliations), and why there will be limited change away from lyin’ 45 (some clear errors in the article);   concern that there may be no prosecutions from my home state’s police’s use of a lawyer as an informant - despite the scores of convictions put at risk and the damage done to the justice system;   evidence shows the effects of inequity;   yellow vest protests against government policy changes have resumed in France;   more than 100,000 Belarusians have continued protests against that nation’s President as Russia prepares to intervene militarily;   the EU will use its budget to uphold democracy;   suggestions for improved financial stability of governance in Central and South America;

in Australia:
   Australia’s third national party may back forcing tech giants to pay for news if the ABC is also included;   a correction of the misunderstanding that had led to calls for the public sector to be cut;   the neoliberal national government, with its history of technology ineptness (robodebt, NBN cutbacks, data breaches, etc) now wants to allow “government departments and agencies to share data for three purposes: to deliver government services, to help develop government policies, and for research and development . . . specifically excludes sharing information for the purposes of law enforcement, compliance, national security and targeted commercial marketing” (I would have trouble believing this could be done safely);   the rules around political donations are not being enforced;   changes may undermine Indigenous voices in the NT.

The Unexceptional (and despotic) States of America:
   an assessment finds an increased risk of violence, but civil war unlikely, in the USA after the 2020 presidential election;   an examination of the reliability/otherwise of polls;   a US judge has blocked “ ‘politically motivated’ changes to [the] U.S. Postal Service ahead of [the US Presidential] election”, and a state has extended mail ballot deadlines;

other democracy, governance, politics, public ethics, and society matters have occurred in:
   Thailand.

 

Internationally:
   more on the political risks in North Korea;   despite the recent attempted murder using a nerve agent, Russia’s opposition leader is now recovering;   a US citizen has been charged by Venezuela with weapons smuggling and spying;   cause for some optimism in the dispute between India and China on the India-Tibet border;   Japan has a new  Prime Minister;

on China’s Communist Party (CCP) Regime and the reinvigorated  ideological Cold War this week:
   information on China’s international data gathering on individuals, organisations, etc - and a suggested response;   as Chinese investment halves, an assessment that the deteriorating situation between Australia and China is serious;   people of Chinese ethnicity in Australia are fearing guilt by association;   anger from China at staggering revelations that police have accessed diplomatic Chinese communications (while there are shades of grey in this, China’s interference here, and the authoritarian despotism of the CCP and Zi are major concerns,  this massive breach of international law recasts much of what has happened of late, for me);   the USA and UK have also warned their citizens of the risk of arbitrary arrest in China;

on Israel’s intended Annexation of the West Bank and other matters:
   the USA has NOT stopped, only deferred Israel’s annexation of the West Bank - making Palestinians’ objections valid;   while “the diplomatic detente is significant — the UAE and Bahrain will join Egypt and Jordan as the only Arab countries to officially recognise” Israel, “these agreements are little more than a footnote in the wider chaos of” West Asia, and much still depends on Saudi Arabia.

 

IN AFRICA - Democracy, Governance, Politics, Public Ethics, And Society and International Relations:
   wildlife reserves in Burkina Faso are becoming a battleground with poachers and “militants”;   talks continue on getting Mali back to democracy;   work on reintegrating cities divided by apartheid in South Africa;   “circumvention of term limits weakens governance in Africa”;   concerns about Guinea’s electoral roll;   attacks and other problems creating food insecurity in Nigeria;   a call for an integrated approach to development to overcome the problems caused by silos;   ECOWAS has suspended a single currency launch;   concerns about Burundi’s new leader;   a third mass prisoner escape, some with weapons, in Uganda;   the US has imposed sanctions/restrictions on people in Nigeria who have undermined democracy;   youth in Sudan will be trained in democracy.

 

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!!!):
   death threats against an overworked Chief Health Officer for keeping people safe by closing borders (one man has been charged);   some people are feeling “dispensable”;   an explainer/myth buster on statistics;   anger at our political point scoring neolib PM for turning a man’s funeral into “a circus”;   an examination of governance and politics after the pandemic (I have not read all of this yet);   consideration of why people are angry at lockdown breakers;   improved attitudes towards death and funerals;

   good stories/news:   an excellent mood lifter;   communities are using open source tools to map handwashing stations and otherwise fight the pandemic;

   medical aspects:   three other illnesses that vaccines are being sought for;   mental health;   managing other health issues is declining during the pandemic (I can vouch for that personally, but I’m also stymied by finding a supposedly LGBTIQ+-friendly medical service isn’t);   an example of How The Recommended Measures ACTUALLY DO WORK;   ethical considerations around who gets the vaccine first;   some more of the other diseases eradication is being sought for;   the possible use of bacteria to cure the pandemic and other illnesses (this is not new - I heard a paper on this a few years ago at a conference discussing disinfection of potable water);

   resources:   an excellent article on helping family members deal with myths;

 

Human Rights Aspects (crisis . . . running summary of impacts on elections here):
   pandemic rules have blocked access to pension in Ukraine;   an examination of the balancing act on rights in the pandemic;   “securing the lands of indigenous people can help protect biodiversity and lower the risk of future outbreaks of diseases such as COVID-19”;   “the Digital Freedom Fund (DFF) warns that measures to contain the coronavirus are increasingly infringing on privacy and other basic rights”;

sexism:
   NSW;

work / workers’ rights:
   low income workers are at greatest risk - but are often not as vocal as higher income workers;   possible child labour in sugar cane farming which supplies ethanol for making hand sanitisers;

police:
   Colombia;   a legal assessment of “pop up” police stations and increased surveillance;   Victoria.

 

In My Home State:
as the numbers in my home state - especially regionally -  start to head the right way (although aged care is still a concern - some experts expect 25% of those cases will be fatal) and the lockdown (people have been buying more pets, but breeders want the long term [post-pandemic] to be considered) starts (social bubbles for single people) to ease (although police have introduced a new fine to stop Melbournians flooding out into now safe areas [although they cannot create offences - that is Parliament’s role] ), the Premier agrees to face the hotel quarantine enquiry and the Chief Health Officer states “he should have been given the position of state controller during the pandemic so he could properly oversee the implementation of directives he was responsible for” - and a class action is launched alleging that the hotel quarantine errors cost jobs (one individual is trying this on as well);   a new outbreak has been linked to people in a small group of families breaking the 5 km travel limit and visiting prohibitions (visiting family members);   free range hens have also been ordered indoors to manage my home state's worst ever avian flu outbreak;  

Australia:
   more on the problems (hotel quarantine places are a limit - leading to calls for a large Commonwealth facility and a state-Commonwealth tiff) of getting Australians back home from overseas;   cutting JobSeeker would cost the economy $31 billion;   “Australian university students and their families have been left tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket after [‘almost unconscionable’ refusals] to refund their costs” - but the reopening of regional Victoria has been an employment lifeline for international students who face racism and exclusion;   a billionaire’s claim that statistics is showing lockdown is causing an increase in suicides is wrong;   another legal challenge, this one “for compensation from hundreds of agribusinesses and farmers affected by border and travel restrictions” (do we get to countersue for the potential loss of life and ability not having restrictions would have caused?);   Australia’s unemployment rate has posted a surprise fall, but they may be gig economy jobs;   migrant support services are at breaking point; 

Internationally:
   Chile - which is one of several places that have stricter lockdowns than we do;   acclimation in the USA - where a call has been made for a second lockdown;   Israel has imposed a second nation-wide lockdown to manage a second wave;   the likely economic scars in the USA;   peacekeepers in Lebanon;   people in their 20s have the highest infection rates in the UK - where thousands may be left with kidney disease after the pandemic;   risks of starvation in Syria;   Canada;   China is using vaccines while they’re still experimental;   India;   “a quarter of Hong Kong's social enterprises could go out of business by the end of the year”;

Africa:
   Mozambique has lifted its State of Emergency and Zimbabwe eases its quarantine measures as Kenya plans to reopen its schools and in Rwanda, where masks are being made for the vulnerable, the curfew will be eased;   South Africa has launched an app to prevent a second wave;   tea production in Nepal is struggling;

Globally:
   Europe;   antimicrobial coatings for planes;   a philanthropist has said “the pandemic has highlighted the need to address global inequality in education, pay and health care access”;   small island developing nations are facing a looming debt crisis;

Irresponsibility, Selfishness, and Unthinking Behaviour:
   Victoria;   WA (necessitated an electronic monitoring bracelet);   Qld.;   lyin’ 45;   the Philippines;   Indonesia;

Blame Games:   the world failed to listen to repeated warnings.

WLNGRHDMT

And finally . . . Black Lives Matter!