From the news

I'm thinking of making this a regular weekly post, so here's my next batch of comments on recent news articles: 

• a call by the UN secretary-general for a "coordinated global action to build an alliance against the growth and spread of neo-Nazism and white supremacy and the resurgence of xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and hate speech". The call for coordination is new and significant; 
• a former Chief Scientist of Australia's well written criticism of political games that have made addressing the climate crisis much harder, and the worst instance of intergenerational theft;
  
• an article on Nepal's "fragile" transition to democracy - see also here, here, here, and here; 
• the totalitarian CCP dictatorship in China (which is extending surveillance beyond facial recognition to attempt to recognise emotions . . . ) is threatening and attempting to bully/intimidate Taiwan yet again - although this time the CCP is openly talking of war if Taiwan formally declares independence (which Taiwan is unlikely to do as it already considers itself independent). On the other hand, the USA is offering support after recent mass incursions by China;
  
• a call to ban facial recognition technology - which is racist (opportunities for activism at that link) - see also here, here, here, and here;
• a call from an inclusive Christian woman for Amazon to stop caving in to campaigns of hate from LGBT-phobic right wing neochristians; 
• tips for management of 19 existing conflicts for the new Biden administration in the USA;  
• an assessment that trump's attempted coup got to stage 8 of 10 on the genocide scale, and a warning on the problem of selective amnesia - which I consider already well visible in the US republicans (although some may still fear violence against their families). Elsewhere, a warning that, to prevent a genocide in Burundi, the UN must learn the lessons of its failures in Rwanda; 
• "My perspective of jobs while I’ve been incarcerated is that it’s all pointless. They expect us to work and slave away for a petty amount of money … The worker’s mind isn’t much different from the criminal’s mind. They’re just different approaches to making money";
  
• using counter-terrorism strategies against DV abusers;
  
• some interesting articles on Invasion Day: a parable recasting the day from the point of view of a hypothetical Japanese victory in the Pacific World War Two (based on the Japanese not attacking Pearl Harbour), and the difficult position of ambassadors overseas who are compelled to celebrate and explain the day, a review based on reconciliation reports, with some embarrassing and pointed questions;
  
• a reminder that not all pregnant people are women - read the link to understand that;
  
• and finally, "five ways to clarity out of a perfect career storm".