From the news

A few comments on recent news articles: 

• a warning of the growing threat of right wing-white supremacist extremist groups in Australia, including a comment that the recent event in the Grampians/Geriwerd was a "show of force". Our intelligence services, as well as those overseas, have warned of this growing threat for quite a few years now, and other nations have taken action (e.g., Canada): why hasn't ours? Is there some sort of political gain for them in not taking action? 
• recommendations for managing transnational repression;  
• the ICC has determined that Palestine is a state, and thus can be investigated for war crimes - as can Israel - by the ICC. The investigation is "likely to cover 2014 Gaza war, settlement policy, IDF actions on Gaza border"; 
• a warning against trying to address radicalised conspiracy fantasists by "leadership decapitation", which also posits that "radicalisation is a political tool for opposition leaders because it deflects government repression against them";
  
• part of the sad history of tolerating racism in sport; 
  
• some thoughts on identity for Australians - Indigenous and other, by someone who thinks "by the 22nd Century, perhaps earlier, it is my belief that the Uluru Statement From the Heart will be recognised as a watershed moment";
  
• an excellent article on why "calling out anti-LGBTQ hate is ethical and moral"; 
• a thoughtful video from a woman who suffered the consequences of the xenophobia generated by anti-terrorist laws after 9/11 on why the coup members in the USA should not be referred to as terrorists. Her point is valid, but I consider this shows both the bias in those laws, and the major flaws of bigotry and hate in enforcement agencies, and consider what white supremacists are doing warrants the term - and here in Australia at least, I'm not aware of any knee jerk calls for tougher laws;
• "six lessons on countering violent extremism"; 
  
• a report on data confirming that there are problems in aged care.
  Unfortunately, the article is silent on the issue of public vs. private facilities, and yet we know from the pandemic that it is the facilities under private ownership that are much more likely (although this article suggests a need for nuance on that) to have problems. 
• the message of this article is in the title: "you can’t talk about disaster risk reduction without talking about inequality"; 
• a report that the private sector, which has done and is doing so much to devastate the environment, is - VERY belatedly - "waking up to nature's [intrinsic] value" . . . I won't hold my breath on that - even if some parts are waking up, I question whether that extends to sectors such as mining. Still, if there is such a trend, it should be nurtured; 
• the neolibs are still attacking  workers; 
• confirmation of elitist and wannabe elitists' actively trying to block access to affordable housing: "Australia's housing market is boosted by policies designed to ensure prices keep rising"; 
• an ethical argument for waiting your turn, and letting key workers and the vulnerable get vaccinated ahead of the rich, powerful or even the well-off or comfortable;  
  
• "regaining confidence after workplace bullying or discrimination"; 
  
• and, finally, some useful information on vaccinations - including the difference between sterilising immunity(you don't catch the targetted illness) and an immunity that manages the severity of the illness.
  

And finally, some of the points from an article debunking financial myths: 

• advice on stocks and investments is not always right, and some can be downright dodgy; 
• advice on cutting back on small luxuries (like daily coffees, or the "smashed avocado crap a few years ago) is complete and utter rubbish ("You can save $1,825 in 2021 by cutting out your daily coffee. However this will make you such a miserable tight-ass that none of your friends will want to see you... Focus on growing your income in 2021 rather than shrinking your lifestyle!");  
• not all debt is a problem (good explanation on student debt, but I would qualify that with the risk that the greedy, soulless neolibs may introduce retrospective laws seeking to recoup those from estates); 
• rent money "is no more 'dead money' than paying interest on a mortgage" (but there is the gross invasion of privacy, etc).