On Uganda, Burma, the attempted coup in the USA, and from the news

On Uganda this week:

• Museveni is continuing his stay in, and abuse of, power;

On Burma this week:

• the protests and killing continue - see here, here,
  
• the main opposition party in Burma will be dissolved; 
• Thailand's government-owned oil and gas company is increasing its oil ties to the despotic coup in Burma; 
• dozens of Burma's soldiers and police have been killed in the east of that nation; 
• a review and recommendations to contain the damage done by Burma's coup-mad military; 
• ASEAN is losing its potential influence over Burma's coup-mad military by failing to balance the carrot with a stick; 
• two  commentaries on one oil company's involvement;
  

From the news this week:

• on the climate crisis and the environment:
  "mid-level" community power storage batteries;   soulless Scott's claims of reduced GHG emissions "don't stack up";   the G7 will "end state financing for coal power plants this year";   a water supply agreement for a controversial coal mine has been overturned;   we're STILL missing our potential to be a renewables superpower - and the time limit on the opportunity is approaching ... ;   legal action and a proposed bill requiring climate crisis plans in Uganda;   China (which gets 20% of its electrical power from hydro) is planning to dam ("the world's riskiest project" - which also potentially weaponises that water supply) Tibet's Yarlung Tsangpo (which later becomes the Brahmaputra) at the an earthquake- and landslide-prone "Great Bend";   a blow to Indigenous water rights;   a Mexican cactus has become a noxious weed in my home state;   more farmers are committing to positive change to address the climate crisis;   oil spillages in Nigeria have reached a high;   the neolibs are - yet again - failing to see that protecting species is protecting the ecosystem we need to survive;   the Federal court has ruled that "the Australian environment minister has a duty of care to protect children from future personal injury caused by climate change";   more failures to access Indigenous water knowledge;   in a world first, "a Dutch court made a landmark ruling ... that energy giant Shell must reduce CO2 emissions by 45 percent in the next decade";   heat is creating a risk of famine in Bangladesh;  
  
  
• on international relations including war:
  a breach of international law and "act of state  terror" by Belarus when it used a fighter jet to force a passenger jet to land (and then kidnapped and abused a journalist and his partner) has led to both official and unofficial  aviation  sanctions, and likely escalations;  
  "the UN rights chief warned the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza "may constitute war crimes" and said _____' firing of rockets at Israel was "a clear violation of international humanitarian law" ";   after the ceasefire (stalemate), the misery in Palestine continues (although reconstruction has started) and the political position of the right wing agent of apartheid in Israel has been strengthened;   there was an explosion at an Iranian factory manufacturing drones after Iran claimed it was supplying them to Palestinian groups;  
  Iran will shut out the IAEA;   Iran's grip on militias in Iraq is weakening;  
  sanctions against some officials in Ethiopia and Eritrea over the abusive conflict in Tigray;  
  no likely to be implemented solution in sight for violence in West Papua;   justice and the rule of law is key to Africa's security;   we are NOT selling weapons overseas "responsibly";   a detailed examination of violence in northern Niger;  
   
• on the COVID-19 pandemic:
  some highly questionable - if not downright stupid - decisions around public events during my home state's latest outbreak (and a staggering list of sites that obviously über-social infected people have attended);   the West - including my nation - is still banging on about the utterly illogical conspiracy nut allegations of COVID-19 being "released" from a lab in China (China's expertise including medical is both clearly apparent in how the pandemic was brought under control and what they've achieved in space and with military arms, so any "release" would have to be deliberate - in which case it is more likely to be tried in Tibet or Xinjiang);   slow vaccine rollouts increase the chance of frauds and scams;      a snap lockdown in my home state to handle a B.1.167.1 variant outbreak;   an example of problems encountered by some small businesses;   privacy breaches by some US pharmacies;   privacy breaches by UK mass surveillance programmes;   concerns about potential US Postal Service privacy breaches;  
  
  
• on genocides and other human rights issues:
  residual tensions in Israel's Israeli-Arab communities;   suspected use of illegal weapons in Tigray;   Sudan will legally murder a (scapegoat?) officer for the killings of protestors;   Maoists in Peru have committed a massacre;   accusations of torture by an Australian in China's jails;   after decades of pointless and sometimes vindictive resistance, working from home is "likely to stay";   calls for states other than mine to catch up with us and also ease the transition out of state care for young people;   surveillance in Asia and blatant suppression in India and erasure of Native Americans;   criticism of the inadequacies of gig work in the UK;   homophobia in Ghana;   Tigray is still being subjected to human rights abuses and is at risk of famine;   a security vacuum in Darfur;   suppression of freedom of the press in Burkina Faso;   concerns at privacy overreach by a university;   another mass murder by gun in the Unexceptional States of America;   Belarus independent media and civil society need international support;   a teenager will be prosecuted for insulting Thailand's monarchy;   South Sudan arms embargo is still crucial for civilian protection;   violence in Mexico;   Germany has officially admitted it committed a genocide in Namibia in the early 1900s;   France has recognised it had a role in the Rwandan genocide;   an ex-cop in El Salvador appears to have murdered and buried DOZENS of women;   a NSW police officer committed assault and misconduct against a trans woman and is now facing civil action (but is still employed);  
  
  
• on democracy:
  how conspiracy fantasists "climb out of the rabbit hole";   a three decade nightmare legacy of privatisation in Uganda;   a coup in Mali may lead to sanctions;   the dangers of the USA trying to forget about the 6th January attempted coup;   protests against more kidnappings in Nigeria;   a funding boost for Sudan;   the six month old farmer vs. government dispute in India is continuing;   on soulless Scott's lies;   claims of a coup in Samoa;   "the decline and radicalization [sic] of the US conservative movement along demographic and ethnic lines ... will remain a potent cause of violence in the future";   dangerous situations - and what to do about them - in Bolivia, north east Nigeria, Ukraine, and Yemen;   a former advisor to the USA's RWNJ potus45 has admitted - after a fact check - that he was wrong when he claimed nearly a million jobs depended on petroleum gas;   a NSW ALP MP has resigned from a shadow Ministry over an unforgivably unethical "dirt dossier" which also saw a staffer sacked;   measured inflation is not detecting the real  increase in costs (of necessities);   claims of an agreement over elections in Somalia (we've been here before ... );   more "exaggerations" by soulless Scott;  
  
  
• on LGBTIQ+ matters:
  a life saving medical practitioner;   more homophobia in Grand Tsar Putin's 1800s Union of Soviet Socialist Russia;   US Pride marches have banned police marching in uniform, whereas my home state did not (partly to demonstrate that change is possible) despite similar calls;   an MP has apologised for a rant but not for the homophobic aspects of the rant;  
  
  
• on racism:
  Indigenous kids are still being removed;   growing curtailment of "no knock" police attacks;   an autobiographical documentary by a famous Indigenous person - "This film is about me. This is my story of my story";   a media channel has left vicious racist comments on one of its social media platforms for days;   "almost 40 human rights groups and legal bodies have co-signed a letter that damns the Victorian government's bail laws for contributing to Aboriginal deaths in custody";   Indigenous blood samples stored without consent will be returned - after more than half a century;   more racism from social media platform that looks like the worst parody of an immature teenager;   better support for reconciliation;  
  
  
• on sexism:
  "a family who survived domestic violence at the hands of a police officer is suing Victoria Police for allegedly breaching its duty of care in relation to the handling of the abuse complaints";   in their "weak" budget, the national neolib nitwits "spent 30 times more on tax cuts than women’s economic security";   "social service, human rights and domestic violence groups have warned against government plans to expand a welfare program aimed at single mothers, arguing the ParentsNext scheme is “punitive and flawed”" (only 3% have left for work);   "mentoring for women risks propping up patriarchal structures instead of changing them";   a backgrounder on what the US Supreme Court can and cannot do, and what is at stake, in agreeing to review an abortion case;   one Australian state has adopted affirmative consent laws;   against a background of concerns about a cover up (or at least incompetent investigation - and what has been described as "an exercise in professional smear" and was certainly a breach of privacy), Dutton's office  knew of the rape allegations over a year before the date Dutton admitted to knowing of the allegations - raising questions about the competence of those working in the office at the least;   more on the sexual abuse of strip searches;   the struggle for some cisgender women to get hysterectomies;   a US school has been a digital dinosaur by altering what they and the mid-1800s considered "immodest" photos;   period poverty;  
  
  
• on ableism:
  catering for endometriosis under disability laws;   inadequate mental health services for regional Victoria;   more concerns that the neoliberal "independent assessments" of the NDIS do not comply with human rights obligations - and the stupidity of the NDIA is shown by a staggeringly moronic question as to whether an amputation was permanent ... ;  
  
  
• on other matters:
  excellent reflections on slowing down, turning devices off, and tuning in to nature;   a shepherd in China rescued six ultra-marathon runners from a storm that killed 21 others;   call for increased awareness of palliative care;  
  
  

Warfare and weapons systems

Occasionally I read books or watch films about historical events and periods to learn - or remind myself of lessons I have already been aware of. I've just done that with a film about the development of the atomic bomb. 

That is a truly awful weapons system - one that still, as of this instant, has the active potential to destroy human civilisation and much of all life on the planet within a matter of hours (the Doomsday Clock is set at 100 seconds, but the actual launch and travel times in a nuclear war would be up to a few hours, with effects such as a "nuclear winter" creating disaster for years afterwards). 

There are, however, other awful weapons systems - or systems that have seemed awful at the time. These include: 

• anything which increased human impact (stone weapons and swords, for instance) or projected conflict beyond arms reach (such as spears or bows and arrows); 
  
• chariots; 
  
• Greek fire; 
• cavalry; 
• catapults; 
  
• gunpowder weapons including artillery; 
• machine guns; 
• mines; 
  
• chemical weapons; 
• weaponizing aircraft; 
  
• biological weapons.
  

When watching films such as the one I just have, it is easy to focus on the behaviour of those directly involved - particularly those who are so focused on intellectual challenges that they act without ethics. True, those people are unbalanced or even unscrupulous, but they cannot operate, let alone be effective, on their own. 

Take the Manhattan Project, for example. That employed up to 129,000 people, mostly (around 126,800) in construction or support industries (suggesting likely hundreds of scientists in the other 2,200 people), and cost something like US$1.9 billion at the time (current equivalent $21.7 billion). Successfully changing the hearts and minds of a few key people may have delayed the project, but is unlikely to have stopped it. 

Changing the hearts and minds of key decision makers like President Truman - which I consider an impossibility - would have made a difference, and that leads into the point I wish to make here:

Preventing evil is not best done by changing one or a few people (let alone the inherently flawed means of trying to assassinate an evildoer, which only create martyrs and taints the resultant end - although assassinations have been used with devastating effect against those in a position to do good, such as Yitzhak  Rabin, which destroyed the Oslo Accords), but by a robust and properly informed discussion by society which reveals and heals flaws (such as ethical blindness, whether from small-mindedness/xenophobia or the human desire for loved ones to come home safely from a war, active anti-ethical behaviour such as bigotry or other forms of hate, or just lack of awareness/knowledge such as the implications/consequences of courses of action) and enables society to commit itself to constructive action - such as the abolition of slavery in the UK in the early 1800s or (mostly northern) USA in the 1860s, or the banning of chemical and other weapons and other  problems (or potential problems) and atrocities in the various Hague (and other) Conventions (although some apparent gains, such as banning  expanding [aka "dumdum"] bullets, were actually to reduce the cost of wars).

Achieving that can take decades and be exhausting for those actively involved (e.g., see here, here, and here), but the wars, conflicts and other problems that result from not doing that is worse for society as a whole.

On Uganda, Burma, the attempted coup in the USA, and from the news

On Uganda this week:

• Museveni is continuing his stay in (see here on his changing views on that), and abuse of, power; 
• a Ugandan student faces prison over a tweeted joke.
  

On Burma this week:

• the protests and killing continue - see here, 
• the unity of opposition against the coup is showing signs of a movement to lead to a true (federal) democracy in Burma; 
• Burma's military have been shelling civilians again; 
• Burma's banking system is collapsing; 
• Australia's shameful inaction; 
• insufficient support for an arms embargo ... ; 
• the military has shut down the Internet; 
• soldiers are enslaved to the Burmese military - and sentenced to death (commuted to life imprisonment) for leaving ... yet a number are, in disgust at current atrocities; 
• connections between urban protestors and country rebels could make violent resistance (which would be a moral backstep) to the army more effective.
  

On the attempted coup in the USA:

• the US House of Representatives has voted to establish a Commission on the coup ... but that will be blocked by the retrograde party in the US Senate.
  

From the news this week:

• on the climate crisis and the environment:
  a devastating court decision shows the need for better protection of at-risk areas and flora and fauna populations/species;   "more alleged illegal logging" in our key water catchment;   a pledge to reduce plastic waste significantly by 2025;   past "megadroughts" in our wheatbelt;   more on the social nature of plants;   Sierra Leone has sold rainforest for a Chinese harbour;   a collaborative local government approach to addressing the climate crisis;   one airline has started using "biofuel";   the IEA has shown Scott and his crew to be out of touch IPOCs;   illegal deforestation is behind many daily foods;   after natural disasters, nations "cannot possibly “build back better” without addressing underlying causes of global warming";   students have marched for climate action;   the banks have rejected a fantasist comment from one of our backwards political parties;   need for better use of water in the Murray-Darling basin;   the proposed baiting response to a mouse plague will also kill wild animals;  
  
  
• on conflict and tensions between Israel and Palestine:
  the violence has spread to the West Bank and may spread elsewhere in West Asia;   Israel's attacks have included  media offices;   40% of Palestinians killed are women and children;   talks are continuing;   Arab Israelis and street fights in Israel;   increasingly out-of-step US President Biden has spoken to the Palestinian President;   a critique of the causes of the current conflict (verging on open war) shows Israel - validly - in a poor light;   lies from Israel on social media;   thousands around the world have been marching in support of Palestine;   the famous news agency whose offices in Gaza were destroyed by Israel is horrified and has called for and investigation - and for Israel to release its alleged evidence;   a call to monitor anti-Semitic groups in pro-Palestinian protests;   the problem of accountability for war crimes;   Gaza's health services are being overwhelmed;   the violence has spread to the Israel-Lebanon border;   far right Jewish extremists are threatening Israeli journalists;   the USA is blocking a UN statement against the violence;   children are being used in propaganda;   opinions on the "complexities" of the situation, Israel's loss of the moral high ground, lessons from the still ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland, and how to resolve tensions and violence inside Israel;   an anti-Semitism rally;  
  
  as predicted, a ceasefire has been agreed . . . and tested;  
  
  - see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here,
   
• on international relations including war:
  in what seems akin to a re-run of Da'esh's early tactics, activists in Iraq are being assassinated - by militias;   another warning of spying on social media;   France will cancel Sudan's debt;   now we are joining the race to militarise space ... ;   a controversial Indonesian military group (referred to by some as a "death squad) will use its Australian training against Papuan independence groups (who have been using violence);   alliances are being nurtured to try to end conflicts in Africa;   piracy in the Gulf of Guinea;   the ongoing need to deal with legacy UXO;   an examination of the Russia-China relationship;   Sudan-Ethiopia border fighting;   in a move suggesting something to hide, Ethiopia has expelled a New York Times journalist;   a right-wing extremist German soldier planned a false flag terrorist attack as if he was a Syrian refugee to fan xenophobic hate and violence;   more fantasy-land "thinking" from China about the South China Sea;  
   
• on the COVID-19 pandemic:
  lessons from the mishandled 1990s recession that were proven in the GFC, combined with improved technology, enabled the pandemic lockdown;   rather than a spate of suicides, mental health in Australia has improved under lockdown (perhaps not having to go into the office?);   despite airline claims to the contrary, some re-tests of Australians who were allegedly COVID-19 positive in India and thus unable to return home have shown they were actually free of the virus - and the lab the airlines used had been suspended over an inaccurate test result;   in a blow to education hopes for children, they have been shown to be vulnerable to a new variant;   an airline CEO is being glib about killing people;   discussions in France on the economic impact of the pandemic in Africa;   the dangers of reopening international borders too early are being ignored;   the pandemic is slowing in India's cities, but not the regional areas and the response is "patchy";   
  
  
• on genocides and other human rights issues:
  a Royal Commission has found that a notorious neochristian priest knew of child abuse committed under his watch (the heading is "history will not be kind to");   "Russian mercenaries are raping and murdering civilians they’ve been hired to protect";   the CCP is now grabbing the money of those it has arrested under it's anti-democracy repression;   a Cuban dissident has been hospitalised after a hunger strike;   repression in Algeria, Belarus, and Venezuela;   more suppression of freedom in Zimbabwe;   Thailand is again considering an act of refoulement against refugees from Burma;   the ever ongoing fight for cybersecurity and privacy;   an attack on justice in El Salvador;   devastating personal experiences have been relayed to the Royal Commission into a gambling casino;   mental health problems for veterinarians;   religious communities are angry (and using false equivalences) about a ban after a religious knife was allegedly used in a stabbing (but no anger about the stabbing?);   a notorious social media platform is continuing to target children;   Putin is so terrified of Navalny he is seeking to outlaw Navalny's opposition movement;   Australian governments have been "accused of hiding evidence supporting lift in age of criminal responsibility";   Egyptian authorities arrest mother for reporting son’s torture;   growing anti-Semitism in Europe;   suppression of free speech in Malaysia;   Denmark wants to return refugees to unsafe Syria;   more refugees have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea;   border controls have made criminal smuggling profitable;   the terrible conditions in Tigray (CW on the link - child abuse, horror);   "Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday it is extending until further notice a moratorium it imposed last year on police use of its facial recognition software";   "Genocide Watch considers the situation in Hong Kong to be at Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 5: Organization, and Stage 6: Polarization";   "Genocide Watch considers the border area between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to be at Stage 6: Polarization and Stage 7: Preparation";   remembrances of the genocides against the Crimean Tatars & the Tamils & the Greeks;   a media outlet found one of its journalists lied to get an interview decades ago with a famous and respected woman, but the interview is likely to have been unaffected by that - but her also famous and respected sons' have contrary views;   an example human story of those fleeing violence in Central America;   blatant anti-LGBTIQ+ hate from the ex-cop "Minister for Culture Wars";   micro-homes in slums;   55 million people were displaced last year;   the European Parliament has voted to freeze its trade deal with China over China's human rights abuses;   Indonesia needs to suspend and revise its new internet regulation;   Canada has shown itself to have a decency my nation lacks;   a US state has committed another legalised murder but allegedly "neglected" to tell the media ... ;   racism against Indigenous protestors in Colombia;   Bangladesh authorities have arrested a journalist reporting on COVID-19;   the government in Belarus has blocked  another popular media outlet;  
  
  thoughts on activism being for "those who carry the label", not those outside the community;  
  
  
• on democracy:
  steps towards ending the political crisis in Georgia;   growing concerns about upcoming elections in Nicaragua;   Chileans have elected people to rewrite the constitution written by a past dictator;   more questioning of Scott's unconscionable use of red carpet;   our fuel security is going backwards again;   Samoa is sliding into autocracy;   Ethiopia has again delayed elections;   Mali will form a "broad based" transitional government;   legacy corruption and judicial problems are threatening Sudan's transition to democracy;   an official investigation of 45's "commercial" organisation has now changed from civil to criminal;   a reflection on citizenship and Scott's cost cutting approach to the rights of citizens;   legacy corruption in the Sudan;   the AU has called for democracy in Chad;   finally, actions give a firm basis for hope in Libya;   how to prevent the next elections in Nicaragua being rigged;  
  
  inappropriate behaviour (consensual sex in a Parliament office) of an MP in my home state has been referred to the Speaker for investigation;  
  
  
• on LGBTIQ+ matters:
  a timely reminder that it is not always safe for TGD people to nominate pronouns on social media;   the general (endemic!) systemic bigotry of police is coming back to bite them with another ban from a Pride march - and calls for same at another;   a homophobic MP in Ghana has threatened an international diplomat who is advocating decency;   IDAHOBIT and an example of what is needed and what needs to be addressed;   the pandemic has enabled anti-LGBT violence in France;   LGBTIQ+ people are fleeing homophobic Poland;   active judicial transphobia in Spain;  
  
  
• on racism:
  jailed for stealing an ice cream ... ;   a police stuff up or set up has resulted in two men being freed and paid nearly A$100 million compensation;   "a new anti-racism network is encouraging people in Australia to report racist attacks";   racism in the US medical profession;   the 107 year old survivor of a militarised racist massacre in the USA a century ago has given her testimony;  
  
  
• on sexism:
  a tool to help police make better decisions about domestic violence risks;   45's puppets on the US Supreme Court have made a religious misogynistic challenge to US abortion laws possible;   experience SHOWS gender quotas WORK;   more police incompetence on domestic violence;  
  
  
• on ableism:
  concerns about errors in at least one of the independent NDIA assessments;
  
  
• on other matters:
  "China has become the third nation to land on Mars and the second to deploy a rover";   as the "Australian Retailers Association urges businesses not to take the law into their own hands", a solicitor warns of the risks of legal action for shaming ALLEGED offenders on social media and of the dangers of identifying young people - who are protected by courts for good reasons;   support and empowerment for hairdressers - who often hear intimate, sometimes disturbing or concerning, details about their customers' lives;   good thoughts on arrogance in professional titles (it takes five years to become proficient: until then, you're a junior);   a win for gig workers;   the damage done by "carrot and stick" schooling;   overwork is causing doctor errors;   a community legal service using lawyers, financial counsellors and social workers is providing effective assistance with mortgage stress;   more simple minded approaches to health that ignore work stresses and pressures.