Some human rights links - and maybe a thought or two ...

I cannae help myself * SIGH *

• An extraordinary revelation that illustrates that elitist colonialist "thinking" is still continuing: "The Elgin Marbles could be returned by changing the law, newly declassified government documents have revealed. The British Museum is prohibited from deaccessioning from its collection under a 1963 Act of Parliament. Bosses have pointed to the legislation after receiving a request to return once looted goods." - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/11/26/law-prevents-stolen-elgin-marbles-return-could-changed-says/; 
• an article that gives a nod to the need for justice as a key part of the transition from authoritarianism to democracy - and also reminds me that change takes three generations to be cemented into place . . . and that time period may not have started yet in Albania, given the denialism and outdated attitudes: "An exhibition of declassified documents from the much-feared Sigurimi, Albania’s Communist-era secret police force, showed how thousands of people in the capital Tirana were spied upon and persecuted. . . . She believes that the history of repression under Communism should be more widely known, as supporters of the former regime “still deny our suffering”." - https://balkaninsight.com/2021/11/26/declassified-documents-show-power-of-albanias-communist-secret-police/; 
• I respect this independent media outlet - not only for their independence, but also their perceptiveness, clear thinking, and eloquent expositions, in this case, on problems in our democracy that are very significant as we approach another Commonwealth election: "Corruption and extremism threaten government legitimacy . . . It is as though the memory of what happened in Christchurch, NZ where an Australian terrorist massacred the congregation in two mosques has been lost" - https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/corruption-and-extremism-threaten-government-legitimacy,15794; 
• "Controversial Olympic laws shielding federal politicians from scrutiny in Queensland have been ticked off by a state parliamentary committee. . . . CCC chair Alan MacSporran has warned the exemption is too broad and could have unintended consequences "given the absence of an equivalent Commonwealth integrity body". The parliamentary committee says it's unclear why federal politicians should be held to a different standard of accountability than other board members. "Very strong justification would be required to warrant such a provision, and to date, no such reasoning has been provided," the committee's report said" - https://www.mcivortimes.com.au/national/2021/11/26/5747967/controversial-qld-olympic-laws-ticked-off; 
• An excellent development: "Foyer des Jeunes des Marolles in Brussels, Belgium, organised and hosted the first training course on human rights education based on Compasito, the manual for human rights education with children" - https://www.coe.int/en/web/human-rights-education-youth/-/human-rights-in-everyday-life-compasito-training-course-in-brussels; 
• in an utterly appalling, credibility damaging move, an Irish woman who worked at the UN Human Rights Council was sacked over her "accusation that the Human Rights Council was giving China the names of Uighur dissidents" - https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/can-the-un-human-rights-council-be-credible-with-china-as-a-member-1.4739778; 
• hmm . . . "The German government said ... that Interpol's new president, like all officials at the international law enforcement body, must act in accordance with the rule of law, and played down his role in the organization. The comments from Germany's foreign ministry followed claims by human rights groups that the newly elected president of Interpol was involved in torture and arbitrary detentions in his native United Arab Emirates" - https://www.startribune.com/germany-interpol-chief-must-respect-rule-of-law/600120914/?refresh=true; 
• and in an acceleration of its retreat from democracy, "Thailand is investigating whether Amnesty International has broken any laws, its prime minister said on Friday, after ultra-royalists called for the human rights group to be expelled for its support of activists facing prosecution" - https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-probes-amnesty-international-after-ultra-royalist-complaint-2021-11-26/; 
• digital authoritarianism in Nigeria, and how to survive it - https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/497257-digital-authoritarianism-in-nigeria-by-justine-john-dyikuk.html;
  
• a definition of "social impact" at https://80000hours.org/articles/what-is-social-impact-definition/.

Some of this is because I'm now using a cheap [free] media monitoring service. And on journalism . . .

• when journo's go out of their way to find LGBTIQ-phobes to comment on pro-LGBTIQ matters, why do they never do the same with anything to do with the pandemic? Are they are conspiracy nut jobs? The article at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-27/melbourne-protests-thousands-mandate-pandemic-march-cbd/100656014 quotes protestors and experts, but no "everyday" people - are they incompetent, unprofessional, or biased?