Some (mostly) human rights links and thoughts - Saturday 11th December, 2021

Some human rights (including significant, relevant links in other fields - such as geopolitics, democracy, or authoritarianism) links: 

• bushfires emitted twice as much carbon as Germany - see https://news.trust.org/item/20211206170218-3t7co/; 
  
• truly staggering stupidity in discrimination against a young man has led to effective campaigning against that - see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-05/heike-fabig-is-using-chatbots-to-improve-access-to-legal-help/100585228; 
• an attempt by a social media platform to manage a problem has backfired - see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-04/twitter-permissions-policy-far-right-parag-agrawal/100674906; 
• the EU has - quite rightly - been criticised for going against decades of recognising the importance of people being able to flee oppression (which goes back to the genocides and abuses of World War (part) Two) by restricting the rights of refugees / asylum seekers at borders in eastern Europe (is there a racist element to this?) - see https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/eu-criticized-for-move-to-relax-asylum-rights-at-belarus-border/ar-AARteb4. The UK has equally been enshrining xenophobic savagery - see https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/6/what-is-the-uks-nationality-and-borders-bill, and https://theconversation.com/australias-asylum-policy-has-been-a-disaster-its-deeply-disturbing-the-uk-wants-to-adopt-it-172141;
  
• "more than 60 civil society organizations [have] called upon the United Nations to create an independent panel to investigate and report on violations of international law committed in Yemen" - https://www.jurist.org/news/2021/12/civil-society-groups-call-upon-un-to-investigate-atrocities-in-yemen/; 
• as thousands of fake pro-China social media accounts are removed for amplifying the CCP's denialist lies - see https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/3/22815606/twitter-china-misinformation-campaign-uyghur-muslims-xinjiang-propaganda and China threatens retaliation for protests against its human rights abuses - see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-09/australia-will-pay-the-price-for-winter-olympics-boycott/100688502, both main US political parties have agreed to "push back" against China's human rights abuses - see https://www.npr.org/2021/12/08/1062478295/democrats-and-republicans-agree-to-push-back-against-human-rights-violations-in-;
• neo-nazis in NSW have started going to the homes of activists to make threats and commit property damage - see https://www.sbs.com.au/news/anti-racism-activist-calls-for-control-of-neo-nazi-groups-after-attack-on-sydney-home/d461ded5-1c75-4b0a-9669-0e57269cc25e. They're doing this overseas as well - see https://www.dw.com/en/germany-torchlit-rally-against-covid-measures-in-saxony-prompts-outcry/a-60020777, but we also have appalling elected representatives here committing incitement that reflects badly on those in his electorate - see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-06/george-christensen-calls-for-covid-protests-on-conspiracy-site/100678420; 
• more on the problems mid-level Victoria Police members have created with the LGBTIQ+ communities - see https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2021/12/the-thinning-blue-line/;
  
• another pack of IPOC gun nuts in the USA - https://www.sbs.com.au/news/us-congressman-posts-family-christmas-picture-with-guns-days-after-deadly-school-shooting/f6b7eee7-1d03-4eb3-8e89-0aa76ea75dfd;
• "the UN has raised concerns about India's use of counter-terrorism legislation to crack down on rights activists", which is something too many nations are doing, IMO - https://www.dw.com/en/india-un-slams-anti-terror-laws-amid-controversial-arrests/a-60034650, and "the Biden administration is enabling India’s human rights abuses. By failing to hold Modi to account, Biden is perpetuating deepening religious persecution against Indian minorities" - https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/12/5/the-biden-administration-is-enabling-indias-human-rights-abuses; 
• "Poland has to explain how it intends to abide by its obligations to the European Convention on Human Rights after the country’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that part of the convention clashed with the Polish constitution" - see https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-explanation-how-implement-european-convention-human-rights/; 
  
• as the USA implements a policy against corruption (see https://www.miragenews.com/fact-sheet-us-strategy-on-countering-corruption-687853/), concerns about what NSW's former Premier, currently under investigation for alleged corruption, running for Commonwealth Parliament says about us - https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-other-countries-urge-ethiopia-cease-illegal-detentions-statement-2021-12-06/; 
  
• six nations have urged Ethiopia to stop using illegal detention - see https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-other-countries-urge-ethiopia-cease-illegal-detentions-statement-2021-12-06/;
  
• actions for human rights in support of human rights - see https://www.dw.com/en/india-un-slams-anti-terror-laws-amid-controversial-arrests/a-60034650 and https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-hamilton-rainbow-helmet-saudi-arabia/; 
  
• the people of Sudan continue to show their desire for democracy and freedom from (military, at the moment) tyranny - see https://sudantribune.com/article226560/; 
• the Nigerian air force has ignored a court order to assault and harass the poor who wish to either continue using or be compensated for the 5% of an airbase created in the 1970s that is theirs - see https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/499459-special-report-nigerian-air-force-destroys-houses-farms-in-poor-benue-community-despite-court-order.html; 
• unlike the neoliberals, amongst Australians support for Indigenous people is high and deeply entrenched - see https://theconversation.com/our-research-shows-public-support-for-a-first-nations-voice-is-not-only-high-its-deeply-entrenched-172851. However, in this land of the stolen  generations, "number of Indigenous children being removed from homes increasing at 'staggering rate'" - see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-09/family-matters-report-indigenous-children-removed-from-homes/100685932. At least a "northern Australian catwalk competition is about grit, not glamour — and it's saving lives" - see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-09/kimberley-girl-catwalk-competition-saving-lives-trauma/100560418;
  
• Poland’s repression has increased depression in LGBTIQ+ people from 28% to 44% https://news.trust.org/item/20211208130507-avdni/;
  
• "ASIC launches last banking royal commission case, but almost half did not make it to court" - see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-09/banking-royal-commission-report-asic-court-action-customers/100686336; 
• people in Australia from Afghanistan are facing discrimination - see https://theconversation.com/i-say-tajikistan-or-uzbekistan-why-afghan-refugees-feel-unwelcome-in-australia-even-after-becoming-citizens-170557;
• a "Rohingya lawsuit against [a social media platform] a 'wake-up call' for social media" - see https://news.trust.org/item/20211210085754-cc0m1/; and "33 human rights wins to celebrate this year" - see https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/12/33-human-rights-wins-to-celebrate-this-year/.
  

 On journalism: 

• unquestioning "reporting" (puppetry / public announcement service?) on the DRC's "economic bright spot" makes no mention whatsoever of the violence that is making the lives of millions hell (do they think it's OK to be the richest corpse in the graveyard?) - see https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/congo-an-economic-bright-spot-africa-says-imf-chief-2021-12-08/.