Some (mostly) human rights links [Note: Content Warning - reader discretion is advised!] and thoughts - Saturday 22nd January, 2022

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

• "in an act of climate barter, Jordan is gearing up to provide solar energy to Israel in exchange for desalinated water";
  
• there is only limited time available to salvage the Iran nuclear deal;
• an interesting video on having more than two parties, including commentary that Europe's multiplicity of choice results in more stability than the USA's binary choices - and criticism of the blocking of voting reforms in the USA by two nominally Democrat Senators; 
• a very US-focused video on SLAPPs and anti-SLAPP measures, and one on the limitations of HIPAA; 
• a call for international law to recognise climate refugees; 
• Ukraine, currently being menaced by Russia, has experienced a major cyberattack - which some groups in Russia are noted for committing; 
• "70 people have been killed after an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a detention centre in northern Yemen"; 
  
• the CCP's head, Xi Jinping, has established himself as leader, but by doing so (particularly in the way he has), has created a situation where a succession crisis is inevitable, and may play out badly for him - thus compelling him to stay in power; 
• other nations are allowing the CCP to forcibly return people to mainland China;  
• an opinion that the IoC was partly responsible for the debacle of the app for the sporting event in China - where the CCP has threatened legal action against any athletes who speak out on ANYTHING that doesn't kow tow to the CCP;
  
• Sudan's military continues to appear move towards reimposing its autocratic rule by violently  suppressing dissent - at the expense of foreign aid, although their words suggest support for civilian government; 
• more calls for the junta to allow elections in Mali; 
• protests against suppression of free speech in Angola;
  
• a jailed Vietnamese journalist has been given a human rights award; 
• the catholic sect's pope has "vowed justice" for abuse victims of the church he now heads - abuse which also was reportedly enabled by his still living predecessor;
  
• the digital trail of a recent mass murderer has exposed "the violent fantasies of the ‘manosphere’";
• the misogynistic violent extremists who have power in Afghanistan have responded violently to women calling for rights;
  
• "research by the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR) uncovered a “foul trove of racial hatred” on [social media platforms] and amongst the gaming community";
  
• the use of biometrics by Greece's police is undermining human rights; 
• a legal case has been launched against the use of facial recognition technology ("there is little evidence that the technology reduces crime, critics say. It also often fails to identify darker-skinned persons and women accurately, and its use is problematic in the absence of a data protection law in India, digital rights activists say") in India;
• a caution that aid to address Afghanistan's massive and growing humanitarian crisis "must be disentangled from concepts of political legitimacy"; 
• an opinion that "the torture of asylum seekers has twisted our perceptions of right and wrong"; 
• Australia has failed to meet an obligation under the international anti-torture convention; 
• calls to ban an abusive Bangladesh unit from peacekeeping; 
  
• "the United Nations (UN) has [reportedly] commended Nigeria for being the first country in Africa to successfully secure conviction for piracy";
  
• a criticism of changes in recent years at SBS (to this criticism I'll add SBS's aggressive harvesting of personal information, which is why I use neither their app nor their online viewing options); 
• "White Man’s Media: Legacy media in the US and UK frames and conditions our thinking and actions" - the first in a series to come; 
• "the appointment of a long-time friend to Rupert Murdoch as chair of the ACCC is dubious, given potential conflicts of interest";
• the national neolib government is putting workers at risk again; 
• more allegations of corruption (or, at the very least, unfairness and possibly arbitrariness) by the national neolibs;
  
• an opinion from the USA that "Hospital Greed Is Destroying Our Nurses";
  
• a thoughtful (and evidence-informed) reflection on why (some) mass protests fail; 
• a new theory on the causation of vigilante violence; 
• Russia is the latest government to ban cryptocurrencies.