The invasion of Ukraine: the UN Security Council, and racism

It has been appalling to see (on social  media) African students trying to get out of Ukraine being stopped. Racism? Colonialistic attitudes (i.e., their lives don't matter - or don't matter as much)? Both? 

All lives matter - Ukrainian, Russian, women, children, and a wide range of minorities INCLUDING BLACK. This, at this time, when Ukraine is seeking help, is both wrong on all counts, and also constitutes shooting yourselves in the foot. 

Second point: a Ukrainian news outlet also suggested that Russia be banned from voting on the United Nations Security Council. 

They can't - the "big five" getting vetoes was one of the prices paid for getting the UN established after World War (part) Two, and no-one's going to give up that much power.

However, they don't have a veto in the UN General Assembly . . . if only there was some way of convening everyone online to discuss and vote on such matters . . . 

Such a thing would probably be so quick, easy, and convenient you'd talk about zooming along to the online meetings . . . 

PS - I've just found the UN General Assembly can (that dates back to 1950!) and will be called to an Emergency Session after a procedural (majority suffices - vetoes don't apply) vote in the Security Council. That's even better, perhaps, so long as it doesn't take too long to set up . . . it didn't take long, and Russia had an overwhelming diplomatic defeat as its invasion of Ukraine was condemned by the GA.

I’m tired . . . major rant coming

With the invasion of Ukraine by the despotic Putin after what is chillingly akin to appeasement (especially by that IPOC POTUS45, who WAS ELECTED BY the USA) and an extreme and persistent workload in my day job (we’ve nearly double our workforce, but still need more people - at least I’ll get help next month), both on top of three years of family medical issues, I’m tired - physically exhausted, emotionally wrung out, mentally overdone, and utterly, utterly tired of “pussy footing around”.

So I’m going to let rip - but I’m not going to start with Ukraine. No, let’s start with Yemen.

Yemen - a nation which at times has seen 13 million of its more or less 20 million people needing food aid to survive. Yemen, where the violently misogynistic and Taliban-like Houthi have been running a rebellion - started, in part, by their response to a flawed government, but continued and conducted by their hate . . . and opposed by misogynistic Saudi Arabia and the human rights abusing (including outside its borders) UAE  (with the aid, I understand, of a former Australian soldier . . .  and munitions from the UK and USA). Saudi Arabia - the nation that refused to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights because they wanted to keep murdering apostates, the nation where women are living under near mediaeval conditions, a nation kept afloat and untouched because of its oil reserves.

Is the war being conducted by Saudi Arabia and the UAE doing long term harm (all wars do short term harm - asking about that is moronic)? 

Yes.

Would doing nothing do greater harm?

Yes.

As US President John F Kennedy said:

“There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”

Of course, action doesn't always require violence - as an example, Germany is now acting firmly and decisively against the gas pipe from oil-rich Russia.

It’s at times like this that I regret diplomats and national leaders not having enough brains and ethical backbone to do things like switch their nations to renewables (including electric vehicles and geostabilisation of accommodation temperatures) decades ago, as we wouldn’t be in this mess now - or, at least, not in as much of a mess.

Anyone who wants to argue that such would have harmed Russians should look at what they’re been living with under Putin (including a declining economy). 

ALL diplomats and national foreign affairs ministers should start putting human rights front and centre - after all, it is in nation’s highest interest to NOT be at war, and letting despots get away with “a little” human rights abusing (which it is not to the victims, of course) in the interests of money is just setting us all up for fuck ups like what is now happening in Ukraine.

Continuing with that theme of violence, Russia has been sending sadistic and/or psychopathic mercenaries to quite a few places (the most recent notoriety is in the CAR), and the only nation that has done anything to stop a vacuum on this issue is France - anti-religious, surprisingly racist, still colonialist (New Caledonia and through imposition of its currency in agreements in Africa) France, land of Bastille Day on the 14^th July, the 1789 “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” partly written by Thomas Jefferson (a slave-owning “Founding Father” of the USA who also co-authored that nation’s Declaration of Independence), and the short-lived, flawed, and violently suppressed “Paris Commune”.

There are shades of grey in all of this, but one area there needs to be fewer shades of grey is diplomacy, where diplomats have to, as I’ve already written, start realising that they can’t put human rights to the side or on the backburner - that’s how despots like hitler, Amin, Mugabe, the Khmer Rouge, Hussein, the Shah of Iran and his successor both, and many others including Putin can get set up in the first place.(If you don't know who those people are, do an internet search.)

So, noting that there are lots of other "Yemens", let’s now go to Ukraine, where the long foretold invasion is underway. Ukraine, where brave people are fiercely defending against overwhelming force - a discrepancy most apparent in Russia’s nuclear weapons, which Ukraine gave up (for a treaty where both the West and Russia agreed to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and to defend Ukraine’s borders) to someone who could actually use them.

And that is the biggest problem here: it’s not just Ukraine against Russia, it is the entire world against Putin’s (many Russians object to all this, so by no means is it “Russia’s”) potential use of nuclear weapons. 

Nuclear weapons . . . the use of which is banned by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons negotiated by ICAN, to which neither Russia nor the USA (nor France or other nuclear weapons holding nations - nor even nations without weapons, such as my Australia) have signed up to . . . 

Some (mostly) human rights links [Note: Content Warning - reader discretion is advised!] and thoughts - Saturday 26th February, 2022

Black Lives Matter! Be Anti-Racist, Anti-Sexist, and Actively Inclusive in ALL Areas.
The Climate Crisis is real, urgent and existential!

The Pandemic is Real, and Vaccinations save lives. Stay safe - wash your hands, practice social distancing and wear a face mask in public, and follow informed medical advice - and be considerate towards those at risk or in situations of vulnerability (including economic) while the COVID-19 pandemic is a problem.

Content Warning: this week's post includes discussion on barbaric violence.

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

• an example of the costs of the greed of neoliberalism, and more revelations about corruption - and an example from Zimbabwe; 
• under the "leadership" of Scott, and with concerns about corruption being expressed for years, "Australia [has been] formally warned it is acting ‘contrary’ to global anti-corruption alliance" and may be expelled;
  
• because of media stupidity/duplicity/ineptness, a survivor of child sexual abuse has had to explain what the consequences of that abuse include. See also here. In addition, a call for businesses to examine their corporate culture;
  
• some forests no longer absorb carbon during heatwaves . . . ;   "for most cities worldwide, urban greening can either subdue floods or mitigate heat. It generally cannot do both in one city";   the struggle to green Australia's power  industry;   “despite strong indications the regulations underpinning the licences could be disallowed for a third time”, “the NSW government has begun issuing flood plain harvesting licences . . . – a move that has been labelled “ . . . “bad faith” by key crossbenchers”;  "improvements in diversity, early-career development and emissions can all be achieved by holding meetings and conferences online";   "compassionate conservationists ask whether it’s ethical to harm and kill animals to preserve others. They believe ecosystems, species, and individual animals all have significant intrinsic value";   the rate of change of the water cycle is twice what was predicted;  
  
• Russia has invaded Ukraine. See here (an early "visual explainer"), here (another useful set of graphs), here (which also notes past inaction has allowed Putin to think he could get away with this), here (cyber attacks), here (on protests, including in Russia), here (on the tougher resistance and the likelihood that Russia's post-invasion plans are likely no better the USA's, and the risk of escalation in a likely months long conflict), here (on the nuclear risk), here (the EU is dithering on banning Russia from an international money transfer system), here (from 2014: "Hillary Clinton's comparison of Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler checks out"), here (on how the effects of the change of government in Germany was underestimated by Putin), here (on the refugee and other humanitarian crises),
  The most disturbing vision I have seen so far is of a Russian tank swerving to run over a car travelling in the opposite direction (I found out subsequently the driver and sole occupant of the car survived, but the attempt was bloodthirsty). That, which is similar to photos of a car with a wounded Palestinian in it being run over by an Israeli tank during one of the wars in southern Lebanon (his legs were visible - sticking out of car which had been crushed and was showing tank treads), is a war crime, and an appalling barbarity that shows how far some Russians have declined as human beings.
  It is also disturbing to read of "settler" Australians who say we have no familiarity with such things, when Australia was invaded in 1788.
  Also, Sudan's military is showing its true autocratic colours by visiting Russia to build closer ties during these events.
  What I had written before that invasion is:
  China's ties have left her caught between Ukraine and Russia (the Embassy of China has urged its citizens to make preparations and take care, but not to leave [Ukraine has told its citizens to flee Russia] ) - which nevertheless may see China as a key advantage, has recognised - and sent its military into - a separatist region in eastern Ukraine (will that satisfy Putin? It is in his interest, but led lead to sanctions - initially only against the separatist areas, but later Germany shut down the gas pipeline from Russia, and Europe, the UK and the USA (even  Australia, which noted the resultant cyber risks) sanctioned Russian banks and individuals - and Kenya has drawn comparisons between Russia's behaviour and that of colonialist powers in Africa) as rumours emerge of doubts within the Russian military over invasion;   the USA is alleging that Russia will commit human rights abuses if it invades;   a cautionary note over the benefits to the Baltic states of NATO's expansion - although that agreement tied BOTH the West AND Russia to respecting Ukraine's borders and sovereignty.  Also, Russian sock puppet #45has shown his true, red colours; 
• The latest democracy transformation index has been published - and shows:
     Russia's marked decline . . .
  
  
  
  

  
     as compared to Ukraine's recovery after a low spot in 2014 . . . being better than Russia throughout
  
  
  
  
  
• civilian deaths in Yemen doubled after the UN withdrew human rights monitors; 
  
• Germany has "indicted a businessman on suspicion of breaking arms control laws by helping Russia purchase sophisticated machinery that could be used to make chemical weapons"; 
• the problem of appropriation of the Holocaust;
  
• a study - disputed by the USA's Pentagon - has shown "after 70 years and some $350 billion in investment — no “system thus far developed has been shown to be effective against realistic ICBM threats” ";
  
• doubts over the national neolibs claims against a Chinese naval vessel - as well as concerns over the possible green-lighting of racism arising from the government's stance;
  
• the structural problems of international law - including recognising companies over people, and the legacies of colonialism; 
• Australia's weak international history;
  
• the European Union has imposed (more) sanctions on individuals and one company in Burma;
  
• "Haiti remains in ‘acute political and institutional crisis’ ";
  
• "how spyware is stifling human rights in Bahrain"; 
• a call for one social media platform to address its human rights problems, and concerns over political ads on social media (our laws pre-date social media . . . ); 
• concerns about "a particular class of political journalism that is closer to propaganda than news", and a call for progressives to respond assertively to attempts to denigrate them for being "woke";
  
• yet more homophobia in the USA, more transphobia from the ultra-bigoted national neolib nitwits in Australia (and see here on the cruelty of the national neolib nitwits' vanity bill), and what it's like inside a transphobic cult. The harms done by the UNSCIENTIFIC transphobic haters trying to separate transgender and cisgender women in sport, and more details of a transphobic police officers appalling conduct. Meanwhile, India's most progressive state has banned LGBTIQ abuse;
  
• in a possible substitute for an international war, the national neolib nitwits have announced a commitment to future surveillance of that part of the Antarctic that we claim - which may start a militarisation race . . . ; 
• a history of the changes to "national security" since the days it meant welfare of citizens;
  
• the USA's laws against torture ONLY apply to torture committed outside (!) the USA . . . ; 
• a call for concerns that New Zealand police aggression towards victims of the Christchurch massacre may have led to deaths to be investigated; 
• police in Guinea-Bissau have "lost" one tonne of illegal drugs . . . in a nation where the recent attempted coup was linked o the illegal drug trade . . . ;
  
• human rights have been attacked in Turkey, India, CAR (including Russian mercenaries), European borders, Afghanistan, Venezuela (barriers to voting);
  
• journalism has been attacked in Turkey, China (where journalists were physically manhandled when trying to report on the winter olympics);
  
• the national neolib nitwits proposed (enable) religious discrimination bill would cause more Islamophobia; 
• Western Australia has formally recognised that "job insecurity can harm both your physical and mental health ... in its new Code of Practice on Psychosocial Hazards in the Workplace"; 
• Australia has gone backwards 20 years and now has created the problems with "undocumented agricultural workers" that the USA has had for decades;
  
• "more Australian voters say government should prioritise population’s wellbeing over law and order . . . nine in 10 respondents also said governments should deliver services directly instead of outsourcing them to third parties"; 
• the NDIA has become "combative" and appears, in its slashing of spending, to be anti-disability;
  
• private schools do no better than public schools; 
• more on the privacy risks of the ABC's move to compulsory accounts;
• first world problems.
  

 

Europe's imminent disaster

As we get closer to a disaster in Ukraine that is the biggest threat to peace in Europe in decades (which was the break-up of the former Yugoslavia throughout the 1990s) - and with a real risk of global effects, I'm publishing a preview of what I would include in this Saturday's weekly human rights & news summary, as it may have all changed by then: 

• China's ties have left her caught between Ukraine and Russia (the Embassy of China has urged its citizens to make preparations and take care, but not to leave [Ukraine has told its citizens to flee Russia] ) - which nevertheless may see China as a key advantage, has recognised - and sent its military into - a separatist region in eastern Ukraine (will that satisfy Putin? It is in his interest, but led lead to sanctions - initially only against the separatist areas, but later Germany shut down the gas pipeline from Russia, and Europe, the UK and the USA (even  Australia, which noted the resultant cyber risks) sanctioned Russian banks and individuals - and Kenya has drawn comparisons between Russia's behaviour and that of colonialist powers in Africa) as rumours emerge of doubts within the Russian military over invasion;   the USA is alleging that Russia will commit human rights abuses if it invades;   a cautionary note over the benefits to the Baltic states of NATO's expansion - although that agreement tied BOTH the West AND Russia to respecting Ukraine's borders and sovereignty.  Also, Russian sock puppet #45has shown his true, red colours;
  

IMO, the highlighted comment is particularly significant in view of Putin's attempts to rewrite history.

The initial sanctions are also just a toe in the water: they leave room for more drastic options if Russia does actually invade. 

But in any case, we're back to Cold War days - or a tripartite version of that, given China's increased military and international clout and the withdrawal to an inward focus of so many Western nations. (Asleep at the wheel much? Want to comment about losing the world under your watch neolibs across the world?)

Ukraine vs. Russia

After a quarter century free of major war, it looks like Europe is about to find itself embroiled in war again, as Russia’s expected invasion of Ukraine becomes (likely) very imminent. I suspect the attack will be a combination of in the east of Ukraine (already underway), and from the north - which is closest to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. The absence of anything much other than infantry in Crimea suggests not much may happen there (except perhaps linking up with the separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine?), but, wherever it happens, the consequences will be devastating - two Ukrainian soldiers have been killed already, and both Ukrainian and Russian militaries have improved since their last conflict in 2014, so this will have fatalities, injuries, and destruction amounting to devastation. 

The last conflict, in 2014, was fairly clearly localised (and reflected, in part, the ethnic tensions Stalin had deliberately created to help him rule), as was the fighting a few years ago in Nagorno-Karabakh (also a deliberately divisive creation of Stalin). The level of international interest suggests very strongly that this conflict will be different.

I’m not referring to this as as “maybe a conflict”. The major factor for my choice of words there is that Putin would need a way to avoid losing face, and he has - apart from Russia’s genuinely held concerns about being vulnerable to attack through Ukraine and Poland - and the West has invaded Russia/the USSR from the north, during the Russian civil war in 1918-21) - invested too much to just call the war off. (I’ve read a suggestion he has been looking for a time that would surprise the West, but I consider that highly unlikely of being found now, with the intense international scrutiny - unless China does something spectacularly stupid, perhaps as part of or just over the olympic closing ceremony). 

Attempts at diplomacy have been an almost robotic “going through the motions” mundanity so far, and thus I hold little hope of that working (see also here and here, for some of my past thoughts that may be relevant). At least diplomatic efforts exist. The call by the Ukrainian President for details of threatened sanctions to be made public could help, but Putin needs a way to save face - and he appears to be prepared to lose other people’s lives - or see them left crippled and in desperate, lifelong pain -  if necessary to do so. 

I’m currently reading Robert  Harris‘ Cicero trilogy, and am staggered at what people will do when they put the quest for personal power. Cicero was well motivated for some of the actions he undertook - including having five Roman citizens executed without a trial, but taking life ALWAYS denigrates the sanctity of life, and, in that historical case, undermined his attempts to prevent the Roman republic becoming a dictatorship. 

Coming back to the present day, one set of people who are well motivated to avoid unnecessary wars is those who have been in wars. 

I wonder what they would think of the current conflict in eastern, soon likely to be all of, Ukraine? Reasonable? Justifiable? Or an ego driven grab for power and “a legacy” . . .