Some human rights and other news links [Note: Content Warning - reader discretion is advised!] and thoughts - Saturday 4th March, 2023

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Content shown in green (which may be only part of a news story) is about what is generally considered “good news”, but personal history may still make such events triggering. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. Reader caution is recommended. For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]).  

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, wear a face mask in public if prudent to do so, and follow informed medical advice.

Some mostly human rights (including significant, relevant links in other fields - such as geopolitics, democracy, or authoritarianism) links (note: the source of news items [but not reference links] is in brackets after each item - normal rules around abbreviations will apply, and abbreviations are listed at the end of this post; links behind hard paywalls have a [$]; also, comments by me are in purple).

• this week has seen the incredibly consequential admission of wrongdoing by a notorious media magnate (details below), the start of a reversal of the rich people’s war on civil society through the taxation system, and admissions of “making false statements to support [the] robodebt scheme”. Even the ludicrous social contagion fantasy has had another rebuttal, so there have been some good advances - and those include a small prospect of peace in the war in Ukraine, and several good governance matters (particularly here in Australia, but also elsewhere). The world is still, however, disturbingly unhealthy, dangerous, and regressive - in part due to mistakes by people/nations who should do/be better, but there are encouraging signs that decency is fighting back.
  
  
• the ALP has come up with a secret proposal to use a national digital ID instead of 100 points of ID that has MASSIVE dangers (TSP);   US police ALLOWED far right wing violent extremists to violently beat LGBTIQA+ people (M) - see also this (M);   “New York City to pay millions over police ‘kettling’ at Floyd protest” (The Philadelphia Inquirer);   as Indigenous youths are targetted in streets, “online anti-crime groups propel Queensland to a political reckoning ... people with pitchforks on social media pages are raising fears of vigilantism but others say they want real solutions, not just more kids in jail” (TG) - see this, on similar racial profiling and targetting problems in WA (TG), this (TG), this, on sexual assault via strip searches and sexual threats of detained children (TG);   forestry waste exacerbated the devastation in New Zealand from a recent cyclone (TG);    concerns the CCP’s censorship could affect the Internet (FH);   the ethical questions around having children (TC);   “(how) fascism is when people don’t want you to exist” (M);   a US “republican ... faced fierce criticism for ‘grotesque suggestion’ in southern state with history of lynchings” (M);   the USA “is destroying everything by making it a business” (M);   “martyrs won't save the world” (SS - JW);   further to the recent debates on changed content, “why one children’s books editor turned down Roald Dahl titles” (TG);  
  
• on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
• the problem of waste heat (which is something I have long considered should be managed in houses - and, as noted in the video, is an argument in favour of solar) (YT);   “water Ministers fail to agree on way forward as Murray-Darling Basin Plan deadline looms” (ABC);   the clean up after a train crash in the USA has been stopped ... over contamination fears ... (!!!) (TG);   more coal plants in China (TG);   “African climate activists fight online surveillance” (news24);   in Australia “large scale wind and solar smash output records on main grid” (RE) - “solar already Australia’s largest source of electricity ... and will soon outpace capacity from coal” (TG);   “ASIC sues [a superannuation company] for allegedly ‘greenwashing’ fossil fuel and gambling investments” (even for companies, innocent until proven guilty) (TG);   “Australia will co-sponsor Vanuatu’s historic bid for the international court of justice to rule on the climate crisis, including the legal consequences for causing significant environmental harm” (TG);   an examination of Australia’s impact on the climate crisis (TG);   a personal experience of realising the urgency of the climate crisis and need for personal action after being flooded (TG);   conflicting policies in China (TG);   “the key to stemming forest loss on the ground: making it economically attractive to keep trees standing and prevent planet-heating emissions while helping communities get out of poverty” (CT);   a Nature Magazine exclusive reports that “documents raise questions about UCLA’s suspension of ecologist” (Nature);   “ACCC to crack down on ‘greenwashing’ after survey reveals spike in misleading claims” (TG) - see also this (TND);   “Gabon summit promotes worth of tropical rainforests ” (VoA);   “Niger announced ... that it is to join a key UN water-sharing agreement with its Lake Chad neighbours in the increasingly drought-prone Sahel region” (UN);   hopes for future recycling of solar panels (Yale e360);   “agricultural sector joins fight to protect Queensland’s wild rivers from gas fields” (TG);  
  
• climate / environmental issues have also occurred in:   SUVs (TG),   a UK supermarket chain (TG),   Vietnam (Lowy),   burma (DW),   Uganda (North Africa Post),   Nigeria (BB);
  
  
• on the COVID-19 AND OTHER PANDEMICS (noting WHO advice, Article 12 of the ICESCR, and public emergency provisions of the ICCPR and the ICESCR) and other health matters: 
• an assessment of the current risk from the global bird flu outbreak as low (TC);  
  
  
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter): 
  
• on the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria:   “Türkiye and Syria earthquake death toll passes 50,000, as 18,000 war refugees return to Syria” (ABC);   a mass (DW) drowning (TND) of refugees (TG) off Italy;   training on asbestos hazards (APHEDA);  
  
• HOW to recover better after natural disasters (community-led is better) (TC) - see also this (NIT) and this (TG);   floods (TND) in NT (ABC);   a cyclone has hit Vanuatu (AJ) ... and a second one (TG);   cholera in Africa (AP);   20,000 people have been potentially exposed to measles at a religious event in the USA (TG);   extreme impact from a winter storm in the US state of California (TND);   an air ambulance crash in the USA (TG) and a helicopter crash in Somalia (VoA);   an appeal for aid for Yemen (UN);   a train (TG) collision (ABC) in Greece (TND) - see also this (TND);   continuing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan (UN);   violence may cut back aid in Haiti (TG);  
  
  
• on rashist  putin and his cronies’ ILLEGAL (it is contrary to Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter  and international law [and the 1928 Pact of Paris which was successfully used in post-WW2 trials], and possibly includes conduct contrary to the "laws" of war and international humanitarian law (IHL)) INVASION of UKRAINE: 
• on military matters:   another one year reflection (B);   following China’s indication it has a peace proposal, Ukraine’s President will meet with China’s President (ABC);  
  
• on the nuclear (weapons and power) situations:   “US rebuffs Russian demand linking nuclear pact with Ukraine support ” (The Hill);  
• on human rights in the region and globally:   kidnapped residents of Ukraine are being paraded by putin (TG);  
• inside russia:   an oligarch says russia “could run out of money” next year (TG;  
  
• internationally:   the EU has imposed additional sanctions (TND);   some Germans are protesting against further arming of Ukraine, claiming to want peace (TG);   Moldova (DW);   Finland is building a fence on its border with russia (TG);   China is spending billions on disinformation in support of russia (TG);   russia is building military ties with Algeria (TDP);   cost of living (AJ);   
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
• Russia has launched a capsule to enable astronauts (two Russian, one US) trapped on the International to Space Station by damaged capsules to leave (F24);   France is revamping its policies on Africa (F24 ) - but see also this, on France’s allegedly imperial level control of some African Nations (YT),  “why Nigerians are protesting against France’s anti-jihadist campaign” (The New Humanitarian), and “Burkina scraps 1961 military aid pact with France” (NA);   grave concerns (TG) after particles (AP) of weapons grade uranium were found in Iran; 
• noting particularly Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter, the 1928 Pact of Paris used in post-WW2 trials, the "laws" of war and IHL and Article 20 of the ICCPR on WAR / CONFLICT:   massive (TG) destruction (F24) from Israeli occupiers after two were killed by a Palestinian was described by an ISRAELI general as a pogrom (R) - see also this (UN) and this analysis (CSIS);   thousands of Congolese are volunteering to fight rebels in eastern DRC (Vice);   “independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council [have] welcomed Armenia’s commitment to combat the use of mercenaries and private security companies” (UN);   a possibility of peace in the southern Philippines (DW);   “[UK] navy seizes Iranian weapons shipment suspected to be bound for Yemen” (F24);  
  
• incidents / action of concern in/regarding:   South Sudan (TEA),   Somaliland (AJ);
   
• on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM:
  
  
• US CITIZEN RUPERT MURDOCH HAS ADMITTED HIS NEWS NETWORK’S EXECUTIVES KNEW CLAIMS OF THE 2020 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION BEING STOLEN WERE LIES (TND) - see also this (TG), this renewed call for an enquiry (TND);   
  
  
• “deputy commissioner highly critical of botched arrest of [an Indigenous man killed during the arrest], inquest hears” (TG), and “senior officer says dragging of [the man] to police car after shooting was ‘unacceptable’” (TG);   
  
• from here: “... they are all subject to the Party’s rules. This fact enables Chinese government interference – including misinformation, disinformation, censorship, and surveillance – that affects not only users based in China but around the world” (TG);   “former New South Wales deputy premier ... “inappropriately interfered” in the selection of former NSW Business Chamber chief executive ... to fill a senior UK trade position for the state government, a parliamentary inquiry has found” (TG);   “one in 100 police officers in England and Wales faced a criminal charge last year” (TG);   in the UK a “secret House of Lords circle ‘shown to have worked with far right’” (TG);    russia’s informal military are also meddling in business (DW);  more secret data breaches (ABC);   the trauma caused by a bot which stole a name and image (TG);   “fifty refugees who allege they endured horrific treatment in now-defunct South Australian detention centres are facing vast and unexplained delays to their cases against the government, which threaten to languish in the courts for more than a decade” (TG);   “NT gambling regulator admits not telling bookmakers of 48 addicts who asked to be banned” (TG);   “no real estate agents fined for breaking NSW rent bidding rules, despite hundreds of warnings” (TG);   a social media platform is “‘acting too slow’ to tackle self-harm and eating disorder content” (TG);   a counselling service shared personal data (The Verge);  
  
  
• a former Minister has admitted to “making false statements to support [the] robodebt scheme” (TND) - see also this, on the terrifying refusal to accept responsibility (TG), this (TG), and this (TG);   a court case challenges the validity of ALL decisions made for those Ministries for which Scomo was secretly a Minister (TG);  
  
  
• concerns around past/current/potential corruption/misgovernance also in   NSW (TG),   Spain (TG),   Mali (ACSS),   Indonesia (TG),   UK (TG);
  
  
• on DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• globally:   an assessment of US President Biden as being well suited to these times and possibly quite consequential from a historical perspective (TC);   protests against Tunisia’s xenophobic dictator’s anti-migrant laws (TG);   “twelve years after its revolution, political tensions in Libya remain high, and its leaders face a “major legitimacy crisis” amid widespread public frustration ... [as] plans [are announced] to create a new mechanism in support of crucial elections” (UN);   contested (rfi) election results (TG) in now more deeply divided (DW) Nigeria;   an examination of the latest attack on democracy in the USA by an elected conspiracy fantasist and right wing extremist (John Beckett);   the failed social security net in the UK (TG);   “a new executive order ties equity in AI to a broader civil rights agenda” (M);   as one person is killed in anti-coup protests (AN), “civil society groups rise to safeguard Sudan’s shaky transition to democracy” (HA) - but one political leader says “chances of ending Sudan's coup are slim” (ST);   an election vulnerability index (FH);   the US White House is insisting software companies do their job on cyber security (AP);  
  
• in Australia:   a Coordinator for Cyber Security will be appointed (TC) - see also this assessment (TC);   GPs are not accepting Defence Veterans’ cards for payment (TG);   the human cost of rising cost of living (TG);   a call for renting to be treated like an essential human service (TG);   THE HALF CENTURY TREND OF REDUCING TAXES TO FAVOUR THE WEALTHY HAS STARTED BEING REVERSED (TND) - see also this (TG), this (TC), this (TG), and this (TG);   “why governments must meaningfully re-enter the housing market” (TND);   “Queensland becomes first Australian state [but not first territory, as ACT already has done this, I understand] to introduce pill testing in move away from ‘1950s drug policy’” (TG) - see also this, on lessons from overseas (TC);   the Albanese government has rejected changing capital gains on family homes ... so change for investment properties!!! (TG);   “‘powerful evidence’ of online gambling harm, federal parliamentary inquiry head says” (TG);   “ParentsNext welfare scheme ‘does too much harm’ and should be replaced, inquiry finds” (TG);   “Federal Government Privacy Act reform could force small businesses to protect personal information” (ABC);   “GPs in community health centres are withering from neglect” (TG);  
  
• on the proposed Voice to the Parliament in Australia:   “when it comes to the voice, Indigenous politics cannot be reduced to ‘left’ and ‘right’” (TG);   an assessment of how it would work (TC), and a sort of FAQ (TC) as a warning is issued on the risk of misinformation (TG);   the need to call out race-baiting in the form of lies that the Voice is about special treatment (TG);  
  
• suppression of opposition / dissent / media in   Iraq and Egypt (F24),   Cambodia (F24),   Google in Canada (TG),   China (DW);
  democracy is also at risk in   Mexico (AP),   USA (The New Republic) - but see also this (social media - Mastodon),   USA (P),   Mali (AN),   criminal threats (PVG),   ISRAEL (TC); 
  
  
• on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC):
  
• notoriously human-rights abusing “El Salvador moves suspected gang members to 40,000-capacity ‘megaprison’” (TG);   an anti-freedom misogynist has poisoned (TG) dozens of school girls (TND) in Iran;   the USA is taking action against increasing antisemitism (DW);   “Australia’s ‘quiet diplomacy’ approach to human rights in India has failed” (TG);  
  
• human rights are at risk or abuses have also occurred in:   Australia (TG),   eastern DRC (news24),   Nicaragua (UN);
  
• violence in:   DRC (AP); 
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   Italy is breaching the safety of life at sea treaty (DW);   “amid a worsening refugee crisis, public support is high in both Australia and NZ to accept more Rohingya” (TC) - who are facing a food crisis (UN);  
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   “the federal government has launched a 10-year national LGBTIQA+ health plan, including $26 million in grants and research ... in a move advocates say will save lives” (QN);   CHANGES IN NUMBERS/RELATIVE NUMBERS OF TGD PEOPLE/YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BECAUSE OF THE REDUCTION IN STIGMA, NOT THE UTTERLY RIDICULOUS SOCIAL CONTAGION FANTASY (M);   “powerful speech halts bathroom ban in Arkansas: "most extreme anti-trans law in [the USA]" gets pulled” (SS);   a Christian church has spoken out against anti-LGBTIQA+ attacks at World Pride (QN);  
  more LGBTIQA+ issues:   Germany (gun attack on a place) (LGBT Nation);
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   “race and erasure: why the world’s other humanitarian crises don’t see the same response as Ukraine” (TC);   “the presence of legal equality doesn’t disprove the existence of institutionalised injustice” (M);  
  more racism issues:   Victoria (TG),   Canada (NIT),   Hawaii (there is a surprise in that case) (TG);
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    a misogynistic male bully has sued a woman for not dating him ... (TG);
  
  
• noting the laws listed here, the conventions listed here, and principles discussed here, here, here, here, and here, on the RIGHTS OF ANIMALS:   my thoughts on “communicating with non-humans - and the ethical implications thereof”;   an examination of whale strandings and what they indicate (TG);   
  
  
• noting Articles 2 (1) (also noting this, this, this, and this), 3, 7, 14 (see here and here), 15, 16, and 26 of the ICCPR,   Articles 3, 5 (a), and 6 (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Articles 2, 12 (2), 37, 39, and 40 of the CRC,   Articles 5, 12, 13, and 14 of the CRPD,   and   Articles 1 - 2, 7 (2), 8 (2) (c), 9 - 10, 12 (2), 20 (2), 27, and 40 of the DRIP on the JUDICIARY / JUSTICE SYSTEM:   the growing and now massive number of people held on remand (i.e., jailed without sentence) (counter-productive so-called "tough on crime" laws and what appears to be structural, organisational, and personal racism appear to be major influences, IMO) (TG);   “using Queensland’s own laws to highlight the government’s youth justice failings does not make judges soft” (TG);  
  
  
• noting Articles 6 (1), 7, and 8 (see here) of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (i) (ii) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Article 11 (1) (a - c) of the CEDAW,   and   Article 27 (1) of the CRPD on WORK and FAVOURABLE WORK CONDITIONS:   evidence that Australian Universities cooperated to drive down wages (TG);  
  
  
• noting Article 6 (1) of the ICCPR,   Article 11 of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (iii) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Article 14 (2) (h) of the CEDAW,   Article 27 (3) of the CRC,   Article 28 of the CRPD,   and   Article 20 of the DRIP on FOOD, CLOTHING, and HOUSING:    tiny and alternative houses are gaining more acceptance (TC);   

(Should you elect to write to your elected representatives or others on these matters, it may be useful to familiarise yourself with the links shown in blue - or to at least refer to them. Don't forget to CHECK whether your nation has RATIFIED the treaty concerned.)

Abbreviations:   Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA;   Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project - ACLED;   Aeon Magazine - Aeon;   Africa Centre for Strategic Studies - ACSS;   Africa News - AN;   Al Jazeera - AJ;   All Africa - AA;   Amnesty International - AI;   Associated Press - AP;   Australian Associated Press - AAP;   Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC ^TP ;   Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility - ACCR;   Australian Independent Media Network - AIMN;   Australian Unions - AU;   Barrons;   Bellingcat (B);   Bloomberg - BB;   Brisbane Times - BT;   British Broadcasting Commission - BBC ^TP ;   Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - BAS;   Cable News Network - CNN;   Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - CBC;   Centre for Strategic and International Studies - CSIS;   Climate Change News - CCN;   Committee to Protect Journalists - CPJ;   Context - CT;   the (US) Council on Foreign Relations (CFR);   Crikey - C [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24 ^TP ;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   Globe Echo - GE;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Jessica Wildfire (Substack) - JW;   Just Equal - JE;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   Mail & Guardian - MG;   mainstream media - MSM;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Middle East Eye - MEE;   Minority Rights Group - MRG;   Mirage News - MN;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Television - NITV;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   Nature Magazine - Nature;   New York Times - NYT [$] ^TP ;   News24;   North Africa Post - NAP;   Openly - Op;   Out in Perth - OiP;   Pearls and Irritations - PnI;   Political Violence at a Glance - PVG;   Politico - P;   Premium Times Nigeria - PT;   Q News - QN;   Quartz - Q;   Radio France International - rfi;   Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE);   Religion News Service - RNS;   Renew Economy - RE;   Responsible Statecraft - RS;   Reuters - R;   Robert Reich - RR;   (Bruce) Schneier - Sch;   Special Broadcasting Service - SBS;   Star Observer - Star;   Sudan Tribune - ST;   Sydney Morning Herald - SMH;   The Age - TA;   The Big Smoke (TBS);   The Conversation - TC ^TP ;   The Defence Post - TDP;   The East African - TEA;   The Guardian - TG;   The (Nigerian) Guardian - TG-N;   The Monthly - TM;   The National Tribune - tNT;   The New Daily - TND;   The Saturday Paper - TSP;   The Sentry - TS;   The Shot - TS;   Timothy Snyder - TS;   Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA;   United Nations - UN;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   War on the Rocks - WotR;   Washington Post - WP [$] ^TP ;   Wikipedia - WP;   Yahoo News - Yahoo; YouTube - YT.

Note: news sources are never perfectly accurate or good - for instance, some have been transphobic (which is why I may, for instance, cancel email subscriptions), but may be good in other areas (e.g., racism) - and attributes may vary depending on region and over time. I do NOT provide an unqualified endorsement of ANY of the media sources I use. Sources with evidence of being transphobic may be marked with a ^TP .

Finally, remember: in general, we need to be more human being rather than human doing.