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).
- “Nebraska legislator says the quiet part out loud: white supremacy is the point of banning abortion” (M); the hypocritical double standards of trans-hating US republicans (M); another transwoman has been murdered in the USA (TG); more defamatory trans-hate by a far right extremist politician in the USA (PN); in a further blow to democracy in that self-destructing nation, an elected trans representative has been prevented from doing her job by being silenced by transhating republicans in the USA (V); a reminder that soldiers had drag shows (TC); “open LGBTQ hunting season? What if 3 Anti-Jewish Bills Passed in 1 Day? In one day last week, three bills and one shocking executive action sent even more queer Floridians packing their bags. Meanwhile, in Africa, an anti-queer bill has inspired beatings and killings” (M) - see also here (RR); the hate and death threats experienced by a legislator belonging to several minority groups - and her staff - in the USA (MEE); a criticism of the US Democrats for “failing to confront” the US supreme court (I’m not sure that confrontation is appropriate, but changes to a better form of court are long overdue) (The Soapbox) as it is found that the billionaire who provided “gifts” to a justice DOES have a case before the supreme court (Raw Story) and concerns emerge about another justice (Rolling Stone); a US journalist has documented the far right takeover of her town (TG); another criticism of media gullibility (made by media, demonstrating that the problem is not universal) (P); “civil rights groups sue over anti-democratic laws” (Democracy Docket); a dangerous misinformer has been kicked out of his media role (TND); concerning allegations that members of the UK royal family undermined attempts to hold the media accountable (TG); religious criticism of Europe’s backsliding (TND); in a surprise move towards decency and democracy, the “Alaska Supreme Court, in landmark ruling, says partisan gerrymandering violates state constitution” (Yahoo); Iran’s security forces are torturing, abusing and killing children (HRW); wildly misplaced and misdirected hate, threats of violence and intimidation in the Iranian diaspora (P); the role of nonviolence, often led by women, in the fight against far right wing extremism in Europe during World War (part) Two (TC); a call for windfall taxes on defence sector profits (DW); “motherhood doesn’t define womanhood ... we shame childfree women because they do not fit into the status quo ... selfishness is toxic to a hypocritical society” (M) - see also this (TG); concerns about the coming impacts of AI (M);
- on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple international agreements):
- Australians WANT to take action on the climate crisis (TG); “air pollution kills more than 1,200 children a year in Europe, report says” (and there are places in the world with far worse air pollution - and often far worse health system ... see here, here, here, here, and here) (F24); a major oil company is “facing green rebellion at annual shareholder meeting” (TG); a move to non-disruptive protests as rational warnings and disruptive protests have had little effect (this parallels the known benefits of non-violence elsewhere - see here, here, and here, for instance) (CT); “US Supreme Court ruling could turbocharge lawsuits against oil companies” (F24);
- climate / environmental issues have also occurred in: trucking (TC), Ethiopia (HRW), flying (DW), a fossil company’s shareholders (TG), a rocket launch (and I note engineers warned this would happen) (TG), East African drought (AP);
- on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter) including COVID-19 AND OTHER PANDEMICS:
- 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:
- in a credibility undermining move, authoritarian China - which is currently illegally occupying Tibet - has belittled the independence of sovereign nations that were formerly part of the USSR (TG), but will send a peace delegation after a conversation with Ukraine’s President (TG);
- on human rights in the region and globally: “leaked Amnesty review finds own Ukraine report ‘legally questionable’” (TG);
- inside russia: “convicts pardoned by Putin [after serving in russia’s informal military] return to terrorise home towns” (TG); russian billionaires are now approaching being trillionaires (ABC);
- internationally: pressure over Ukraine is causing tension in South Korea (Daily Beast) - see also here (R); more on the impacts of cheap Ukrainian grain on European farmers (why isn’t it being exported to where it is needed - Africa, in particular?) (DW);
- on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous international treaties):
- the UN General Assembly is progressing a plan to overturn use of the veto by the Security Council’s “Big Five” (UN); “Azerbaijan sets up checkpoint on land link between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh” (F24); an examination of a possible role for Rwanda’s president is resolving violence in west Africa (TEA); Ethiopia will begin talks with a rebel group over a decades long conflict (AJ); India and China have agreed to work out a mutually acceptable resolution over their border dispute in Eastern Ladakh (TH); India will work with other nations to address food and energy insecurity issues (TH); an assessment of the fractured military opposition in burma (DW); the USA will send nuclear submarines to help guard South Korea (NBC News) - see also here (F24);
- 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:
- on the violent conflict between two warlords in Sudan: the brutal legacy of Sudan’s former despotic ruler is playing out now (TEA), an opinion that there will be no winners (MEE), activists are still calling for a peaceful transition to democracy (DW) - see also this (AA), talks will happen soon in South Sudan (ST), another (DW) ceasefire (AJ) is being attempted as diplomats and citizens are being evacuated - see here (ABC), here (DW), here (F24), here (F24), here (TG), here (MEE), and here (TG), or attempts are being made at evacuation (DW) - and thousands (TG) flee (MEE) as warnings are made of a humanitarian crisis (TG) and refugees in Chad face problems (AJ) ... but airstrikes are threatening the ceasefire (TG) - see also here (AP) ... the ceasefire was extended but fighting also continued (F24), disease outbreaks may cause more deaths (TEA), an examination of the role of social media (ICG), a “Libyan warlord could plunge Sudan into a drawn-out ‘nightmare’ conflict” (F24) while russia’s informal military is working with the other side (the army/junta) out of greed (DW) - see also this analysis of militia politics (PVG) and this (TG), another map of the violence (BBC), accusations of russian interference in Sudan by Kenya (TEA), concerns that the former despot in charge of Sudan could have been part of a mass escape (MEE) - see also this (DS), neighbouring nations are worried (DW) - see also this (UN), the worry, fear, and helplessness of the Sudanese diaspora (TND), meanwhile, a peace treaty has been agreed in Darfur (WP) ... but started (UN) failing (AP) as fighting in Khartoum continued;
- DRC has occupied three villages in Uganda (TEA);
- incidents / action of concern in/regarding: global military spending (DW), Cameroon’s borders (VoA), mainland China/Taiwan (TG);
- violence in: Mali (F24) - see also this (Le Monde), Burkina Faso (AP) - see also here (F24), Pakistan (bbc), India (TH), Nigeria (AN), Nigeria (Premium Times Nigeria), DRC (R) - see also here (NA);
- on CORRUPTION (noting international agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM:
- on DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring projects):
- globally: a website has launched an interactive map of the state of democracy in various nations (IDEA); an examination of the complex interactions - including unintended consequences of actions - between large scale corruption/crime, violence and democracy (PVG); protests against France’s president are continuing (F24); protests by Israelis against proposed judicial changes are also continuing (F24) - and “Israel's non-democratic laws will have a devastating impact on the Palestinians” (MEE) ... see also this reflection on Israel (DW); following the publication of this, my thoughts on politicisation of the public service; another article on the role of corporate greed in inflation (TG); “Haiti insecurity 'comparable' to nations at war, says UN” (F24); Türkiye may have a change of government after coming elections (depending on policies, that may or may not be good, but at this stage I suspect a peaceful change of government would benefit Türkiye and the world) (F24) - see also here (F24) and here (DW);
- in Australia: “Australia’s domestic intelligence agency ASIO has welcomed a Coalition bill to ban n___ symbols including the ____ ____ salute, telling a parliamentary inquiry it would help prevent recruitment and radicalisation by far-right extremists.” (TG); $0.4 billion that was awarded to a company without normal due process from a previous neoliberal government appears to have mostly been spent appropriately (ABC); a critique of ANZAC day (TG) - and inappropriate behaviour by a neoliberal (TND); criticism (TND) of Australia’s “broken” (TG) migration system; action against gambling problems (TND); a boost to health care (TND); a criticism of middle-of-the-roadism (TG); inadequate acknowledgement of, let alone dealing with, poverty (TSP), and a call for broader single parenting support (TG), and see also this (TBS), this (TG), this (TND), this (TG), this (TND); “‘it’s obscene’: ATO still chasing $2bn in student debt from controversial 1990s loan scheme” (TG); a suggestion that the RBA Board appoint the RBA governor (TND); a criticism of unnuanced considerations of inflation (ABC); despite claims by the military, the nuclear powered submarine project is NOT nation building (MW) - and ex-US navy personnel are charging us astronomical fees (ABC); the complexity of our history of military service (TC); a major (TC) review (TC) of our approach to defence has been undertaken, finding our military is out of date (TG) in the missile age (TND) - see also this, on the centrality of climate change (TC), this critique (TG), and this, on China’s likely reaction (TG); the problem of “defence exceptionalism” on spending (YT);
- on the proposed Voice to the Parliament in Australia: the Yes ad campaign has been launched (TG); “a majority of First Nations people support the voice. Why don’t non-Indigenous Australians believe this?” (the article calls for media and politicians to stop misrepresenting what Indigenous people are saying) (TG); more legal support for the Voice (NIT); “dysfunctional treatment of Indigenous Australians will continue unless voice exists, Ken Wyatt says” (TG); “the
suggestion this week that culture is being allowed to trump safety in
child protection decisions involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander children is both untrue and offensive” (TG) - and “NGOs back child and family peak bodies” (NIT);
- suppression of opposition / dissent / media in russia (DW),;
democracy is also at risk in Cambodia (HRW),;
- on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC):
- a French court has stopped the expulsion of migrants from a slum (F24); “male and LGBTIQA+ [domestic violence] victim survivors regularly face hurdles when seeking help” (ABC); US jails suspected of inadequate care for inmates will be inspected by a UN group (TG); the Minorities, Accountability, Rights, Independence and Organizational Development programme (MARIO) has been launched (MRG); the age of criminal responsibility will be raised in Victoria, but not to the internationally agreed age (I think one of the problems here is the perception that people mature at different rates, but good practice would certainly be to use the international standard, given the counterproductive and devastating harm caused by going into the criminal system at a young age) (NIT);
- human rights are at risk or abuses have also occurred in: airlines (TG), India (TH), Qld (TG);
- noting the GENOCIDE Convention: an atrocity alert for Sudan, Burkina Faso and Democratic Republic of the Congo (GCR2P);
- noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES: a The Guardian exclusive reports “UN refugee chief condemns Australia’s offshore detention regime and slogans like ‘stop the boats’” (TG);
more refugee issues: the Mediterranean Sea (AN), Australia (good news) (TND) - see also this (HRLC);
- noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE: erasure from Holocaust history (Time); “Trans Twitch star files human rights complaint against police after swatting arrest” (the police had been warned of this possibility beforehand, and used trans-hate conduct including deadnames that they should not have had) (CBC); the effect of trans adults who are not “out” on perceptions of statistics (M); a vile homophobic MP has tried to tar all other straight men (TG) with his brand of insecure hateful amathia; “anything goes as IOC changes tact and Transitioned Sports Women’s health needs are caught in crosshairs of ideological TERF-LGBTQ wars” (The Left Winger blog);
more LGBTIQA+ issues: Peru (good news) (HRW), USA (Texas Observer), Slovakia (PN), USA (PN), USA (TG), European Human Rights Court (PM);
- noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM: Indigenous people dislike (consider culturally inappropriate) acknowledgement of "emerging" elders and prefer past and present (I’ve actually always thought this should be future) (SBS - NITV); from the noted Dr Stan Grant, “on Anzac Day, I honour the story of my uncle, a Wiradjuri warrior killed in a war he was never meant to fight” (ABC) - and the PM’s ANZAC Day message acknowledged (TG) Indigenous soldiers (NIT); “the Australian War Memorial must deal properly with the frontier wars” (TC); “Robert was wrongly arrested because of a racist algorithm. Are these the hidden dangers of AI?” (ABC); “Daniel Andrews has expressed his government’s “great shame” regarding the overrepresentation of First Nations children in Victoria’s child protection and criminal justice systems, saying racism and injustice need to be “confronted and addressed”” (TG) - see also here (TG); racist vigilante attacks in Qld (TG); “Senate inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women [and children] is just one part of fight for justice” (NIT); “white privilege means your irrational fears are always validated ... this means you need to listen to Black People (not the white supremacy-compliant ones)” (M); “why racists love their black-on-black crime talking point ... it's a way of disguising their disdain as empathy” (M); the problem of caste discrimination in the USA (DW);
more racism issues: Australian universities (SBS), aboriginal legal services (TG);
- noting CEDAW on SEXISM: in a surprise move, the ultra-conservative US Supreme Court has TEMPORARILY preserved access to an abortion pill (F24); a call for support of female war veterans (ABC); “don’t reward the Taliban’s gender apartheid with recognition” (Lowy); the pseudo-christian catholic cult is inching into the 20th century (TG); Ugandan police have arrested 11 female MPs for a peaceful demonstration (R);
more sexism issues: sports (QN);
- noting the laws listed here, the conventions listed here, and principles discussed here, here, here, here, and here, on the RIGHTS OF ANIMALS and other forms of life: In a demonstration of the sentience of pets and the need to care for pets properly (and perhaps an unintended criticism of the ethics of keeping pets), “parrots taught to video call each other become less lonely” (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: there appears (ABC) to have been a major miscarriage (TG) of justice some decades ago;
- noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: disability pride (TG); “Australian women with disabilities face “reproductive violence”, including forced sterilisations, abortions and contraception, an inquiry will hear” (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: a call for a housing accord (TG); price gouging by landlords (TG) - see also this (ABC);
more food, clothing and housing issues: tiny homes (ABC), energy efficiency (TC);
- on supporting carers who have to do a self-harm watch at home for loved ones;
(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: 3KND radio - 3KND; 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 [now too forceful, IMO, on IP, cookies etc] ; 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; Mary L Trump - MLT; 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 [$] TP ; News24; North Africa Post - NAP; Openly - Op; Out in Perth - OiP; Pearls and Irritations - PnI; Pink News - PN; Political Violence at a Glance - PVG; Politico - P; Premium Times Nigeria - PT; Q News - QN; Quartz - Q; Radio France International - rfi; Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE); Religion News Service - RNS; Renew Economy - RE; Responsible Statecraft - RS; Reuters - R; Robert Reich - RR; (Bruce) Schneier - Sch; Special Broadcasting Service - SBS; Star Observer - Star; Sudan Tribune - ST; Sydney Morning Herald - SMH; Teri Kanefield - TK; The Age - TA TP ; The Big Smoke (TBS); The Conversation - TC TP ; The Defence Post - TDP; The East African - TEA; The Guardian - TG; The (Nigerian) Guardian - TG-N; The Hindu - TH; The Monthly - TM; The National Tribune - tNT; The New Daily - TND; The New Humanitarian - TNH; The Saturday Paper - TSP; The Sentry - TS; The Shot - TS; Timothy Snyder - TS; Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA; United Nations - UN; Vice - V; Voice of America - VoA; Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$]; 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 . Assumptions / basis
In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following:
- this
blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights
matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume
readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the
post header;
- I
expect readers to take positive action on at least some of these
stories - e.g., write to elected representatives, where that is
possible.
Possible flaws
Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:
- there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan
Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”;
- I could be wrong in my views or commentary - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.
Finally, remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing.
