Saturday 8 April 2023

Some human rights and other news links [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on bigotry/hate, violence/abuse/war, and CSA. Reader discretion is advised!] and thoughts - Saturday 8th April, 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).

  • manufactured moral panics and patriarchal myths continue to plague the world - particularly the decisions of those in power, and enable evasion of responsibility;  
  • the manufacturing of moral panics (M) and patriarchal myths (M), both of which have links to the right wing extremism first seen in 1930s Germany, and long reads on “the weaponisation of hypocrisy” (M) the necessity of white people understanding white people’s role in perpetuating white supremacism and that fixing white supremacism is a white people’s problem (M) - also, “white supremacy is an ideology, not a skin tone. White supremacy is not a person or people; it’s a doctrine and a cause” (M);   “stop the boats: the export that should shame Australia” (SMH);   the staggering rise of corporate greed (M) - manifested through the evil actions of “the Merchants of Doubt” (John Snow Project);   the problem of elitist media bias and influence (MW);   “crime mattered in Chicago’s Mayoral race — just not how pundits implied it would ... Brandon Johnson showed that progressives can have a persuasive response to gun violence that neither denies it exists nor claims “law and order” as the only solution” (Mother Jones);         an assessment of the legal aspects of charges against former potus45 (YT) and here (Teri Kanefield) - and “”Ralph Nader: [potus45] arrest was “massively overdue” after turning White House into a “daily crime scene” (Democracy Now);   in the USA some former POTUS45 supporters are making dangerous allusions to violence (TG);   an assessment of the state of democracy, including the risk of violence in the USA following the charging of potus45 (TC);   former potus45’s family have been attacking the family of the judge hearing the case against that despot (TND) - see also here (M);         “I used to work at Google and now I’m an AI researcher. Here’s why slowing down AI development is wise” (TC);   a defamation lawsuit has been launched over false claims made by ChatGPT (TG);         “while there is nothing sexist about embracing feminine energies (past or present), too many social media reels conflate power with a stereotyped version of femininity. ... With endless reels advertising a sexist notion of femininity, feminism itself may be taking a few unholy steps backwards” (TND);   a reflection on Jacinda Ardern’s political career (TC);  

  • on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
    • “why market fundamentalism is incompatible with climate action” (n___d capitalism);   “Indigenous knowledge offers solutions, but its use must be based on meaningful collaboration with Indigenous communities” (TC);   “some of Australia’s biggest heavy industrial companies ... say urgent action is needed from governments, investors and business for Australia to cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with its goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C” (TG);   “a fossil fuel economy requires 535x more mining than a clean energy economy” (Distilled);   “Tiwi Islands traditional owners lodge human rights complaint against banks over $1.5b Santos loan” (ABC);   “Seychelles to host world's largest salt-water floating solar plant” (Seychelles News Agency);   “former ADF chief calls for release of secret report into security threat posed by climate crisis ... says global heating poses larger security threat than China, and Australians should be armed with this information” (TG);   we are beyond carbon dioxide removal (e.g., by planting trees) being a viable solution (Nature);   after falling for years and enabling the ozone layer to start healing the hole, CFCs are on the rise again (Nature);   “network helps connect African journalists on climate issues” (VoA);   “US tornado deaths already nearing national annual average” (UPI);   air pollution has been linked to dementia (TG);  
    • climate / environmental issues have also occurred in:   ice sheets (TG),   rewilding animals (good news) (Mongabay);

  • 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: 
    • “long COVID exercise trials proposed by NIH raise alarm” (Nature);   COVID-19 is now our third ranked cause of death (ABC);  

  • on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter): 
    • an appeal for aid to address the famine in Somalia (UN);   drought in southern Ethiopia (R);   a massive storm on the east coast of the USA (TND);   one of the consequences of the earthquake in Türkiye has been the destruction of retirement plans (DW);   two trains have collided and been derailed in the Netherlands (ABC);   an avalanche in India (ABC);   unborn babies (TC);   signs and preparations for cyclones in Vanuatu (Atlas Obscura);  

  • 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: 
    • more on russia’s weaponisation of cyberspace (TC) - and russia’s long history of weaponising deportation (TC);  
    • on human rights in the region and globally:   “global network aims to sue [russian informal military] as a [violent extremist] organisation” (AJ);  a Russian security officer has defected and accused putin of being a war criminal (AP);   an assessment - including limitations - of the ICC warrant against putin (PVG);   post-war rebuilding needs (UN);   “a Russian girl sent to an orphanage after drawing an anti-war sketch at school has been taken from the facility by her mother, the Kremlin children’s rights commissioner has said” (TG) - see also this (DW);  
    • inside russia:   a writer (TG) has criticised the invasion of Ukraine and threats to Russian culture (TG);  a pro-war russian blogger has been killed (this person was not a member of the russian military - formal or informal - but was playing an active role, and thus there is an argument that they were a legitimate target ... but that argument has nuances / shades of grey and counter arguments) (TG);   
    • internationally:   russia has threatened (ABC) Finland for joining (TG) NATO, which was the quickest acceptance ever - see also this assessment (TC) (it always amazes me that Finland has fewer people than my home city);   concerns about Ukraine’s plans for Crimea (F24);   “Latvia reintroduces compulsory military service” (DW);   
       
  • on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
    • a call to deter China from war with Taiwan, as it would “dwarf” the Ukraine conflict (TG) as Taiwan vows not to be intimidated (TND) whilst monitoring a Chinese naval group off its coast after meeting between US and Taiwanese Presidents (TG);   the recently shot down “Chinese balloon gathered intelligence from sensitive US military sites” (TG);   Russia is joining forces with Iran and India (and has a long history of supporting India) (YT);   an aid plan for Burkina Faso (UN);  
    • 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:   “East African regional force take control of key town in eastern DRC” peacefully (AN) - see also here (GCR2P);   Israel has attacked worshippers in a major mosque in Jerusalem (F24), leading to rocket attacks in retaliation, further (F24) escalation (F24) and global condemnation of Israel’s attack (F24) - see also this (UN);   “peace process takes another step forward as Tigray unveils new interim cabinet” (news24) - and as Ethiopia dismantles regional militia in favour of a centralised military (R), Mozambique legalises local militia to help fight against so far unconquered insurgents in their north (VoA);  
    • incidents / action of concern in/regarding:   Syria (F24);
       
  • on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM: 
    • the details of abuses and misconduct by police serving London in the UK include ruining rape cases, a physical and religious assault of a Sikh officer, and other appalling barbarities (BBC);   “law enforcement officials sent to police the region devastated by [Türkiye’s 6th February], 2023 earthquakes have beaten, tortured, and otherwise ill-treated people they suspect of theft and looting” (HRW);   a police officer abused his authority to commit sexual crimes (ABC);   “investigation launched into whether AFP tried to ‘pervert the course of justice’” (this is an investigation - there are not even any charges at this stage: it is important not to allow the seriousness of the matters and the public status of the case affect attitudes at this stage) (TG);  
      calls for a notorious conservative US judge to be impeached over decades of undeclared       “gifts” (TG);   a whistleblower may be jailed before one of the soldiers charged with war crimes (SMH);  
      the possible illegality of using prayer in official meetings of all levels of government (TC); 

  • on DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
  • on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC):  
    • the legacy of unexploded land mines (UN);    “impunity is driving violence in South Sudan” (UN);   the start of accountability for one aspect of the war in Kosovo in the 90s (DW);   NASA has taken (TG) one small step (NIT) for diversity;   “EU move to ban forced labor goods poses a test for SE Asia” (this has been coming for some time, so SE Asia should have been well on the way to adapting on this and other issues by now - and there are no cultural conflicts) (DW);   the problem of microaggressions (TC);   “it is estimated that up to one million people in Iraq have disappeared over the past five decades – a crisis that continues today, UN independent human rights experts said ..., calling for investigation and legislation to eradicate “this heinous crime” ” (UN);   a massacre at a kindergarten in Brazil (TND);   the UN says “children in Central African Republic are victims of appalling abuse, brutality” (AA);   “Victorian Children's Commission urges action as new data shows ongoing sexual exploitation of children in care” (NIT);   “a group of 60 organisations in the Aboriginal, legal, health, faith, youth, and human rights sectors has urged Victorian Premier ... to immediately raise the criminal age of responsibility to 14, with no exceptions” (NIT);   “the situation of black people with disabilities in Brazil” (MRG);   “police [serve] Melbourne woman with multiple charges over alleged ‘hijab attack’ on Muslim teen” (while such  conduct is appalling, remember the principle of innocent until proven guilty applies) (TND);  
    • human rights are at risk or abuses have also occurred in:   Burkina (AP) Faso (AN),   Libya (UN),   Bangladesh (DW),   UK (CT),   Nigeria (NA),   India (HRW) - see also this (DW);
    • violence in:   Nigeria (TDP),   Cameroon (VoA);

    • noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   calls for Germany to give meaningful direct reparations - in accordance with human rights law - for its genocide in what is now Namibia (HRW);   an atrocity alert for Burkina Faso and Mali, El Salvador and Uganda (GCR2P);  
    • noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   a regional Australian town has “flipped the stereotype” and been welcoming to hundreds of refugees (TC);   the mass fatalities at a Mexican detention centre last week shows the lethality of current US anti-refugee policies (HRW);  
      more refugee issues:   Australia (TG);

    • noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   a social media platform “appears to censor LGBTQ+ terms including ‘trans’” (PN);   a well-known actress has supported her trans daughter (BuzzFeed);   former US President Obama has given a (slightly garbled) message of support to trans (and LGBTQ) people (The Hill);   “family support protects trans young people – but their families need support too” (TC);   “AOC calls [a social media channel] creator ‘super transphobic’ to her face” (The Advocate);   a noted trans activist has spoken (SBS) of the last month of hell and the need (ABC) for better protections of TGD people;   a Daily Dot exclusive reports “‘hugely traumatic:’ trans teacher reveals how [conservative media platform’s] coverage of their [social media] led to bomb, death threats” (Daily Dot);   “Trans Bill of Rights reintroduced by Democrats as GOP tries to advance restrictions” (19th news);   a call for a right wing party to take action (TG) against a member who posted an extremely vile homophobic remark - which that person has refused to retract (Star) - as other parties refuse (TG) to work with that person ... given their savage mockery (TND) of people with disabilities, action is probably unlikely;   “thousands of Catholic nuns join the fight for trans rights” (PN);   more transgenocidal acts in US states (UPI);   “as a trans journalist, I am writing for my life” (Junkee);  
      calls (Uganda Monitor) for sanctions and other (HRW) action against Uganda      ’s kill LGBTIQA+ bill;   a scientific understanding after scientists finally listen to Indigenous people (TC);   the need for gender affirming care to be covered by Medicare (Overland);   in the USA, “Democrats can win on trans issues — but only if they fight” (The Nation);   excellent response of a transchild to a transhating parent collaborating with a transhating journalist to spread lies (YT);   in a staggering act of legalised child abuse, “Kansas lawmakers override Governor's veto on bill to check g______s of kids playing sports” (The Deep Dive);   “Saugeen First Nation wins land claim over Sauble Beach after decades in court” (Toronto Star);   “Australian censor rejects push to ban Gender Queer book” (QN);  
      more LGBTIQA+ issues:   UK (PN),   Uganda (PN),   Spain (good news) (EuroNews),   a bedtime story (Hindustan Times),   UK (M);

    • noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   criticism of Qld police for being unable to wear body cameras that SAS soldiers in combat can (TG) as protests over a recent fatal shooting by police continue (NIT);   calls for a Victorian police ombudsman (NIT);  
      “a giant of Aboriginal land rights and justice, passes away” - see here (NIT), here (TG), here (ABC), and especially here (TC);  
      more racism issues:   South Australia (good news) (NIT),   Tunisia (UN),   Qld (good news) (NIT);

    • noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    more abuse - doubled up - of women in Iran (TND) as an activist continues his hunger strike (ABC);   “‘I got a brain injury and a life sentence’: the hidden legacy of male violence against women ... and girls” (TG);  
      more sexism issues:   Afghanistan (SBS),   politics in Japan (promising news) (TG);

    • noting the CRC on CHILDREN:   as a female child sexual abuser is convicted (TC), “Victorian court upholds ruling finding Catholic church liable for sexual abuse by ... priest” (TG) - see also here (ABC);  

    • 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:   “one third of Australian workers are considering quitting their jobs” (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:    the continuing rental (TG) and mortgage (TND) crises;   “solar panels could be a lifesaver for public housing tenants grappling with Australia’s soaring energy costs” (TG);   
       
  • “everyone is NOT doing it: how schools and parents should talk about vaping” (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:   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 [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24 TP ;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   Globe Echo - GE;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Jessica Wildfire (Substack) - JW;   Just Equal - JE;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   Mail & Guardian - MG;   mainstream media - MSM;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Middle East Eye - MEE;   Minority Rights Group - MRG;   Mirage News - MN;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Television - NITV;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   Nature Magazine - Nature;   New York Times - NYT [$] 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;   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 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.


 

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