Saturday 6 May 2023

Some human rights and other news links [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on bigotry/hate, violence/abuse/war. Reader discretion is advised!] and thoughts - Saturday 6th May, 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).

  • the problems of the world are best summarised by the article described below as “research identifies christian nationalism as “proto-fascism”” - but some people are showing courage and intelligence by their resistance;
  • Russia has officially resumed an adversarial position against the USA (ICG);   the “South African government has said Russian President Vladimir Putin will be arrested if he attends the upcoming BRICS summit slated for August 2023” (Vanguard);   “UAE waging 'sustained assault' on human rights ahead of Cop28” (MEE);   “four members of the _____ ____ extremist group, including its former leader _, were convicted ... of seditious conspiracy for their roles in planning and leading the January 6 Capitol attack” (not naming extremists is important to avoid giving them the publicity they want: I'm not a primary news source so can do that easily, but, in this instance, I consider The Guardian was right to name the group) (TG);   a warning on the dangers of naively using publicly available information - or doing so without thinking (TC);         research identifies christian nationalism as “proto-fascism” (M);         bigots - including a Senator - have violently disrupted - including more defamatory slurs - a local Council meeting in my home city - see here (news.com.au), here (TA), here (the council that was attacked), here (Star),and here (SMH) ... and, as one republican congresswoman shows her utter unfitness to be a parent (Salon), “won’t somebody please think of the children? Their agency is ignored in the moral panic around drag storytime” (TC) - see also this, on how women are also harmed by anti-trans haters (M);   the USA is showing that getting to know people does NOT lead to acceptance (M) as the trans MP who was excluded by a transhating US state legislature takes legal action (LGBT Nation) and one bigotted US state governor shuts down all PBS broadcasting over the inclusion of a few LGBTIQA+ programmes (KTUL) - and the threat of theocracy is apparent - “... a common thread that transgender existence is a falsity and tantamount to violating their religious beliefs ... “That you exist is contrary to my religious beliefs ... I have the right to make you disappear by whatever means necessary”” (M) - this also applies to anti-abortionists (Wired);   a notorious social media company is silencing TGD people who describe the abuse they are receiving (M);   “no, I don’t have to respect your opinion. Acknowledge, yes. Recognize, yes. Respect? ... no” (M);   the company that won a massive defamation payout recently will continue to seek broader accountability in the media (TG) as  it is revealed that “the media hid [potus45]'s physical attack on a reporter for 37 days” (Oliver Explains);   “Arkansas owes a Jewish man $500 but won't pay up because he refuses to sign a pledge to not boycott Israel” (Arkansas Times);   “a texas prison guard punishes a woman for talking about abortion” (The Nation);         a Palestinian hunger striker has died in an Israeli jail (F24), leading to violence (F24), eventually agreement (ABC) for a ceasefire (MEE), and a call for accountability (UN);   “Israel's accelerated use of facial recognition is ‘automated apartheid' - Israeli military increasingly conducts 'intelligence mapping' raids to document facial characteristics of Palestinians, Amnesty says” (MEE);   concerns about a social media law in Brazil (CT);         “Stan Grant on how tyrants use the language of germ warfare – and COVID has enabled them” (TC) - and, reflecting on the passing of the UK’s monarch, “undoubtedly, whiteness as an organising principle is over. I think the Queen's death really marks that” (NITV);   “defining woke and right-wing opposition to it - answering the challenge of the reactionary right” (M);   “stop praising women’s strength. We need a world where we don’t have to fight to be valued” (TG);   “freedom will flourish in the Americas if its leaders protect democratic institutions” (FH);         an examination of why some women choose to take part in violent crime (PVG);  

  • on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
    • saying we can’t afford to spend more on the environment is saying we can’t afford to survive (TG);   “generational crimes are being committed thick and fast. No wonder Australian kids don’t vote conservative” (TG);   “two trillion tonnes of greenhouse gases ... are we pushing Earth out of the Goldilocks zone?” (TC);   families living near a toxic train crash months ago in the USA are still being left in limbo (ABC);   “an epic global study of moss reveals it is far more vital to Earth’s ecosystems than we knew” (TC);   “how Indigenous knowledge can help fight climate change” (NIT);   “the flawed logic of rushing out extreme climate solutions” (MIT Technology Review);   “a Western Australian journalist who was taking photos of the removal of ancient rock art from the site of a fertiliser plant says she was repeatedly stopped by police and eventually had the images seized during a raid” (TG);   concerns that fracking has been approved in the NT - and possibly without recommendations being implemented (NITV);   “air pollution in China is falling — but there is a long way to go” (Nature);   fossils will get A$57 billion over the next four years from Australian tax payers (TND);   calls to get the stalled solar export project in the NT back on track (ABC);   “electrifying commercial delivery vehicles is the fastest way to decarbonise, report finds” (ABC);  
    • climate / environmental issues have also occurred in:   parenting (TC),   chemical pollution (UN) - see also this (TG),   NZ (TC),   electric vehicles (TG),   degraded Australian ecosystems (TG),   solar panels (TC),   media coverage (TC);

  • on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter) including COVID-19 AND OTHER PANDEMICS: 
    •  “UN agency suspends food aid to Ethiopia’s Tigray amid theft” (AP);   one quarter of a billion people need emergency food aid (UN);   fungal diseases in crops (Nature);         “new temperature records, food security threats likely as El Niño looms” (UN),   a heatwave in Europe (F24);   trauma continues three years after massive bushfires in Australia (ABC);         a multi-vehicle accident in the USA (TND);  

  • 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: 
    • an assessment that russia may be planning on annexing Belarus within a decade or so (YT);  
    • on military matters:   an assessment of Ukraine’s counteroffensive (DW) and its vital importance (TC);   
    • on the nuclear (weapons and power) situations:   russian troops who were at Chernobyl have radiation sickness (The Independent);  
    • on human rights in the region and globally:   russia is forcing Ukrainians to change their citizenship to russian (DW);  
    • inside russia:   a likely false (TG) flag (ABC) event ;  
    • internationally:   a report that India and other “laundromat” nations are buying russian oil to sell to Europe (TH);  
       
  • on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
  • on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM: 
    • stamping out corruption could give the Sustainable  Development  Goals a US$3 trillion boost ... (UN);   a controversial Indian coal company “proposed coal ventures to sanctioned [burmese] military despite public vow to cut ties, leaked documents show” (ABC);         the US “Senate investigation into .. assault claims [against a current US supreme court justice] contained serious omissions” (Yahoo);   “US states opposing student loan forgiveness made false claims” (TG);         the violence of some UK monarchists - and the abuse of power used by some police (TG) - and British police will use facial surveillance at the king's coronation (TG);   “Legal Aid lawyers were left oblivious to a damning government-held report which cast doubt on a tool used to lock up or control 25 of their clients on the basis they might commit a t________ offence in the future” (TG);   “why police should never get a second chance to harm black people - to keep communities safe, police must be held accountable” (M);         the US President has taken a small but important first step towards managing spyware (LFB);   a phone company has had its 2nd hack of sensitive data (disturbingly, I read social media accounts that the company forced people to disclose their PINs verbally over phone lines) (ArsTechnica);   in shades of RoboDebt, a UK scandal resulting from flawed software caused suffering to hundreds and at least four deaths by suicide (TG);         flawed laws enable aggressive responses to attempts to protect IP against AI (V);   20 years after a university payment rip-off scheme (TG), a call for a better system (TC);   calls to protect whistleblowers in South Africa after several were killed (R);  
    • concerns around past/current/potential corruption/misgovernance also in   Australia (TG),   Zimbabwe (VoA);

  • on DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
    • globally:   as jailed (F24) women journalists in Iran receive (UN) an award (ABC), freedom of the press is under (UN) threat (F24) across the world - see also this (TG) and this (TG);         the impact (F24) of continuing (F24) protests against changes to pensions in France, including injuries (TG) and police suppression of dissent that includes sweeping up bystanders as well as protestors (The Intercept) - “France [is] under fire at UN for police violence, racial and religious discrimination” (F24) - as “thousands march against [a] controversial immigration bill in France” (F24) - and there is concern that “the real narrative about France – a remarkably successful social democracy – [might be] lost to ... an angry debate, often played out in the media on skewed terms, [which] is monopolising attention and sapping the country of the social trust needed for flexibility, creative public policy, and to resist populists selling a siren song of c’était mieux avant (things were better in the past)” (TG);   a political activist has been murdered in Laos - with government coverage (ABC);  

    • in Australia:   a call for the courage to drop the Stage 3 tax cuts (TND);   while the military are clued in on directed energy weapons (TC), they’re not on AI (TC);   “the Liberals are the fifth iteration of Australia’s main centre-right party. Could the Voice campaign hasten a sixth?” (TC);   “fair representation in news makes multicultural Australians feel more at home: new research” (TC);   an examination of the proposed changes to Medicare (TC);   a privacy commissioner will be appointed to ensure companies comply with existing privacy laws (TG);   “the latest interest rates rise suggests the RBA board is completely lost to logic” (TG) - see also this (TND), this (ABC), and this (ABC);   “Australians in ‘dehumanising’ poverty unable to afford pads or tampons, inquiry says” (TG);   a well-deserved (for most) and long overdue pay (TND) rise (TG) for aged care workers as Uni staff strike over insecure work (ABC);   “farmers say taxpayers, importers should pay for rising cost of keeping pests and disease out of Australia” (ABC);   “Labor to scrap Coalition’s ‘punitive’ ParentsNext scheme from next year ... mutual obligations under the widely criticised program will end immediately” (TG);  

      • on the proposed Voice to the Parliament in Australia:   a dinosaur has continued his divisiveness (ND);   “the Indigenous voice vote is a unifying moment for a confident nation capable of change” (TG);   the never-ending problem of both-side-ism in the media (TC);   “Australians should be wary of scare stories comparing the Voice with New Zealand’s Waitangi Tribunal” (TC);   “the largest poll conducted so far on the upcoming Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum has indicated the 'yes' campaign leads in every state and territory” (DO NOT GET COMPLACENT!) (NIT);   a neolib MP shut down an Indigenous person trying to give their perspective at a public meeting (NIT);  

    • suppression of opposition / dissent / media in   Australia (TG),   russia (DW),  Mali and Burkina Faso (AN),   Cameroon (F24);
      democracy is also at risk in   Uzbekistan (      F24),   Türkiye (FP); 

  • on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC):  
    • the East African Community is taking action to protect migrant workers from abuse (TEA);   “Australia’s aged care providers accused of playing down incidents of ‘unreasonable force’” (TG);   a “Muslim mayor [was] blocked from White House Eid celebration” (TH);   China is preventing (ABC) more citizens and foreigners from leaving (SBS);   “brain-research centre steps up quest for equality” (Nature);   the problem of unexploded ordnance in Laos (TG);   “[Indigenous] Australians have joined Indigenous leaders and politicians across the [British] Commonwealth to demand King Charles III make a formal apology for the effects of British colonisation, make reparations by redistributing the wealth of the British crown, and return artefacts and human remains” (TG) - see also here (NIT) ... and Belize may become a republic (TG);  
    • human rights are at risk or abuses have also occurred in:   Djibouti (F24);

    • noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   an atrocity alert for Sudan, Ukraine and the Central Sahel (GCR2P);  
      more genocide / mass atrocity issues:   Ethiopia (Lemkin Institute);

    • noting Article 6 (4) (5) (6) of the ICCPR,   this, and this on the DEATH PENALTY:   Saudi Arabia (UN),   Libya (TG);

    • noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:         an extract from a book examines the political, policy and human failings leading to the egregious brutality of our asylum seeker policy (this is staggeringly disturbing. The comments along the lines of avoiding crises are academically appropriate, but it comes down to people sacrificing their humanity [caring for people committing self harm is rewarding them???!!!!! That’s like saying stopping torture of people is rewarding them for screaming!!!!!] for incredibly misplaced notions deeply afflicted with amathia and refusal to be human. As John F Kennedy once 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”) (TC);        
      more refugee issues:   Italy (F24);

    • noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   human sex is NOT binary (Scientific American);   a homophobic MP may (TG) be facing (TND) legal action;   beer drinkers support TGD people - which is a comment that makes sense in the context of some anti-trans haters’ recent inanities (LGBT Nation);  
      more LGBTIQA+ issues:   Slovakia (DW),   elected TGD representatives (M) - see also this, on their profiles in courage vs. censorship (M),   South Korea (ABC);

    • noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   a study based on listening to the voices of Indigenous children at primary school has provided excellent insights (TC);   a call for investment in justice reinvestment (TC);   an Indigenous led approach to solving crime in Alice Springs (ABC) - see also this call to engage with youth (SBS);   “the Queensland Health Ombudsman has released a scathing report into the preventable death of a First Nations woman ... describing poor record-keeping, "completely unacceptable" follow-up in care and racial stereotyping” (ABC);   another far right MP is now subject to legal (TG) action - this one over an allegedly racist tweet;   a racist sports attendee has been sanctioned (ABC) - see also here (TG);   the dehumanisation of stereotypes (M);   a hospitality company has changed its rules on facial tattoos (SBS);  
      more racism issues:   Sweden (SBS),   double standards (M),   home ownership (M);

    • noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    “why the fertility community is livid about the abortion ban” (M);   the UN Secretary-General has said “women worker ban ‘unacceptable and puts lives in jeopardy’ ” (UN);   after insultingly low offers for broadcast rights at a major women’s sporting event, the sports global body has threatened to stop all broadcasts (TG);  

    • noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:   “NDIS cost scrutiny is intensifying again – the past shows this can harm health and wellbeing for people with disability” (TC) - and any cuts to the NDIS will be resisted (TG);   the first doll with Down Syndrome has been released (SBS);   the use of evidence-based decision making cannot be cleanly and clearly applied to disability and the NDIS (TC);  

    • 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:   unemployment benefits will be increased ... but only for older workers (TG);  
      more work issues:   superannuation (good news) (TC) - see also here (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 first home guarantee has started catching up with options that many people resort to in order to be able to afford a home and will allow payments to people who aren't couples (TG);   as eight homeless people in Czechia sheltering in  a shipping container die in a fire (ABC), and homelessness harms workers health (TG), an article on THE BENEFITS OF HAVING A SECURE HOME (TC);  
      more food, clothing and housing issues:   Australia (TND),   Australia (TG); 
       
  • the problem of AI generated fake photos (F24);   “AI has potential to revolutionise health care – but we must first confront the risk of algorithmic bias” (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;   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.


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