Saturday, 27 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 27th 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.
Vote Yes for the Voice in Australia.
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 dangers to decency that russia poses have been prominent this week, as is the continuing deterioration of decency in the USA. Elsewhere has been mixed - some acts of decency, including in the form of accountability, as well as some continued losses to right wing extremism, such as fascism, and the powers backing/controlling them;
  • “the South African government says it is considering legal tactics to help Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a summit in Johannesburg in defiance of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant” (The Globe and Mail) - see also this history of the ICC (DW);   russia’s informal military have been “accused of using rape and mass-murder to control an African gold mining town” (CBS News);   “russia criticised at UN as more civilians killed in war zones. The United Nations estimates nearly 17,000 civilians were killed last year in conflicts, an increase of 53% compare with year before” (AJ);   a call to designate russia’s informal military a violent extremist organisation (Lowy);         “the battle for [the USA]’s heart, soul and future. In return for allowing the US government’s debt ceiling to go up, the Republican Party wants stricter work requirements for those on welfare” (TND);   “outrage as Parisians find ‘unacceptable’ anti-abortion stickers on city bikes” (F24);   neochristians have defaced a sacred Indigenous site in Australia (TG);   another bigot in the USA has been shown to have multiple hates (TG);         in a shameful echo of our export of white supremacism that led to apartheid, “by default not design: the end of the asylum consensus. Ever since Australia adopted the “Pacific Solution”, norm busting has become the norm” (Lowy);         an examination of ASIO intelligence on far right extremist groups shows they are seeking members but often trying to avoid attention to avoid being banned (ABC) - see also here (TND);   the women who are acting against a far right extremist women’s group (V);   more attacks by transphobic white supremacists on cisgender people (M), and threats by an organisation’s staff against a trans person who made a complaint (Star);         “the main reason why men are so commonly drawn to transphobia is simply that they are trying to protect their place in the patriarchal order. Trans people obviously by nature pose a threat to the way we typically think about gender and identity. By extension, trans people also pose a threat to patriarchy since patriarchal norms regarding gender are very strict” (M);   Irish police have silenced a family who wanted a video of their son’s bashing shown to show the problems that exist (M);   a shopping chain in the USA has caved in (Openly) to threats from violent far right extremists - who also made death threats against the trans designed (LGBT Nation);         a news platform has apologised for failing to support one of its now former staff, Stan Grant, against racist abuse (TND), and he has given a powerful final message (ABC), based in part on the Wiradjuri concept of Yindyamarra (TC) - see also here (SBS), here (TG), here (TND), and here (ABC) ... also, staff have walked out (ABC) in support (TND) of him, and see also “Stan Grant’s stand against racism is a huge wake-up call for Australia’s media” (TG), this (TC), this (TC), this (TG), and this (TC) ... and a man has been charged over the threats (I am pleased the police have taken action, as it shows them in a better light, but remember: innocent until proven guilty) (TND);          “the inside story of how the US military sent female soldiers on covert combat missions to Afghanistan” (JC);         “humans and algorithms work together — so study them together” (Nature);   [Content Warning: disturbing mentions of graphic acts] the human cost on moderators for a social platform which is driving legal action by them against the platform (F);         “productivity has collapsed because workers have lost hope” (TND);   “while we have a duty to share workload with others, we have no duty to suffer for no reason. And for most of human history, working from home has been normal. It’s the modern factory and office that are the oddities” (TC);  

  • on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
    • “extreme weather caused two million deaths, cost $4 trillion over last 50 years” (UN), and global heating could make the planet too hot for one third of humans by 2080 (JC);   “‘painting with fire’: how northern Australia developed one of the world’s best bushfire management programs” (TC);   “Spain runs entirely on Green Energy for 9 hours for first time, in Harbinger of Green Future” (JC);   an examination of the costs and benefits of a global “conservation basic income” (TC);   “what can the West learn from Kenya about Geothermal Power?” (JC);   “scientist defects as CSIRO is co-opted in controversial deep sea mining venture” (MW);   a silent activist outlet for climate grief (TG);   “a coalition of traditional owners and environment groups are challenging a recent Supreme Court ruling that found it was not unlawful when the Northern Territory Mining Minister slashed the rehabilitation bond at one of the world's largest lead and zinc mines” (ABC);   “prominent French economist and Macron consultant recommends 'taxing the wealthiest to finance the climate transition' ” (LM) - see also here (LM);   “global carbon market in turmoil after Zimbabwe grabs offset money” (BB);   “it will cost up to US$21.5 billion to clean up California’s oil sites. The industry won’t make enough money to pay or it” (PP);   the likely impacts of the global warming we are likely to experience (DW);   a The Guardian exclusive reports that the “NT government knew it could not reduce climate risk when it greenlit ‘carbon bomb’ gas production in Beetaloo Basin” (TG);   how the EU is trying to address greenwashing (DW);   on Biodiversity (UN) Day (Scientific American), calls in Nigeria to protect that nation’s rich biodiversity (TG-N) as cocoa planting for chocolate is shown to be responsible for deforestation (TG);   France’s ban on short haul flights if trains are available has come into force (LM);   “how restoring habitat is a win-win for forests and farmers” (TC);   “how listening to the sounds of soil helps us monitor and restore forest health” (TC);   “recycling can release huge quantities of microplastics, study finds” (TG);   abuse has driven climate scientists off a now notorious social media platform (F24);   large scale installation of solar power in China (JC);   cooperation with the USA could speed our shift to renewables (TC);   climate change-linked droughts have led to thirsty elephants entering villages and towns in Cameroon in search of water, with deaths of people occurring (News 24);   “against climate hypocrisy: why the IPCC needs its own net-zero target” (Nature);  
    • climate / environmental issues have also occurred in:   transport (DW),   Paris (DW),   EV batteries (TC),   waste from the West in Ghana via oceans (LM),   bee parasites in Australia (TC),   ocean currents (TG),   police raids in Germany (LM),   a solar power export scheme in Australia (good news) (TG),   how to mourn a forest (Aeon);

  • on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter) including COVID-19 AND OTHER PANDEMICS: 
    •  a major tech company’s machine learning flood hub now covers 23 nations (News 24);   the cyclone that devastated South Asia has left a major need for humanitarian aid (UN);   “more than a million Somalis have been displaced within their own country in just over four months through a “toxic” mix of drought, conflict and floods” (News 24);         cholera continues to claim lives in Africa (AN);         “following widespread diversion of lifesaving food aid in Ethiopia last month, the World Food Programme has strengthened safeguards and controls in a bid to prevent further misuse” (UN);         a football stadium crush has killed at lest a dozen people in El Salvador (AJ);   “Guyana school fire that killed 19 was lit by student angry over confiscated phone” (ABC);  

  • 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: 
    • a fake ad campaign (F24);  
    • on the nuclear (weapons and power) situations:   concerns continue at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (UN);  Belarus says russia is moving tactical nuclear weapons there (TG);  
    • inside russia:   in a potentially (LM) dangerous escalation, an anti-Putin militia claims to have crossed from Ukraine into Russia and attacked a village (TG) - see also here (F24) and here (LM), as the head of russia’s informal military warns (TND) of a possible (TG) revolution after 20,000 deaths in recent combat;  
    • internationally:   concerns Mali may be being used to smuggle weapons to russia (AJ);  
       
  • on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
    • on the G7 summit:  “nuclear disarmament takes a backseat to Zelensky’s diplomatic appeals” (TC),  “Japan quietly strengthens alliances” (DW);   a  criticism of Australia’s lack of international vision (Lowy);        German “police have opened an investigation into the suspected poisoning of two Russian journalists visiting the city for a conference last month organised by [a] the Russian Kremlin critic” (TG);   “new troubles in Nagorno-Karabakh: understanding the Lachin Corridor Crisis” (ICG);   “thousands of Hongkongers have opted out of the city’s organ donor registry, seemingly as a form of subtle protest against proposals to establish deeper medical ties with mainland China” (TG);   “the Quad needs to talk security for subsea cables - the infrastructure that underpins the digital age needs special protection in international forums” (Lowy);   a call for Australia to discuss human rights issues with India when India’s PM visits (Lowy);   minilateralism (Lowy);   the opportunity for Australia to benefit from Indigenous diplomacy skills - especially the centuries old relationship between Yolgnu people and Indonesian trepangers (fishers) from the city of Makassar (Lowy) - see also this;   Uganda has demanded that Kenya extradites herders for trial for alleged murder (TEA);  
    • 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:  
      in Sudan, “desperate civilians take up arms to defend themselves against militias” (F24) (a human cost story here (TG)) as “fighting continues as Sudan ceasefire deal raises hopes for relief in Khartoum” (ABC) - sexual violence is also continuing (DW), and see also here (UN), here (F24), here (TEA), and here (AP) ... around mid-week the ceasefire started to bring a relative calm (F24) and some aid deliveries (UN),   but   the humanitarian crisis facing refugees continues (TG);         “Congo files new complaint to ICC against Rwanda's military and M23 rebels ... to ensure [the ICC’s] focus on the systematic pillaging of its natural resources in eastern Congo” (News 24) - see also here (LM);         energy poverty in Gaza (JC);  
    • incidents / action of concern in/regarding:   a seemingly small change on a social media platform (ICG); 
    • violence in:   Iran (F24),   Israel-Gaza (MEE),   southern Thailand (ICG);
    • mass gun shootings in the USA:   one US state governor signed a law allowing removal of guns if a risk exists (Detroit Free Press);

  • on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring) and other democracy-threatening other CRIMES, MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and other THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM including GREED: 
    • “Ohio police dept. officers charged with violating civil rights, using methods akin to ‘torture’ ” (remember: innocent until proven guilty) (The Grio);   concerns over the records of “second chance” police being recruited for the US state of Florida (Daily Dot);   a police officer has been charged (remember: innocent until proven guilty) (TND) following the death of an elderly woman after she fell and was injured after being tasered (TND) - which has also led to calls for reviews (TG) of a number of aspects of the incident (the inadequate training of aged care staff in other states is one of those matters - in my home state such work requires a lengthy period of training and ongoing certification);   concerns over police use of facial recognition (CT);         trafficking in the Sahel (AA);   Chinese police are spreading their authoritarian norms through African police (ACSS);   an assessment of the African Union’s mediation (DW);         concerns over a major tech company’s apparent lack of adequate ethical considerations in developing machine learning (Computer World);         an Australian company which consulted to the government has been found to have breached (ABC) ethics by misusing (TG) sensitive and confidential data (TG) - see also here (ABC), here (TG), here (SMH), here (TND),and here (TG);   the need (TG) to do more protect whistleblowers (ABC) in Australia;         “Australia’s big supermarket chains persistently increased their margins on their food businesses throughout the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, with critics arguing the pricing decisions are evidence of inflationary profiteering” (TG);   a The Guardian exclusive reports that “academics with tobacco industry links are not declaring potential conflicts of interest in research” (TG);   “I helped expose insurers for denying medical claims. 15 years on, a court has found what they did is illegal” (TC);  
    • concerns around past/current/potential corruption/misgovernance also in   Australia (TG),   the former neolib Australian government (TG),   Australian navy (ABC);

  • on DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
    • globally:   “journalism, ‘alternative facts’ and the rise of AI. The credo of Watergate is still relevant: find the best obtainable version of the truth. But doing so is only getting more complicated” (TG) - see also “saving the news from big tech” (Electronic Frontier Foundation);   “formerly praised for its stability and good governance, Ghana has been facing a severe economic crisis since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. To prevent ... defaulting on its debt, the ... IMF ... approved a $3 billion loan in exchange for austerity measures” (F24) - see also this (bbc);   an review of election results in Mauritania, a nation of relative stability in the increasingly violent Sahel region (F24);   Chinese hackers have attacked Kenyan state agencies (R);   “'a day without press' in Guinea as the media snubs ruling junta” (AN);   an assessment of Eritrea (DW);   a social media company has been ordered to sell a subsidiary to protect competition (ABC);   “in Europe and Eurasia, the democracy-autocracy gap is widening” (FH);   “after populists’ defeat, damage must be repaired” (FH);   “Guinea’s suppression of protests stokes anger against military” (AJ);   a court in Tunisia has ordered the release of a journalist (VoA) as families ask courts to have opposition figures released (TG);   nationalists in Türkiye (LM);   “how abductions finance separatists in Cameroon” (DW);   “women decision-makers can improve conservation and agriculture, study shows” (Premium Times - Nigeria);  
    • in Australia:   no-interest loans (TG), “the booming and “unchecked” buy now, pay later sector will be regulated amid calls to better protect consumers against its “growing dangers”” (TND) - see also here (SBS), and the need to manage sports gambling (TC) - which the PM has expressed discomfort with (TG);   a The Guardian exclusive reports that “Australian jobseekers told to use ChatGPT to apply for jobs and shown irrelevant videos” (TG);   a call for more rational consistency and community focus in local governance (TG);   “we urgently need a real national security review” (TND);         my home state’s budget has ended (TC) native forest logging (TC) - see also here and here on land tax reform (TC), here on winners and losers (TG), here (ABC), and here on taxing the well-off (TND);  
      • on the proposed Voice to the Parliament in Australia:   “the minister for Indigenous Australians has blasted [the leader of the opposition] for spreading “misinformation and scare campaigns” about the Indigenous voice” (TG) - see also this (TG);   an opinion that “racial hatred directed at Stan Grant even more reason for the Voice to succeed” (TND) as hate rains down on other Indigenous people as well (TG), including via social media (TG);   “Senator Lidia Thorpe has branded a leading no group in the referendum as “deceptive and underhanded” after her quotes critical of the Indigenous voice were used in a Facebook campaign targeting young voters” (TG);   “Indigenous leaders return to Uluru to rally yes vote in Voice referendum” (TG);   the wording of the Voice referendum will not change (NIT);   lessons from the damaging Equal Marriage plebiscite for the Voice referendum, (TC);   “more than 20 Australian sporting codes unite in support of Indigenous voice to parliament” (TG);  
    • protests in:   Tigray (R),   Serbia (DW);
      suppression of opposition / dissent / media in:   Uganda (VoA),   state legislatures in Australia (TC);
      assessment of democracy or risks/issues in:   Bosnia (FH)      ,   Chile (LM),   Lebanon (Institute for Democracy and Election Assistance); 

  • on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC):  

Abbreviations:   3KND radio - 3KND;   Aeon Magazine - Aeon;   Africa Centre for Strategic Studies - ACSS;   Africa News - AN;   Al Jazeera - AJ;   All Africa - AA;   Amnesty International - AI;   Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project - ACLED;   Associated Press - AP;   Australian Associated Press - AAP;   Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC TP ;   Australian Independent Media Network - AIMN;   Australian Unions - AU;   Barrons;   Bellingcat (B);   Bloomberg - BB;   British Broadcasting Commission - bbc TP ;   Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - CBC;   Centre for Strategic and International Studies - CSIS;   Committee to Protect Journalists - CPJ;   Context - CT;   the (US) Council on Foreign Relations (CFR);   Crikey - C [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24 TP ;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Jessica Wildfire (Substack) - JW;   Juan Cole Informed Comment - JC;   Just Equal - JE;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Le Monde - LM;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   Mail & Guardian - MG;   mainstream media - MSM;   Mary L Trump - MLT;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Middle East Eye - MEE;   Minority Rights Group - MRG;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Television - NITV;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   Nature Magazine - Nature;   News24;   Pearls and Irritations - PnI;   Pink News - PN;   Political Violence at a Glance - PVG;   Politico - P;   Premium Times Nigeria - PT;   ProPublica - PP;   Q News - QN;   Quartz - Q;   Radio France International - rfi;   Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE);   Raw Story - RS;   Renew Economy - RE;    Reuters - R;   Robert Reich - RR;   (Bruce) Schneier - Sch;   Special Broadcasting Service - SBS;   Star Observer - Star;   Sudan Tribune - ST;   Sydney Morning Herald - SMH;   Teri Kanefield - TK;   The Age - TA TP ;   The Big Smoke (TBS);   The Conversation - TC TP ;   The Defence Post - TDP;   The East African - TEA;   The Guardian - TG;   The (Nigerian) Guardian - TG-N;   The Hindu - TH;   The Monthly - TM;   The New Daily - TND;   The New Humanitarian - TNH;   The Saturday Paper - TSP;   The Sentry - TS;   The Shot - TS;   Timothy Snyder - TS;   Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA;   United Nations - UN;   Vice - V;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   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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