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 22nd July, 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]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/.  

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).

• denialism around climate change is now causing very obvious devastation, just as the permissive toleration of cronyism amongst elites is now undeniably resulting in devastation as one despot shuts down the food to a large portion of the world - something made possible by neoliberal attitudes amongst those elites (and their willingly duped sock puppets). On the other hand, accountability continues to make glacially slow and incremental process - but opportunities to stop lies have been missed, giving hate free rein in some areas.
  
  
• on ISSUES OF MAJOR GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE and/or ACROSS MULTIPLE CATEGORIES: 
• “devastating rights violations against Indigenous people must end - Indigenous Peoples have the ancestral wisdom to guide humanity towards a more sustainable use of the Earth’s resources, yet they are systematically discriminated against and excluded” (UN);   “the Big Money behind the fight to ban environmentally and socially conscious investing” (JC);   “the world is “woefully off track” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline” (UN);   in South Australia, “traditional owners win legal challenge to stop nuclear waste facility in Kimba” (ABC);   crowd funded water wells in Senegal (R);         wanted war criminal Putin will not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa (NASDAQ);         the EU has taken us a step closer to effective regulation of machine learning (aka “AI”) (Lowy);   too few people work in AI safety (80,000 hours);          in a staggering lapse of professional judgement and competence and a blow to decency everywhere, an  “Italian man cleared of assault because grope only lasted ‘between five and 10 seconds’” (TG);   India’s Prime Minister has belatedly made some minor comments about a 70 day long, continuing conflict that has seen 140 people killed in an Indian state after film of two women being sexually assaulted was circulated (TG);        “Vietnam wants an energy transition without environmentalists” (LM);         “the truth is that criminalising migration ends up feeding the business model of smugglers, rather than fighting it” (TNH) - see also here (DW) and here (M);         also see below on the northern hemisphere heat storm and Russia’s attack on world food supplies;
  
  
• on FAR RIGHT  EXTREMISM AND HATE:  
• “Iran’s ‘morality police’ resume patrols 10 months after nationwide protests” (TG) - protests have resumed in northern Iran in response to attempts to re-impose hijab laws (JC);   “in the U.S., one strand of the white nationalist movement has grown quickly over the last year. So-called active clubs are popping up all over the country. They emphasize mixed martial arts training to prepare for violence against their perceived enemies, and they're increasingly moving their activities offline and into public view” (NPR);         in the USA the “progressive Democrat caucus chair condemns Israel[s leaders (M)] as racist, says Palestinian Statehood increasingly “unimaginable”” (JC) - and a report that “Israel moves toward “dictatorship” and polarisation, as one Likud activist lauds the targeting of Ashkenazi Jews in the Holocaust” (JC) ... and 58% of Palestinians in the occupied territories have mental health problems because of Israel’s abuses (JC);   “former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a man of the Israeli right wing who prosecuted the 2006 war on Lebanon, and whom no one ever accused of being a bleeding heart liberal, on Sunday called for governments to boycott his successor, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu over the latter’s ongoing attempt to gut the country’s Supreme Court and over his having invited into his cabinet the most extreme politicians on the fascist side of the Israeli political spectrum” (JC);   “the Orwellian US Congressional Ministry of Truth just denied Israeli Apartheid toward Palestinians” (JC);         a Houston Chronicle exclusive reports “Texas troopers told to push children into Rio Grande, deny water to migrants, records say” (Houston Chronicle);         a female Indigenous Senator in Australia is being formally protected after receiving death threats (NIT);         in the US state of “Michigan [the] AG charges 16 people for roles in 2020 fake elector scheme” (MJ);         major US corporations are providing massive funding to anti-LGBTIQA+ groups (Open Democracy);   continued oppressive control of people’s bodies, lives and health (M);         anti-refugee rhetoric on social media in Türkiye (JC);         also see below on the hate fuelled “No” campaign on the voice and the war in Sudan and elsewhere;  
• far right extremism and hate have also occurred in:   USA (good news) (TG) - see also here (TG) and here (TG),   Australia (TG) - see here on the damage done by this (TC);
  
  
• on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
• “India’s Bishnoi “tree huggers” renew conservation fight. Khejri trees are sacred among the Bishnoi people in India's Rajasthan state. Nearly 300 years ago, the Bishnoi sacrificed hundreds of lives to protect their sacred “tree of life”” (DW);   fossils are apparently no longer getting out of fossil fuels ... (TG) - see also this (TND), but, more hopefully, also this (JC);   “why the shipping industry’s increased climate ambition spells the end for its fossil fuel use” (TC);   China and the USA have resumed (TG) talks (F24) on the climate crisis;   “‘we are damned fools’: scientist who sounded climate alarm in 80s warns of worse to come” (TG);   “research showed that vegan diets resulted in 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than diets in which more than 100g of meat a day was eaten. Vegan diets also cut the destruction of wildlife by 66% and water use by 54%” (TG);   this month will likely be the world’s hottest on record (F24);         drones are disturbing shorebirds (TC);   “Aboriginal owners and energy investors team up in plan for $3bn green hydrogen plant in WA” (TG) - see also here (NIT);   a vacant office building has been turned into an indoor farm (GNN);   “water pollution 'timebomb' threatens global health” (Nature);   the NT does not have a saltie (crocodile) problem (TC);   concerns over proposals to drill for oil in the Amazon delta (Nature);  
• climate / environmental issues have also occurred in:   the Murray-Darling basin plan (TC),   US nuclear weapons (Scientific American),   coral bleaching (JC),   global maritime shipping (Lowy),   the Pacific (Lowy),   Zambia (YT - HRW),   deep sea mining (TC);
  
  
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter) including COVID-19 AND OTHER PANDEMICS: 
• record heatwaves around the world - see here (F24), here (TG), here (TG), here (JC), here (F24), here (JC), here (F24), here (TG), here (F24), here on accusations of inadequate action in Italy (LM), here (health risks) (UN), and here on the global interconnections (TG), here (a “taste of what is to come”) (TND), here (on what cities can do) (DW), and here (TC), here (TC), and here (MJ) on the climate crisis aspects, and here on the term “heat storm” (CT) ... and another heatwave is expected (TG);   associated bushfires in Spain (TND), Greece (TG), Switzerland (TG), and Canada (TG) and some thoughts on how to fight them (F24) - and see also here (F24);  “what is perceived as a new phenomenon to the north of the Mediterranean has already become almost normal on its southern shore ... But unlike in Europe, the impact of these extreme weather events on health and mortality remains poorly understood, due to a lack of data” (LM);   “poorest women hardest hit by heatwaves in India” (TNH);         floods in South Sudan (DW) and South (F24) Korea (TG) - see also here (TG);         lack of funds has forced the UN to reduce food supplies to Haiti, where half the population lacks food (UN) - see also here (TN;   Nigeria has declared a state of emergency over food (bbc ^TP );   aid to the three million Syrians who depend on it may be cut off (DW);   “current funding for critical aid efforts supporting Rohingya refugees living in camps in southern Bangladesh is simply not enough, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has said, as dwindling resources have forced the second ration cut in three months” (UN);   growing crisis in the Sahel (UN);         in a blow to hopes of managing world hunger, Russia has ended the Black Sea grain export deal (TG) - see also here on the risks to millions of lives (Lowy) and here (AJ) - and effectively declared war on all grain ships in the Black Sea and the nations those ships are registered in (TND), possibly in response to sanctions (LM) (which exclude Russia’s nuclear industry (DW) ... and China is supporting Russia via Central Asia (Lowy)) - see also here (TND), here, on the impact in Africa (LM) ... Ukraine is trying to establish alternative transport routes (ABC) and see also this reminder that “food assistance provided for purportedly charitable reasons, and through our ideological attachment to globalized trade” created the vulnerability (Sarah Chayes);         more gross irresponsibility from right wing extremists in the USA on COVID (JW);   a warning that “lies about pandemic accord endangering future generations: WHO chief” (UN);   “close to a million deaths by 2035 if TB prevention is not acted on” (UN);   rising temperatures may widen the spread of malaria (AP);         “Türkiye’s earthquake aftermath underscores the value of Civil Society. The civic sector has filled some of the void left by a corrupt authoritarian state” (FH);  
  
  
• on MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT, CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring) and other democracy-threatening CRIMES and/or other THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM including GREED: 
• “disinformation campaigns by Russian private military contractors ... are endangering Irish troops serving overseas in Mali and elsewhere, researchers have said” (Irish Times);   “hundreds of thousands of US military e-mails wind up in Mali” (LM);         “a former chair of Australia’s consumer watchdog wants the federal government to establish an independent investigation into its program that certifies companies and products as carbon neutral, citing “greenwashing” concerns” (TG);
  
  
• on rashist  putin and his cronies’ ILLEGAL (it is contrary to Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter  and international law [and the 1928 Pact of Paris which was successfully used in post-WW2 trials], and possibly includes conduct contrary to the "laws" of war and international humanitarian law (IHL)) INVASION of UKRAINE:
• on human rights in the region and globally:   see above in the section on natural disasters;   Ukraine has decided to discriminate against Russian language and culture (DW);  
  
• inside russia:   the number of informal Russian militaries is multiplying (F24);  inside the Russian puppet state Belarus, Belarus and Russia’s informal military are manoeuvring for power (TC), and the arrival of Russia’s human rights abusing (AN) informal military has led to fear (F24) and threats ;   Russian men are continuing to flee to avoid fighting in Ukraine (DW);   “Russian army still reeling from [informal military]'s failed mutiny” (LM);
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
• “Azerbaijan accuses Russia of not meeting obligations under 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire” (F24);   “US sends more fighter jets and warship to Gulf after Iran attempts to seize tankers” (TG);   “Israel announced ... it was recognising Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, joining the United States as the only countries to acknowledge the kingdom's annexation of the disputed north African territory” (F24);   an examination of the geopolitics and other issues around Norway’s recent discovery of a massive phosphate deposit (Lowy);   an examination of the provision of electrical power in the Pacific (Lowy);   “forty-one years after the Falklands war, the UK has suffered a diplomatic defeat over the archipelago as the EU appeared to endorse the Argentine name for the disputed territory, Islas Malvinas” (TG);   “China is playing the long game in the Pacific” (TC);  
• 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 conflict in Sudan:   an examination of the conflict and preceding events (PVG);   200,000 displaced in the last week (UN), some to South Sudan (LM);   increasing risk of a repeat of the genocide in Darfur 20 years ago (WP) and torture is being used (DS);   intensifying (F24) fighting (DS) - see also here (ST) - and multiple crises (F24);   calls to try for peace again (ICG) - but see this (TEA) and this (DS);  
  
• incidents / action of concern in/regarding:   Taiwan (Lowy),   Iraq-Sweden (F24),   Western Sahara (ICG) - see also here (DW);
  
• violence in:   Somalia (VoA),   CAR (news 24),   Burkina Faso (VoA),   New Zealand (TND),   Yemen (UN),   eastern DRC (AJ) - which is displacing people (AP);
  
  
• on DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY / SELF-DETERMINATION, AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• globally:   continuing (DW) protests (TG) against judicial changes in Israel;         the military coup a few years ago continues to block democracy in Thailand (F24) - see also here (DW), here (TG);     
  on the unrest in France after a racist killing by police:   a protest against police violence has been banned (F24);  
• in Australia:   a critique of the proposed law to manage fake news on social media (TC);   criticism of a proposed anti-knife violence in NSW as unnecessary (TG);   rich elites are still getting more than their fair share (TG);   a commitment to ensure regional, poor and Indigenous students can attend university (ABC);   a call to “regulate gambling as a drug of addiction, not an industry” (TND);   the need to manage corporate profits in order to manage inflation (TND);   the problem of social segregation (i.e., classism) in schools (TG);  
• on the proposed Voice to the Parliament in Australia:   “Yes/No cases for referendum pamphlet released, as Albanese urges greater effort from yes advocates” (TC) - see also here (TG) and here (TND) - and points out that expecting change without (TND) the Voice is ridiculous (TG);   the “former shadow minister for Indigenous Australians has accused the voice no campaign of trying to stir anger in the electorate with personal attacks on high-profile Indigenous Australians” (TG) - and “the “No” campaign in the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament is targeting migrant communities and parts of Sydney that voted strongly against marriage equality in the 2017 postal vote” - so tapping in to existing hate to create yet more hate (TG);   the old, entrenched white supremacist hate of Qld is showing (TG);   an examination of the arguments being used (TC) - see also here (Yes) (TG) and here (No) (TG) and here (NIT), here, on another ridiculous claim (TG), and here, on a conspiracy fantasist’s illegal pamphlet with lies and using an Indigenous artwork without permission (TND), here on the no campaigns “open invitation to racists” (TG);   “constitutional expert and Indigenous voice supporter Prof Greg Craven is “absolutely furious” at being quoted in the no campaign’s official essay, and he says Peter Dutton’s office ignored his request not to be included” (TG);   a powerful and articulate opinion in favour of the Voice - for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians alike - by an Indigenous man (TG) - see also here (Brunswick Voice);   “Australia may lose its only chance for indigenous constitutional recognition if the referendum on the voice is defeated later this year, the minister for Indigenous Australians has told a yes vote event” (TG);   “why mob are staying silent on the Indigenous voice to parliament” (TG);   “pro-voice Liberal Andrew Bragg calls for referendum delay to 2024 to ‘save the concept’. Bragg, who is campaigning for a yes vote, calls for months more work to find a model for the voice that would win bipartisan support” (might allow laws to ban lies to be enacted as well - and lies are the main way the no campaign has been gaining ground, but the difficulty re-motivating people would be enormous) (TG) - see also here (TG);  
• protests in:   Kenya (AP) - see also here (TG); 
• suppression of opposition / dissent / media in:   Russia (UN),   Belarus (TG),   Zimbabwe (VoA),   Burkina Faso (news 24),   Cameroon (FH); 
• assessment of democracy or risks/issues in:   gambling in my home state (TC),   DRC (rfi),   Zimbabwe (DW) - see also here (news 24),   Kenya (TEA),   African economies (VoA),   India (TG),   disinformation in Nigeria (DW);
  
  
• on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC):
  
• “Pakistani families suffer as hundreds jailed far from home” (DW);   serious abuses by Tunisia against black African refugees (F24);   concerns over facial recognition programmes in Brazil (CT);   “you know we have only got to go back five-six years ago when the 'Coward Punch' first came into play and they shut down suburbs and changed legislation, because there was men killing men. There's men killing women and men killing men. And yet when they kill women, no suburbs are getting shut down, legislation isn't getting tightened, the laws aren't giving any kind of strengths around prevention” (NIT);  
  
• human rights are at risk or abuses have also occurred or actions have been taken to support human rights in:   UK (UN),   Nigeria-Biafra (DW),   Egypt (AN),   Syria (UN);
  
  
• noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   an atrocity alert for Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Syria (GCR2P);
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   an opinion that the “European Commission must scrutinise Italian law restricting rescues at sea” (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders);   in a lesson to other navies everywhere, hundreds of asylum seekers/refugees have been rescued by the Moroccan navy (AN);
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   a notorious global sporting body will continue to suppress LGBTIQA+ people and rights (TG);   “gay hate inquiry dismisses NSW police bid to stop examining Scott Johnson death” (this is good - such overt hate from the police must be dealt with) (Star);   the dismissal by his church of a homophobic former priest for being homophobic has been upheld (Star);   as a result of irresponsible, outmoded and harmful hospital policies, a lawyer in my home state is perpetuating child harm by unbalanced transphobic perspectives that are, IMO, disturbingly misleading about gender affirming treatment (TG);   “Australian classification board rejects calls to restrict graphic novel Gender Queer” (TG);   “the State Government of Tasmania has become the first in Australia to officially acknowledge asexual, aromatic and agender people by adding an “A” to the acronym that it uses to refer to sexual and gender minorities” (QN);  
  more LGBTIQA+ issues/stories:   UK (good news) (PN),   UK media lies (M);
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   a The Guardian exclusive reports “rheumatic heart disease in Indigenous children could be spread by throat bacteria, researchers find” (TG);   in a blow to his public standing, Victoria’s Police Commissioner wants to be able to continue arresting children as young as ten (NIT);   some are celebrating the cancelling of the Commonwealth - originally and tellingly the Empire - Games (SBS) - see also here, on the negligible risk to reputation (Lowy);   “millions pledged to revitalise Aboriginal languages across NSW” (NIT);         a call in the USA to “for racial justice, end legacy admissions in universities, a form of affirmative action for the rich” (which I consider consistent with recent US supreme court decisions, and thus a reasonable suggestion) (JC);   “thousands of Indigenous children suffered and died in residential ‘schools’ around the world. Their stories must be heard” (Aeon);  
  more racism issues:   New Zealand (potentially good news) (NIT),   Australia’s unequal education system (TG),   NIMBY attitudes (TC),   a place renaming ceremony (NIT),   NT (good news) (NIT),   SA (good news) (NIT),   a US musician (M);
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    a consideration of the possibility Mongolian women were warriors in Mongolian Empire centuries ago (why do so many patriarchal misogynists - including ciswomen - get so het up over this fact of life?) (Atlas Obscura);   “women's right to travel is being tightly controlled in North Africa, Middle East, HRW says” (rfi);   “access to social protection is a fundamental human right, yet a recent UN human rights report shows that numerous women and girls worldwide are still unable to access provisions such as social security payments and pensions” (UN);  
  more sexism issues:   legal systems (M);
  
  
• noting Article 8 of the ICCPR,   Article 6 of the CEDAW,   Articles 11, and 32 - 36 of the CRC,   Articles 16 and 27 (2) of the CRPD on SLAVERY:   blatant lies (M) are being taught (MJ) about slavery in one US state;
  
  
• 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:   a call for the US government to take over a state run jail (MJ);
  
  
• noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:   in the USA, a court has determined that it is “time for Florida to stop needlessly institutionalising disabled kids” (MJ);
  
  
• 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:   the benefits of unions (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 bigger outsourcing issue of leaving the provision of shelter to “the market” – as the extremely powerful developer lobby and neoliberal ideologues have wanted – has demonstrably failed” (TND);  
  

(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 above - or to at least refer to them. Don't forget to CHECK whether your nation has RATIFIED the treaty concerned.)

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 [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24 ^TP ;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   Good News Network - GNN;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Jessica Wildfire (Substack) - JW;   Juan Cole Informed Comment - JC;   Just Equal - JE;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Le Monde - LM;   LGBT Nation;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   Mail & Guardian - MG;   mainstream media - MSM;   Mary L Trump - MLT;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Middle East Eye - MEE;   Minority Rights Group - MRG;   Mother Jones - MJ;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Television - NITV;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   Nature Magazine - Nature;   NBC News - NBC;   News24;   Pearls and Irritations - PnI;   Pink News - PN;   Political Violence at a Glance - PVG;   Politico - P;   Premium Times Nigeria - PT;   ProPublica - PP;   Q News - QN;   Quartz - Q;   Radio France International - rfi;   Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE);   Raw Story - RS;   Renew Economy - RE;    Reuters - R;   Robert Reich - RR;   (Bruce) Schneier - Sch;   Special Broadcasting Service - SBS;   Star Observer - Star;   Sudan Tribune - ST;   Sydney Morning Herald - SMH;   Teri Kanefield - TK;   The Age - TA ^TP ;   The Big Smoke (TBS);   The Conversation - TC ^TP ;   The Defence Post - TDP;   The East African - TEA;   The Guardian - TG;   The (Nigerian) Guardian - TG-N;   The Hindu - TH;   The Monthly - TM;   The New Daily - TND;   The New Humanitarian - TNH;   The Saturday Paper - TSP;   The Sentry - TS;   The Shot - TS;   Timothy Snyder - TS;   Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA;   United Nations - UN;   Vice - V;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   War on the Rocks - WotR;   Washington Post - WP [$] ^TP ;   Wikipedia - WkP;   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.

Vote Yes for the Voice in Australia.

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