From the news: power and accountability [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on bigotry/hate, violence/abuse/war, CSA. Reader discretion is advised]

A few news reports of late which relate to power and accountability: 

• Australia’s electoral authority has strongly rebuked the neoliberal leader - who has tried to defend his past racism - over factually incorrect claims he made about voting in the Voice referendum. These actions speak more, in my opinion, to desperation than any genuine desire for a better solution.
  Also, one the transphobes in the USA who claims to be wanting to protect children from LGBTQIA+ people/influences is reported to have a conviction for wilful cruelty towards a child. Continuing with that, lawyers have called for reforms of our (Australia’s) legal system after a neochristian church ‘horrendous’ approach in priest CSA cases. In the UK, parents of toddlers who were found to have been (I don’t know if there are appeals that can be held) murdered by a cis-female nurse feel they were fobbed off by the hospital, and calls have been made for regulation of NHS executives (they forced suspicious doctors to apologise to the nurse ... I suspect that exposes them to potential legal action); 
• Israel’s media has criticised that nation’s leader’s conspiracy fantasists claims about resistance operations in the West Banks;  
• Saudi Arabia is continuing to try to sportswash its image - the article includes the memorable “money has outpaced morality”;
  
• warnings to Niger from the coup in Zimbabwe, which left many Zimbabweans feeling duped;  
• rabid transphobia by the UN Special Rapporteur for Violence Against Women and Girls;
  
• concern that Apprehended Violence Orders handed out to non-violent protestors in WA are so broad they will prevent any activism (who exceeded what was reasonable? This has echoes of SLAPPs ... ) as the Qld government overrides that state’s Human Rights Act;
• China has been teaching members of a South African political party how to suppress democracy as AI could be used to suppress democracy in West Asia; 
• racism in the world of science against scientists whop don't speak English (I have encountered something similar in engineering, with colleagues making exceptionally petty nitpicks in similar situations); 
• reluctance in my nation, Australia, to bite the bullet and investigate scientific misconduct the same way that everyone else does; 
• incompetent advice regarding solar power batteries that focuses on dollars and ignores the massive existential risk of the climate crisis;
  
• reports of failure to repay wage theft by a large company, as the scale of the problem is shown to be massive; and 
• concerning rates of sexual assault and harassment in Australia; 
• decades of neoliberalism have trashed many of our institutions.
  

On the other hand: 

• veteran women activists have a legal case against Switzerland over inaction on the climate crisis; 
  
• the BRICS group will expand, which is potentially good; 
  
• despot djt is being treated the same as anyone else who has been charged; 
• Ecuadorians have rejected oil drilling in a sensitive part of the Amazon basin; and 
• Putin’s revenge against the leader of an insurrection a couple months ago may have weakened his hold on the despot-oligarch conglomerate holding the reins of power in Russia.
  

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

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