Saturday, 30 September 2023

From the news: on funding the rebuilding of Ukraine [Content Warning: war, violence, harm]

A few centuries ago, part of war used to be that the victor got the spoils”. This was certainly the case in the 1870-71  Franco-Prussian war, where Germany annexing Alsace and Lorraine was a major source of resentment on the part of France, and contributed - along with the horrors and the destruction of the war itself - to Frances hardline attitudes at Versailles, and thus a peace treaty to end World War (part) One that is widely (but not universally) considered to have been so harsh that it was a major cause of World War (part) Two. (There were a few other major aspects, such as the stab-in-the-back & didnt lose in the field myths.)

From https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25776836

The Treaty of Versailles confiscated 10% of Germany's territory but left it the largest, richest nation in central Europe. 

It was largely unoccupied and financial reparations were linked to its ability to pay, which mostly went unenforced anyway. 

The treaty was notably less harsh than treaties that ended the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War and World War Two. The German victors in the former annexed large chunks of two rich French provinces, part of France for between 200 and 300 years, and home to most of French iron ore production, as well as presenting France with a massive bill for immediate payment. 

After WW2 Germany was occupied, split up, its factory machinery smashed or stolen and millions of prisoners forced to stay with their captors and work as slave labourers. Germany lost all the territory it had gained after WW1 and another giant slice on top of that. 

Versailles was not harsh but was portrayed as such by H_____, who sought to create a tidal wave of anti-Versailles sentiment on which he could then ride into power.

The above suggests the economic aspect of the Versailles Treaty was achievable; others - notably John Maynard Keynes - disagree.  

Militarily, the treaty was widely considered to be harsh, and was intended to prevent Germany being able to cause a war again. The perceived harshness is a significant part of why no objections were made when Germany began to re-arm - the sense was that Germany should be able to defend itself. Contrast that with Japan after WW2, which had a self defence force, but limits to prevent a war of aggression. 

It should also be noted that the above has conflated East and West Germany after WW2, which is an excessive simplification, and ignores the Marshall  Plan.

With Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine, the topic of who pays for the rebuilding of Ukraine is already being considered. 

The consensus - see the articles below - is what I consider viable: use the income (or profits) from Russia's natural resources businesses to pay for the rebuilding. 

However, I consider it will also be necessary to consider the psychology on both sides to prevent setting the scene for a future war. Groups/issues to consider will likely include: 

  1. the Ukrainian victims of Russias aggression, who have a valid and vital need to see justice done for their well being
  2. those Russians who opposed the war and/or want a genuine democracy in Russia; 
  3. those Russians who were injured in the fighting, and the families and friends of those Russians killed; 
  4. the oligarchs and the sock puppets in Russia who want to hold on to power, and who have skills at manipulation that match and possibly exceed those of H_____.

The needs of Group 1 must be met, Group 2 should be strengthened, Group 3 should not be further embittered, and Group 4 must be weakened - and preferably removed by those Russians in Group 2. 

And attempting to destroy a nation so it will never be a problem again rarely succeeds. 

Some news articles on all this follow: 

The World Bank:   Updated Ukraine Recovery and Reconstruction Needs Assessment   https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/03/23/updated-ukraine-recovery-and-reconstruction-needs-assessment   

Rebuilding Ukraine: What would it take?   https://theweek.com/politics/rebuilding-ukraine-war   Russia continues to raze large sections of Ukraine, but that gives Kyiv a unique opening to build a better country — if somebody is willing to pay  

CSIS:  
Rebuilding Ukraine after the War   https://www.csis.org/analysis/rebuilding-ukraine-after-war   

How to Make Russia Pay to Rebuild Ukraine   https://time.com/6317191/russia-frozen-assets-rebuild-ukraine/  
In the face of these atrocities, a long-overdue consensus is now forming among U.S. and European policymakers that the profit and interest generated on Russian assets (an estimated $3 billion per year) should be transferred to Ukraine for its defence and reconstruction
... but, more troubling, this article also advocates for transfer of frozen assets, which risks getting into problematic territory  

 

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;

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 - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

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

 

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.



 

From the news: on human rights

News reports on human rights: 

No means no   https://theaimn.com/no-means-no/    

An old master? No, it’s an image AI just knocked up … and it can’t be copyrighted   https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/24/an-old-master-no-its-an-image-ai-just-knocked-up-and-it-cant-be-copyrighted  

“[Afghanistans ruling group] weighs using US mass surveillance plan, met with China's Huawei   https://www.reuters.com/world/taliban-weighs-using-us-mass-surveillance-plan-met-with-chinas-huawei-2023-09-25/   

London police hand in guns after officer charged with murder   https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-25/british-military-steps-in-as-more-than-100-london-police-officer/102897438   ... as a protest, not to try to regain the publics trust, ensure no unwarranted shootings, or out of a sense of decency ...

Facial recognition technology jailed a man for days. His lawsuit joins others from Black plaintiffs   https://apnews.com/article/mistaken-arrests-facial-recognition-technology-lawsuits-b613161c56472459df683f54320d08a7  

‘I want to get bogged at a beach in my wheelchair and know people will help’. Micheline Lee on the way forward for the NDIS   https://theconversation.com/i-want-to-get-bogged-at-a-beach-in-my-wheelchair-and-know-people-will-help-micheline-lee-on-the-way-forward-for-the-ndis-213348  

Sydney Opera House: 85,000 oyster shells tell of site’s true story in major public artwork   https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/sep/26/sydney-opera-house-85000-oyster-shells-tell-of-sites-true-story-in-major-public-artwork   

Indigenous women (in Brazil) are showing us how to fight for environmental and human rights   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/25/indigenous-women-brazil-fight-environment-human-rights   

Quakers stand up for vital legal precedent established in 1670 Quaker trial   https://www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-events/news/quakers-stand-up-for-vital-legal-precedent-established-in-1670-quaker-trial   

“Transformational change” is needed if Australians want to build an inclusive society where those with disabilities are to be respected, a landmark report says.   https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2023/09/29/disability-royal-commission-report/   After more than four years of public hearings, private sessions and written submissions, the federal disability royal commission’s final 12-volume report and its 222 recommendations were released to the public

 

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;

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 - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

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

 

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.


From the news: on the Voice

News reports show the no campaign is - partly from its allies, but also from its own members - partially self destructing, but the situation is still tight: 

Voice opponent Gary Johns at odds with Warren Mundine after labelling idea of Indigenous treaty ‘evil’   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/27/voice-opponent-gary-johns-at-odds-with-warren-mundine-after-labelling-idea-of-indigenous-treaty-evil   Exclusive: Johns, who is facing calls to resign, also described the National Indigenous Australians Agency as a ‘shadow government’   

Yes vote ‘absolutely in line with Liberal values’, leader of movement says in Tamworth   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/26/yes-referendum-vote-in-line-with-liberal-values-movement-leader-says-tamworth   

the moral (legal) case for the Indigenous Voice   https://rationalemagazine.com/index.php/2023/09/16/the-moral-case-for-the-indigenous-voice/   

Noel Pearson says Voice would give Indigenous Australians 'responsibility for our destiny'   https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/noel-pearson-says-voice-gives-indigenous-australians-responsibility-for-our-destiny/6tuvp6qc7   

Tech Council of Australia Supports Indigenous Voice to Parliament   https://theaimn.com/tech-council-of-australia-supports-indigenous-voice-to-parliament/   

The referendum is Australia’s gateway moment. It’s about saying yes to the vision I have for all our future generations   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/26/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-yes-campaign-june-oscar-vision   Our national birth certificate should reflect who we are and honour the remarkable shared heritage of the continent that is home to us all  

‘Disinformania’ has taken over the internet - can ‘no’ voice opportunists maintain control of an unleashed far right flank?   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/27/voice-to-parliament-referendum-disinformania-no-campaign-australia-far-right  
Yes campaigners get baited by bad-faith provocations, while some in the no camp point directly to this online madness confusing the too-time-poor-for-politics  

A leading Indigenous Voice to Parliament advocate has welcomed “timely” reports prominent that No campaigners are switching sides   https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2023/09/29/voice-campaigners-no-switch-side/   

Anthony Albanese says voice referendum worthwhile even if rejected by voters   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/27/anthony-albanese-says-voice-referendum-worthwhile-even-if-rejected-by-voters  
A The Guardian Exclusive reports:
PM says process has already succeeded in bringing Indigenous disadvantage front and centre in national conversation  Im not so sure of this, given the lies that the no campaign has been allowed to tell and get away with.

7 ways to look after yourself and your community before and after the Voice referendum   https://theconversation.com/7-ways-to-look-after-yourself-and-your-community-before-and-after-the-voice-referendum-213372  

 
 

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;

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 - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

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

 

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.



 

Tuesday, 26 September 2023

The genocide in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the dangers of NOT LISTENING [Content Warning - links to news articles on mass atrocities]

PS: see also: 

Azerbaijan's use of force in Nagorno-Karabakh risks undermining key international norms, signalling to dictators that might makes right   https://theconversation.com/azerbaijans-use-of-force-in-nagorno-karabakh-risks-undermining-key-international-norms-signaling-to-dictators-that-might-makes-right-214440   

Nagorno-Karabakh announces dissolution as more than 75,000 flee separatist enclave   https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230928-more-than-65-000-flee-nagorno-karabakh-separatist-republic-will-cease-to-exist  

There are two sentences in the Active Genocide Alert from the Lemkin Institute regarding the genocide in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) that particularly struck me: 

This catastrophe, which we believe constitutes genocide, could have been avoided, but unfortunately the Western world ignored over two years of warnings from the Lemkin Institute, Genocide Watch, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, former ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, and many others. Experts were in virtual consensus about the threat of genocide against Armenians in Artsakh and predicated with accuracy what has come to pass.


The  world  KNEWand  CHOSE  to  do  NOTHING.

 

This is significant as other genocides, atrocities, and fascist actions are underway, and little listening seems to have been done - until recently, in some cases ... 

 

Some news reports are: 

 

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;

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 - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

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

 

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.



 

An activism email on the use of abusive ABA practices

I have sent an email to my local MPs. The following is a lightly edited extract from that, which I consider self explanatory. 

Dear Members of Parliament,

I am sure you are aware of the appalling abuse of an autistic boy by what is referred to as "ABA" (example report at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-25/autism-therapy-program-abuse-ndis-four-corners/102896354).

What may not be known is that the person responsible for ABA - Ivar Lovaas - is also responsible for the now widely banned conversion practices used to abuse LGBTQIASB+ people - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Ivar_Lovaas#Criticism.

This raises a number of points.

Firstly, in the same way that conversion practices against LGBTQIASB+ people are not described as therapies because they are anything but (and conspiracy fantasies are fantasies, not theories), so too is it important, in my opinion, not to use the word therapy in connection with ABA.

Secondly, in a similar way to the basic concept of conversion therapy being wrong as it wrongly assumes that there is something "wrong" with LGBTQIASB+ people, ABA is also wrong in assuming that differences are flaws. I came across an excellent YouTube video on this at https://youtu.be/ugQEiZG19Rs?si=YCwcRRaUaZSLNu8L.

The third point is that there are constructive alternatives to ABA, as outlined by a YouTuber who states he is US doctor (who is autistic - website at https://neurodivergentdoctor.com/) at https://youtu.be/K1gN3eDH1m8?si=fuyIJCItWFcMl7E-

The behaviour reported, in my opinion, has clear parallels to anti-LGBTQIASB+ "conversion" practices. As with those it should be banned and better alternatives promoted.

 

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;

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 - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

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

 

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.



 

From the news: on sovereignty - and an activism email

There have been a few issues in the news of late which are related to sovereignty. 

I’ll start with a few news reports: 

Also, in response to a social media platform refusing to comply with legal directions by my nation, I wrote this email to my local MP: 

I was concerned to learn today (here, an exclusive on The Guardian) that the social media platform _, is refusing requests from the AEC to remove [posts] that are likely to incite violence against AEC staff (and others at polling places, IMO - and the potential for such violence has been an issue of concern for me).

General Angus Campbell recently expressed concern about "truth decay" (here, on John Menadue's "Pearls and Irritations" journal); it seems to me that the behaviour of that social media platform is both a currently active example of that, and an attack on Australian sovereignty.

I would support action being taken against that platform - even deregistration until they comply with Australian law, or, at the very least, commencing legal action.

I would also support removal of the exemption allowing professional media to lie on social media (reported in another The Guardian exclusive here). As I see it, that would be requiring professional media to be professional, but, as a victim of the hate spewed by the Murdoch media, my opinion may be biased. I am also aware that the Murdoch media has a habit of misrepresenting opinions and commentary as news reporting.

However, I am also aware that the media IS capable of professional behaviour, as outlined in this article (on The Conversation website) outlining the checks required before reporting allegations of sexual assault - which took four years, in a recent case.

I also note this call, on The Conversation website, for the lies currently being told to be countered in the interest of ensuring participatory parity, and support that call.

Sovereignty needs to be respected - it is a part of the UN Charter, it is part of being a decent human being, and you cannot pick and choose what forms of sovereignty you support. 

If support the sovereignty of the modern nation-states mentioned above, then, in my opinion, you must also support concept such as Blak  Sovereignty.  

And just in case anyone thinks such issues don't matter: 

  • the Scilly Isles and the Netherlands made a point of declaring peace after a period of 335 years of apparent (there is some doubt about the initial declaration) bloodless war; 
  • the reason tension on the Korean peninsula continues to be of world-threatening concern, is the fact that there has never been a peace treaty ...

 

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;

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 - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

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

 

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.