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

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. 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/. 

From the news on human rights: 

• this month’s newsletter (https://www.lemkininstitute.com/so/91Ok8kkvU) from the Lemkin Institute includes Israel & Palestine (with staggering commentary about the forewarning in recent months of where actions would lead to), South Caucasus, Ethiopia, and Ukraine:     
• (a) both the attacks on Israel on 7^th October and Israel’s subsequent response are viewed by the Lemkin Institute with shock and horror;     
• (b) the Israel-Palestine conflict (including the “slow genocide” against the Palestinians, and the “implicitly genocidal logic of settler colonialism that dates back to Israel’s founding and, before that, to the era of Western imperialism” which elicited an escalatory genocidal response) is evidence of the failure of genocide prevention, and thus the need for new forms of action;     
• (c) the silencing of dissent (and efforts to to de-historicize and de-contextualize the conflict) are also silencing & criminalising genocide prevention, weaken democratic institutions, and enable further atrocities:   “Genocide thrives in the world of impunity that the current crisis has effectively globalised”,   and   “The historical burdens faced by divided societies in the context of settler colonial patterns are immense, making it very difficult to avoid violence and escalation and to build a lasting, equitable, just peace without conscious society-wide restorative justice work”;     
• (d) colonial settler ideologies rely on erasure of Indigenous people to justify land grabs: fixing that must be a core part of genocide prevention - but not only in Israel:     “Other settler colonial societies ... have in fact done quite little to redress the wrongs of their pasts, transform their institutions into ones that treasure and uplift all life, and deconstruct the abiding genocidal patterns in their current cultural and social systems. It is time for sober analysis and big changes, all within a genocide prevention framework, if our human species is to grow beyond its terrible present and survive”.     
• (e) The newsletter also included:   
• (i) the 3^rd SOS for Gaza   https://www.lemkininstitute.com/sos-alerts-1/sos-alert---gaza---3,   
• (ii) an Active Genocide Alert for Israel-Palestine   https://www.lemkininstitute.com/active-genocide-alert-1/active-genocide-alert---israel-palestine:-there-is-no-justification-for-genocide,   
• (iii) an Active Genocide Alert for Ethiopia in Tigray   https://www.lemkininstitute.com/active-genocide-alert-1/active-genocide-alert---ethiopia-in-tigray,   
• (iv) an Active Genocide Alert - Ethiopia in Amhara Region   https://www.lemkininstitute.com/active-genocide-alert-1/active-genocide-alert---ethiopia-in-amhara-region,   
• (v) a Red Flag Alert for Genocide - Azerbaijan in Armenia   https://www.lemkininstitute.com/red-flag-alerts/red-flag-alert-for-genocide---azerbaijan-in-armenia   and   
• (vi) a Statement on the Ongoing Imprisonment of Armenian Officials of the Republic of Artsakh by the Republic of Azerbaijan   https://www.lemkininstitute.com/statements-new-page/statement-on-the-ongoing-imprisonment-of-armenian-officials-of-the-republic-of-artsakh-by-the-republic-of-azerbaijan,   and  
  
• (vii) a Statement in Response to the Open Letter sent by the Rabbinical Center of Europe to the President and Prime Minister of Armenia   https://www.lemkininstitute.com/statements-new-page/statement-in-response-to-the-open-letter-sent-by-the-rabbinical-center-of-europe-to-the-president-and-prime-minister-of-armenia   

• “Sudan: UNHCR warns Darfur atrocities of 20 years ago may reoccur”   https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143447  
  

 

• “Fighting back against Christo-facism in Singapore” - Out of the Pan   CW: mention of rape   “Joyce, Carrie and Harvey talk about Christo-facism in Singapore”   Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/out-of-the-pan/id312435652?i=1000633715654   or at    https://www.3cr.org.au/outofthepan/episode/fighting-back-against-christo-facism-singapore   

• “Five ways you can show your support during Transgender Awareness Week”   https://transjustice.org.au/taw/   

• more lies by a notorious transphobe   https://medium.com/@notCursedE/all-jk-rowling-said-was-re-rapist-rights-activists-b01a3e0b0103    

• “Don’t overlook race and ethnicity: new guidelines urge change for psychology research”   https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03458-9  

• “Amnesty front UN to highlight the "deplorable state" of Canada’s relations with Indigenous Peoples”   https://nit.com.au/08-11-2023/8522/amnesty-front-un-to-highlight-the-deplorable-state-of-canadas-relations-with-indigenous-peoples    

• “Farmers or foragers? Pre-colonial Aboriginal food production was hardly that simple”   https://theconversation.com/farmers-or-foragers-pre-colonial-aboriginal-food-production-was-hardly-that-simple-216988   “Archaeobotanists Anna Florin and Xavier Carah have observed that food production systems in northern Australia are very similar to those in Papua New Guinea. While we accept Papuan food gardens, Australian archaeologists have been less eager to embrace this idea for Australia”  
  

 

• “The suffering of Afghans expelled from Pakistan: ‘Before they cross, all their belongings are taken away,’ UNHCR reports”   https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-11-09/the-suffering-of-afghans-expelled-from-pakistan-before-they-cross-all-their-belongings-are-taken-away-unhcr-reports.html   
  

• “Australia to immediately begin releasing people held in indefinite immigration detention”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/10/australia-faces-rush-of-demands-to-release-people-held-in-indefinite-immigration-detention   “Legal advocate for detainees says government could be liable for compensation if it fails to free people”    - see also https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/10/document-reveals-the-92-people-facing-release-from-indefinite-immigration-detention-in-australia  
  

 

• “Mixed-gender hospital rooms are on the rise in New Zealand, but the practice is unsafe and unethical”   https://theconversation.com/mixed-gender-hospital-rooms-are-on-the-rise-in-new-zealand-but-the-practice-is-unsafe-and-unethical-216263   “Transgender patients should have their identity respected along with all other patients and their admission should be aligned with their gender identity”   (the recommendations should also apply to Australia, the article states)   

• “Coroner hears of 'explosion' of domestic violence in the NT, with 'rigid masculinity' at the core”   https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-08/domestic-violence-in-the-nt-coroner-explosion-inquest/103077118   
  

 

• “A Senate inquiry says Australia needs a national ADHD framework to improve diagnosis and reduce costs”   https://theconversation.com/a-senate-inquiry-says-australia-needs-a-national-adhd-framework-to-improve-diagnosis-and-reduce-costs-215798   “the Australian government should implement a neurodiversity-affirming public health campaign”   

• “Collective Action and Local Leadership: Lessons from Human Rights Advocacy in East Africa”   https://freedomhouse.org/article/collective-action-and-local-leadership-lessons-human-rights-advocacy-east-africa   “By banding together in working groups, human rights activists and organizations can greatly increase both their efficacy and their resilience in the face of repression”  
  

• “No money, no food: PNG refugees can’t wait another week”   https://theaimn.com/no-money-no-food-png-refugees-cant-wait-another-week/   

• “French immigration bill would expel 'foreigners who commit crimes'”   https://www.france24.com/en/france/20231106-french-parliament-takes-up-controversial-bill-toughening-immigration-law   “Senators in France started debating a bill ... that is intended to toughen the country's immigration law but advocacy organizations have criticized as a threat to the rights of asylum-seekers and other migrants”   
  

 

• in a settlement of injustice dating as far back as the 1930s,   “Historic settlement reached for stolen wages class action”   https://nit.com.au/01-11-2023/8433/historic-settlement-reached-for-stolen-wages-class-action   

• “Bangladeshi woman killed after police open fire on protesting garment workers”   https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/nov/09/bangladeshi-woman-dies-police-open-fire-on-protesting-garment-workers   
  

 

• “Bangladesh garment worker protests halt production for top fashion brands ... demanding a near-tripling of their wages”   https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231103-bangladesh-protests-halt-production-for-top-fashion-brands-union-1   
  

 

• “NSW police sniffer dogs incorrectly detect drugs on patrons despite costing taxpayers $46m over past decade”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/09/nsw-police-sniffer-dogs-incorrectly-detect-illicit-drugs-despite-costing-taxpayers-46m-over-past-decade   

 

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.

Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk.