Saturday, 9 December 2023

From this week’s news on: politics & democracy, and international affairs [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/. 

Note: in my “from the news” posts, quotes are shown italicised and blue, my comments are in a different shade of blue, and “good” items are shown in green. I have loosely grouped the posts where such seemed reasonable, but that is subjective (i.e., my opinion - others are free to disagree), and challenging, as some posts belong in multiple “groups”.

From this week’s news on politics & democracy, and international affairs (note: I may continue to add links for a few days, possibly up to a week, after these are published), and noting the conflicts, listed here, for instance, and other global; issues, such as those listed here, that may not have made it into this weeks news: 

 

 

  • “What Threat Does the Rebel Offensive in Myanmar Pose to the Junta?”   Hold Your Fire!   “In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Myanmar expert Richard Horsey to talk about the offensive launched by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, comprising three ethnic armed groups, that has made rapid advances against Myanmar’s military in northern Shan State. They talk about the offensive and what the various ethnic armed groups hope to gain. They look at the illicit economy along the northern border areas, China’s border management approach, Beijing’s policy and its worries about online scam centres in Myanmar’s east. They also talk about the resistance forces across Myanmar that emerged when the junta cracked down on post-coup protests, relations between those forces and the ethnic armed groups, and how they view the latest surge in fighting. They discuss Myanmar’s growing humanitarian needs and massive displacement over the past few years.”   Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/hold-your-fire/id1530411354?i=1000636430616    See also   “The New Humanitarian | Aid needs to grow in Myanmar as resistance advances put more civilians at risk”   https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2023/12/06/aid-needs-grow-myanmar-resistance-advances-put-more-civilians-risk  
  • “In Burkina Faso's blockaded towns, war crimes and mutual aid”   https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2023/12/05/burkina-faso-blockaded-towns-war-crimes-and-mutual-aid   “Around a million people in Burkina Faso are living under suffocating blockades imposed by jihadist groups on dozens of towns and villages – a tool of war that is destroying local economies and leading to mass hunger and deaths from treatable diseases. ... However, people said their communities have developed survival techniques, including urban farming, the pooling of resources through mutual aid networks, and leveraging support from families that can send money via mobile platforms”   
  • “Ghana meeting seeks to boost political support to strengthen UN Peacekeeping”   https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144312   “Ministers and delegates from more than 85 countries and international organizations are meeting in Ghana this week to express their collective commitment to UN Peacekeeping”   I admire and support the intention, and UN peacekeeping has had successes, but it also has had failures, so this potentially could be useful  
  • According to Crisis Group’s latest monthly Crisis Watch newsletter:   there are six conflict risks (Guatemala, Myanmar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan), 10 deteriorated situations (Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Western Sahara, India-Pakistan (Kashmir), Myanmar, South China Sea, Israel/Palestine, Iraq, Cameroon, Sudan), and 1 improved situation (Philippines);  



  • “'Sleepwalking into dictatorship': [former potus45] warnings spook America”   https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231206-dictator-trump-warnings-spook-america   “Could a second Donald Trump presidency slide into dictatorship? A sudden spate of dystopian warnings has got America talking about the possibility less than a year before the US elections”    I have had concerns about the USA and the US system since Reagan in the 80s - and acknowledge that there were valid reasons for concerns well before then, but I was too young to have those concerns. A recent media survey found many young people have concerns about our (Australia’s) relations with the USA if former potus45 is re-elected: I share those concerns   See also   “Trump says ‘I’m not a dictator’ but top figures warn of authoritarian takeover”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/07/trump-dictator-authoritarian-president-2024   “Liz Cheney leads condemnation of former president, who has increasingly talked about using the state to tighten his grip”  
  • “YouTube's copyright system isn't broken. The world's is”   https://youtu.be/1Jwo5qc78QU?si=ajd-0h1xPqHgBLCZ   Copyright and intellectual property is something I came across in my day job - for instance, when we wanted to use a type of treatment in the early 90s, and found it has just come out of patent protection - which was closely followed by the company I worked for then deciding NOT to apply for patent protection for something I had developed which qualified for that - and made that decision so others could freely use it (not all corporations are always bad).   Other companies have developed measures such as the use of copyright stamps. I have also been aware of the risks on the Internet for some time, and - along with at least a few of the commenters - consider the blissful and dangerous ignorance of some, often combined with foolish myths, a significant risk. I agree that change is required, and that will be difficult - both because of the opposition, and the challenges of defining something suitable  


  • “How One Crash Led to France's Deadliest Day Ever”   https://youtu.be/UndvyiIeZ1Y?si=ZbIx2ef8yNHBrGfK   I’ve written about the impact of assassinations in the past, but this video shows how the accidental death of a pro-sensible uniforms War Minister in France led to thousands more deaths in the first year of World War (part) one for France when utterly clueless, amathiac, ultra-macho toxic males forced keeping bright red trousers ...  


 



  • “A Senate inquiry is calling for a new ‘behaviour curriculum’ to try and tackle classroom disruptions”   https://theconversation.com/a-senate-inquiry-is-calling-for-a-new-behaviour-curriculum-to-try-and-tackle-classroom-disruptions-218695   “However, effective behaviour management in schools requires a supportive school system. This means there is enough funding, time and resources for planning, support teams, collaboration with parents and other professionals, and teacher coaching and mentoring.   So far, the committee is largely silent on this issue.   There are also concerns about the framing of this inquiry. In a dissenting report, the Greens argue:  “This inquiry should have started with the question ‘why are these students coming into school today feeling distracted, unheard or frustrated?’.”   If we are going to genuinely improve behaviour and disruptions at school, we do need to move from “fixing the blame” toward “fixing the problem”. This means not fixating on just teachers or students, but looking at the broad context of schools and their communities.”   The Senate committee was headed by a neoliberal, and I consider the bias in the recommendations shows an old school, Newtonian mindset - one out of touch with the changes to society from the 1960s  


My links for activism post may aid any activism  you may decide to do on any/all of these.

 

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.


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