A momentous - world shaking - action for Gaza? [Content Warning - discusses self harm and mass atrocity events]

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”. 

As a child in the 60s, I was moved - shocked, but also moved by their depth of feeling - of several  Buddhist monks in Việt Nam who died by self  immolation in protest against the corruption, violence, and bigotry of the South Vietnamese government. 

Remembering that it was also an act of self immolation that triggered the Arab Spring, we have now seen a similar event, one that - because it was willingly committed by a US service member - may well have even greater impact in our hyper-connected world.

For news reporting on this, see:

“US airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy | Israel War on Gaza News | Al Jazeera”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/26/us-airman-who-set-himself-on-fire-outside-israeli-embassy-dies      “Suicide vs genocide: Rest in power, Aaron Bushnell | Israel War on Gaza | Al Jazeera”   https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/2/26/suicide-vs-genocide-rest-in-power-aaron-bushnell      “US air force member dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/25/man-set-himself-on-fire-israel-embassy   “Aaron Bushnell, 25, declared he will ‘no longer be complicit in genocide’ before setting himself alight in Washington DC”      “US airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy”   https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-airman-dies-after-setting-himself-fire-outside-israeli-embassy-reports-say-2024-02-26/   “Aaron Bushnell: US airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington”   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68405119      “US airman dies after setting himself ablaze outside Israeli Embassy in Israel-_____ war protest”   https://apnews.com/article/israel-us-embassy-man-fire-air-force-f730a09009ce56d818f87a8f4dcc6ca7      “U.S. Air Force member who set himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in D.C. has died”   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-air-force-member-set-fire-israeli-embassy-dc-died-rcna140455      “Air Force member dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy”   https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/26/air-force-member-fire-death-israeli-embassy-00143269   “According to a video circulating online, the airman repeatedly shouted “free Palestine” during his protest on Sunday”      “US airman sets himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington”   https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-airman-sets-himself-on-fire-outside-israeli-embassy-in-washington/      

 

PS - additional news links I have subsequently found are: 

“US Serviceman Dies After Setting Self on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy to Protest War in Gaza”   https://time.com/6821425/israel-embassy-air-force-protest-fire-self-immolation-aaron-bushnell-latest-updates/   &   “The History of Self-Immolation as Political Protest”   https://time.com/6835364/self-immolation-history-israel-hamas-war/   (which includes past incidents I did not know about - one related to the war in Gaza dating to December)   &   “Malcolm Browne: The Story Behind The Burning Monk”   (regarding one of the incidents in Việt Nam I mentioned)   https://time.com/3791176/malcolm-browne-the-story-behind-the-burning-monk/   This is an interview, and includes   “I read once what President Kennedy said about your photograph. He said, “No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one.””      “What We Know About the Man Who Self-Immolated in Front of the Israeli Embassy”   https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/aaron-bushnell-self-immolation-what-we-know.html      “Aaron Bushnell Protest: What is self-immolation? What you ought to know about this political protest”   https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/aaron-bushnell-protest-what-is-self-immolation-what-you-ought-to-know-about-this-political-protest-101709113692252.html      “Pentagon Reacts To Aaron Bushnell's Self-Immolation At Israel Embassy - Newsweek”   https://youtu.be/xGabJxibZYg?si=SLkgH-hZK1sVVsau   (note that the statement says further information is to come)      an opinion that “The self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell should serve as a wake up call for the military”   https://www.salon.com/2024/02/28/the-self-immolation-of-aaron-bushnell-should-serve-as-a-wake-up-call-for-the-military/      “Self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell”   https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Self-immolation_of_Aaron_Bushnell&oldid=1210831838   (The live link, which will inevitably eventually include commentary that I have not read as of the time I added the previous link, is   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation_of_Aaron_Bushnell)  

and 

“The Burning Man”   https://theaimn.com/the-burning-man/   “In another distinctly American moment, a cop or Secret Service officer runs up and unholsters his gun and points it with two hands at the man dying on the ground. Did he expect fire from within the fire?   ...   The U.S. media did not know how to handle the tragedy.   ...   Establishment news sources immediately set about the business of diminishing Bushnell’s act.   ...   Colleagues who knew him in the military as a software engineer-in-training, described him as kind, soft-hearted, and caring, the diametric opposite of the angry radical as he is being portrayed in widespread reporting.   ...   Given American media’s response to Bushnell’s dramatic act, expecting a political swing against Israel is a waste of intellectual energy. He is clearly being marginalized ... but people frustrated with their ability to have an individual impact on horrible situations can sometimes ... act ... with more courage than can be comprehended by observers. Self-immolation is not a new form of political protest and has had some historic importance.”  

PPS - a more recent article provides some human insight: 

“Aaron Bushnell was my friend. May he never be forgotten | Levi Pierpont | The Guardian”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/02/aaron-bushnell-death-washington-gaza  

I ask you to write to your elected representatives (if you are in a nation that has them), urging your representatives to honour the self sacrifice of this serviceman by refusing to condone the genocide in Gaza.

 

PS - as an example, this is the email I have just sent (if you use this as a starting point, do NOT forget to take out my personal reflections in the second paragraph - which I have highlighted and struck through in this copy [but not the original] to aid any who do): 

Dear Members of Parliament,

Protest death in the USA against the genocide in Gaza [Content Warning - discusses self harm and mass atrocity events]

As you are by now no doubt aware, a serving US service member has committed death by self immolation against the genocide - as an example of the reporting, see “US air force member dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/25/man-set-himself-on-fire-israel-embassy   “Aaron Bushnell, 25, declared he will ‘no longer be complicit in genocide’ before setting himself alight in Washington DC”     

As a child in the 60s, I remember the protest deaths by self immolation of several Buddhist monks in South Việt Nam - and in the 90s met someone who had witnessed one of those events. I am also mindful that the self immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia was the event which triggered the Arab Spring (which was then driven by pressures that had been building for some time).

I consider that the self sacrifice of Aaron Bushnell may turn out to be a similarly significant act - possibly a turning point in official attitudes towards the genocide being committed by Israel in Gaza as part of its self destructive Pyrrhic "victory" against the vile terrorists who committed such acts of barbarity on 7^th October last year.

In any case, I consider it high time for Australia to ensure that, while we continue to support Israel's continued existence (whilst noting the thousands who have been protesting against the Netanyahu government for several years - and the charges of corruption against Netanyahu), we are acting decisively against the genocide that, in its state of shock and horror, Israel is committing against Palestinians - including babies, toddlers, and children.

I consider it likely that history will judge those who did not - nearly as harshly as those who failed to act in the 1930s and 40s.

 

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 & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/  

 

 

The problem of non-apparent (“invisible”) disabilities in the workplace

In my experience across half a century, one of the most bad-faith plagued aspects of work has been the issue of non-apparent disabilities in workplaces. 

Partly this was ignorance and the lack of legal protection at the start of that half century, followed by scepticism and inadequate legal protection, ending with a fight between genuine attempts to care vs. resentment-driven revenge by ultra-superficial-policing. 

That last one is the sort of problem that can manifest itself when people criticise people for using disabled parking spaces when they don’t look disabled ... which is the reason why I, despite intermittent physical mobility issues and the suggestion of my doctor, have not got a disability parking permit.

In workplaces, it can show up with such extreme things as wanting copies of daily blood sugar readings - which was pretty clearly an attempt to cover their legal backsides by having ammunition they can use against me, and had NOTHING to do with the blatant lie claiming they cared - caring would have been ensuring staff levels were adequate, and work conditions were flexible enough that I could do things like rest when I needed to. 

And caring would NOT have been patronising, paternalistic, and invasive - which that demand was ... 

Ensuring businesses do not resort to extremist measures like this is the job of our elected representatives (for those nations that have them) - MANAGE and COUNTER business push backs on progressive measures. 

And some governments do exactly that - my home state government has a good history of doing so, and their federal counterparts have done so in the last couple of yeaars. 

And, to be fair, some businesses and managers have also done that - in some cases, ahead of governments. 

In fact, there are a few managers I have known this century who are amongst the best human beings I have ever met.

But some of their compatriots remain obtusely amongst the worst ...

 

These links may be of interest/use:  

• “EDS & Why We Misunderstand Disability”   https://youtu.be/3tr1RvErGn8?si=-BIyBlut6GiiPU_Q   This video is brilliant in many ways. One that particularly resonated with me is that if you have always lived with a something that doctors consider a symptom, how on earth are you meant to know it is a symptom? Doctors need to life their game   

• “You don’t have to see someone’s struggle to believe them!”   https://youtube.com/shorts/ixUux3IcB9k?si=c79ZxAGvUj88RHIB   
  

• Millions of Australians have a chronic illness. So why aren’t employers accommodating them?”   https://theconversation.com/millions-of-australians-have-a-chronic-illness-so-why-arent-employers-accommodating-them-219612   “... the continued exposure to work stressors can lead to or exacerbate chronic health conditions ...   Our research found 73% of people believed their chronic illness was at least partially caused or worsened by their job. Almost one in five people believed work entirely caused or worsened their illness.   These findings accord with data from Safe Work Australia”   Good question - and I suspect the problem is worse for non-apparent illnesses such as diabetes   
  

• “Should Disabled People Be Forced To Work?”   https://youtu.be/hpb_1aYtGds?si=RvNBVz1qjDPpoVrP  (The video was in response to right wing [destroy-the-world-through-economic-growth] rubbish about “doing duty”, and the arguments include all people have a valid existence, expectations to do work that one cannot do are harmful reality-denying fantasies [my wording], the problem of scepticism of the uninformed [especially regarding non-apparent disabilities], the threats to cut off money are to life, unsuitable workplaces, and the damaging [including guilt-tripping] and abuse-inciting “fraud” narrative and false claims.)

• “How accessibility for disabled university students can benefit all students”   https://theconversation.com/how-accessibility-for-disabled-university-students-can-benefit-all-students-189180   “Access fatigue is exhaustion people with disabilities face from constantly having to explain their situation and ask for help. Students reported having to negotiate their access needs repeatedly and to disclose private information (sometimes even to classmates, especially when they were assigned group projects)”   

• “Post No. 2,641 - Disability “accommodations” are just being decent - diagnoses are NOT required!”   https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2023/11/post-no-2641-disability-accomodations.html  
  

• “Post No. 2,710 - What constitutes a disability in the afterlife? [Content Warning - discussion on disability, and also on character flaws]”   https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2024/02/post-no-2710-what-constitutes.html   
  

 

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 & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/  

 

 

FROM this week’s news ON: society generally, and broader issues [Note: Content Warning - may be links to distressing reports on this topic. 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”.

Frrom this week’s news on society generally, and broader issues (note: I may continue to add links for a few days, possibly up to a week, after these are published):

• “Australia’s 2.5 million smokers not jobless and dumb: research”   https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2024/02/19/smokers-research   “... and quit-smoking material needs to better reflect this, researchers say”   

• “Alan Kohler: Do we have the smarts to handle AI? History isn’t encouraging”   https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2024/02/19/kohler-ai-risks-rewards   “How AI deepfakes threaten the 2024 elections”   https://journalistsresource.org/home/how-ai-deepfakes-threaten-the-2024-elections/   “We don’t yet know the full impact of artificial intelligence-generated deepfake videos on misinforming the electorate. And it may be the narrative around them -- rather than the deepfakes themselves -- that most undermines election integrity”      “AI Behaviour, Human Destiny and the Rise of the Killer Robots”   https://www.juancole.com/2024/02/behavior-destiny-killer.html   “As the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have shown, the earliest drone equivalents of “killer robots” have made it onto the battlefield and proved to be devastating weapons. But at least they remain largely under human control. Imagine, for a moment, a world of war in which those aerial drones (or their ground and sea equivalents) controlled us ...”      “What is Sora? A new generative AI tool could transform video production and amplify disinformation risks”   https://theconversation.com/what-is-sora-a-new-generative-ai-tool-could-transform-video-production-and-amplify-disinformation-risks-223850      This next report is on concerns being raised about attempts to deal with a very real, massively harmful problem   “Apple warns Australian proposal to force tech companies to scan cloud services could lead to mass surveillance”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/22/apple-warns-australian-proposal-to-force-tech-companies-to-scan-cloud-services-could-lead-to-mass-surveillance   “Scanning for known child abuse material would compromise the privacy and safety of every user, tech giant says”      For this next article, while there is, indeed, a need for users to be wary, there is ALSO a need for governments to accept reality and ensure that the information they make available to apps - and if they aren't, they are incompetent - is also accurate   “German tourists blame Google Maps mishap for week lost in Queensland | SBS News”   https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/german-tourists-blame-google-maps-mishap-for-week-lost-in-queensland/1ndpm4lzu  
  

• as a prelude to this article, throughout much of human history most languages have only been spoken by a few thousand people. This led to humans being multilingual being the norm for most of our existence - and that is well exemplified by places such as the Balkans, and Indigenous language speakers in Australia. That this article is about an act of decency that seems so exceptional is an indication of how far we have declined as a species   “This 25-year-old is learning his seventh language. It's proving critical in his job | SBS News”   https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/this-25-year-old-is-learning-his-seventh-language-its-proving-critical-in-his-job/3kbf5upi2   
  

• “Care Packages for the Man Who Shot Him”   https://piperhendricks.medium.com/care-packages-for-the-man-who-shot-him-c2f72f19d829   “... part of me would like to believe I am the way I am because of some inherent goodness   ... But when I think harder, I admit that’s pretty preposterous and recognize just how lucky I’ve been   ...   Cheryl’s son   ...   stayed in touch with the man who shot him throughout the time he was in prison and showed him month after month that someone cared.   ...   And where is the man who shot Cheryl’s son now?   Out of prison. No further violations. And mentoring students in his community to help them avoid turning to violence”      but, on the other hand,   “Two charged with murder in Super Bowl parade shooting”   https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/us-news/2024/02/21/two-charged-murder-super-bowl-shooting   ““A verbal altercation occurred and gunfire broke out with no regard for thousands of other individuals in the area.””   I have known people like that: they are disturbed, incompetent as human beings,   possibly sociopaths, and must be restrained to prevent other people being harmed. Discernment is needed over when to forgive, and when to put safety first  
  

• “How our love of pets grew from a clash of world views”   https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00541-7   “Indigenous Americans’ relationships with and knowledge of animals have influenced how Europeans have thought about animals since 1492”   Animistic and reverential attitudes also existed in Europe prior to neochristianity  
  

• “What ‘psychological warfare’ tactics do scammers use, and how can you protect yourself?”   https://theconversation.com/what-psychological-warfare-tactics-do-scammers-use-and-how-can-you-protect-yourself-223959      this is abusive, perverted, and risks the mental health and wellbeing of innocent passers-by   https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/feb/23/perth-festival-invisible-opera-scarborough-beach      “How productivity gurus are making you less productive”   https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/how-productivity-gurus-are-making-you-less-productive-ce271b7cecb6   Well said  
  

My links for activism post may aid any activism you may decide to do on any/all of these. If you do, don’t get too fixated on specific instances of problems - important though they may well be: take a moment to also consider the broader issues these incidents and groups of incidents may suggest/reveal.

 

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 & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/  

 

FROM this week’s news ON: the climate crisis, environmental issues, and nuclear threats/issues [Note: Content Warning - links to distressing reports on this topic. 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”.

Froom this week’s news on the climate crisis, environmental issues, and nuclear threats/issues (note: I may continue to add links for a few days, possibly up to a week, after these are published), noting that at least some issues will not have made it into the news that I see: 

• “Give a Village a Mangrove”   https://hakaimagazine.com/features/give-a-village-a-mangrove/   “To protect their mangrove forests and livelihoods, traditional communities in coastal Brazil set their hopes on small-scale tourism”    I hope this succeeds in protecting the mangroves - they are vital parts of the ecosystem [warning: carnist content]         “How science is helping farmers to find a balance between agriculture and solar farms”   https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00518-6      “Ridding Macquarie Island of pests pays off as seabirds come back from the brink – but recovery has just begun”   https://theconversation.com/ridding-macquarie-island-of-pests-pays-off-as-seabirds-come-back-from-the-brink-but-recovery-has-just-begun-221992  
  

• “Number of Solar Batteries doubles to over One Million in Germany in 2023”   https://www.juancole.com/2024/02/batteries-doubles-million.html   

• “A Single Antarctic heatwave or storm can Noticeably Raise the Sea Level”   https://www.juancole.com/2024/02/antarctic-heatwave-noticeably.html   

• “The public wants clean energy – but this is Australia, where the climate wars never die”   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2024/feb/20/australia-climate-crisis-clean-energy-solutions-debate-emissions-target   

• “Report: Plastics, Oil Industry Deceived Public on Recycling Use for More Than 50 Years - DeSmog”   https://www.desmog.com/2024/02/15/recycling-plastic-center-for-climate-integrity-report-fraud/  
  

• “Major Cities on The US East Coast Are Sinking Faster, Scientists Warn”   https://www.sciencealert.com/major-cities-on-the-us-east-coast-are-sinking-faster-scientists-warn   The link I followed to this suggested groundwater extraction was significant, but I can only find passing mention to that in the original paper (linked to in URL above). However, eastern Victoria has many large open cut coal mines for coal-fired power stations which are pumped dry, and this has caused a major lowering of the ground there. One treatment plant I upgraded was only 15 years old, but the whole region was one metre lower than when it had been built. The subsidence issues mentioned are much lower than that, but, given the density of development, the USA’s abysmal lack of infrastructure maintenance, and the addition of sea level rise from the climate crisis, will be of much greater significance  
  

My links for activism post may aid any activism you may decide to do on any/all of these. If you do, don’t get too fixated on specific instances of problems - important though they may well be: take a moment to also consider the broader issues these incidents and groups of incidents may suggest/reveal.

 

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 & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/  

 

FROM this week’s news ON: human rights and humanitarian aid [Note: Content Warning - links to distressing reports on this topic. 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”.

Fromm this week’s news on human rights (note: I may continue to add links for a few days, possibly up to a week, after these are published), noting that many issues have probably not made it into the news that I see: 

• “Dozens shot dead in escalating Papua New Guinea tribal dispute”   https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20240219-more-than-50-people-shot-dead-in-papua-new-guinea-tribal-dispute   “Dozens killed in outbreak of tribal violence in Papua New Guinea highlands”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/19/png-papua-new-guinea-highlands-death-toll-ambush   “At least 49 people have been killed in the largest PNG Highlands 'massacre' in recent history. Here's what we know”   https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-19/png-massacre-highlands-explainer-enga-heres-what-we-know/103484560   “A Fight Between Rivaling Tribes in Papua New Guinea Has Led to a Massacre”   https://time.com/6696387/papua-new-guinea-tribal-violence/   As several of these articles mention, inter-tribal violence is an ongoing problem of the highlands of PNG. The victims of these attacks appear to largely be mercenaries - men who who have abandoned their tribal allegiance and will fight for any tribe that pays them, using - as do others - advanced small weapons   

• “US ‘strongly condemns’ violence in DR Congo after alleged drone attack | Conflict News | Al Jazeera”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/18/us-strongly-condemns-violence-in-dr-congo-after-alleged-drone-attack    “DR Congo: Fighting threatens stability of entire region, envoy warns”   https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146782   “UN Security Council sanctions rebels in DR Congo as violence escalates | United Nations News | Al Jazeera”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/un-security-council-sanctions-rebels-in-dr-congo-as-violence-escalates   “A guide to the decades-long conflict in DR Congo | News | Al Jazeera”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/a-guide-to-the-decades-long-conflict-in-dr-congo   “Racked by conflict for more than 30 years, the DRC’s insecurity is caused by complex and deep-seated factors, as well as a multitude of actors. Apart from the M23, numerous other armed groups, Congolese and foreign forces are battling for control, mostly in the eastern part of the country. Some of Kinshasa’s neighbours are also implicated in the crisis.”   In effect, the current violence is a continuation of the series of genocides in Rwanda, the best known of which is the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and the Twa (see https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rwandan_genocide&oldid=1209187474#Revolution_and_Hutu%E2%80%93Tutsi_relations_after_independence, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rwandan_genocide&oldid=1209187474, but see also https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rwandan_Revolution&oldid=1207857949#Attack_on_Mbonyumutwa_and_Hutu_uprising and https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rwandan_genocide&oldid=1209187474#Hutu_Power_movement),   which were exported - and continued in other nations - after 1994 (see https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Massacres_of_Hutus_during_the_First_Congo_War&oldid=1208828987)   ...   and tapped in to an already troubled situation (see this book) ...   
  

 

• “UK special forces blocked resettlement applications from elite Afghan troops”   https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/19/uk-special-forces-blocked-resettlement-applications-from-elite-afghan-troops   “Documents leaked and shared with BBC Panorama show that Britain’s secretive special forces were given a veto power over resettlement, prompting claims that hundreds of Afghan veterans have been left in limbo or danger in their native country.   ...   “At a time when certain actions by UK special forces are under investigation by a public inquiry, their headquarters also had the power to prevent former Afghan special forces colleagues and potential witnesses to these actions from getting safely to the UK,” one former UK special forces officer told the BBC”         “Taliban’s conditions to attend UN meeting ‘unacceptable’, Guterres says | United Nations News | Al Jazeera”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/19/talibans-conditions-to-attend-un-meeting-unacceptable-guterres-says         “Italian town in turmoil after far-right mayor bans Muslim prayers”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/18/italian-town-monfalcone-rightwing-mayor-muslim-prayers-ban   “Bangladeshi residents and others in Monfalcone say decisions to prohibit worship at cultural centres and banning burkinis at the beach is part of anti-Islam agenda”   

• “‘Scared for our kids’: anger mounts after non-binary teen dies following school fight”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/22/nex-benedict-death-oklahoma-owasso-lgbt-student   “Activists decry anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric as they mourn Nex Benedict, 16, who died after ‘altercation’ in Oklahoma high school bathroom”      “‘Why can’t I wear a dress?’ What schools can learn from preschools about supporting trans children”   https://theconversation.com/why-cant-i-wear-a-dress-what-schools-can-learn-from-preschools-about-supporting-trans-children-223859       “Take it from a neuroscientist: searching for a ‘male’ and ‘female’ brain is a waste of time | Gina Rippon | The Guardian”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/22/male-female-brains-different-centuries   the pointlessness of trying to find gendered brain differences  
  

• “Bookshop Owner Apologises After Calling For ‘White Kids’ On Book Covers And No Rainbow”   https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/bookshop-owner-apologises-after-calling-for-white-kids-on-book-covers-and-no-rainbow/228595   “The controversy surrounding the now-deleted tweets has also led to allegations from a number of _’ ex-staff members, including one Redditor who claimed that staff who were “uncomfortable selling the Matt Walsh Johnny the Walrus anti-trans book” were advised to ‘find another job because at _ “we don’t cancel books’”.”   I stopped using that bookstore a couple of decades ago over its obvious, growing intolerance. The alleged apology is not, in my opinion, genuine  

• “ “Failing Aboriginal Children” : Experts blast WA Minister for comments on judiciary”   https://nit.com.au/16-02-2024/9827/failing-aboriginal-children-experts-blast-wa-minister-for-comments-on-judiciary   I agree with the experts   and   ““There need to be consequences for actions” : Legal groups condemn NSW police after guilty officer keeps job”   https://nit.com.au/22-02-2024/9920/there-need-to-be-consequences-for-actions-legal-groups-condemn-nsw-police-after-guilty-officer-keeps-job      See also   “Program for young First Nations offenders expanded”   https://nit.com.au/21-02-2024/9902/program-for-young-first-nations-offenders-expanded   “A program that tries to break the cycle for Indigenous juvenile offenders by sending them to regional areas rather than detention centres will be expanded”   and   “Indigenous fathers help build stronger communities. Here’s how we can better support them”   https://theconversation.com/indigenous-fathers-help-build-stronger-communities-heres-how-we-can-better-support-them-222389   

• A Crikey exclusive reports   “ABC ends fact-check partnership with RMIT”   https://www.crikey.com.au/2024/02/21/abc-rmit-fact-check-partnership-abc-news-verify/   “Crikey understands RMIT management felt blindsided by the decision from the ABC, with sources saying it appeared that the ABC had concerns over pressure from fact-checking politicians”   Two days later,   “Facing facts: ABC pulls the plug on RMIT factchecking collaboration”   https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/feb/23/facing-facts-abc-pulls-the-plug-on-rmit-factchecking-collaboration   So, in my opinion, the ABC caved in to political pressure from right wing extremist politicians who didn’t like their lack of touch with reality being called out (and the claims of “scandal-ridden” from right wing media is a similar misrepresentation of being called out). This is another confirmation of the ABCs degeneration and now lack of credibility as a media platform, in my opinion  
  

• from the UK,   “My reporting showed the sheer horror of stalking. The police are failing victims – why won’t they take this crime seriously?”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/21/horror-stalking-police-failing-victims-netflix   See also   “UK urged to end ‘national threat’ of violence against women and girls”   https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146812  

• “It’s true, Kelly Wilkinson was cop shopping. She was looking for a Queensland cop who cared”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/19/kelly-wilkinson-murder-cop-shopping-queensland-qld-police   The inaction by police goes beyond professional incompetence to systemic misogyny   
  

• “Katarina Carroll stands down as Queensland police commissioner amid state’s heated youth crime debate”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/20/katarina-carroll-queensland-police-commissioner-steps-down-resigns-youth-crime   “... and the service’s response to domestic violence”   But racism and lack of integrity were not mentioned ... Whether this is good or not depends of whether the next person is better or not  
  

• a The Guardian exclusive reports:   “Australia needs a national approach to dealing with mental health incidents, ACT police chief says”   https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/20/australia-police-mental-health-policy-approach-act-police-chief-neil-gaughan   “Exclusive: Neil Gaughan argues clinicians, not cops, should attend most call outs and suggests ‘it’s pointless’ having a few jurisdictions go it alone”   I hope he is listened to   

 

• in South Africa, the city of   “Cape Town hit by ‘unimaginable’ stench from 19,000 cattle on live export ship”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/20/cape-town-hit-by-unimaginable-stench-from-19000-cattle-on-live-export-ship   “Animal welfare groups say smell from the build-up of faeces and ammonia on the ship are indicative of the conditions animals endure”   Live animal export has always been obviously fraught with risks of animal cruelty - it should never have started, and all those who enabled it to start are morally culpable for every bit of suffering - including inhumane killing techniques in other nations: saying we are not responsible for how other nations choose to slaughter is both wrong and missing the point: we could prevent animals being subjected to that barbarity AND the barbarity they are exposed to on the ships, which is compelled by nothing but callousness (to the point of sadism) and greed  
  

 

My links for activism post may aid any activism you may decide to do on any/all of these. If you do, don’t get too fixated on specific instances of problems - important though they may well be: take a moment to also consider the broader issues these incidents and groups of incidents may suggest/reveal.

 

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 & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/