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”.

For use as may be appropriate:

notorious transphobe “Mrs Robert Galbraith Tate”   https://medium.com/my-unpopular-opinion/jk-rowling-is-just-andrew-tate-for-women-2d2f79badd20  

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: 

• “Haiti: Human rights deteriorating as gang violence spreads”   https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146407   
  

• “ICC ‘turf war’ blocking Ukrainian bid to have top Russians tried, advocate says | International criminal court | The Guardian”   https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/feb/06/icj-ukraine-russia-prosecutions-philippe-sands    

• “Zimbabwe cabinet scraps colonial-era death penalty law”   https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/zimbabwe-cabinet-scraps-colonial-era-death-penalty-law-2024-02-07/   
  

• “Landmine Deaths Resurge In Northeast Nigeria Amid Insurgents’ Mass Surrender Claims”   https://humanglemedia.com/landmine-deaths-resurge-in-northeast-nigeria-amid-insurgents-mass-surrender-claims/   “Within the past week, at least 13 farmers and six children have been killed in two separate landmine incidents in Borno, Nigeria”    

 

• “Digital money apps become a lifeline for war-affected Sudanese”   https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2024/02/07/sudan-war-digital-money-online-banking-apps   This also applies to many others in Africa   
  

 

• “Why the mental cost of a STEM career can be too high for women and people of colour”   https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00324-0   This has cropped up in a few formats in different situations - for instance, last year there was a report that living with racism on a daily basis created trauma akin to that of soldiers in combat - and the harmful effects of discrimination on many minority groups (e.g., also different gender identities, neurodiverse people, and gender diverse people) has been long known (decades at least). This article includes:   “Allostatic load is a term coined by physiological psychologist Eliot Stellar and neuroendocrinologist Bruce McEwen, one of my mentors. It describes how chronic adverse physical, psychological or social situations — including racial and gender-based oppression — cause sustained activation of the body and brain’s stress response, resulting in cumulative wear and tear. Increased allostatic load is associated with depression and anxiety, which can impair motivation”   I can, from nearly half a century in the engineering profession in several minority groups, confirm that. I CAN ALSO CONFIRM THE BENEFITS OF BUILDING COMMUNITY - this is what I refer to as network and nurture when discussing the FIVE stress responses at   https://gnwmythrsglossary.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-five-stress-responses.html      See also   “What Is Allostatic Load?”   https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-allostatic-load-5680283      “What Does 'Allostatic Load' Mean for Your Health?”   https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/presence-mind/202010/what-does-allostatic-load-mean-your-health   “According to the allostatic load model, the effects of stress are cumulative”      “Allostatic Load”   https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/allostatic-load   “Allostatic load is defined as the perturbation of several physiological systems toward consistently high or low or non-adaptive states even when stressors remit, whose combined perturbations lead to wear and tear on the body”      “Allostatic Load and Its Impact on Health: A Systematic Review”   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32799204/      “Allostatic Load”   https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Allostatic_load&oldid=1187244176      
  

• “GLAAD Asks [head of a social media platform] To Make Public Statement Over Anti-Trans Hate Post Case”   https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/glaad-asks-[head-of-social-media-platform-to-make-public-statement-over-anti-trans-hate-post-case/228157   “GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organisation, has called on Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to take immediate action against anti-transgender hate content on its platforms, following a recent ruling by the Oversight Board”   While this is a potentially good step, there are other social media with problems with hate speech and violent threats: don’t lose sight of them  
  

• “Victorian government condemns protesters who clashed with police at pride march as Midsumma blames ‘both sides’ | Australia news | The Guardian”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/05/victoria-police-to-review-midsumma-footage-after-protesters-confronted-police-marchers   “Victoria Police, Protestors Clash At Melbourne’s Midsumma Pride March, One Arrested”   https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/national-news/victoria-news/victoria-police-protestors-clash-at-melbournes-midsumma-pride-march-one-arrested/228349   “10,000 take to hot streets for Midsumma Pride March”   https://qnews.com.au/10000-take-to-hot-streets-for-midsumma-pride-march/   I have also written to the government to express my condemnation. There are some who consider violence is justifiable - it only is in cases where lives are directly at risk, in my opinion. And it should be noted that the one person arrested had allegedly assaulted a spectator ...  If you want to protest at a presence, there are well-established and effective options such as turning ones back towards the people concerned ... but, in this case, those police present are likely to be the allies who will help effect change for the better - and will do in difficult circumstances. The comments by MidSumma’s CEO are of some note and cause for further examination, but more information is needed ... which may be in the third link, which links to police pulling protestors off temporary fencing and pushing others aside, which was unnecessary - they could have waited for a marshall to respond   Subsequent reports include:   “Victoria Police, Protestors Clash At Melbourne’s Midsumma Pride March, One Arrested”   https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/national-news/victoria-news/victoria-police-protestors-clash-at-melbournes-midsumma-pride-march-one-arrested/228349   and   “Victoria Police, Protesters Escalated Situation, Says Midsumma CEO”   https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/victoria-police-protesters-escalated-situation-says-midsumma-ceo/228394   The protestor’s claims that it has always been a riot is utter BS. I marched in the second event, and it has NEVER been anything like the '78 events in Sydney, nor Stonewall. To make that claim just shows a complete lack of knowledge. On the other side, I note that paint bombs were claimed NOT to have been used - a single bottle was thrown at one of the protestors, protestors stated, so police need to be accurate. Also, and very tellingly, the responses shown may have been police from the “public order” (riot) squad who may not be trained to handle events such as this, and thus the Midsumma CEO’s comments start to make more sense - although I still consider the protest harmful of LGBTQIASB+ people, including LGBTQIASB+ police. However, a final point: some of the LGBTQIASB+ police and police allies had their children with them: to bloody subject THEM to this rubbish is utterly unacceptable - especially when LGBTQIASB+ children have been abused by the far right!   

• “Biggest ever survey of trans Americans finds 94% happier after transition”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/07/trans-survey-transition-gender-affirming-care   “The 2022 US Trans Survey of 92,000 transgender adults finds continued discrimination, harassment and even violence at work”   So despite the endemic, vicious and life threatening abuses of bigots in the USA, transition is worthwhile for an overwhelming majority   

• “Brianna Ghey’s parents met hate with love, and Sunak chased cheap laughs. That says it all about him and his party”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/08/brianna-ghey-parents-love-rishi-sunak-cheap-laughs-election   and   “Republicans are redefining the word ‘equal’ in an Iowa anti-trans bill”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/08/iowa-anti-trans-bill-649   “The bill would require transgender people to be identified on birth certificates, a measure some compare to ‘pink triangles’”  
  

• “NSW government launches review after court hears Aboriginal baby’s aunt refused as carer due to same-sex relationship”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/07/nsw-government-launches-review-after-court-hears-aboriginal-babys-aunt-refused-as-carer-due-to-same-sex-relationship   “Court told Anglicare Sydney refused to assess woman as a long-term carer and sought to have baby adopted to non-Indigenous couple”  
  

• “Crackdown on skin-colour bias by fingertip oxygen sensors is coming, hints [US] FDA”   https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-04144-6   “Devices can overestimate blood oxygen levels in people with dark skin, affecting medical care”   

• “US must uphold judges’ right to speak freely about race and gender bias: rights expert”   https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146202   

• “Queensland’s African diaspora ‘a community under siege’ as teenager faces murder charge over fatal stabbing of 70-year-old”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/07/queenslands-african-diaspora-a-community-under-siege-as-teenager-faces-charge-over-fatal-stabbing-of-70-year-old   However, subsequently   “Daughter of stabbed gran calls for calm, unity”   https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/crime-news/2024/02/08/vyleen-white-cindy-stab-community   &   “‘I don’t want people living in fear’: daughter of Vyleen White calls for peace amid reports of racist attacks”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/08/ipswich-stabbing-murder-victim-vyleen-white-daughter-peace-racist-attacks  
  

• “Governments must act faster and listen to Productivity Commission recommendations to Close the Gap and tackle Aboriginal homelessness”   https://theaimn.com/governments-must-act-faster-and-listen-to-productivity-commission-recommendations-to-close-the-gap-and-tackle-aboriginal-homelessness/   “The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association Media Release”   “Closing the Gap will fail without ‘fundamental change’, scathing report finds”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/07/closing-the-gap-agreement-indigenous-outcomes-update-reforms   “Agreed reforms have not been prioritised and landmark agreement on Indigenous outcomes is doomed without urgent changes, Productivity Commission says”   “Governments "continue to waste" National Agreement on Closing the Gap, Productivity Commission reports”   https://nit.com.au/06-02-2024/9618/the-national-agreement-on-closing-the-gap-is-an-opportunity-governments-cannot-continue-to-waste  
  

• “Prison staff watch on as Aboriginal man dies in custody”   https://nit.com.au/05-02-2024/9629/prison-staff-watch-on-as-aboriginal-man-dies-in-custody      “Jumbunna Institute to lead Indigenous-led review into ACT incarceration rates”   https://nit.com.au/05-02-2024/9635/jumbunna-institute-to-lead-indigenous-led-review-into-act-incarceration-rates   
  

• “Tributes flow for Indigenous land rights and health trailblazer”   https://nit.com.au/04-02-2024/9609/the-rock-who-steadied-us-in-the-storm-[name]-indigenous-land-rights-and-health-trailblazer-passes-away   “WARNING: This story contains the name and image of an Aboriginal person who has passed”      “How [name]’s activism and leadership changed advocacy on Indigenous affairs in Australia”   https://theconversation.com/how-[name]-activism-and-leadership-changed-advocacy-on-indigenous-affairs-in-australia-222727      “Under _, our greatest leader of the modern era, Indigenous affairs made real progress”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/05/[name]-our-greatest-leader-of-the-modern-era-indigenous-affairs   “Point to anything good that happened in Indigenous Australian communities and you will trace it back to ATSIC under [her] leadership”   I am confident that the NIT article likely has permission to name this woman, but I do not, so have chosen not to include her name, although that and her image are available at the links. I agree with the assessment of what she has done   

• “Barriers to voting for people with disabilities: A research roundup”   https://journalistsresource.org/home/barriers-to-voting-for-people-with-disabilities-an-explainer-and-research-roundup/  

 

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/