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: 

• “Latest hunger data spotlights extent of famine risk in Gaza, Sudan and beyond”   https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/11489260   

• “Botswana rejects controversial UK proposal on asylum-seekers”   https://www.voanews.com/a/botswana-rejects-controversial-uk-proposal-on-asylum-seekers/7582782.html   By this rejection, Botswana has firmly aligned itself with decency and human rights    

• “US sanctions militant leaders over hostages in West Africa”   https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-sanctions-militant-leaders-over-hostages-west-africa-2024-04-23/  
  

 

• “Traditional owners to get Vic renewable project profits”   https://nit.com.au/22-04-2024/10961/call-for-traditional-owners-to-bank-from-mining-profits    

• “20 Indigenous Elders appointed to offer cultural authority during Treaty negotiations in Victoria”   https://nit.com.au/22-04-2024/10943/20-indigenous-elders-appointed-to-offer-cultural-authority-during-treaty-negotiations-in-victoria   This is excellent news   “Aboriginal Elders appointed to historic Elders Standing Group”   https://www.firstpeoplesvic.org/news/aboriginal-elders-appointed-to-historic-elders-standing-group/   

• “The staggering suicide crisis billows unabated through our First Nations communities”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/22/the-staggering-suicide-crisis-billows-unabated-through-our-first-nations-communities   “Little from countless inquiries has been heeded, other than a trail of symbolisms and apologies and now a 10-year-old child has died”   

• “Prosecutors in California excluded Jewish and Black jurors, records suggest”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/22/california-death-penalty-cases-review-juror-discrimination   “Pamela Price, the Alameda county district attorney, is reviewing 35 death penalty cases after judge cites ‘pattern of misconduct’”   This is gravely concerning   

• “Restrictions on Victorian doctor accused of racist and homophobic remarks paused due to bulk-billing shortage”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/22/restrictions-on-victorian-doctor-accused-of-racist-and-homophobic-remarks-paused-due-to-bulk-billing-shortage   This is ONLY of benefit to white cishet people - so at least around 30-40% of the population are excluded   

 

• “Harvey Weinstein: New York court overturns 2020 rape conviction”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/25/harvey-weinstein-rape-conviction-overturned   “Court rules judge who oversaw landmark trial was mistaken in allowing women whose accusations were not part of case to testify   ...   prosecutors say they will retry the ... case.”   Although this may well be legally correct, the real life effect of this is that it is a devastating decision, and will have a chilling effect on women reporting assaults and abuse See also   “Why Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction was overturned — and what happens now”   https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-harvey-weinsteins-rape-conviction-was-overturned/y0e26y4oz      On the other hand,   “Judge upholds $83m E Jean Carroll defamation verdict against Trump”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/25/e-jean-carroll-trump-defamation   “The former president’s motion for a new trial was denied and his argument deemed ‘entirely without merit’”   

• “‘Enough’: thousands to join protests across Australia opposing violence against women”   https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/26/australia-violence-against-women-rallies-what-were-you-wearing-sydney-adelaide-newcastle-ballarat      “We won’t stop violence against women with conversations about respect. This is not working. We need to get real”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/26/we-wont-stop-violence-against-women-with-conversations-about-respect-this-is-not-working-we-need-to-get-real-ntwnfb      “As regional Australia reels from several women’s deaths, advocates seek both policing and prevention”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/27/as-regional-australia-reels-from-several-womens-deaths-advocates-seek-both-policing-and-prevention  
  

• “Choice and control: people with disability feel safer when they can select their NDIS providers”   https://theconversation.com/choice-and-control-people-with-disability-feel-safer-when-they-can-select-their-ndis-providers-227579  

• “What Is The Autism Spectrum? (What Do Actually Autistic People Think?)”   https://youtu.be/_bYPdc2cT-E?si=vu5kh1C1_sxRju-4   This is an excellent analysis of a flawed science programme on the autism spectrum - with rebuttals of the rubbish comments  
  

• “‘More harm than good’: Why there's concern over a commonly used police term”   https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/more-harm-than-good-why-theres-concern-over-a-commonly-used-police-term/ymnvvatfg   “You may have heard the term ‘known to police’ in the news. There is no clear-cut definition for the phrase, according to a policing expert, prompting concerns around stereotyping and legal risk.”   

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. 

 

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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/