FROM this week’s news ON: society generally, the climate crisis, environmental issues, and nuclear threats/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, the climate crisis, environmental issues, and nuclear threats/issues (please note: this is a cut down and/or combined version of what I used to do):

on society generally:

• “NT Aboriginal Justice Agency criticises move to allow private security to carry pepper spray”   https://nit.com.au/06-05-2024/11238/nt-aboriginal-justice-agency-criticises-decision-to-give-private-security-guards-pepper-spray   I share their concerns      

• “Can I take your order – and your data? The hidden reason retailers are replacing staff with AI bots”   https://theconversation.com/can-i-take-your-order-and-your-data-the-hidden-reason-retailers-are-replacing-staff-with-ai-bots-229202   “At stake is the hidden lifeblood of the 21st-century business: data.   ...   AI thrives on data. If your job involves a lot of data, and the data is currently not captured (people dealing with high-volume traffic, like drive-thru workers), or it doesn’t inform the way you deliver your service (drive-thru workers again, but also those dealing with complex products) – watch out. You are blocking a data loop, and you may be in the crosshairs.”   

• “‘Placement poverty’ to be tackled in Labor budget with new payments for student teachers and nurses”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/06/placement-poverty-to-be-tackled-in-labor-budget-with-new-payments-for-student-teachers-and-nurses   

• “What is the most important word in medicine? It is not what we teach doctors”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/08/what-is-the-most-important-word-in-medicine-it-is-not-what-we-teach-doctors   “a new Productivity Commission report that shows healthcare productivity improved by an impressive 3% a year ...   The authors state “quality improvements, not cost reductions, were the big drivers of productivity growth, and the vast majority of these have come from advances in saving lives”.   ...   the retiring surgeon ... declares: “The most important word in medicine is kindness.””      

• “Witchcraft under Capitalism Cottagecore, Witchcore, and the Classism of Ethical Consumerism”   https://youtu.be/ort0f2YRwjY?si=aat7Il5xfGS4CDKT   This is another utterly brilliant video from a consistently brilliant channel. The scope and depth of nuance is indicated by this selection from the chapter headings:   A Brief History of Capitalism;   PR, Marketing and Influencers (including the evil Bernays);   Form and Function: Beauty and Dopamine;   Fast Fashion and Cottagecore Classism;   and   Neurodivergence Fails Consumerism.   I am NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, what used to be termed “with it” or “in” (in fact, my three high school friends and I used to joke we were so far “out” we were past the Kuiper Belt [astronomy joke - sorry (not!)] ), so I wasn't aware of terms like “Cottagecore” and “Witchcore”, but the consumerism and desire to be what we used to term - in high school - “the same as everyone else” is, sadly, still recognisable - along with the various forms of prejudice. At high school, I did my best to fight against that using the language and terms of Buddhism (along the lines of “true happiness” not coming from superficial, glitzy things) and a sense of human rights that was very constrained by a lack of vocabulary (e.g., describing a racist teacher's behaviour as wrong and unfair, because they were the only words I could think of). This sort of video is exactly what is needed to empower the fight for decency in the modern era, when neoliberal capitalist patriarchy has become so skilled at duping so many people. Please watch it, and support the channel - and those who collaborated in the making of this video   

• “The Age of The Wendigo”   https://www.okdoomer.io/becomingwendigo/      “How Good, Kind, Caring People Became The Bad Guys”   https://www.okdoomer.io/thebadguys/      

• “Our cities are widening the divide between the well-off and the rest. How can we turn this damaging trend around?”   https://theconversation.com/our-cities-are-widening-the-divide-between-the-well-off-and-the-rest-how-can-we-turn-this-damaging-trend-around-222386     
  

the climate crisis: 

• “Why So Many People Don't Listen to Warnings”   https://www.okdoomer.io/why-so-many-people-get-so-angry-when-you-warn-them-about-stuff/      

• In Australia, the   “Future Gas Strategy underpins emissions, not renewables”   https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/future-gas-strategy-underpins-emissions-not-renewables/   This is heart breaking   See also      “Australia can have a future for the gas industry, or meet its climate commitments – but not both”   https://theconversation.com/australia-can-have-a-future-for-the-gas-industry-or-meet-its-climate-commitments-but-not-both-229700      “A Future Gas Strategy that sends us Back to the Future”   https://theaimn.com/a-future-gas-strategy-that-sends-us-back-to-the-future/      “Gas is good until 2050 and beyond, under Albanese gas strategy”   https://theconversation.com/gas-is-good-until-2050-and-beyond-under-albanese-gas-strategy-229635      “Labor’s gas strategy: what is it and why do critics call it ‘Back to the Future’?”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/09/labor-albanese-government-gas-strategy-emissions-reduction-policy-net-zero-targets-renewable-energy      “Labor’s strategy is to reduce emissions from gas – but not if that means doing anything to cut its use ”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/09/labors-strategy-is-to-reduce-emissions-from-gas-but-not-if-that-means-doing-anything-to-cut-its-use      “Anthony Albanese faces internal revolt from inner-city Labor MPs over gas strategy”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/09/anthony-albanese-faces-internal-revolt-from-inner-city-labor-mps-over-gas-strategy      a The Guardian exclusive reports:   “Albanese government ‘twisted’ Indigenous group’s views in ‘future gas’ document, chair says”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/10/albanese-government-twisted-indigenous-groups-views-in-future-gas-document-chair-says   “Exclusive: Samuel Sandy, chair of Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation, says the treatment of its submission was ‘wrong and upsetting’”     
  

environmental issues:

• “Oil majors offered faster Nigerian exit if they pay for clean-up”   https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/oil-majors-offered-faster-nigerian-exit-if-they-pay-cleanup-2024-05-03/   “... have all sought to leave Nigeria's oil-rich Niger delta in recent years citing security concerns, including theft and sabotage, to focus on deep water drilling. However, their exits have been delayed by regulatory hurdles.”   

• “Chinese-owned gold mines in Niger ordered shut after herders report animal deaths”   https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20240505-chinese-owned-gold-mines-in-niger-ordered-shut-after-herders-report-animal-deaths   “Several gold mines in northern Niger managed by a Chinese company were ordered to temporarily close after dozens of animals died from drinking wastewater, local authorities told AFP”   

• “Traditional Owners slam racist campaign against South Coast Marine Park”   https://nit.com.au/06-05-2024/11230/traditional-owners-slam-racist-campaign-against-south-coast-marine-park   “... there has been a surge in racist and conspiracy-led rhetoric”     
  

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/