Some human rights and other news links [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on bigotry/hate, violence/abuse/war. Reader discretion is advised!] and thoughts - Saturday 13th May, 2023

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Content shown in green (which may be only part of a news story) is about what is generally considered “good news”, but personal history may still make such events triggering. 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]).  

Black Lives Matter! Be Anti-Racist, Anti-Sexist, and Actively Inclusive in ALL Areas.
The Climate Crisis is real, urgent and existential!
The Pandemic is Real, and Vaccinations save lives. Stay safe - wash your hands, wear a face mask in public if prudent to do so, and follow informed medical advice.

Some mostly human rights (including significant, relevant links in other fields - such as geopolitics, democracy, or authoritarianism) links (note: the source of news items [but not reference links] is in brackets after each item - normal rules around abbreviations will apply, and abbreviations are listed at the end of this post; links behind hard paywalls have a [$]; also, comments by me are in purple).

• fascist extremists continued to be emboldened, and a range of actions against them are also slowly growing but staggeringly narrow focus continues the existential risks of climate crisis, nuclear, and inequality & inequity;
  
• former potus45 has been ordered to pay US$5 million for sexual abuse (TG) and defamation (TND) in a civil action (no criminal conviction as was civil (YT - Legal Eagle)) - see also here (F24), here (TND), here (SBS), here (R), here (ABC), here, which also considers what next (SBS), here (#45 will appeal) (TND),and here (TC) (and CNN have shown the depths to which have plummeted by giving this convicted sexual predator an hour of airtime) - and former potus45 is also accused (TG) of attempting witness intimidation and has been ordered to not comment on social media about evidence in one case (NBC News) - and a Russian chess grandmaster has commented “if you give would-be fascists all your microphones and megaphones they don’t need guns to take over” (social media), lawyers for another conservative figure have been sanctioned for “false election claims” (NBC News), and one of the insurrectionists has been given the longest sentence yet (NBC News);   a US state’s governor’s “supporters ... support the kind of tyranny that America was founded on rejecting, and it foreshadows where [that nation is heading]” (M);   death threats have led to a French mayor resigning (F24);         “rape is a means of asserting patriarchal power ... rape laws were generally intended to protect (white) men from false accusations. They were not intended to protect a woman from attack ... the requirement that the victim of a crime actively resist exists nowhere else in criminal law” (TK) - see also here, on sexual violence in Somalia (AJ), here, on the massive numbers of sexual attacks in eastern DRC (AN), and here, from Niger (AN);        the UN Secretary-General has warned that “values of UN Charter under threat like never before” (UN);         “media missed how Proud Boys worked with FBI to bring down left-wing operations”   (RS);   “French police under fire for allowing neo-n___ rally in Paris on VE Day” (F24);   concerns about what Uganda will be like if the current president’s son inherits power (F24);   pseudo-police in the UK (the problem exists elsewhere as well) (TG);   a US newspaper has blatantly lied by “reporting” that a poll supported anti-trans hate when the results showed support (The Present Age);   a driver in the USA appears to have deliberately (TND) killed (TG) and injured (DW) pedestrians who appeared to be migrants - see also this (M);   UN experts say slavery has left a deep and long-lasting legacy on the USA (UN);          the power of speaking up (T Thorn Coyle);   why a new progressive era may eventuate in the USA in about 20 years (RR);   safe spaces and the problem of spiritual bypassing (M);   the disturbing problems - including toxic masculinity and failure to address causes - of anger management courses (TG);         “Australian terrorism prediction tool considered autism a sign of criminality despite lack of evidence” (TG);         protests (SBS) and political turmoil (DW) in Pakistan after a former (TC) leader was arrested (F24) during a court appearance have led to the army being deployed (F24) - see also this (TG), this (TG), this (TND), and this assessment of the risk of collapse (YT - the Caspian Report) - also this assessment (ICG);         “elections in Türkiye may herald a new foreign policy outlook” (Lowy), but also involve a choice between “more cruelty under [LGBT-phobic (QN) Erdoğan, or the return of justice and hope” (TG) - and five million young voters may play a critical role (F24);         concerns about the militarisation and militarised response of NT police in a coronial report were watered down (TG), and SA corrections officers were criticised for a litany of failings that led to a death but not charged (TG);   Victoria Police has apologised (NIT) for past and present racism, and indicated a willingness to be subject to independent oversight “if asked” - see here (Yoorook Justice Commission), here (TG), here (ABC), here (TA), here (AAP), and here (SBS) (I also thought it was good that elders were acknowledged as past, present, and future), but an admission that cultural training was going to be slow and extremely limited (NIT) has led to a call for “transformational, systemic change” (NIT);   “about 60% of child protection notifications for Victorian First Nations families are unsubstantiated, with the state’s department of families acknowledging racism is a contributing factor in some reports” (TG);         as another neo-n___ event is held to criticism and violence by anti-fascists (ABC), “Victorian government urged to act as more drag events cancelled in wake of threats from far-right” (TG) - see also here (TG);   “it has been 70 years since the Lavender Scare & our political leaders are still after us” (LGBTQ Nation);         the campaign by conspiracy fantasists against climate records (TG) - and against evidence that masks work (Scientific American);   “AI poses serious risks to global health and safety, doctors warn” (SBS);         the conservative media company which recently was ordered to pay nearly US$1 billion compensation in a defamation case has asked the recipient company if one of their employees leaked confidential information - which would be contrary to the terms of the agreement (ABC);  
  
  
• on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
• reducing emissions is NOT ENOUGH - we need to also start removing CO₂ from the atmosphere (TND);   “moving beyond growth is not only desirable — it is essential” (EuroNews);   a court in France has ordered the French Government to adopt measures to address the climate crisis (F24);   financial support needs to be increased to offset inflation for Indigenous land management (NIT);   the Albanese government in Australia has approved a new coal mine (TG);  
• climate / environmental issues have also occurred in:   Australia (TC),   Vietnam (TG),   forests forum (UN),   nature repair loans (TC) and the limits of regenerative agriculture (TC),   Turkmenistan (TG),   starving whales (ABC),   Europe (EuroNews),   Canada (TG),   African fishing industry (DW),   gas stove tops (TG),   Ghana (Modern Ghana);
  
  
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter) including COVID-19 AND OTHER PANDEMICS: 
• a warning that, despite the WHO’s premature and irresponsible decision, the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic continue (TH);         a locust plague in Afghanistan (UN);         a cyclone is threatening South Asia (TH);   floods have killed hundreds in the eastern DRC (F24) and also impacted Rwanda (DW);   water shortages in Tunisia (Le Monde);         bushfires in Canada (F24) and a heatwave and bushfires in Siberia (Le Monde);   drought in Spain (F24);         “in epicentre of Türkiye quakes, survivors are indifferent to upcoming polls” (F24), and “almost $15 billion needed for earthquake recovery in Syria” (UN);   a mine fire has killed dozens in Peru (DW);  
  
  
• on rashist  putin and his cronies’ ILLEGAL (it is contrary to Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter  and international law [and the 1928 Pact of Paris which was successfully used in post-WW2 trials], and possibly includes conduct contrary to the "laws" of war and international humanitarian law (IHL)) INVASION of UKRAINE:
• on military matters:   an assessment finds Ukraine has the capability to do last week’s alleged drone attack in Moscow (DW);   the UK and some European allies may supply Ukraine with longer range missiles - which would allow possibly escalatory attacks on Crimea (TG);  
  
• on the nuclear (weapons and power) situations:   in recent days, residents of 18 settlements near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south eastern Ukraine have been evacuated - see here (ABC), here (TND), here (TG), here (R), here (The Independent), here (F24), here (DW), and here (ABC); 
  
• inside russia:   scaled back annual Victory Day parade shows devastating impact of war in Ukraine (ABC);  
• internationally:   “Poland and other EU member states have shut their borders to Ukrainian grain, plunging Ukraine's farmers into financial hardship and uncertainty” (there are other nations which need Ukrainian grain - especially in Africa: Europe should be the last choice, if transshipment is possible) (DW);   sanctions evaders may be named and shamed by the EU (DW) - and Pakistan is taking a gamble with russian oil (Lowy) as South Africa investigates whether arms have been shipped from there to russia (AJ);   Russia will continue to support the ISS (Nature);   
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
• Australia appears to be blocking visas for travellers from China that other nations aren’t (ABC);   the Arab League has (F24) readmitted (TG) the Assad regime of Syria;   the mixed record of US security aid (PVG);   concerns about the ongoing (AJ) Iranian nuclear crisis (R);   growing tensions between China and the USA are creating geopolitical problems for South Korea and Germany (DW);   “Canada expels Chinese diplomat for alleged intimidation of lawmaker” (TG);   “how a free press can tame violent extremism in Eastern Africa” (NA);   South Sudan has been accused of breaking the arms embargo (TEA);   Canada wants to join AUKUS (TG);   “Australia’s diplomatic network has ‘serious gaps’ and needs boost, review warns” (TG);   “Mali's UN peacekeepers fear they are becoming 'an instrument of the junta'” (Le Monde);   with 600 people killed last month (F24), the UN has warned (UN) that international support is needed now to stop spiralling gang violence in Haiti;   an examination of what the impacts of Syria’s return to the Arab League could be (DW);   Malaysia’s leader is resurrecting a proposal for an Asian monetary fund (Lowy);   an assessment of the USA’s changed economic policies (Lowy);  
  
• noting particularly Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter, the 1928 Pact of Paris used in post-WW2 trials, the "laws" of war and IHL and Article 20 of the ICCPR on WAR / CONFLICT:   “UN [Secretary-General] calls for bolstered efforts to end violence in Great Lakes region” (UN);   South African forces will join others in eastern DRC (rfi) as a warning is made for the east African force to act or leave (TEA);         “Israel bombs Gaza Strip, killing three Islamic Jihad leaders and nine civilians” (TG), leaving children in shock (MEE), and leading to an escalation (AP) despite ceasefire (TG) attempts (see also this (TG) and this (AJ)) - see also this condemnation of the killing of civilians (UN);         an attack on a synagogue in Tunisia (NPR) - see also here (F24), here (DW), here (F24);         fighting is continuing (F24) in Sudan, including cyber warfare (Ink Stick) and air strikes (TDP), as talks begin in Saudi Arabia and the conflict threatens the relationship with South Sudan (UN) and  entire Sahel (DW) -no ceasefire but an agreement to protect civilians (F24) sees some calm (DS),      and      expats try to organise aid (New Lines Magazine) as thefts are condemned (UN) and the risk of hunger grows (UN),      and      the violence forces some refugees back (R) into the danger (AP) they fled (see reported experiences here (Radio Tamazuj)) - and Eritrea forces some refugees back into Sudan (TG) as a call is made to monitor abuses (R);   
• violence in:   Somaliland (AJ);
• mass gun shootings in the USA:   a shopping (TG) centre (F24) in Texas- see also here (AlterNet),   a child playing hide and seek (TG),   already heading for another peak in killings (TG),   “Serbia acted after two mass shootings – the US has done nothing despite 200 this year” (TG) - see also this, on the concerns over violent reality shows in Serbia (F24),   a man killed his girlfriend for having an out-of-state abortion (TG);
  
  
• on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM: 
• some US police officers have been accused of sexual assault (AP);   a The Guardian exclusive reports that “State governments are being forced to strike confidential deals granting taxpayer-funded indemnity to church bodies for child abuse after an inundation of survivors’ claims led commercial insurers to abandon religious institutions in droves” (TG);   “in the weeks before his shock resignation, Australia’s freedom of information commissioner complained about being routinely ignored within his own agency and of the pointless diversion of his “very limited” staff... [and] expressed serious concerns about chronic delays in the FOI system, the consequences for government transparency, and the lack of power he held to bring about change” (TG);   The Guardian exclusive reports that (in my words) foreign diplomats are continuing to treat Australian lives with contempt (TG);         a notorious social media company has admitted to a security problem (TG);  
  
• concerns around past/current/potential corruption/misgovernance also in   Australia (TG),   Zimbabwe (TS),   USA (PP),   Türkiye (Nature),   USA (charges laid, but remember: innocent until proven guilty) (TND),   Australia - aged care (TG),   Australia (TG);
  
  
• on DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• globally:   criticism of UK police for silencing dissent by arresting protestors - thereby also further destroying public trust in the UK police (TG) - see also this (TG), and this (TG);         concerns about Egypt (TG);  “eSwatini civil society groups want African rights body to put pressure on King Mswati” (news24);   in Zimbabwe a writer has been acquitted of charges over a protest (AJ);   an examination of New Caledonia’s situation (TC);   an assessment of Peru, given the recent protests  (M);  
  
• in Australia:   “crimes of the monarchy: god save the king, because nothing will save the monarchy’s legacy” (TBS);   younger people have greater hardship and thus also need an increase in JobSeeker (TC) - see also here (TG);   “ACT set to become the first Australian jurisdiction to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14” (ABC) as “Queensland urged to prevent youth crime at its roots” (TG);   a two decade low (ebb?) in satisfaction with life (TC);         on the budget:   a summary here (TC), a winners and losers summary here (TG), here (SBS), and here (ABC),   here (The Australia Institute), changes outlined here (ABC) and here (SBS), an interactive (TG),   and commentary here (spending on Indigenous) (SBS) - see also this (TC), this (enough for environmental spending if the Stage 3 tax cuts were ditched) (TC), here (TND), here (the growing care sector, the climate crisis, and data protection are significant) (ABC), here (TC), here (“Labor’s budget won’t undo three decades of neoliberalism, but it’s a modest step towards reversing its harms”) (TG), here (continuing housing problems) (TG), here (shift in focus towards the poor) (SBS), this (enthusiastic support for changes to Medicare) (TND), this (space mission in doubt) (TG);      the continuing desperation of those on inadequate support (SBS) - see also this (TG), this (SBS), and this (claiming more changes to pensions to come in the future) (ABC);   a rebuttal of claims of inflation (TC);   concerns over possible cutbacks to NDIS services (TG);  
  
• on the proposed Voice to the Parliament in Australia:   a sporting body is officially backing a Yes vote (TND);  
• protests in:   Senegal (AJ);
  suppression of opposition / dissent / media in   Bhutan (HRW),   Chad (HA),   Cameroon (VoA),   Guinea (AJ),   Egypt (MEE);
  democracy is also at risk in   Mali (AJ),   Brazil (TG),   Senegal (AN); 
  
  
• on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC):  
  
• despite the prisoner release, thousands are still being detained by the junta in burma (HRW);   a call for slavery to be banned by Mali (UN);         “cis white gay male fragility. If your “activism” isn’t intersectional, it is garbage. Being gay doesn’t absolve you of bigotry. ... And when you make mistakes, which we all do, rise to the occasion. The bravest, strongest people in this world are the ones who have the humility to apologize and change when they cause harm. Finally, if you are a “one-cause” person and the one cause you happen to support is your own, consider that you may be a mean, useless dud and reflect on that”;  
• human rights are at risk or abuses have also occurred in:   China, in east Turkistan aka “Xinjiang” (HRW),   DRC (AP),   Nigeria (NA),   russia (UN);
  
  
• noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   an atrocity alert for Haiti, Nicaragua, and China (GCR2P);  
  
  
• noting Article 6 (4) (5) (6) of the ICCPR,   this, and this on the DEATH PENALTY:   Iran (UN);
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   “deportations: Africa’s role in EU migration management” (DW);   a new record number of internally displaced people (DW);  
  more refugee issues:   Italy (DW),   USA (TG);
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   the UK’s alleged human rights body has admitted to taking actions to support transphobia (PN);  
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   ethnic violence has killed scores of people in India (DW) - entire villages have been destroyed (TG);         a call for Indigenous players to go on strike (TG);   a former right wing (TG) candidate in Qld has used online hate (NIT) (they have now been blocked from that platform (TG)) to incite (TG) a mob to threaten two Indigenous teenagers, who were protected by police - see also this warning (TG);   a sports community (NIT) and organisation (NIT) have acted against racist abuse - see also this (TG);   “Queensland Parliament passes historic Path to Treaty Act” (NIT);         judging people by skin colour rather than character (M);   “why racist actions shouldn’t be dismissed” (M);  
  more racism issues:   sport (NIT),   WA prisons (NIT) - see also here (NIT);
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    female tennis players are being silenced (TG) - see also here (TG);  
  
  
• noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:   Greece has made hundreds of beaches accessible to wheelchairs (Good News Network);  
  
  
• noting Article 6 (1) of the ICCPR,   Article 11 of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (iii) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Article 14 (2) (h) of the CEDAW,   Article 27 (3) of the CRC,   Article 28 of the CRPD,   and   Article 20 of the DRIP on FOOD, CLOTHING, and HOUSING:    “NSW housing crisis bites single-person homes” (TG);   “our cities are not museums. We must stop NIMBYs weaponising heritage laws to block affordable housing” (TG);   how to reduce house prices (TG) - see also this (TC);   local Councils need to help address homelessness (TC);  
  more food, clothing and housing issues:   lifelong rentals (TC);

(Should you elect to write to your elected representatives or others on these matters, it may be useful to familiarise yourself with the links shown in blue - or to at least refer to them. Don't forget to CHECK whether your nation has RATIFIED the treaty concerned.)

Abbreviations:   3KND radio - 3KND;   Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA;   Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project - ACLED;   Aeon Magazine - Aeon;   Africa Centre for Strategic Studies - ACSS;   Africa News - AN;   Al Jazeera - AJ;   All Africa - AA;   Amnesty International - AI;   Associated Press - AP;   Australian Associated Press - AAP;   Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC ^TP ;   Australian Independent Media Network - AIMN;   Australian Unions - AU;   Barrons;   Bellingcat (B);   Bloomberg - BB;   British Broadcasting Commission - bbc ^TP ;   Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - CBC;   Centre for Strategic and International Studies - CSIS;   Committee to Protect Journalists - CPJ;   Context - CT;   the (US) Council on Foreign Relations (CFR);   Crikey - C [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24 ^TP ;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   Globe Echo - GE;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Jessica Wildfire (Substack) - JW;   Just Equal - JE;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   Mail & Guardian - MG;   mainstream media - MSM;   Mary L Trump - MLT;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Middle East Eye - MEE;   Minority Rights Group - MRG;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Television - NITV;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   Nature Magazine - Nature;   New York Times - NYT [$] ^TP ;   News24;   Pearls and Irritations - PnI;   Pink News - PN;   Political Violence at a Glance - PVG;   Politico - P;   Premium Times Nigeria - PT;   ProPublica - PP;   Q News - QN;   Quartz - Q;   Radio France International - rfi;   Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE);   Raw Story - RS;   Renew Economy - RE;    Reuters - R;   Robert Reich - RR;   (Bruce) Schneier - Sch;   Special Broadcasting Service - SBS;   Star Observer - Star;   Sudan Tribune - ST;   Sydney Morning Herald - SMH;   Teri Kanefield - TK;   The Age - TA ^TP ;   The Big Smoke (TBS);   The Conversation - TC ^TP ;   The Defence Post - TDP;   The East African - TEA;   The Guardian - TG;   The (Nigerian) Guardian - TG-N;   The Hindu - TH;   The Monthly - TM;   The New Daily - TND;   The New Humanitarian - TNH;   The Saturday Paper - TSP;   The Sentry - TS;   The Shot - TS;   Timothy Snyder - TS;   Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA;   United Nations - UN;   Vice - V;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   War on the Rocks - WotR;   Washington Post - WP [$] ^TP ;   Wikipedia - WP;   Yahoo News - Yahoo;   YouTube - YT.

Note: news sources are never perfectly accurate or good - for instance, some have been transphobic (which is why I may, for instance, cancel email subscriptions), but may be good in other areas (e.g., racism) - and attributes may vary depending on region and over time. I do NOT provide an unqualified endorsement of ANY of the media sources I use. Sources with evidence of being transphobic may be marked with a ^TP .

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; 
• I expect readers to take positive action on at least some of these stories - e.g., write to elected representatives, where that is possible. 
  

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 in my views or commentary - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
  

 If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Finally, remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing.

My pre-retirement retirement speech

I will be retiring later this year. As is often traditional with such things for staff at my level of seniority, the company I work for wanted to give me a send off ... but my group’s national manager wanted to come, and he won’t be available later in the year, so I had the send off recently. 

As is also sort of traditional, I was expected to give a bit of a farewell speech. I’ve become reasonable at such things over the years - starting from when I was doing community activism in the 1990s, when speeches were always about my community, not me, and I could take the advice to speak from my heart to heart (pun intended), and speak my mind. 

However, I still don’t enjoy them, and, as I had a bit I wanted to say, I decided to write a few prompt notes. 

As it turned out, I didn’t use the notes much, but I think I more or less got everything I wanted said, said - more or less in order, but not quite ... and with a few extra things said along the way. 

There’s no recording, of course (I'm not THAT significant), but I decided to try to create something based on what I intended to say, plus what I can remember of what I actually said (I tend to lose my memory of such events shortly after having given the talk - maybe my brain is so focused on the speech it forgets to activate the memory cells 😁 ). 

So, for better or worse, here is a speech based on what I wanted to say. I’ve taken out some personal and company specific material, and make no guarantees as to how accurate this is or isn’t, but it’s pretty close. Including the things I hinted at, but left unsaid. 

This is written for the context of a Western nation, and a professional consulting company.

***

I’d like to begin with a consideration of change. 

Owing to a visionary teacher, my maths class in high school was the last to learn how to use a slide rule, and the first to use a computer - a mostly idle, card-fed monstrosity at a nearby agricultural science facility. Since then, I recall the various companies I was working at celebrating the first electronic typewriter (we used to compete to have our work typed on that - my projects more important yours, not its not), the first telex, and the first fax ... and those are all gone by the board now, no longer in use to any significant degree. 

On the other hand, planes and cars have become ubiquitous - and my adoptive grandparents were born before heavier-than-air flight or the widespread use of cars.

Some other changes I've seen in my life include engineering bouncing about between public and private, going from one end to the other, and now settling in to working at a reasonable but adaptable middle-ish point, and Australia has been in four major and several minor wars - and I have relatives who’ve been scarred by those. 

I’ve also had relatives affected by major illnesses that seemed to come out of the blue.

Some of these changes could, perhaps, have been predicted - climate change was predicted by women scientists back in the mid-19^th century. 

Even the increasing rate of change was predicted by Alvin Toffler, in his 1970 book “Future Shock”.

Other changes were not so much predictable as expectable - there have been films about disease outbreaks going back to the 1980s, and we even used to have a government department with the job of ensuring we were prepared for pandemics ... that was lost to a round of spending cut backs. 

Nevertheless, we don’t really know what is coming. 

My adoptive grandparents were born before planes, and lived to see humans reach the Moon. I’ve  gone from slide rules to smartphones. 

You don’t really know what changes are coming - you don’t really know what disruptions are going to happen in a few decades ... other than the climate crisis. 

But there are a few things we do know. 

Graduates now are likely, in general, to live longer, and, with retirement ages being pushed back, work longer than any other humans in history. 

Take a moment to think about that. 

Young people now will, in general, live longer, and work longer, than any other human who has ever existed ... 

That’s a tremendous opportunity to influence the world for better, but it also means taking care of yourself, taking care of your health and wellbeing, making sure you do work in a sustainable way, is also going to be more important than ever. 

You also might need to consider a career change after 30 years or so, so keep that option open - and CPD * will be more important than ever. 

Here’s something else that we know is going to be important despite all the change: taking the time to think. 

Taking time to think ... 

You can choose how you engage with change. In the 80s and 90s when we started getting PCs, my manager at the time said “This is great - we can do everything for less time and money”, while I said “This is great - we can do more in the same time” - and we eventually settled on a bit of both. 

When new things are developed, the focus is often on what is good about them, but you need to think through the limits and implications - as was done in the mid-19^th century around burning coal. 

Change is not always good.

Something else that is always important is speaking truth to power. 

When that pandemic preparation unit was removed - that was a decision made in a room somewhere, and I would have hoped someone there, when asked “we haven't had a pandemic for years - do we still really need that?”, that someone would have said yes, we still need it because of the risk. 

The risk was there, and we paid the price. 

So ... you young people will, in your lifetimes, see more change than I have. Be excited about that, but be prepared to think, to speak truth to power, and be kind - including to yourself.

 

* Continuing Professional Development

 

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Finally, remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing.

Victoria Police apologise for past and present racism, indicate openness to independent oversight "if asked"

From my coming news post: 

Victoria Police has apologised for past and present racism, and indicated a willingness to be subject to independent oversight "if asked" - see here (Yoorook Justice Commission), here (TG), here (ABC), here (TA), here (AAP), and here (SBS) (I also thought it was good that elders were acknowledged as past, present, and future);

I have also written an email to my local MLA: 

Dear Member for _,

I wish to thank Victoria Police and all others involved in the mature, comprehensive, and momentous apology (here [The Guardian], here, [ABC], here [The Age], here [AAP], and here [SBS]) given today by Chief Police Commissioner Patton, APM, to the Yoorook (Truth Telling) Commission for past and present racism.

I also wish to urge the Victorian Government to take advantage of the Commissioner's willingness to be that Victoria Police is open to being subject to independent oversight "if asked".

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Finally, remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing.

A defence and a challenge [Content Warning: discrimination, violence, sexual assault, self harm]

One of the things I have long admired about the people of France is their ability to resist oppression. 

This has been shown most recently by their protests against changes (I don’t consider them “reforms”) to pensions, but it goes all the way back to the storming of the Bastille that began the French Revolution. 

A few years earlier, the world had seen the US (“American”) Revolution; a century and a bit later, the world would see the Russian revolution - the first one, not the Bolshevik Revolution which kicked off the Russian Civil War and led to the oppressive USSR - and I note that the French revolution was also subsequently taken over by oppressive forces. 

This all reflects politico-social mechanics that we see elsewhere - for instance, decades of protests and resistance in Myanmar led to steps towards change, and then the oppressors implemented a backlash to enable themselves to keep power. 

More recently, the Sudanese removed the despot Bashir from power, but, learning from past revolutions, kept working at ensuring a proper democratic transition ... until the men with guns, small minds and closed hearts acted to keep their power and thus their personal comfort zone - which is now being played out in violence. 

This problem of violent reactions against revolutions has been written about by Gene  Sharp in “The Anti-Coup” (Amazon), and more recently by a Political Violence at a Glance article here. 

There are, of course, successful transitions from oppression to freedom/democracy - for instance, South Africa in 1993, but, as a broad generalisation (which is subject to the limitations of all such generalisations), once change has been accomplished many people will seek whatever they consider to be “comfort” - and often that is resisting any further change, or resisting what they perceive as loss of status/power ... or even trying to revert to the old ways in as underhanded (and I include microaggressions in that) and “don’t rock the boat” type of way that their twisted, devious and hating hearts and minds can devise. 

As an example, after slavery was abolished in the USA towards the end of their civil war, there was an appalling backlash to that which included continued lynchings, Jim Crow laws, and every form of subterfuge that they could conceive - and violence, including aerial attacks on black people and, more recently, the use of violence against the predominantly peaceful  Black Lives Matter  protests.

On that, it seems to me that many people are perfectly happy to take action against oppression that personally affects them, but may resist (e.g., see here) others taking action against oppression that affects those others if the first group fear it might impact them. This, along with unacknowledged (let alone dealt with) personal biases (whether conscious or unconscious is irrelevant), leads to the problem of lateral  hostility.

Something similar also occurs at a larger scale - for instance, the USA is proud of its Revolution, but has taken action against other nations that have also fought wars of independence if the USA considers that inconvenient to the USA or its interests (bringing to mind the somewhat cynical and thus somewhat inaccurate saying that the USA doesn’t have friends, only interests). in fact, at a national/international scale, the USA’s military excursions against other nations is the best set of examples of this sort of hypocrisy that I can think of - especially the violent invasion recently self-achieved free republic (like the USA had done) of the Philippines at the end of the 19^th century. 

At a smaller scale, the already mentioned backlash against developments in human rights, including the targetting of individuals, is what comes to mind on that point.  An example is transphobic Prime Minister Albanese’s recent, staggeringly ill-advised  comments about the mental health of Senator Thorpe. 

Now, on the PMs comments about the mental health of Senator Thorpe, the dangers of remote diagnosis were laid bare by the 1964 US presidential campaign where allegations of mental unfitness were made against Senator Barry Goldwater, leading to what is termed the Goldwater  Rule (also see here, here, and here). More recently, experts have commented on what they considered the problems of potus45, including calling for nuanced changes of that guide - for qualified professionals. 

For someone with no medical training, let alone qualifications or registration, to start making such comments is dangerous - and quite possibly questionable legally. 

PM Albanese has shown some signs of having limits to what he is comfortable with - especially regarding trans and gender diverse (TGD) people. I suspect he is also reflecting the bias of many middle class people against any protests or actions that make them feel uncomfortable, when he made those comments about Senator Thorpe. 

He is definitely, IMO, showing a lack of understanding of the impacts of bigotry, and implementing the widespread double standards I hinted at above between action at national level and action by sub-national groups for their rights - including the right to exist.

This has been written about by others - for example, in the context of the Voice, here - which also provides an excellent defence of Senator Thorpe. 

From a personal perspective, I am aware that endless oppression of myself as a trans woman leads to a wide range of problems - such as depression, which is anger turned inwards. The hypocrisy of cisgender people expecting a level of calmness that they are comfortable with on the topic of gender diversity is in and of itself a form of control - an attempt to impose, or restrict change to, gender stereotypes. 

That some people find the pressure too much, and take the same sort of physical action that the settlers in the British colonies or the oppressed of France or Russia took, is not surprising to me. 

In “Talking To My Country”, respected Wiradjuri man, journalist  and  academic  Stan Grant writes about Jimmy Governor and his wife Ethel, whose story led to the book and film versions titled “The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith” (Amazon): 

[they were] “taunted for their interracial marriage and mixed-blood child. The real Jimmy had found work on a farm near Dubbo in western New South Wales owned by the Mawbey family. The Governors were allowed to live on the property. But it was an uneasy coexistence. Ethel complained of abuse and there were disputes over food and rations. On a cold winter night on 20 July 1900, Jimmy took revenge.”

Going back to a broader consideration of conduct that comfortable (bourgeoisie) people don’t like, including refusing to accept what is wrong, forcefulness, confrontation, aggression, and possibly even violence, are such reactions to oppression/abuse/discrimination wrong? I’ll never answer that unless anyone asking that question first answers the questions: 

(a) “is the oppression they are reacting to wrong?”, and 
(b) what effective actions against that that oppression (including supporting the oppressed) have the person asking that question taken in the past, are undertaking now, and will take in the future?

Are such reactions to oppression/abuse/discrimination effective? Sometimes yes, as it gets attention that “nice” actions don’t, but possibly too often, no - or “only” partially effective - this database gives some actual evidence on that (I've copied one extract below to show what that evidence is like). The marches against the Vietnam War didn’t stop us getting involved, but they helped get a government elected that got us out of that highly questionable war. The protests against the pension changes in France didn’t stop the changes, but they have made sure the world knows (and the UN has raised concerns about police violence and discrimination), stopped the flow of oppression-in-the-name-of-pseudo-economics, and made voting in a new government, one more aligned with what the people want, at the next election almost certain.

Is it, when done at an individual level, possibly counter-productive? Possibly, yes - especially when bigots use it as an excuse to not change. 

Does it show the damage done by bigotry and hate, and the increased need for support of activists? No - that evidence already exists, and continues in the way of trauma and intergenerational trauma, and is exacerbated by resistance to change everywhere - see, for instance, Gabor  Maté’s  book  “The Myth of Normal”, many of Stan Grant’s books (one mentioned above, with links about the author as well), Chelsea Watego’s “Another Day in the Colony”, Thomas Hübl’s “Healing Collective Trauma”, and the many other books on this topic.

I am still committed to non-violence (which is not necessarily “nice”) for two reasons: 

1. It is more effective (note particularly this link from that article); 
2. I don’t want to do the same sort of action I am objecting to - i.e., although it is human and understandable to reach breaking points (see this), and in my opinion no-one without direct experience of receiving a particular form of discrimination has any right to comment on that aspect of reacting to that form of discrimination, I don’t want to cause pain, suffering and loss, which is a variation on the argument that nations that use the death penalty are demonstrating that they do not respect the right to life as they are doing what murderers have done: take life.
   

But I am aware that every human has a breaking point, and no-one should judge another for reaching their personal breaking point (and in many cases, reaching a breaking point means self harm - the solution to which is changing society, as action by the individual is only a localised band aid and others will be driven to that same point by the discrimination).

Should violence - including the violence of discrimination and oppression, both individual AND systemic - be resisted with appropriate means (and I note that we have reached the limits of education in many places - such as the USA) even if that includes violence? Yes - just as a shooter on a violent rampage should be stopped with as much force as is necessary for the safety of others, there are large scale atrocities that may need forceful action - such as the storming of the Bastille, the American War of Independence, or the war against Germany and Japan in the 1930s and 40s ... although peaceful options such as the people power protests in the Philippines are always better and thus preferable.

Should critics of individual reactions to discrimination, oppression, and other forms of abuse take a hike and have a bloody good look at themselves? 

YES! A thousand times YES!!!

Example extract from database: 

PS - there are some excellent comments about double standards in the context of sexual assault (witness testimony is sufficient to convict people on other crimes, but conviction of sexual assault is often ... “inconvenient” [in their minds - others, including me, would use very different words] for people in power) in this article. 

PPS - I will likely keep refining the wording of this post over time.

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Finally, remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing.

A patronising to the point of offensive non-reply from the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs on why a divisive, n___-associated transmisic person was allowed in [Content Warning - discrimination, hate]

Back in January of this year I wrote to the (Australian) Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs urging that  visa granted to a notorious n___-associated transmisic person from the UK be reversed. 

I’ve now received a nameless non-reply that was patronising to the point of being offensive. 

On top of that, it is, IMO, basically a lie, as they had NOT taken protection of the community seriously - or even into any genuine consideration. 

This reflects other BS replies I've had from the now, IMO, politicised into neoliberal attitudes public service while the neolibs have been in power - except this one was so gutless there is no chance of a further follow up by me. 

And on top of that, the Prime Minister is giving every indication of still being transphobic or transmisic. 

I’m inclined to ask how long before the transgenocide reaches, here, except it already has. 

The ONLY solution is for anti-vilification laws to be extended to include all LGBTIQA+ people - which my State government is likely to do, and for the PM to start governing for all Australians, and not so much for the christo-fascists. 

The "reply " I received is below.