The flaws of everyone wanting 100 points of online ID

So we’ve had yet another massive  cyber  hack that has put people at risk of identity theft. 

Quite apart from the failures of this company’s system for this hack, and the failures of other company’s systems in other hacks, there is a more fundamental question that needs to be asked: 

Do we really need to provide 100 points of ID for everything we are being asked to do so for?

I’ve known of people having to provide 100 points of ID to change the details of their phone payment scheme - in ludicrous situations where they have already provided security details. In fact, I changed my superannuation company partly because the new one didn’t have the ludicrous levels of superstition-based-security that my now-previous superannuation company did [Note 1]. 

(What happens when parents need 100 points of ID to collect their child from childcare? Would someone with illegally acquired 100 points of ID be able to take a child even thought the child keeps saying "No, that other one is my parent!") 

I also changed my phone company away from the one that suffered the cyberhack for reasons including their ludicrous levels of superstition-based-security. 

I’ve used the word superstition, but it could also be fashion: do these companies think they have to go along with security theatre type actions because other companies are doing that? If so, then apart from the basis for implementing those actions and thus the implementation being questionable, there are other impacts, as I discussed here. 

The blind mantra of 100 points of ID has, in my opinion, become so universal that its value has been reduced.

And it doesn’t help that everyone has a different interpretation of 100 points of ID (and many online systems are incapable of working with provision of such data in home settings - which is a staggering level of incompetence). In fact, are we seeing an endless sequence of one-uppersonship?

There is another issue here, which is the equipment used to collect such information - for example, Australia Post collects individuals’ signatures in their offices, and when delivering parcels (and sometimes ID details such as drivers licence numbers): are the systems, people, and equipment safe for us to entrust such intimate personal details with? 

I had an email exchange with Australia Post over this some years ago, and they either determinedly refused to accept responsibility for those systems, people, and equipment, or they were too incompetent to understand that they had a duty of care around such matters. 

How do I know they haven’t bought a cheap hackable unit that makes it possible for my signature to be stolen and used illegally? 

In fact, that raises my next point: 

Do we need an independent organisation / authority who can and will test the security of departmental and private company online and data security systems - including for human weaknesses, and that data collection requests are genuinely justifiable?

Such an organisation could be used by customers to feel a little more confident that they can trust people delivering a package at the door and asking for a signature and photo ID, and that corporate requests for loads of intimate personal data is genuinely appropriate, and not data mining or unnecessary. 

We can’t ask for proof individually as that is an obvious security risk,but we don’t have any other choice, in most cases, and companies have shown they cannot be trusted over security and data harvesting, and the massive stuff up with MyGov - and other problems such as emailing private information out - shows government departments also have problems. 

The everyday person needs an organisation or company of people who are all like Bruce  Schneier to be a preventative bulwark between them and the possibly incompetent, irresponsible, wilful, rapacious people and organisations who are harvesting and storing their intimate personal data. 

Such an organisation would be massive, and would have significant liability risks which may mean it is best viewed as a public good and thus protected from some legal action. I’m aware of the ACSC but that makes entirely voluntary recommendations, and I think we’re at the stage where this is more a public service essential - akin to providing safe drinking water.

So, to sum up, I would like to know: 

• Given that every piece of personal information provided is immediately and inherent vulnerability, is 100 points of ID genuinely needed in all situations, or would fewer points of ID be OK in some circumstances - which would reduce the inherent risk of providing those intimate personal details? Are these decisions being made to match what others have done, or for corporate image, or as the result of a genuine independent assessment by experts who use data (similar to what Bruce  Schneier does) - rather than superstitious paranoiac fears about the internet - of the risks of both providing and not providing each piece of information?
  
• How do we know the systems, people, and equipment being used to collect and store our personal intimate details are trustworthy?
  Do we need an independent organisation / authority who can and will test the security of departmental and private company online and data security systems - including for human weaknesses, and that data collection requests are genuinely justifiable (i.e., not data mining nor actually unnecessary)?
  Such an organisation would be massive, and would have significant liability risks which may mean it is best viewed as a public good and thus protected from some legal action. I’m aware of the ACSC, but that makes entirely voluntary recommendations, and I think we’re at the stage where this is more a public service essential - akin to providing safe drinking water. 

Others have asked for better protection as well - see https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/optus-hack-renews-calls-for-better-protection-of-customers-and-their-personal-data/ar-AA129jrR. 

See also: 

• https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2022/02/computer-humans-and-their.html;
• https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2022/02/computers-and-their-human.html; 
• https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-endless-cycle-of-bigots-bashing.html; and 
• https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2021/08/cross-posting-post-no-1967-change-is.html.
  

 

PS - An article at https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/optus-under-1-million-extortion-threat-in-data-breach-a-20142 provides good information on the technical details of the breach, and also includes the following:

In a separate story, The Guardian reported that in 2020 Optus argued against giving consumers stronger rights over control over their data during a federal review of the country’s Privacy Act.

Optus opposed giving consumers a right to erase their personal information, citing “significant technical hurdles,” it reported. The company also opposed greater consumer power to take legal action against companies over data breaches, the publication wrote.

What an unconscionable act - which seems to me to be putting profits ahead of the wellbeing of customers. 

Have we got enough pressure now for our (the Australian) government to FINALLY adopt European GDPR style protection? It would be a small but significant righting of the imbalance of power between people and corporations.

PPS - the cult of convenience is the twin sibling of paranoiac superstition - and both are evil. 

Closely related to this the insistence of some that their way of doing things digitally (whether it is using Microsoft or Apple / Macintosh / Linux, types of software / social media platforms, tree displays of networks or use search functions, displays being focused on top or bottom of screen [why does no-one suggest maybe the middle?], full screen display vs having a nice relaxing border, etc [one day I might come up with better examples]) is best, which is the same as when schools forced left handed people to try to be right handed - to the detriment of all, just as these limitations-based-on-lack-of-life-experience also harm productivity, creativity, and people & society all round.

Notes: 

1. They also were inept as a superannuation company, and were named as such publicly by the relevant authority.
   Moreover, they routinely sent me requests to confirm my details as if someone has requested a change.
   Now, either their ludicrous levels of superstition-based-security were not working, or they were just using what seemed to them like a good formula to coerce people into checking in through their ludicrous levels of superstition-based-security to their system.
   The problem was, both they and some of the companies I had worked for while with them had histories of homophobia, and I had therefore real reasons to fear that such requests could be real. If they were, why were they not getting just kicked out by their ludicrous levels of superstition-based-security?
   In any case, why did they never answer my requests for advice as to who was trying to change my account? Given the circumstances - where such requests would have been criminal activity - the criminal making the unauthorised attempt had, IMO, no right to privacy - and that superannuation company trying to hide their identity makes them accessories or even accomplices to a crime (to wit, an attempted theft of identity - the attempt is a crime whether it succeeds or not).

 

On hostile and unsafe workplaces - Part 2

Further to my post at https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2022/09/on-hostile-and-unsafe-workplaces.html, and https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2022/09/preview-from-coming-news-post.html, I’d like to write a little more on this topic.

In this post, I’d like to call for more statistical examination on work-related suicides - in particular, can we please have an examination of the link between suicides and work stress - not just hours worked, but the INTENSITY with which the work is undertaken? 

The latter is a problem because, no matter that it is a real and major factor, it is not easily measured (do we need to measure cortisol in workers’ blood?) and may not fit into the comfortable fixations of managers. On that, I'll repeat some links here from this week’s coming news post:

• “3 ways ‘bossware’ surveillance technology is turning back the management clock” (TC) - the identification of specific problems is important, and the history of so-called “scientific management” is good background, and I can see all these outcomes (decreased health & productivity and failure to measure proper outcome) in the obsession with utilisation rates; 
• a whistleblower has pointed out the callous indifference to the risk of suicide amongst victims of bureaucracy - and, from my personal experience, I second that, especially re this (TG). 

Also, please note https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/resources-and-publications/video-and-audio/psychological-health-and-safety-workplace-national-guide. 

The truth behind resistance to human rights

A great deal of effort goes into activism/advocacy and education for human rights, and resistance to being decent continues. 

The truth is that lack of knowledge/awareness is not the key problem: it is the flawed character of bigots that is the problem. 

The fearful/hateful/other personality/character flaws of the white supremacist bigot who is using laws against the brainwashing of children committed by the nazis in 1930s and 40s Germany to enable them to brainwash their children into being white supremacists is the problem - not their level of conscious awareness of their evil, let alone their willingness to take an ego hit by admitting - whether privately or publicly - that they are wrong. 

The excuses bureaucrats and officials such as police, border officials, and records managers use to hide behind when they are being white supremacist, transphobic, or any other form of bigot are only the surface layer of the problem - it is their cowardice, sadistic abuse of power, and the flaw(s) that led them to be bigots in the first place that are the main problem ... a problem that, if not addressed, leads to repeat occurrences of this problems. Bigotry is a hydra, and when one head is lopped off, at least one other will grow - unless the underlying inadequacies as human beings is addressed. 

The superficiality of “leaders” doing whatever will allow them to continue working towards whatever they want is an outcome of their character flaws - possibly including, in some cases, psychopathy - and that, rather than counting numbers of inclusions or enquiring into aspects of their tools (e.g., media ownership, funding of political campaigns, etc) is what needs to be changed. 

If we are to survive, let alone thrive, we need to start being honest about the problems of bad people (including ownership to the fact that their bad deeds often mean they are bad people - who are WRONG when they say the victims of their latest expression of bigotry are “bad” because they aren’t white, or don’t conform to stereotypes, or were “born on the wrong side of the tracks”, or are different in some other unimportant way) and addressing their flaws, including addressing aspects such as how they were raised, rather than going down a tail-wagging-the-dog exercise of trying to do “whack-a-mole” on the latest expressions of their hate, greed, fear, and selfishness.

We need to do so through the means I decried at the start of this post - activism/advocacy and education - but aimed at enabling personal growth.

And anyone who has a problem with being a better human being should go back to the 1600s where they belong.

Preview from coming news post: surveillance of workers, the UK monarch can rescind our laws, and bureaucratic indifference to the death of their victims

There are a few matters from this week's coming news post that I consider worth highlighting now: 

• “3 ways ‘bossware’ surveillance technology is turning back the management clock” (TC) - the identification of specific problems is important, and the history of so-called “scientific management” is good background, and I can see all these outcomes (decreased health & productivity and failure to measure proper outcome) in the obsession with utilisation rates; 
• the monarch of the UK can rescind ANY of Australia’s laws within a year of their passage - Section 59 of our constitution; 
• a whistleblower has pointed out the callous indifference to the risk of suicide amongst victims of bureaucracy - and, from my personal experience, I second that, especially re this (TG). 

 

The endless cycle of bigots bashing minorities

Engineers in my home state will shortly have to be registered (my application is in – after many attempts on a system that was, frankly, incompetently assembled . . . as quite a few such state and federal government systems seem to be, in the last few years [a “review” of MyGov is underway, but a radio interview gave little confidence that it will be well handled]).

As I’ve written previously, there are some major problems with the scheme:

• it is contributing to the fragmentation of engineering registration: instead of a single strong national system – which could have been built on what the Institution of Engineers Australia (aka “Engineers Australia”) had already built (which includes audited CPD requirements and just needed a stronger ID check) – each state and territory is going for its own scheme – each set of bureaucrats/politicians are protecting their preserve, even if it doesn’t actually help the community.
  Mind you, something clearly was necessary (a fatal building collapse in an earthquake may have been due to the design being performed by someone who wasn’t an engineer, and had just stolen and engineer’s identity instead), but this has more of the “be seen to be doing something” vibe than “doing something good and effective”;
• the ID check includes a full police check – whereas the trans and gender diverse (TGD) community had been told (lied to?) that it would be “just a probity check” (in private industry, probity check and police DO mean different things). Any forced deadnaming is a risk to wellbeing and, in fact, life of TGD people, and this aspect was utterly contrary to the generally good LGBTIQA+ policies of my home state’s government.
  Some communication suggested that those in government have been given “sensitivity” training, but it is difficult to reconcile that with including full police checks – especially my home state police force’s appalling behaviour towards LGBTIQA+ people in some recent key events (although it turns out the police checks are NOT done by police now, but a national criminal intelligence set up - so past measures at a state level designed to give some measure of protection for TGD people has been lost));
• the fundamental basis of this, other than the genuine concerns about safety, seems to me to be the desire of engineers to fan their ego – to feel superior to those who don’t have degrees. Well, in my engineering career, several of the best engineering people had diplomas, not degrees, and many people without degrees are extremely observant, intelligent, and able to make excellent, incisive and wise comments.

The extent of problems with the digital system were unexpected: of all the engineers I know, only two had no problems, and others had many – one engineer had to try to take his photo ten  times, and I had to get younger engineers to help me when doing the application in an open plan office (home lighting does not appear to be adequate for the system) because of a slight tremor I have (does that constitute ageism? Or does the impossibility of using the system perhaps venture into bullying? Hmm . . . ) – which made privacy a major problem (so much for the sensitivity training of people on the other side of the system).

The system also insisted on using a very limited choice of browsers – some not the best from a security point of view. In this day and age, surely we can hire people who have competency to allow for all forms of UI (user interface) and not just their favourite, familiar old systems that they like to fumble around with?

As a result of all this, I’ve decided to bring forward my retirement plans: I’m not going to go through another set of CPD audits – two (FIEAust and NER) every three years was bad enough, three – each with their own set of fees and presentation requirements - is utterly beyond the pale.

And having to interact with that incompetent “digital” nightmare again would drive me off the deep end (and the imbalance in power makes every such situation a little bit like trying to deal with the mindless inhumanity of Robodebt).

On that “being driven off the deep end”, something I’ve noticed in the last quarter century and a bit is that every few years some fool comes up with what they think might be a good idea that involves transphobic elements.

In some cases, that is because of the arrogance and bullheadedness of bureaucrats - for instance, in the early 90s, trans people who transitioned could either change their driving licence or their passport: each department insisted on having the original birth certificate, and neither would accept the other’s documentation with regard to gender. The department in charge of driving licences wouldn’t accept the corrected binary (yes, education back then had a long way to go) gender designation on a passport as evidence of gender, and the licence had nothing to indicate gender so was utterly useless to the relevant other department.

I have to wonder how people be so inhumane. Utter bureaucratic blindness? Are they transphobic? Or utterly inept at being human beings?

Some of the comments I’ve seen over the years for these various schemes (usually explained beginning with “well, if I was trans, what I’d do . . .”) are clearly attempts to justify or cover up their transphobia, or allow the transphobe concerned to impose their transphobic bigotry on TGD people (i.e., allow the bigots a sense of control over a part of the world their personal inadequacies result in them being uncomfortable with).

In some cases it is genuinely lack of awareness, but that doesn’t apply to my home state’s engineering registration scheme, as I know it received good education.

That means this engineering registration scheme is just one more in the never-ending sequence of trans bashing ideas . . ., and there’ll be another in three to five years (probably the format of questions on the census). It never ends – TGD people keep getting retraumatised over and over and over and over and over again.

 

Some human rights and other news links and thoughts

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). 

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. Reader caution is recommended.

• on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
• Australia has finally passed climate change legislation (TG);   a climate scientist’s view on hope (TG) - see also this (TG), but also this, warning we’re not changing quickly enough (TG);   the damage done by the former national neolib nitwits to the Climate Change authority is being reversed (TG);   “Australia is funding just one-tenth of its fair share of global climate action” (TG);   “air pollution linked to carbon emissions causes millions of deaths every year. A coalition of health groups have called for a nonproliferation treaty to end fossil fuel use around the world” (DW);   the ozone layer continues to recover (DW);   “‘Green Wall Street’ in Australia won’t save the planet. Markets value profits, not platypuses” (TG);   a billionaire has given his apparel company to a trust to fight the climate crisis (TG), as another apparel company is asked to cut its ties to fossil (fuel) companies (TG);   ocean forests (TC);   yet another call to use heat pumps - on a large scale (DW);   extreme hunger is worst in areas most affected by the climate crisis (TG);  
  
  
• climate / environmental issues have occurred in:   Egypt (HRW),   Nigeria (AJ),   Argentina (AJ),   the Amazon forest (TRF) - see also here (HRW) and here (EuroNews),   Vietnam (TG),   Indonesia (TRF); 
  
  
• on the COVID-19 PANDEMIC (noting WHO advice, Article 12 of the ICESCR, and public emergency provisions of the ICCPR and the ICESCR) and other health matters: 
• China’s lockdowns are so extreme people cannot leave their buildings even during earthquakes (ABC);   “imagining COVID is ‘like the flu’ is cutting thousands of lives short. It’s time to wake up” (TC);   a landlord has been fined for locking out international students during the pandemic lockdowns (TG);   COVID is still killing the elderly (TG);   lessons from the COVID pandemic for the next one (TC);  
  
  
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter): 
  
• the ongoing carnage of the floods in Pakistan (F24) - see also this (DW);   an earthquake in PNG (ABC);   a cholera outbreak in Syria threatens the entire West Asia region (UN);   a risk of multiple famines (UN);  
  
  
• 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:   Ukraine has used deception to achieve significant success (F24) - see also this (TG) and this (TND), and this assessment of possible responses by Thug-ssia (TC);   
• on the nuclear (weapons and power) situations:   Ukraine's success MAY increase the risk that Putin uses nuclear weapons (Business Insider);  
• on human rights in the region and globally:   the UN has been documenting human rights abuses by Thug-ssia in Crimea and PoW camps (Jurist.org);  the suffering of Ukrainians continues (UN);   food shortages in central Africa (VoA);   a mass burial site (TG) with victims showing signs of torture (TND);  
  
• inside Russia:   a petition is calling on Putin to resign (F24);  
• internationally:   concerns that China could be re-exporting Russian gas to Europe (DW) - but Russia has acknowledged that China has concerns over the invasion of Ukraine (F24);   to the displeasure of Thug-ssia, Ukraine wants international guarantors for its possible membership of NATO (TG);   concerns that sanctions are not hitting quickly enough (CNN);   Thug-ssia might be looking to the Balkans for support (TG);   
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
• Burma has been firing into and violating the airspace of Bangladesh (Pressenza);   a consideration of the causes and effects of the decline of the USA (TND);   India is growing its navy to counterbalance possible Chinese “adventurism” (ABC);   “after two years of fighting government forces, Ethiopia’s Tigray leadership have expressed interest in a peace process led by the African Union” (DW);   an opinion that Saudi Arabia duped US President Biden (WP);   a blogger is giving the world a view of the good aspects of Somalia (NA) (her blog is here);  
  
  
• 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:   dozens have been killed in Armenia-Azerbaijan border clashes (TG) as Azerbaijan takes advantage of Russia's distraction (DW);   South Korea has warned North Korea against the use of nuclear weapons (AP);  
  
  
• incidents / action of concern in/regarding:   Ethiopia-Tigray (AP);
   
• on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE and MISCONDUCT: 
• a US Supreme Court justice’s wife has been linked to the attempts to overthrow abortion laws in the USA   (and I note that justice has been specifically asked to recuse himself from action against a former POTUS45 devotee) (TG);   a company has been found allegedly unfit to operate a casino (the company has 14 days to respond to the report, so this is not a final determination) (TND) - see also this, on the broader picture around gambling generally (TND);   a US man “fell into conspiracy rabbit hole before shooting family” (Detroit News);   a woman resorted to robbing a bank in Lebanon to get her money for medical treatment (TG);   the former PM is showing his true colours by signing up with a far right political organisation (TND);   offensive, useless, and tokenistic “compensation” to one victim of the Robodebt scandal (TG);  
  
  
• concerns around past/current/potential corruption/misgovernance in   Australia (PnI);
  
  
• on DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• globally:   US President Biden has vowed to “fight the 'venom and violence' of white supremacy” (TG);   a warning that growing fascism is a sign of civilisational collapse (M);   “Hungary is no longer a full democracy” (TG);   cyberattacks can lead to a loss of trust even if successfully defended against (PVG);   Sweden has moved to the right with a new government that includes far right extremists (TG);   the backlash in Sri Lanka (ABC);   expert commentary pointing out that not everyone in the crowds in the UK associated with the death of their former monarch is there to celebrate that person (TG);   a dangerous call to screen plastic surgery procedures with mental health assessments first - dangerous, as it could be extended to other matters, such as gender realignment (TG);   “lenders urged to cancel Zambia debt as country faces economic collapse” (TG);   inflation has pushed millions of Africans into poverty (F);  
  
  
• in Australia:   a suggestion that we need to do more than just getting rid of the previous neolib nitwit (AIM);   SA may give its government the power to block privatisations (In Daily);   “defence is at “significant risk” from cyber insider threats ... [including] malicious, disgruntled or merely duped employees” (something similar has happened in the water industry) (TG);   a call for higher taxation on those who earn more than $1 million per year (TG);   the overblown media farce (TC) in response to this;   the latest review of education has confirmed what was already known (TC);   an assessment questioning the effectiveness of a youth mental health service fails to consider whether youth  would use other options (TG);   another call to extend voting rights in Australia (TG);  
  
  
• suppression of dissent / media in   Algeria (Le Monde),;
  democracy is also at risk in   Germany (HRW),   Russia (UN),   Burundi (TEA),   Angola (AN),   Burundi (UN); 
  
  
• on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC): 
• a warning that militarisation of security in Mexico will lead to more human rights and impunity problems (AI);   the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the USA (TG);   lessons from the global response to apartheid for the world’s possible response to China’s abuses in East Turkmenistan/Xinjiang (PVG);   criticism of arrests of anti-monarchy protestors in the UK (TG);   Russian mercenaries are targetting civilians in the CAR and Mali (ACLED);   Sudan’s humanitarian crisis is growing to record levels (DS);   the USA has made a modest gesture against Egypt’s human rights abuses (HRW);   CW - sexual assault, torture details of the abuses being committed by Burma’s government forces from one of their victims (Frontier Myanmar);   the USA will now use seized funds to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan (NYT [$]);  
   
• human rights are at risk or abuses have occurred in:   Hong Kong (F24),   ICC/Afghanistan (HRW),   East Turkmenistan / Xinjiang (HRW),   Saudi Arabia (Middle East Eye);   Algeria (NAP),   Türkiye (GW);
  
  
• violence in:   USA (TND),   DRC (HA),   Nigeria (R);
  
  
• noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   the USA has issued a visa to an Iranian genocidaire (GW);   questions about Australian spending at junta-linked businesses (ABC);   an atrocity alert for Burma, Ukraine and Afghanistan (GCR2P);   lessons from the past (FH);  
  more genocide / mass atrocity issues:   Burma (UN) - see also this (HRW),   Namibia-Germany (DW);
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   an opinion that Australia’s multi-billion dollar off shore “detention centres” are “torture camps” (TSP) - with a call for UN investigation (TG);   the UK ignored warnings to push through its offshore relocation of refugees scheme (TG);   
  more refugee issues:   Mexico (IDPs) (MN);
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   some TGD and NB people are finding they can safely stay in rural areas (TG);   under the affliction of "both-sides-ism", the European Human Rights Court has become transphobic - or two of its members with a history of transphobia have taken it down that path (M);   yet more transphobic abuses from a religious school (Bendigo Advertiser [$]);   a non-binary victim of transphobic violence has explained why they forgave their attacker (TG);  
  more LGBTIQA+ issues:   Germany (DW);
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   egregious overreactions against people of colour far outweigh responses to whites doing similar actions (M);   a questioning as to why some people feel so compelled to spout their racist views (M);   the enquiry into the police killing of an Indigenous man has heard evidence of the effects of colonialism (TG) and racism amongst police officers (TG) - and a warning that racism could be normalised (TG);   growing anti-Semitism in schools in one Australian city (SMH);   “govt slammed for declaring Day of Mourning after ignoring similar First Nations calls for years” (SBS);   racist abuse in Parliament may lead to a complaint of a hostile and unsafe workplace (TG);   the challenge of avoiding tokenism (TG);   “judges go bush to learn about Indigenous culture, with aim to deliver fairer justice in courts” (ABC);
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    misogyny in Afghanistan includes harassing female employees of the UN (TG);   women who separate from partners after DV are worse off financially (although the report claims new data, this has been known for decades) (TC);   utility companies will no longer aid DV abusers to find their victims (TA);   a campaign against sexist stereotypes (TG);  
  more sexism issues:   Sudan-Australia (ABC),   Yemen (EU Observer),   Sudan (ST);
  
  
• noting the laws listed here, the conventions listed here, and principles discussed here, here, here, here, and here, on the RIGHTS OF ANIMALS:   a call for recognition of legal personhood (Aeon);  
  
  
• noting Article 17 of the ICCPR,   Article 16 of the CRC,   Article 22 of the CRPD,   and   Article 12 (1) of the DRIP on PRIVACY:   a warning on “privacy washing” (TRF);   
  
  
• noting Article 8 of the ICCPR,   Article 6 of the CEDAW,   Articles 11, and 32 - 36 of the CRC,   Articles 16 and 27 (2) of the CRPD on SLAVERY:   “the Dutch government is said to be planning to apologise for its historic role in slave trade and set up a fund for projects that aim to raise awareness about the legacy of slavery” (F24);   “50 million people are in modern slavery” (UN);   a proposed EU ban on forced labour may be too weak to be effective (EU);   
  
  
• noting Articles 2 (1) (also noting this, this, this, and this), 3, 7, 14 (see here and here), 15, 16, and 26 of the ICCPR,   Articles 3, 5 (a), and 6 (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Articles 2, 12 (2), 37, 39, and 40 of the CRC,   Articles 5, 12, 13, and 14 of the CRPD,   and   Articles 1 - 2, 7 (2), 8 (2) (c), 9 - 10, 12 (2), 20 (2), 27, and 40 of the DRIP on the JUDICIARY / JUSTICE SYSTEM:   the mother of a 14 year old in an adult prison has been denied access and information after a fire (NIT);   “higher prison security level is linked to greater risk of dying after release” (MN);   a juvenile rape victim in the USA had to pay compensation to her rapist's estate after she killed him (TG);   an explainer on the problems with a High Court that allows indefinite detention in WA (NIT);   
  
  
• noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:   stereotypes are limiting the employment of people with autism (TC);  
  
  
• noting Articles 6 (1), 7, and 8 (see here) of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (i) (ii) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Article 11 (1) (a - c) of the CEDAW,   and   Article 27 (1) of the CRPD on WORK and FAVOURABLE WORK CONDITIONS:   “job insecurity does not contribute to employee creative performance or “good citizenship” in the workplace” (TC);   more on work-to-rule (M);  
  
  
• 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:    growing housing insecurity amongst older people (TG);   “yes, Australian house prices are dropping, but from staggering heights” (TG);   
   
• from an article advocating the one password approach (although to be fair, the changes will be somewhat of an improvement) “And even with a password manager, our passwords are still stored on the remote website we’re accessing. Although most websites store passwords in a secure (hashed) format, they are still routinely compromised. It’s estimated more than two billion sets of credentials (including passwords) were leaked online in 2021” (TG);
  

(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:   Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project - ACLED;   Aeon Magazine - Aeon;   Africa Centre for Strategic Studies - ACSS;   Africa News - AN;   Al Jazeera - AJ;   Amnesty International - AI;   Associated Press - AP;   Australian Associated Press - AAP;   Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC;   Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility - ACCR;   Australian Independent Media Network - AIMN;   Barrons;   Bellingcat (B);   Bloomberg - BB;   Brisbane Times - BT;   British Broadcasting Commission - BBC;   Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - BAS;   Cable News Network - CNN;   Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - CBC;   Centre for Strategic and International Studies - CSIS;   Committee to Protect Journalists - CPJ;   the (US) Council on Foreign Relations (CFR);   Crikey - C [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   HumAngle - HA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   mainstream media - MSM;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Mirage News - MN;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   New York Times - NYT [$];   News24;   North Africa Post - NAP;   Out in Perth - OiP;   Pearls and Irritations - PnI;   Political Violence at a Glance - PVG;   Politico - P;   Premium Times Nigeria - PT;   Q News - QN;   Radio France International - rfi;   Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE);   Reuters - R;   Robert Reich - RR;   (Bruce) Schneier - Sch;   Special Broadcasting Service - SBS;   Star Observer - Star;   Sudan Tribune - ST;   Sydney Morning Herald - SMH;   The Age - TA;   The Big Smoke (TBS);   The East African - TEA;   The Guardian - TG;   The Monthly - TM;   The National Tribune - tNT;   The New Daily - TND;   The Saturday Paper - TSP;   The Shot - TS;   Thomson Reuters Foundation - TRF;   United Nations - UN;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   War on the Rocks - WotR;   Washington Post - WP [$];   Yahoo News - Yahoo; YouTube - YT;