Notices by Andrew Stroehlein (andrewstroehlein@mastodon.social)

“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/15/joe-biden-farewell-address-trump-oligarchy-america

Trump’s second term will likely be as disastrous for human rights as his first. But Biden was a failure on human rights, too.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/how-biden-failed-human-rights

About 20% of jobs openings are “ghost jobs,” meaning they’re posted online, but no hiring activity occurs.

“Some hiring managers even admitted they post fake jobs to keep their own employees on their toes, saying they want workers to feel ‘replaceable’ so they will work harder.”
https://qz.com/one-in-five-job-postings-is-fake-ghost-jobs-1851738201

Today’s breakfast at a Budapest hospital. This is the reality of #Hungary under authoritarian Orbán.
(photo from a trusted source)

“Scores of universities and research institutions in Germany and Austria on Friday announced their intention to drop their presence on the online messaging platform X (formerly Twitter), saying its algorithms were opposed to a discourse based on scientific and democratic integrity.”
https://amp.dw.com/en/german-institutions-depart-x-a-day-after-musks-weidel-talk/a-71266331

"According to findings announced by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and published in The Lancet journal, there were an estimated 64,260 'traumatic injury deaths' in #Gaza between October 7, 2023 and June 30, 2024. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza put the figure at 37,877 at the time."
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/09/middleeast/gaza-death-toll-underreported-study-intl/index.html

How do you mark the anniversary of past mass atrocity crimes?

How do you show respect for the millions of victims of those mass atrocity crimes?

Surely not by declaring you won’t arrest a man wanted for mass atrocity crimes today.

A truly terrible and deeply disrespectful move by Poland’s government here.

#Auschwitz80

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/01/10/poland-says-netanyahu-will-not-be-arrested-if-he-attends-auschwitz-memorial-event

"the same Brexiters who once insisted EU refrigeration standards for exported kippers, which turned out not to exist, were an intolerable violation of British sovereignty are now untroubled by a foreign oligarch openly engaged in overturning a British election"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/10/trump-america-musk-starmer-europe

Why are foreign tech companies caving in to #Russia authorities’ pressure to comply with draconian laws?

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/17/russia-foreign-tech-companies-cave-authorities-pressure

The laws of war prohibit attacks on objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population and violence or threats, “the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population.”
https://www.hrw.org/the-day-in-human-rights/2022/12/06?story=paragraph-4693

NATO secretary general Mark Rutte has warned Putin wants to “wipe Ukraine off the map” and could come after other parts of Europe next. Said Russia might try to use “swarms of drones” in Europe as it has to deadly effect in Ukraine.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/13/ukraine-war-briefing-nato-warns-that-putin-wants-to-wipe-ukraine-off-the-map

“Israeli attacks have killed dozens of people in Gaza, including children, Palestinian health officials reported, as the region is gripped by food shortages and fears of famine.

The attacks were launched hours after the UN general assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in #Gaza.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/12/israeli-attacks-kill-28-people-hours-after-un-demands-ceasefire-in-gaza

It's a country where authorities have engaged in a sustained assault on freedom of expression online.

Dozens of people remain imprisoned for peaceful online speech.

And it's hosting a major UN conference on internet governance. 🤔
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/13/saudi-arabia-hosting-un-internet-conference-amid-crackdown

#Saudi Arabia confirmed as 2034 World Cup host despite appalling human rights record: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/dec/11/saudi-arabia-confirmed-as-2034-world-cup-host-despite-human-rights-concerns

Guess who will build the new stadiums etc needed for it?

Migrant workers, the people Saudi Arabia has been abusing mercilessly for years: https://www.hrw.org/the-day-in-human-rights/2024/12/04?story=paragraph-9886

#Iran: "Execution, long jail terms and big fines for 'promoting' nudity, unveiling or improper dressing come into force"

Seriously?

Any penalty for completely invented "crimes" involving "bad dressing" are abusively absurd, but the death penalty??

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/dec/11/iranian-women-death-penalty-jail-fine-defy-new-morality-hijab-improper-dressing-islamic-penal-code

Afghan women artists are playing a vital role in the women’s movement resisting Taliban abuses.

New web gallery: https://www.hrw.org/feature/2024/12/11/human-being-more-delicate-flower-and-tougher-rock

The Rapid Support Forces killed scores of civilians, and injured, raped, and abducted many others in Habila & Fayu, two towns in South Kordofan state, #Sudan. New report documents abuses against mainly ethnic Nuba residents, which had not been widely reported previously.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/10/sudan-war-crimes-south-kordofan

It is way too early to discuss Syrian refugee returns – the fall of the Assad regime just occurred, events are unpredictable, and stability is fragile. The governance of Syria will go through a transition period and much of what this will involve is unknown.

Hastening discussion of whether Syrians should go back now that the Assad regime has been ousted are premature at best and dangerous at worst.

"For the time being, we maintain, in line with the UNHCR [UN refugee agency] that the conditions are not met for safe, voluntary, dignified returns to Syria," said a European Commission spokesperson. 👍
https://euobserver.com/EU%20&%20the%20World/ar8e131f33

The only thing faster than the Syrian opposition forces' toppling of Assad in recent days has been European politicians promoting hate against Syrian refugees...
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/dec/09/uk-and-other-european-states-suspend-syrians-asylum-applications