Notices by Andrew Stroehlein (andrewstroehlein@mastodon.social)

Imagine being a politician with the power to do some good in the world and the only things you can think of doing are meeting murderous dictators and inventing new ways to punish desperate people seeking safety and freedom.

You may find comfort in your religion, your culture & your language – these and other elements of yourself that stem from your birth & upbringing. But what are these specifics to others who were born elsewhere & raised differently?

In the depth of human diversity, it’s too easy for such things to divide us, and too often ruinously so.

If humanity is not then to fall again and again into the barbarity brought on by coarse fears and dark hatreds, we must ask: what is universal in us?

How many people does a country have to execute to be disqualified from hosting the World Cup?

How many journalists can it murder?

How many millions of people can be made second-class citizens by extreme discrimination?

Apparently, there is no limit:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67271423

Twitter/X "will collect information about the location of users and their private messages, which may constitute mass surveillance."
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/09/global-xs-new-policy-risks-violating-right-to-privacy-for-millions/

1️⃣ Most importantly: what Gary Lineker said about the UK government’s anti-asylum policy is true.

2️⃣ Even if it weren’t, he shouldn’t be punished for it. You don’t lose your right to speak your conscience because you present a sports show.

3️⃣ Everyone should speak out against the increasing attacks on this vulnerable minority, or the attacks will only get worse. Those with greater influence have an even greater moral obligation to do so.

From Human Rights Watch: “Companies have a responsibility to employ people who are essential to the protection of people's rights — this includes content moderators, trust and safety teams, and others.”

UN human rights chief urged Musk to “ensure human rights are central to the management of Twitter”.

This followed the sacking of Twitter’s entire human rights team and all but two of the ethical AI team.

Not “an encouraging start.”
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/11/un-human-rights-chief-turk-issues-open-letter-twitters-elon-musk

Human Rights Watch is on Mastodon here: https://mastodon.online/@humanrightswatch