Articles You May Have Missed : Tom McDermott

Big changes ahead for the US and the world with the Trump administration, US gives Israel a pass on its supposed 'deadline' to improve aid deliveries to Gaza, Sudan's warring armies make war against local good-doers, Syria's drug dealing, report critical of polio policy failure given a quiet release, questions arise over limits of AI by aid agencies, new UNHCR report highlights climate's role in conflict and thereby in displacement.

New Administration in the US

Common Ground? Trump's first term displayed volatility and a tendency to use aid as a political tool. This leads to speculation about the fate of key organisations like WHO and WFP. Meanwhile, Project 2025 agenda leans heavily to faith-based groups. At the same time we see leaders from the developing nations take the leadership in dealing with issues like climate. (The New Humanitarian "What's Common Ground Between Trump and Humanitarians?")

Shut down press and NGOs? - A bill that would have given Trump and future Presidents broad authority to investigate and shut down non-profits, NGOs, and news organizations was narrowly defeated in the US House. "This bill dangerously weaponizes the Treasury against nonprofit organizations and houses of worship—Christian, Jewish, orAllowing such sweeping, unchecked power would set a chilling precedent, enabling the government to selectively target and suppress voices of dissent under the guise of national security,"  Muslim—that dare to support Palestinian and Lebanese human rights or criticize Israel's genocidal actions," said Robert McCaw, director of government affairs at the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "McCaw added. "This isn't just an attack on our communities; it's a fundamental threat to free speech and democracy." Interestingly, 52 Democrats voted along with  204 Republican House members in favor of the bill.  (Raw Story "House defeats bill enabling Trump assault on non-profits")

Attitudes of boys in the US are changing - Article shared by Nuzhat Shahzadi "An increased interest in pursuing the ideal masculine appearance by going to the gym and the creation of new male-dominated social activities like the infamous exclusive poker nights" - demonstrating changing social dynamics." (The Guardian, "The boys in our liberal school are different now that Trump has Won")

Trump, online influencers and young men - Article shared by Niloufar Pourzand "For young men trying to understand their place in the world, the combination of Trump’s charismatic leadership and the sophisticated recruitment techniques of online spaces proved incredibly potent. (Feminist Majority "How digital radicalization found its political voice"

Israel

US continues the flow of arms

Amnesty International notes that the US failed to implement its own laws requiring a shut down in arms supplies to Israel in the face of Israel's continuing block on humanitarian aid.. “It’s unconscionable that the Biden administration continues to ignore the facts on the ground to avoid implementing U.S. law and keep the weapons flowing. U.S. and international law are clear that that the U.S. must suspend the transfer of weapons until the government of Israel is not violating international humanitarian and human rights law. (Amnesty International "US Fails to Implement US Law")

“Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza,” eight groups, including Refugees International and Oxfam, said in a statement Tuesday. (Jewish Telegraph Agency "US takes no action as deadline passes")

War Crimes - Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, including massive forced displacements that amount to ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza. (AP News"HRW accuses Israel")
port Forces." (The New Humanitarian "Warring parties target local aid volunteers as fighting escalates in Sudan")

Syria

ME's Drug dealer? - "..a single pill of the stimulant (captagon) costs a few cents to produce. But that pill can be sold elsewhere in the Middle East—the only part of the world where captagon is a popular drug—for as much as twenty-five dollars, especially in wealthy cities such as Riyadh." Captagon has been touted by media as "The Amphetamine Fueling Syria's War" or "The Jihadists' Drug" (The New Yorker, "How Syria became the Middle East's drug dealer")

Vaccine

Polio report quietly released to downplay policy failure - "A scathing investigation into a backfiring polio vaccine recipe change that contributed to the paralysis of at least 3,300 children has been quietly published – on the busiest news day of the year(The New Humanitarian See section "And finally" "The Quiet release of a critical polio report")

Climate

Climate shocks and conflicts - A new report from UNHCR and 13 expert organizations shows how climate change leads to conflicts and in turn to displacement.  (Reliefweb "On the Frontlines of Climate Change ". For the report see "UNHCR No Escape: Climate change, Conflict and forced desplacement)"

AI 

Undemocratic AI - AI technologies are reshaping humanitarian operations without meaningful input from the very communities they're meant to serve. WFPs SCOPE system forces refugees to surrender data in exchange for food aid, leaving some in situations of extreme vulnearbility. A model from Yemen offers hope for a better less top down approach. (Techpolicy Press "The democratic deficit in AI humanitarian systems")

AI Chatbots? - International Rescue Committee (IRC) wants to increase the range of its chatbot outreach services for displaced people by use of AI. A dilemma has followed over whether these service can really answer the questions asked and whether they build up enormous databases which may endanger the vulnerable people.  These are good questions for UNICEF, as well, given its considerable investments in electronic outreach services and AI.  (AP News "AI could help scale humanitarian responses. But it could also have big downsides")

General

Insurance policy for aid? - The IFRC-DREF provides immediate support for National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies when disasters strike. Up to the end of 2022, the fund always ran the risk of running dry before a year’s end. That prompted the IFRC, in 2023, to secure a groundbreaking indemnity insurance policy developed by Aon – the first ever created for the humanitarian sector. The plan has paid out CHF 7 million since September and may pay nearly CHF 15 million by end of the year. (IFRC, "Worldwide Insurance Policy Pays Climate Disaster Costs")