Saturday, October 8: COP27 is Still a Cop
Where climate activism meets a repressive dictatorship
In less than a month, beginning on November 6, Egypt’s famous beach resort Sharm el-Sheikh will host this year’s UN climate summit, known as COP27. Thousands of world leaders, climate activists, and opportunistic bureaucrats will descend on the town for a chance to sun their faces and possibly discuss important climate legislation to try and conjure up solutions to an existential problem. But while their focus is on the global environment, thousands of political prisoners are left to rot, punished by a corrupt regime that continues to be supported and financed by the power players of the western world.
Many of the estimated 60,000 political prisoners behind bars in Egypt are subject to barbaric forms of torture reportedly taking place on an “assembly line.” They include local climate activists and human rights defenders as well as journalists, academics, and everyday Egyptians who have been harassed, spied on, and punished as part of what Human Rights Watch calls Egypt’s “general atmosphere of fear” and “relentless crackdown on civil society.”
While the Egyptian regime is eager to celebrate its position as a climate defender, it’s hard not to think of the many courageous youth leaders of the Arab Spring, most of them now prematurely aged by over a decade of state violence and harassment. Making mattes worse is the fact that the systems that punish, imprison, torture, and often kill these young people are lavishly bankrolled by military aid from Western powers, particularly the U.S. It’s as if the activists of the Egyptian Revolution have simply been substituted out for newer, less troublesome models.
Side Items
Brittney Griner Still Locked Up: As the world turns and our collective memories fade, Griner continues to wait in prison for her appeal trial later this month. Griner’s wife Cherelle said, "Once that hearing is held, and the order is finalized, B.G.'s now in the position where she could be moved to a labor camp, my brain can’t even fathom it." There’s an exceedingly slim chance of any prisoner swap taking place under the current circumstances in Russia
ACAB, Uvalde Edition: In a move that should surprise no one, the Uvalde School District suspended the operations of its police department amid ongoing questions about the officers’ response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. Parents of the victims have been outspoken about the insufficient police response and the fallout since the school shooting in May. Some parents have even complained about being harassed by police as they continue to mourn and seek justice
Re-Inventing Anna: Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, the grifter who scammed people by pretending to be a wealthy German heiress, has been released from jail. Sorokin, who was charged with multiple counts of larceny and theft, has been told to steer clear of posting on social media, an order I’m sure she’ll abide by. The coming weeks will determine if she is deported back to Germany or if she somehow weasels her way back into ‘high society’ (dumb people with too much money)