Uber drivers turned into mobile snitches
21 August 2026
Flock Reportedly Tried to Turn Uber Drivers Into Mobile Snitches. And Nexar, a manufacturer of dashcams, is already doing that to unwitting drivers whose cars carry those cameras.
Drivers should be allowed to install dashcams that record, as security cameras, but security cameras must not be allowed to transmit these images anywhere without specific time-limited requests.
Don't do business with Uber!
Ceuta crysis
21 August 2026
A social media hoax told lots of Moroccans that if they swam into Ceuta (a Spanish colony adjacent to Morocco) right away, they would be allowed to go to Spain and stay there.
Some 70,000 went into Ceuta, found out story was a hoax, and mostly went back to Morocco. But European right-wing extremists are using it to pretend that a real problem had happened and requires a real increase in repression of immigrants.
US deporting trafficked children
21 August 2026
The bully's henchmen are rushing the deportation of people who have been trafficked, and minors who fled abuse by their parents, depriving them full and proper judgment of their cases.
Sometimes they get deported before the hearing that will decide whether they are entitled to stay in the US. That is Kafkaesque.
The persecutors are mainly focusing on minors, but "minors" does not imply "children". A 17-year old is not a child and we must not call per one. Can't you be concerned for someone's rights without calling per a "kid"? I am.
But the reason I am concerned about that manipulative exaggeration is not just that it is soppy. It can be dangerous too, to those very people. Calling a teenager a "child" can lead to disrespect for per rights.
US sanctions against "settlers"
21 August 2026
The bully's henchmen have terminated US sanctions against violent Israeli "settlers". Democrats in Congress have called for reinstating the sanctions.
Biden put them in place to rebuke the "settlers'" wanton violence against Palestinians. The bully seems to want to present the US as a supporter of violent cruelty.
Rwe deal wind leases
21 August 2026
The wrecker's henchmen are paying billions to get companies to cancel their contracts to build offshore wind power.
This is driving expensive nails into humanity's coffin.
ICE arresting people at airports
21 August 2026
Deportation thugs are arresting people at US airports, often choosing targets who already have grounds to be in the US.
UK burning summer
21 August 2026
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of Greater London: *This burning summer is the proof: the voices of climate denial aren't just delusional, they're deadly.*
They treat truth with total contempt.
Tech fascism in Silicon Valley
21 August 2026
Now that Silicon Valley has mostly joined the side of fascism, only a few journalists are ready to criticize.
Second runway for London airport
21 August 2026
Watch out, England! Two London airports are going to build addtional runways. That is expensive, and each airport will use its new runway to handle 100,000 or so additional flights per year.
Just think of how much hotter they will make Britain (and the rest of the world).
Urgent: reject nominees for USPS board
21 August 2026
US citizens: call on your senators to reject the corrupter's nominees for the USPS board.
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
Urgent: cancel Flock contracts
21 August 2026
US citizens: call on local governments to cancel their Flock contracts.
Urgent: stop big tech's Data Center Land Grab
21 August 2026
US citizens: call on Congress to stop big tech's Data Center Land Grab
It is unfortunate that the petition grants these data centers the usually unmerited accolade of "artificial intelligence". I myself never do that.
However, I signed the petition anyway.
Urgent: Flock's policy changes
21 August 2026
US citizens: call on media to cover Flock's policy changes with skepticism.
Urgent: stop Pentagon buybacks
21 August 2026
US citizens: call on the Senate to stop Pentagon contractors' stock buybacks, and make them get the Pentagon's permission to release a dividend.
Clearly it would be better if paying a dividend required permission from some organization more likely to be strict, but this rule is a step forward anyway. And so is the stock buyback rule.
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
Urgent: Defend Bristol Bay
21 August 2026
US citizens: Defend Bristol Bay (in Alaska) from political pressure from a mining company that wants to pollute it.
Urgent: Oppose plan to undermine Head Start educational program
19 August 2026
US citizens: Submit a public comment to oppose the plan to undermine the Head Start educational program.
Here is the comment I submitted:
I strongly oppose the proposed rule, “Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs,” and urge HHS and ACF to withdraw it.
The fact that this proposed rule would eliminate so many standards all at once shows that its true goal is to undermine Head Start, rather than to make it work better or more efficiently.
Head Start should be strengthened, not stripped of the standards that have been its backbone. To weaken these standards would open the door to weakening the education of American children, especially children in disprivileged groups and those struggling with poverty, housing instability, and difficulty obtaining documentation.
Please withdraw the proposed rule under docket ACF-2026-0595 and RIN 0970-AD30 and preserve strong nationwide Head Start Program Performance Standards.
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
Urgent: Ban electric shock gloves
19 August 2026
US citizens: call on Congress to ban the deportation thugs' electric shock gloves.
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.
To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.
Please spread the word.
Urgent: Stop dismantling of Head Start
19 August 2026
US citizens: call on Congress to stop the saboteur in chief and RFK jr. from dismantling Head Start.
US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.
To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.
Please spread the word.
Urgent: Oppose ban on ranked choice voting
19 August 2026
US citizens: oppose the Democratic National Committee's ban on ranked choice voting in Democratic primaries.
Urgent: Restore funding for Public Media
19 August 2026
US citizens: call for restoring funding for Public Media.
Urgent: Support Green New Deal for Health
19 August 2026
US citizens: Support the Green New Deal for Health. It is designed to protect Americans from the danger of increasing heat and local disasters, both short term and long term.
Exiled dissidents from Salafi Arabia block on antisocial media
19 August 2026
Some "American" antisocial media companies are blocking the accounts of exiled dissidents from Salafi Arabia from being seen in that country.
Urgent: Tax big oil's war profiteering
17 August 2026
US citizens: call on your public officials to tax big oil's war profiteering.
Here's what I said in my letter:
I urge you to tax the war profits being collected by giant oil corporations and end their tax breaks. They have been draining America's bank account as they drain America's petroleum, and polluting our politics as they pollute our air and water. It's time to make them stop!
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
Urgent: Stop racist immigration crackdown
17 August 2026
US citizens: call on your congresscritter to stop the racist immigration crackdown.
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.
To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.
Please spread the word.
Urgent: Tax Big Tech's ad income
17 August 2026
US citizens: call on your state lawmakers to tax Big Tech's ad income.
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
Urgent: Protect human-centered education
17 August 2026
US citizens: call on Tell State Leaders: Protect Human-Centered Education Before Supposed Intelligence Enters Our Classrooms.
I edited my letter so as not to refer to these bullshit generators as "artificial intelligence", because I question whether they qualify as "intelligence". See https://gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#ArtificialIntelligence.
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
Urgent: Negotiating lower prices on prescription medicines
14 August 2026
US citizens, call on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to expand the practice of negotiating lower prices on prescription medicines. We need to counteract massive lobbying by Big Pharma.
Deadline for commenting, Aug 17!
Urgent: Save funding for Medicaid
14 August 2026
US citizens: call on your senators to save funding for Medicaid.
US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.
To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.
Please spread the word.
E-scooters dangerous to ride
14 August 2026
E-scooters turn out to be especially dangerous to ride — much more dangerous than bicycles.
Magats' efforts to seize power
14 August 2026
Comparing the magats' efforts to seize power, and embed themselves irreversibly in it, with the efforts of Nazis in 1933.
Making Anthony Fauci the enemy
14 August 2026
*Why making Anthony Fauci the enemy will harm US public health for years.*
Wildfire betting amid warnings of arson risk
14 August 2026
*US senators urge crackdown on wildfire betting amid warnings of arson risk.*
Betting on other government actions is dangerous too, because it can offer magats the temptation to burn down good government.
Comparisons of wildfire crisis to second world war
14 August 2026
*While many leaders compare the wildfire crisis to the second world war, governments fail to adopt the real lessons of pre-emptive wartime action.*
Extreme weather and extreme climate are *attacks on our soil. They are a call to mobilize.* But governments today are barely beginning to mobilize for full action to slow and stop the slowly developing climate disaster.
I conjecture that the reason they don't do this is the presence of a highly influential group of traitors: the fossil fuel industry.
*Human-driven climate crisis fuels Canada’s deadly wildfires, study finds.*
UK restaurants and pubs banning snooper glasses
14 August 2026
Many restaurants and pubs in the UK have banned wearing of snooper glasses. Theaters, too.
Israel accused of knowingly attacking journalists
14 August 2026
*Human Rights Watch and Amnesty* accuse Israel of knowingly attacking journalists in Lebanon — a war crime.
Pakistan prohibits reporting internationally
14 August 2026
Pakistan has prohibited anyone from reporting internationally on what happens there. It has also blocked access to Al Jazeera's web site from Pakistan.
Model for turning richly funded campaign against rich backers
14 August 2026
*[Progressive Democrat] Abdul El-Sayed offers a model for successfully turning a non-progressive opponent's richly funded campaign against that opponent's rich backers, and thus against the opponent.
Butterfly species shifting habitats
14 August 2026
Many butterfly species are shifting their habitats — some as fast as 135km per year. Some species' habitats have expanded, and others have shrunk.
All of this measures the rapidity of potentially dangerous ecosystem changes caused by global heating.
Droughts in Europe
14 August 2026
*[In Europe,] droughts that were once a century now happen every year, and the impact on wildlife, industrial output and culture itself is catastrophic.*
Underlying the random fluctuation from year to year, the trend (as long as global heating continues) is to get worse.
The bully's new tariffs
14 August 2026
Joseph Stiglitz: the bully's new tariffs, supposedly meant to pressure for an end to forced labor, hypocritically omit two countries that do enormous amounts of that: China and the US.
We launched a war on nature
14 August 2026
Rebecca Solnit: *We launched a war on nature. Now we are in a climate war zone.
George Monbiot: *Murderous heat, an endangered food supply and no [efforts to slow the disaster]: this is the life the radical right wants you to have.
Cockroach Janata party
14 August 2026
How the Cockroach Janata Party overcame the power of Modi's captive mass media.
El Niño could push 50m people into acute hunger
14 August 2026
*El Niño could push 50m people into acute hunger before end of next year.*
If so, it will mean that the disasters that climate scientists have forecast for many years are arriving.
Surveillance at Madison Square Garden
11 August 2026
Madison Square Garden uses surveillance cameras to recognize people. It specifically tracks people on its enemies list, such as journalist Rachel Maddow. But it normally tracks everyone who enters and perhaps recognizes them all.
However, they made an exception for the audience at Taylor Swift's wedding, apparently because she had the clout to demand this.
People must be free to take photos in public places occasionally and publish them. But no one, and especially no business or organization or government, should be allowed to systematically record everyone that passes before a camera and put the records into a internet-connected system.
Pressuring Democratic candidates to stop avoiding climate issues
11 August 2026
A grass-roots campaign is pressuring Democratic candidates to stop avoiding the issue of growing climate disaster.
Focusing on "affordability" of everyday life is partly a mistake, and partly a response to pressure from billionaires who figure that will lead towards weak palliative measures rather to any big change to transfer wealth.
The increasing cost of living is a consequence of deeper injustices, one of which is the growing cost of climate disaster (including food plagued by agricultural failure). Another is the growing cost of medical treatment, which stems largely from the big role of businesses in it. Another is the long and slow shift that leaves the non-rich with less and less of society's productive capacity.
Scrapped plans to curb jury trials
11 August 2026
*Andy Burnham signals he will scrap plans to curb jury trials [in the UK].*
This is a victory, even though it only prevents a plan to make things worse.
The supposed "need" for restricting the right to a jury was a shortage of funds. I think Burnham has some plan to increase taxes on non-poor people so as to pay for this and other things to make the UK better.
(satire) Wrath of next ultimatum
11 August 2026
(satire) *[The bully] Warns Iran To Accept His Ultimatum Or Face Wrath Of Next Ultimatum.*
Climate emergency poses risk to global economy
11 August 2026
*A senior policymaker at the European Central Bank has said the climate emergency and the breakdown of nature poses a dramatically growing risk to the global economy.*
If we are unable to grow enough food, or if calamities substantially reduce the life expectancy, it is going to be hard for anything to be stable or predictable.
What we need to make sure of is that the billionaires won't be able to insulate themselves (and their servants) from sharing the fate the impose on us. And that they know they won't be able to.
Boycott Magnum for Ben and Jerry's
11 August 2026
Ben and Jerry sold their ice cream company to Unilever under an agreement to preserve the company's independence and social activism. They now say that Unilever has violated the agreement in several ways, and finally by reselling it to Magnum (as far as I can tell, without any ethical requirements). They call on supporters to boycott Magnum to pressure for it to sell Ben and Jerry's to someone who will restore them.
It is not a simple matter to draw up a contract that will prevent the buyer of a company, or of a program, from slipping out of agreements to follow ethical standards by transferring control in increments.