Corruption in the Maldives
11 September 2016
The tyrant of the Maldives threatened to punish those who contributed to an al-Jazeera documentary about corruption there, and thus intimidated the channel into not showing the documentary.
The tyrant took power through a coup which ousted the elected president, who vocally championed acting with dispatch to curb global heating. I therefore suspect that the coup was organized by planet-roasters.
For a state to require a special visa for journalists is an injustice in itself. The US should set an example by dropping that requirement.
Brazilian thugs attack peaceful protest
10 September 2016
Brazilian thugs attacked a large peaceful protest against the political impeachment of Dilma Rousseff.
Refusing to stand for the national anthem
10 September 2016
In 1970, a roomful of US soldiers who didn't know each other all decided individually to refuse to stand for the national anthem, as a protest about how they had been used for injustice in Vietnam. The article is written by one of them, an antiwar veteran.
US blocks Craig Murray from visiting
10 September 2016
The US has blocked Craig Murray, UK citizen, from visiting the US for the awarding of the Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence.
The US gave him no explanation, but it is hard to imagine any possible reason other than his own inconvenient integrity.
Sex scandals
10 September 2016
Under what circumstances is a famous person's sex scandal actually significant?
Silicon Valley skirting public disclosure laws
10 September 2016
Local Governments Are Letting Silicon Valley Skirt Public Disclosure Laws.
Protection of endangered species
10 September 2016
Protection efforts have brought several endangered species back from the brink.
That doesn't mean they can survive global heating, or a collapse of civilization that could end organized protection efforts.
I am looking for people to modify Etherpad to distribute its Javascript code marked clearly as free software, adding free licenses marked for LibreJS to notice, and source pointers if necessary. See etherpad-lite.
Please write to me if you do this job, so I can stop looking for someone.
Illegal massive surveillance in Germany
8 September 2016
Germany is proposing to legalize massive surveillance even as an internal investigation finds that its massive surveillance is currently illegal.
Asthma attacks in the US
8 September 2016
An estimated 750,000 asthma attacks each summer are attributed to burning oil and gas in the US.
Use of networked computers for elections
8 September 2016
Clapper says he is investigating the possibility that Russia seeks to cause chaos in the US election in November by attacking computer systems.
That would be a very hostile act, but US and state governments have been extremely irresponsible in adopting networked computers for election purposes.
Turkey to subsidize new coal power plants
8 September 2016
Turkey plans to subsidize 80 new coal-burning power plants.
This is almost an act of war against the rest of the world.
Hired thugs kidnap smog inspectors
8 September 2016
People in Indonesia connected with palm oil farming hired 100 nonofficial thugs to kidnap smog inspectors, who were taking note of fires that were burning down forest to make more palm oil plantation.
Panama Papers
8 September 2016
Australia has acted on 100 apparent tax law violators revealed in the Panama Papers.
Thugs taking private jobs to work
8 September 2016
Thugs often take private jobs to work, in thug uniform, for some private employer. Who are they supposed to "serve and protect" at such times?
Increasing number of poor people in UK
8 September 2016
13 million people in the UK are poor, and this is due to government policies, which are increasing the number that live in poverty. But the British state could end poverty by 2030 if it wanted to.
Divestment from fossil fuels
8 September 2016
The Sydney city council has voted to divest from fossil fuels, and to pull hundreds of millions of dollars out of banks that invest in fossil fuels.
Bravo! Other cities threatened by global heating should do something similar.
The gender pay gap
8 September 2016
The gender pay gap is not due to lack of assertiveness on the part of female employees, a survey in Australia shows. Women there ask for raises as often as men do.
Global heating in the oceans
8 September 2016
Global heating in the oceans is already causing painful disruptions of sea life, in a foretaste of disaster that will develop over the next few decades.
Increased strength of Asian typhoons
8 September 2016
Asian typhoons are 50% stronger nowadays than 40 years ago, due to global heating.
China creates city with no one to interview
8 September 2016
China forced 1/3 of the population of Hangzhou to go away as a way of creating a city with no one to interview other than the omnipresent "security" as a bland and empty backdrop.
Connected cars
8 September 2016
Connected cars may record personal information from the driver's mobile phone.
The article does not mention that it may have its own cell phone, which means the phone company would track its movements.
Attack on Dakota Access Pipeline protesters
8 September 2016
Private thugs attacked the protesters blocking the Dakota Access Pipeline by throwing attack dogs at them, and with pepper spray.
Paying workers for value of their work
8 September 2016
The "labor question", how to assure workers get paid for the value of their work, is connected with many of America's worst problems. Especially since the plutocrats have been attacking the old solutions for decades.
The prevalence of bad employers that force workers to be independent contractors complicates the labor question. Probably massive technological unemployment threatens to complicate it even more. We need other measures in addition to "help more workers unionize", but we surely still need that.
Martin Luther King's last campaign
7 September 2016
Americans: Remember That Martin Luther King's Last Campaign Was for Workers' Rights.
Successful public criticism
7 September 2016
Public criticism has convinced the AARP to stop supporting ALEC.
French tradition of republican secularism
7 September 2016
The French tradition of republican secularism is being distorted into a system of discrimination.
Facebook's attempt to control internet access
7 September 2016
The loss of a satellite on the launch pad has not stopped Facebook's attempt to control internet access for users in poor countries.
Failure of anti-radicalization campaigns
7 September 2016
Anti-radicalization campaigns in various countries fail, partly because they are based on a false picture of who is likely to become an Islamist terrorist and how.
It may be that a previous generalization of European Islamists (typically not violent) developed out of more mainstream Islam.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria
7 September 2016
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are quite common in supermarket chicken and pork in the UK.
This comes from feeding antibiotics to masses of pigs and chickens, and shows the urgency of prohibiting that practice.
Human population growth
7 September 2016
Human population growth is already starting to overload the world's food capacity and fresh water capacity.
It is a very good thing to have no children, but we need to go beyond that and help reduce the reproduction rate of other people.
The Italian state has new policies to urge Italians to have more children. What lunacy!
I sympathize with the criticisms given in the article, but they are focused on secondary issues and avoid the crucial one. Italy's birthrate, rather than being "too low", would be a big improvement if the whole world adopted it. Decreasing population can cause to some short-term dislocations, but it is easier to cope with those than with the long-term effects of increasing populations.
Italy should present itself as an example for its low birth rate.
Labor Day's radical spirit
7 September 2016
Happy Labor Day! There Has Never Been a [large] Middle Class Without Strong Unions.
"It's time to reclaim Labor Day's radical spirit."
The article mentions the workers dangling from portable phones who have little time they can count on not having to work. However, lots of low-wage service workers have a similar problem: they can be called to work a shift on short notice at almost any time.
To protect them, we should pass laws requiring overtime pay for any shift that wasn't planned a week in advance. Also, these workers should be entitled to declare time off in advance, whether for a day or occasionally for a week, without worrying they might be punished for not being available then.
I work every day … but that's ok since most of my work is volunteer work anyway.
HK legislative assembly
7 September 2016
New, forceful opposition politicians have gained seats in Hong Kong's legislative assembly.
The elections to the assembly are overtly rigged, even worse than in the US House of Representatives, so there is no prospect that the opposition can form a majority no matter how much popular support it has.
Dalits march to protest floggings
7 September 2016
Dalits and other castes despised by conservative Hindus have held a march to protest floggings, and plan a ceremony of conversion to Buddhism.
One practical reason for the ceremony is that India registers people's religions and conversion requires submitting a government form. Dalits have faced repression when trying to do this, whether individually or in groups.
Burning forest for palm oil
7 September 2016
Korindo palm oil has been caught apparently burning forest in order to make more palm oil plantation.
Subjugation of farmers
7 September 2016
Even when genetically modified crops are good in themselves, we must not ignore the damage done by companies such as Monsanto that permanently subjugate farmers.
The efficiency of bt-cotton does not benefit all the Indian farmers that grow it. A farmer always takes a risk that bad weather will wipe out the crop. When farmers get loans to buy the bt-cotton seed, the damage of loss of a year's crop gets worse. That pushed thousands of Indian farmers to commit suicide a few years ago.
Eastern Gorilla critically endangered
7 September 2016
Eastern Gorilla Now Critically Endangered Due to Illegal Hunting.
Australia's Climate Change Authority
7 September 2016
Australia's Climate Change Authority weakened its recommendations for the sake of "political feasibility" (i.e., bowing down to resistance from planet roasters in the governing parties). Two members of the commission refused to sign the recommendations, calling them inadequate.
When a real solution to a problem has no support in the legislature, what should we do? The obvious approach is to advocate a change so small that you might win it in a few years. The problem with this is that it fails to show people why they should advocate anything bigger. For a chance of a bigger victory in the long term, we must advocate the larger change that we really want. (Or, in the case of global heating, what we really desperately need.)
Earthquakes caused by fracking wastewater
7 September 2016
Fracking wastewater has caused many small quakes in Oklahoma. Now the US Geological Survey is investigating whether it played any role in causing the recent strong and damaging earthquake.
New Tory cuts
7 September 2016
New Tory cuts could close most refuges for battered women.
Upend tax havens and fund clean energy
7 September 2016
Upend the Tax Havens to Fund Clean Energy Revolution, says Friend of the Earth.
Both of these steps are necessary.
Uber con
7 September 2016
Guber has organized in NYC something reminiscent of a company union for its drivers, except it isn't even a union.
Obama's medical care system
7 September 2016
As insurance companies pull out of providing insurance plans in line with Obama's medical care system, the system is in danger of failing.
The insurance companies are exploiting a systemic weakness that they imposed on the system. Obama's original proposal included a "public option" to compete with the insurance companies, but they lobbied against it and Obama caved in. If the public option existed, the same insurance companies could pull out but that would not cause such a problem.
UN compelled to obey Assad
7 September 2016
The UN, in delivering humanitarian aid in Syria, is compelled to obey strict limits set by Assad. This includes routing the aid funds through his cronies.
I don't blame the UN for this: I think its officials estimate that they don't have the clout to make Assad back down from these demands. Perhaps the US and Russia could agree that Assad has to change them.
War hawks push for intervention in Syria
7 September 2016
Experts Raise Alarms as US War Hawks Push for Deeper Syria Intervention.
What makes this push especially dangerous is that it is supported by Clinton.
Long before the US intervened directly, it allowed allies such as Salafi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey to support Islamist rebels. Without this, PISSI would probably never have existed.
The quotation of Clinton's statement in the meeting in Riadh is from this State Department publication.
Private "special" thug forces in DC
7 September 2016
Washington DC has many private "special" thug forces that are much less accountable than the municipal thug department.
Miss USA contestant sued by Trump
7 September 2016
Contestant Sheena Monnin reported seeing proof that the Miss USA contest winners were hand-picked in advance by contest owner Donald Trump. He sued her for ten million dollars.
Family of Alan Turing demands pardons for other men
7 September 2016
Family of Alan Turing to Demand Government Pardon 49,000 Other Men.
Disinformation from Russia
7 September 2016
Russia tries to confuse Western political debates with many parallel currents of disinformation.
I've seen forms of this from time to time -- for instance, articles that claim Russia didn't take over the Crimea by force of arms, that the Crimeans rebelled spontaneously and Russia just happened to protect them.
This does not mean Sweden should join NATO. That is another question. It also doesn't mean that the US is on the side of right. That is yet another question.
Trump hires Corporations United architect
7 September 2016
Trump has hired for his campaign one of the architects of Corporations United, which champions the cause to give corporations human rights.
Salafi Arabia's relationship with Clinton
7 September 2016
The brother of Clinton's campaign manager (John Podesta) is officially representing Salafi Arabia.
This is not an isolated fact. It is part of a relationship that has gone on for a long time. Salafi Arabia clearly expects to get things from Clinton.
FBI still wants secure encryption banned
7 September 2016
The FBI is going to try again to persuade the US to ban secure encryption. We are supposed to let our guard down towards the biggest danger from fear of secondary threats.
State spying helps create extremists
7 September 2016
"State spying helps to create extremists. My father was one of them." With all other roads barred because he had supported fascism, his father saw no path to anything except more extreme and focused support for fascism.
Treating Puerto Rico like Detroit
7 September 2016
For the board in charge of treating Puerto Rico like Detroit and Flint, including cutting pension funds and medical care, Obama chose four Republicans and three Democrats.
One of the Republicans has campaigned for privatizing Social Security. We can imagine what he will do to Puerto Rico's pensions.
Obama showed his true party affiliation by gratuitously choosing more Republicans than Democrats. And at least one of the Democrats is a plutocratist.
Selecting employees through secret algorithms
7 September 2016
Selecting employees through secret algorithms imposes mysterious prejudices as well as the predictable social biases.
No one verifies scientifically that the algorithms choose good employees or that they reject bad ones. But they certainly reduce the pool of choices, and for many employers, that's better than nothing.
Lawsuit in Germany to block CETA
7 September 2016
A lawsuit in Germany aims to block the European Commission from imposing CETA on Germany without waiting for Germany's ratification.
US bans some antibacterial chemicals in soap
7 September 2016
The US has banned some common antibacterial chemicals in soap.
Triclosan is dangerous because it is an endocrine disruptor.
Antibacterials in household products are also suspected of preventing children's immune systems from developing properly, by denying them experience with a range of bacteria. To avoid this, it won't help to replace one antibacterial with another. Soaps and other such products would need to be free of antibacterials.
Paris climate agreement
7 September 2016
More countries must ratify the Paris climate agreement for it to take official force.
I think that the US can't possibly ratify it this year, because that requires the consent of the senate, and the Republican planet-roasters won't give it.
However, what is worse is that the deal doesn't commit countries to any minimum plan of action — only whatever each country decides to do. They don't plan to reduce carbon emissions enough to avoid disaster.
US power structure, racism and inequality
7 September 2016
American blacks know better than to believe Trump would try to do anything good for them, but they recognize he has a point when he says that the existing power structure doesn't care about them.
I wish they had recognized that in January and voted for the one major-party candidate who would have sincerely tried to fight racism and inequality.
How to be at War Forever
7 September 2016
How to be at War Forever — constantly making "progress" but never winning.
To be fair, there have been some real victories against PISSI, such as the recapture of cities. PISSI is first of all a state, and only secondarily an underground terrorist movement; states can be defeated militarily.
However, PISSI is the exception. Underground terrorist movements are not defeated by killing their leaders.
Jailed for expressing opinions in Russia
7 September 2016
People have been jailed in Russia for the "unauthorized protest" of wearing shirts that criticized Putin's handling of the hostage-taking in Beslan.
I don't have an opinion about the events in Beslan, but it is an injustice to punish people for expressing their opinions. Putin's repression of dissent is not as harsh as that of the Egyptian regime, but it is repression and wrong nonetheless.
Sex offender registration laws
7 September 2016
Convicted sex offenders, as a class, are especially unlikely to repeat their crimes, so the registration laws that contort their lives for many years afterwards are gratuitous harm.
By cutting those people off from society, their families, and work, the registration system may increase the fraction that commit another sex crime.
Trump's immigration speech
7 September 2016
American white supremacists love Trump's immigration speech.
Citizens block mass surveillance system
7 September 2016
The citizens of Oakland blocked a system for massive combined surveillance. They were aware of how dangerous it is for the state to know everything.
Citizens everywhere need to realize that a state with such surveillance power is more dangerous than any criminals or terrorists.
Voter suppression in North Carolina
7 September 2016
Some republicans in North Carolina admit that their voter ID law was for voter suppression. Amazingly, they think that is legitimate; they say any party would do this, for political advantage.
In effect, they have declared themselves to be unprincipled enemies of the United States.
Urgent: Reject GMO Fuji Apples
7 September 2016
US citizens: Call for rejection of GMO Fuji Apples.
This petition has trouble when Javascript is disabled, but here is a workaround for it.
After signing the form, you will need to replace the [URL] in the provided page, including the square brackets, with the default domain name, which is http://salsa3.salsalabs.com in this case. Copy this edited URL into the address bar and visit it; that will make the signature go through.
Note that 'URL' does not stand for some other URL. It literally means the characters U, R and L.
Urgent: Block Dakota Access Pipeline
7 September 2016
US citizens: call on Obama to block the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Urgent: Support Kaepernick's right
7 September 2016
US citizens: Support Colin Kaepernick's right to refuse to stand up for the US national anthem.
Divestment from fossil fuels
7 September 2016
Several large Australian universities have divested from fossil fuels.
Milwaukee thugs
7 September 2016
Milwaukee thugs blocked off a usual protest area, then violently arrested people merely for watching the events. Oops, one was a state legislator.
The thugs must feel a little embarrassed, but they are brazen. Mere embarrassment won't restrain them from abusing their power again. Being jailed themselves might do the trick.
Taxes paid by multinational companies
7 September 2016
Amazon and Starbucks "pay less tax than a sausage stand".
Tax havens
7 September 2016
Tax havens are estimated to deny governments 600 billion dollars a year in tax revenue, which is a large fraction of what it would take to convert the world to renewable energy.
Tories starving state school system
7 September 2016
The Tories are starving the state school system. Many teachers are giving up because pay is becoming too low. The remaining teachers have to work extra.
Wildlife conservation
7 September 2016
15% of Earth's land area is protected for wildlife conservation, but many important ecosystems are not represented.
The deeper problem with wildlife conservation is that global heating is going to mess up ecosystems around the world. Many species will no longer be able to survive in the places where they are now protected.
Danish MPs barred from Nauru
7 September 2016
Nauru told the Danish embassy that it barred some Danish MPs because they had criticized of Nauru's treatment of refugees.
The question of who is morally responsible for what happens to prisoners in Nauru is very simple. Australia pays Nauru to hold them and subject them to rape, torture, injury and sometimes death. Australia and Nauru are jointly responsible.
Patriarchal murder in Pakistan
7 September 2016
A Pakistani thug has been arrested for suppressing evidence and protecting the perpetrators of a patriarchal murder.
Elimination of aboriginals in Queensland
7 September 2016
Australians discussed the bloody elimination of aboriginals in Queensland: a special thug department murdered tens of thousands of them.
I recommend The Other Side of the Frontier, by Henry Reynolds, for an explanation of how this proceeded across Australia.
Clinton's Embrace of Republicans
7 September 2016
Clinton's Embrace of Republicans Will Harm Her Own Party's Future.