The term "people of color"
19 March 2017

The term "people of color" endorses a racist outlook towards humanity by treating "color" as as a matter of essence, of the substance a person is made of, rather than as a superficial detail.

The distinctions we call "racial" are grab-bags of various details, each of which correlates more or less with certain ancestral groups. They are real differences, but not particularly important unless people make them so. So let's avoid using essentialist language to refer to them.

Americans protests medical care crash
19 March 2017

Americans are protesting with slings and crutches at their representatives offices, and convincing some Republicans to block the Ryan-Trump medical care crash.

Dehumanization of civilians by British troops
19 March 2017

A British colonel says that a company fighting in Afghanistan regularly dehumanized Afghan civilians and subjected them to violence for no reason, and said this was the fault of the commanders of the larger unit.

Israel's thugs and soldiers
19 March 2017

Israel's thugs and soldiers regularly damage Palestinians' bodies and property, and never compensate them for the damage.

FBI's persecution of prostitutes
19 March 2017

The FBI's persecution of prostitutes includes a good measure of dishonesty to label prostitutes, customers, or their friends as "traffickers".

Policies that raise sale value of housing
19 March 2017

Policies that raise the sale value of housing have left poor people unable to find decent housing.

Research corrupted by Monsanto
19 March 2017

Monsanto corrupted the research into safety of Roundup in order to influence the approval of that pesticide.

Troll nominates another Goldman Sachs employee
19 March 2017

The troll has nominated another Goldman Sachs employee.

The Obama regime was subservient to Goldman Sachs. The Trump regime is directly run by Goldman Sachs.

Great Barrier Reef
19 March 2017

The only way to save the Great Barrier Reef is by curbing global heating.

Killed by Israeli thugs after arrest
19 March 2017

Israeli thugs killed Matar after arresting him. Palestinian witnesses said they killed him in cold blood. Then, as usual, they arrested his whole family and ransacked their house.

Suspiciously, the Israeli thugs have not released video showing the killing.

Dalits in India
19 March 2017

Dalits in India are pressured into working as sewer cleaners, and because they are Dalits, the city doesn't bother to give them safety gear.

Troll's travel ban
19 March 2017

Yemeni Couple on Verge of Reuniting in US May Be Derailed by New Travel Ban.

Berkeley repressing homeless people
17 March 2017

Berkeley, California, is repressing homeless people, as it fills up with wealthy people instead of the progressives that used to live there.

Living on the street is already in effect a punishment. It can't be just for the "solution" for this problem to include further punishment of the homeless.

Anatole France: "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

The Chicago Thug Department
17 March 2017

Zachard Fardon, fired by the troll as US attorney for Chicago, said that the Chicago Thug Department's habits of unjustified violence require outside intervention.

Prime minister of Japan
17 March 2017

The prime minister of Japan is tied to a school accused of racism and cruelty.

Lack of hope for success in life
17 March 2017

The lack of hope for success in life is driving many young men in the UK to gambling.

I suppose others use drugs for the same reason.

If you see little to aim for in the way of personal "success", dedicate yourself to a cause worth fighting for — truth or justice. You can do some good that way. Campaign for free software, or to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, or for racial equality, or to promote abortion and contraception rights and access. Or another good cause. This will give you a deeper satisfaction than gambling.

Disabled people trapped in homes by Tories
17 March 2017

The Tories have squeezed almost 2 million disabled people into housing that's not accessible for them. They are trapped in their homes.

Financial benefits of the EPA
17 March 2017

The Financial Benefits of the EPA Data Trump Doesn't Want You to Know About.

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
17 March 2017

It appears that Russia is violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with a new cruise missile. What should the US do?

It is pertinent that the US has extended NATO, bringing in countries at Russia's border, and proposed to include Ukraine and Georgia. That's not an excuse for breaking the treaty, but it is a foolish and threatening practice, and implies that the US too should take steps to back off from confrontation with Russia.

If troll is offended by NSA snooping
17 March 2017

Snowden: if the troll is offended that NSA agents can snoop on any American, including him, he should change that.

Attacks on medical facilities in Syria
17 March 2017

In Syria, attacking medical facilities became a standard tactic of war.

Freedom of speech
17 March 2017

European countries want to make Google delete racist postings even when they are not threatening.

What David Duke said is false, and his racist attitude is despicable. However, freedom of speech means he has the right to say it. (European countries do not adequately recognize freedom of speech.)

I am more scared of companies that delete what they deem to be false, or despicable, than of David Duke's saying such things.

Paul Ryan's astroturf group
17 March 2017

An astroturf group set up by Paul Ryan, with hardly any members except some rich donors, is getting lots of publicity campaigning for Ryan's medical care denial bill.

Life in prison for stealing 14 dollars
17 March 2017

Shannon Hurd was sentenced to life in prison for stealing 14 dollars, then killed in prison by officials that refused to believe he had cancer. This is not unusual in US prisons.

Culpability of today's adults
17 March 2017

Jeremy Hance wrote a letter to his daughter, for her to understand when she is older, about the culpability of today's adults for the global disaster she will encounter in a few decades.

The letter is so moving, and so full of truth, that people are likely to take every littlest detail for correct. Thus, I have to point out that Hance erred when describing the troll as "our next commander-in-chief." American civilians have no commander-in-chief, and we must never have one.

It's just a minor detail, but we may as well not spread an error that favors the troll.

More importantly, I think the letter doesn't follow the argument to its conclusion: we should not bring more humans into a world in which we would owe them such an apology. Even more so, seeing as each additional human augments the disaster we will have to apologize for.

I would like to see a letter "To the child I might have had: How relieved I am not to have had you. That means I don't owe you an apology for bringing you into a developing disaster, and I don't owe everyone else an apology for making all the environmental strains one human being larger."

We can still work to reduce the disaster. We can do this by putting our time into activism rather than into raising children.

The root cause of our failure to curb global heating is plutocracy: the political power of the rich. That is what sort of political system empowers fossil fuel magnates to veto adequate measures to reduce emissions.

Plutocracy gets its strength from power over many fields of life, and computing is one of them. Nonfree software is one of those forms of power. The free software movement, though I did recognize this at first, is one aspect of the fight against plutocracy.

It's a good idea for us in the software field to fight against plutocracy in our own field, since that is where we can achieve the most against it.

Visible symbols of personal beliefs at work
17 March 2017

A European appeals court ruled that companies can order employees not to wear any visible symbols of personal beliefs (religious or otherwise). However, if the company is selective about which symbols to allow, this can be considered discrimination.

The decision seems correct to me.

Urgent: Legal defense of Russian activist
16 March 2017

Anyone: donate bitcoin to the legal defense of a Russian activist.

Here is background information: in Russian describes the predicament. I can't read it, but a friend read it for me and says it this is on the level.

They are asking for bitcoin donations at 1MCTLYKSAmBSjk8Tg32YcaUF9bKifHVA6N.

Urgent: Endangered Species Act
16 March 2017

US citizens: call on Congress to save the Endangered Species Act.

Seattle thugs
16 March 2017

Campaigners against extra funds for Seattle thugs say, first make them stop being racist.

Tasmania's extractivist government
16 March 2017

Tasmania's extractivist government wants to cut down areas of rain forest which are home to endangered species.

The swift parrot is designated as critically endangered, with only 2000 adults living, and could have been headed for extinction by 2030, partly due to habitat loss.

I guess that this appears to an extractivist as an opportunity to eliminate the issue by wiping them out.

Ebook sales declining in UK
16 March 2017

In the UK, printed book sales are increasing and ebook sales are declining.

Can someone find sales figures for the US to compare with this?

The reason I reject commercial ebooks is that they attack our freedom in several ways.

Surveillance by "smart" vibrator
16 March 2017

We-Vibe has been ordered by a Canadian court to pay customers up to $10,000 each for selling them a "smart" vibrator with an app that told the company how people were using it.

If an object or product is called "smart", you shouldn't trust it.

It appears the company lost the case because it had not asked buyers to consent to the surveillance. The next such manufacturer will put something vague about this in the "terms of service" so it can say it got "consent".

We need laws that limit the collection of data by businesses or services and which take the position that "consent is not an excuse".

Republican party platform in regard to Ukraine
16 March 2017

The troll's supporters who intervened to change the Republican Party platform in regard to Ukraine act guilty about it.

The argument is speculation, not proved true, but something like it could be true.

The change the troll made in the Republican platform was for the better, in my opinion. I think it would have been very foolish for the US to escalate the Ukraine proxy war. However, I find the relationship between the troll and Putin to be alarming enough to justify an investigation to determine how far it goes.

Gun nuts
16 March 2017

Some gun nuts have a conspiracy theory that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax, that the people killed there didn't exist. Naturally, they support the troll.

Following the troll's example, they insist on this with a lunatic rejection of all inconvenient facts, and harass and threaten the parents of children that were killed.

Thugs raid abortion rights workshop
16 March 2017

Northern Ireland thugs raided a workshop held by an abortion rights campaigner, looking for forbidden abortion pills.

I simply cannot understand why she, and so many people, feel "humiliated" when selected as a target by a repressive system. To me it seems like a badge of honor, and an opportunity for immediate action.

Girl Guides of Canada cancels US travel
16 March 2017

The Girl Guides of Canada have canceled group travel to the US from fear that some of the girls will be refused due to being Muslim or having Muslim-style names.

America's healthcare system
16 March 2017

Remember the People America’s Healthcare System Has Already Killed.

Exploitive politicians
16 March 2017

Dutch right-wing politician Wilders is exploiting the diplomatic row between the Netherlands and Turkey, just as Erdoğan is.

This reminds me of the way both Dubya and Osama bin Laden exploited their public enmity to recruit support. Each one was all the other could have wished for.

US military wants to "declare" war
16 March 2017

The US military wants to be allowed to declare war anywhere, "temporarily".

16 million meals per year
16 March 2017

Quebec will systematically collect food for the hungry, food that supermarkets were going to throw away, and expects to reuse 8 million kg of food per year this way.

I'd estimate that is around 16 million meals per year.

Troll's budget
16 March 2017

"The president's budget won't balance federal spending one bit, but it'll move a lot of money up to the rich."

A balanced budget is not always a good idea. Deficit spending is the way to cure a recession. However, when business income is booming it would be wise to tax businesses more so as to reduce the national debt.

Republicans are not interested in the national debt except as an excuse to spend less on the non-rich.

Urgent: Preserve clean air standards
16 March 2017

US citizens: call on the EPA to preserve clean air standards.

Frackwells
16 March 2017

A farmer who permitted a frackwell on his land says, "Don't do it!"

Urgent: Ban trade in shark fin
16 March 2017

US citizens: tell Congress to ban trade in shark fin.

Volunteer

I am looking for people to help webmasters of various sites (not related to me or GNU) make simple but substantial changes in their web sites — for instance, to use the GNU Project's recommended terminology.

Urgent: No military recruiters in high school
15 March 2017

US citizens: call on all states to help parents keep military recruiters away from their children in high school.

It works to sign with Javascript disabled if you use the Salsalabs method.

Obsession with troll's ties with Russia
15 March 2017

Obsession about the troll's ties with Russia — which may or may not add up to substantial wrongdoing — could act as a smokescreen for the many real wrongs he and SCROTUS are carrying out.

Heathrow Airport expansion plan
15 March 2017

The plan to extend Heathrow Airport is accompanied by a supposed plan to "offset" the CO ₂ emissions.

Supposing the offsets actually work — which is hardly certain — this would be adequate if present-day emissions were at an acceptable level. But they are already far too high, and this won't reduce them.

Troll's new choice for Saboteur of Labor
15 March 2017

The troll's new choice for Saboteur of Labor is almost as bad as Pudzer.

Troll's nominee for SEC
15 March 2017

The troll's nominee to head the Securities and Exchange Commission is another banksters' agent — much as turned out to be the case for Obama's nominee.

US tax rates for corporations
15 March 2017

Republicans claim, once again, that US tax rates for corporations are too high.

"Corporation tax too high", according to Republicans, means "more than zero".

Plutocratist Democrats
15 March 2017

Watch out for plutocratist Democrats that would like to lead the "resistance" against the troll but ignore the rights of working people.

Canada's law against breaking DRM
15 March 2017

Canada's law against breaking DRM, imposed by US pressure, has been interpreted in the nastiest possible way.

Canada needs to get rid of this unjust law. Breaking DRM should be lawful; implementing DRM should be a crime.

The term "digital locks" is not a good way to refer to the malicious functionality of DRM (Digital Restrictions Management). Please join me in calling them "digital handcuffs" rather than "digital locks".

Urgent: Safe Communities Act
15 March 2017

Citizens of Massachusetts: Support the Safe Communities Act, which would block state funds from being used to help deportation (or a possible "Muslim registry").

Urgent: Internet service for old people
15 March 2017

US citizens: call on Ajit Pai not to cut off old people from internet service.

Urgent: Regulation of guns
15 March 2017

US citizens: call on your congresscritter to reject the NRA's plan to neutralize all states' regulation of guns.

Troll attacks information
15 March 2017

The troll systematically attacks the credibility of all sources of information other than him.

He anticipated that the Congressional Budget Office would honestly report on the harm that the Republicans' medical insurance sabotage bill would do, so he attacked it preemptively.

The Dance of Death
15 March 2017

The Dance of Death: seeing present-day global society as an empire in decay, searching to recover its former "greatness".

Immigration prisons
15 March 2017

Privatized US immigration prisons are so dangerous that often prisoners ask to be put in solitary for their own safety. Others are put in solitary for "crimes" such as giving haircuts to other prisoners for a price.

Troll's Mexican wall
15 March 2017

The troll's Mexican wall would cause grave harm to ecosystems around the border, as well as emitting lots of CO2 from the concrete.

Erdogan, Turkish officials
15 March 2017

Some European countries banned Turkish officials from visiting to campaign for Erdogan's new authoritarian constitution. Erdogan's party responded to this with insulting trumpery and confrontation.

I think the insults and confrontationalism is another campaign activity. The idea is to manipulate Turks into regarding those European countries as their enemy and supporting Erdogan against them.

This is, I believe, meant to distract them from the principal enemy of freedom and democracy in Turkey: Erdogan himself.

Guantanamo
15 March 2017

The troll wants to whitewash the Guantanamo prison by pretending that it was perfect while Dubya was in charge.

Paris climate agreement
15 March 2017

State and local action can achieve 60% of the US commitments under the Paris climate agreement. The Paris climate agreement is considerably less than what the US needs to do if it is to do its share of avoiding global heating disaster. But at least this is a start at a start.

The Clean Power Plan would also avoid 6000 deaths per year, but the Republicans don't consider the lives of non-rich to be important.

Legal rights of consumers and patients
15 March 2017

Corporate Interests Give Tens of Millions to Dismantle Legal Rights of Consumers and Patients.

FCC's privacy rules
15 March 2017

Republicans propose to nullify the FCC's privacy rules, demonstrating once again that they are always for business against the people.

The FCC's privacy rules are grossly inadequate because they regulate only how the ISPs can use the data they have collected. ISPs should not be allowed to keep any records of users' internet connections except under a specific court order.

Urgent: Stop Amazon ads in Breitbart
15 March 2017

Everyone: tell Amazon to stop advertising in Breitbart.

Denials by troll's team
15 March 2017

The troll's team were informed that Flynn was a foreign agent. They handled this the same way they handled the troll's foreign conflicts of interest — by denying it.

Israel and Palestine
15 March 2017

Uri Avnery: a single state comprising the territory of Israel and Palestine would inevitably be an apartheid state, and some day an Arab state. Jews, like Arabs, should insist on a separate state of Palestine.

Avnery mentions the tendency for Israelis to move to the US or Germany. Part of the reason for some Israelis to move is that they don't like living under the bigoted antiliberal regime that tears up the principles of law, constitution and liberty, one by one, as they become inconvenient for the goal of apartheid.

Urgent: Reject Republican "healthcare" plan
15 March 2017

US citizens: Demand that Congress reject the Republican "healthcare" plan.

Please sign this one, too.

US-backed torture and killing in Kenya
15 March 2017

US-backed anti-terror campaign in Kenya is based on torturing and killing those who are suspected.

Deportation of refugees to Afghanistan
15 March 2017

As the war in Afghanistan slowly heats up, refugees are being forcibly deported there. They include children born in exile.

Many of them can't return "home" — they can only become refugees elsewhere in Afghanistan.

These refugees should not have had many children, but perhaps it was our fault not to provide them with reliable birth control.

Troll's new visa denial policy
15 March 2017

The troll's new visa denial policy, aimed at all Iranians, will mostly hurt Iranians that criticize the Islamist regime there.

Urgent: Conflict of interest rule
15 March 2017

US citizens: defend the rule that retirement investment advisers must be loyal to their customers.

Troll's chief saboteur at the EPA
15 March 2017

Pruitt, the troll's chief saboteur at the EPA, is appointing global heating denialists to many posts there.

The World Bank
15 March 2017

The World Bank funded the expansion of a palm oil company in Honduras that is accused of attacking and killing local farmers that object to prior theft of their land.

Massive use of pesticides
15 March 2017

Massive use of pesticides is causing massive harm — to humans and to ecosystems.

Puerto Rico's debt crisis
15 March 2017

Puerto Rico's debt crisis is heading towards collapse.

Sad to say, the US government's "solution" will surely prioritize the banks over the people.

Convicted sex offenders
15 March 2017

Most convicted sex offenders do not commit another sex crime. Of those not judged "high risk", only 5% were found to reoffend within 15 years.

So let's not make harsh laws that assume they are all driven "predators".

Price of water in the US
15 March 2017

The price of water for families is increasing steadily in the US. In a few years, a substantial fraction of Americans won't be able to afford water.

Meanwhile, companies continue to be able to extract tremendous quantities and pay next to nothing.

If the US keeps washing away people's access to water, in a couple of decades it could resemble the corporate water grab happening now in Ethiopia.