2013: May - August Political Notes - Ric

Each political note has its own anchor in case you want to link to it.

My intention is to make links only to publicly accessible, stable URLs. If you find a link to a page that requires subscription, please report that as you would report any other broken link.

31 August 2013 (US Intervention in Syria)
Relating US intervention in Syria to oil.
31 August 2013 (Anti-trade-treaty protests in Bogota crushed by soldiers)
Anti-trade-treaty protests in Bogota were crushed by soldiers sent by Colombian President Non-santos^*.

He cited the usual pretexts.
31 August 2013 (Man dies after being knocked down by UK thugs)
UK thugs had no time to listen to Nazim Din explain that they had arrested the wrong one of his sons, so one pushed him and knocked him down. (This was easy as he was on crutches.) Mr Din died of a heart attack.
31 August 2013 (Are Chemical Weapons Reason Enough to Go to War?)
Are Chemical Weapons Reason Enough to Go to War?
31 August 2013 (Syria is not the West's real target)
Iran, Not Syria, Is the West's Real Target.
31 August 2013 (The US helped Saddam Hussein use chemical weapons against Iran)
The US tacitly helped Saddam Hussein use chemical weapons against Iran.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
31 August 2013 (Law to prevent patents covering computer programs "as such")
New Zealand has adopted a law that intends to prevent issuance of new patents covering computer programs "as such".

I have not seen the exact text of this law. I hope that it is airtight. The European Patent Office is operating under a treaty which excludes "computer programs as such" from patent-ability, but has issued thousands of computational technique patents despite the words of the treaty on the grounds that they cover techniques, not programs as such.

Meanwhile, they failed to protect programs from lawsuits under the existing patents, as I've recommended, so it will take around 20 years for this to eliminate the problem.
31 August 2013 (Data Brokers)
Data brokers are collecting and correlating a lot more data about people than you may realize.

If this sort of snooping is "essential" for the success of some business, we must make that business fail! Meanwhile, it is possible to keep most of our lives out of their data bases, and I do so.
31 August 2013 (UK thugs get court approval to seize and search people's memories)
In a setback for journalism, UK thugs were given court approval to seize and search people's memories for "communication of material to an enemy". This is meant to refer to leaked information about dirty deeds that the government is keeping secret from its principal enemy, the people. Naturally, knowledge of these dirty deeds might help other enemies too, so this is a pretext for the state to attack all the enemies at once.

This is in addition to material that "could be useful to terrorists", which covers almost anything when applied to someone assumed to be inclined towards terrorism.

The UK laws invoked are blatant disrespect for human rights, as are many of the "anti-terror" laws there and in other countries. Terrorism exists, but it is a minor danger compared with the deadly practices these laws are used to cover up.
31 August 2013 (Mugabe accused of rigging Zimbabwe election in several ways)
Tsvangirai accused Mugabe of rigging the Zimbabwe election in several ways including manipulating the voters' rolls.
31 August 2013 (Argentina makes secret fracking deal with Chevron)
Argentina's government has made a secret fracking deal with Chevron.
31 August 2013 (Businesses push for ban on adherence to LEED construction standards)
Businesses are pushing states to ban adherence to the LEED environmental construction standards, and substitute lax greenwash standards.
30 August 2013 (Urgent: Support plan for students to pay for college based on earnings)
US citizens: support Senator Merkley's plan for students to pay for college based on their earnings.
30 August 2013 (Urgent: Launch honest environmental review of Keystone XL)
US citizens: call on Secretary of State Kerry to launch an honest environmental review of the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
30 August 2013 (West Papuans who say they advocate independence face charges of treason)
West Papuans face charges of treason for saying they advocate independence from Indonesia.
Indonesia took over West Papua by force.
30 August 2013 (Censorship cannot be excused)
Evidence does not support claims that pornography promotes violence or sexism.
Since censorship is always dangerous, censorship of pornography cannot be excused.
30 August 2013 (Raped low-caste women in India face contempt and intimidation)
The rape of middle-class women in India spurs indignation, but when poor low-caste women are raped, they face contempt and intimidation.
30 August 2013 (CEOs claim they deserve enormous pay)
CEOs claim they deserve their enormous pay because they do such a great job. Of those that got the most money in the past 20 years, 40% got fired for failure, led their companies into trouble for fraud, or helped cause the financial crisis.
30 August 2013 (Lawsuit demands release of OLC opinions)
A lawsuit demands the publication of the formal legal opinions used by the US government as the basis for its actions and to shield officials from prosecution. They are, effectively, secret law.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
30 August 2013 (Urgent: Demand fast food companies give workers a raise)
In the US: sign this petition demanding fast food companies give workers a raise and this one demanding they not retaliate against workers who strike.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
30 August 2013 (China accelerating arrests)
China is accelerating the arrests of people who criticize the state.
30 August 2013 (UK voted not to attack Syria)
The UK parliament voted not to attack Syria. Thus, Obama won't have UK support.
The "discreet and limited" attack on Syria that Obama is considering would not have much effect on Assad's military capability.
There are other ways to deter further use of chemical weapons, either by Assad or by other countries.
It Takes More Courage To Say There Is Nothing Outsiders Can Do.
30 August 2013 (Stand With Colombian Protests Against the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA))
Stand With Colombian Protests Against the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
30 August 2013 (Obama regime's policy on state-legalized marijuana)
It's not clear what the Obama regime's policy on state-legalized marijuana will really mean in practice.
30 August 2013 (US supports the military-industrial complex)
The US turns readily to war and to military "aid" because it supports the military-industrial complex.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
29 August 2013 (Urgent: Kill the Keystone XL)
US citizens: call on Obama to kill the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline now.
29 August 2013 (Japanese gov't sued anti-nuclear protesters)
The Japanese government has sued anti-nuclear sit-in protesters, demanding the equivalent of $100,000 from each leader.
29 August 2013 (Big downsides for US intervention in Syria)
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff listed several options for US intervention in Syria — all with big downsides.
The UK's published intelligence report adds nothing to previous speculation about chemical weapons in Syria.
29 August 2013 (US does not know where chemical weapons are stored now in Syria)
US intelligence officials say the US does not know where chemical weapons are stored now in Syria, or who controls them, and that it does not have firm evidence that Assad ordered their use.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
I wonder if Obama will prosecute the officials for this leak.
29 August 2013 (Fast food workers strike and protest)
Fast food workers held a strike and protest across the US.
29 August 2013 (Poverty's consequences)
Poverty's consequences, such as preoccupation with short-term difficulties, effectively cut people's intelligence.
29 August 2013 (Egypt has arrested al-Jazeera reporters)
Egypt has arrested al-Jazeera reporters, accusing them of threatening national security and supporting Morsi.
I do not support Morsi, but no one should be arrested or banned from reporting based on who they support.
29 August 2013 (Marijuana dealers)
The US says it won't prosecute marijuana dealers that sell "small amounts" to adults, in states which have legalized it.
29 August 2013 (Secret US government programs)
Secret US government programs amount to at least 75 billion dollars a year.
29 August 2013 (Fukushima showed us costs of nuclear power)
Fukushima showed us the intolerable costs of nuclear power. The citizens of Vermont show us the benefits of shutting it down.
29 August 2013 (Restoring liberty)
America's next president had better believe in restoring liberty.
29 August 2013 (Israeli soldiers danced with Palestinians)
Israeli soldiers danced with Palestinians at a wedding in Hebron. The Israeli government says it will punish them for this act of fraternization with people who are supposed to be "the enemy".
29 August 2013 (One Year After Drone Strike on Anti-Terrorist Yemeni Preacher)
One Year After Drone Strike on Anti-Terrorist Yemeni Preacher, Still No Apology From Obama.
29 August 2013 (Teacher Uprisings in Mexico)
Teacher Uprisings in Mexico a Lesson in Defending Public Education.
29 August 2013 (Urgent: Tell Obama not to bomb Syria)
US citizens: Tell Obama not to bomb Syria.
29 August 2013 (Urgent: Call on Congress to oppose attacking Syria)
US citizens: call on your congresscritter not to support attacking Syria. "The choice is not between doing nothing and bombing the Syrian people."
29 August 2013 (Urgent: Restore "stream buffer" limitations on coal mining)
US citizens: call on the US to restore the "stream buffer" limitations on mountaintop removal coal mining.
29 August 2013 (Painting of Putin an Medvedyev in female clothing seized)
A painting showing Putin and Medvedyev in female clothing has been seized in Russia and called illegal with no explanation.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
I understand the logic. In Russia, Putin is the ultimate standard of good. To show Putin doing something is to say it is good. To show Putin in homosexual guise is therefore propaganda for homosexuality. ;-}
29 August 2013 (Church group threatened with arrest for feeding homeless people)
A church group that feeds homeless people in Raleigh, North Carolina, was told they'd be arrested if they did not stop. It is illegal to feed the homeless there.
The Republicans who voted for this law probably claim to be Christians, but they'd put Jesus in prison too. When they talk about "family values" they mean "Walton and Koch family values".
29 August 2013 (What would Martin Luther King Jr. say?)
Envisioning what Martin Luther King Jr. might say today in the age of plutocracy.
29 August 2013 (Questions about what would happen after a US attack on Syria)
The public deserves answers to the questions about what would happen after a US attack on Syria — and why possible paths for peace are not being pursued instead.
29 August 2013 (King's "I have a dream speech")
AT&T can use King's "I have a dream" speech to sell phones, but you can't post it.
29 August 2013 (NSA's data regularly used to blackmail officials)
Whistleblower Russell Tice says that the NSA's data is regularly used to blackmail officials including members of Congress.
NSA sysadmins can access any data about anyone. Snowden used this to inform us all, but a criminal-minded sysadmin could use this to get data to blackmail someone.
Aside from blackmail, here are some bad things that could happen to you thanks to massive surveillance.
29 August 2013 (California to expand access to early abortions)
California will expand access to early abortions.
29 August 2013 (Sea animals face disaster from CO₂ in the water)
A wide range of sea animals face disaster from CO₂ in the water.
They evolved to live in water, not seltzer.
29 August 2013 (India bans shark finning)
India bans shark finning.
29 August 2013 (Walmart tries to pretend it supports manufacturing in the US)
Walmart is trying to pretend that it supports manufacturing in the US.
Any company that has 25% of the grocery sales in the US ought to be split up just for that.
29 August 2013 (Students' public postings monitored by a company)
A company monitors students' public postings on behalf of schools.
Since they are public, the company has a right to do this. It would become wrong if the school starts punishing students for things they say (such as criticism of the school, dissident views, etc).
29 August 2013 (Your metadata)
Given your metadata, people can find out about addictions, sex, and accusations.
29 August 2013 (Review of various bills to reverse Corporations United decision)
Free Speech for People reviews the various bills to amend the Constitution to reverse the Corporations United^* decision.
29 August 2013 (Many schemes used in parallel to take Palestinian land)
Israel uses many schemes in parallel to take Palestinian land.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
And now that "peace negotiations" have been announced, Netanyahu has sped up construction in Palestine.
29 August 2013 (Israeli "settlers" attack Palestinian shepherd with iron rod)
Israeli "settlers" in Palestinian territory attacked a Palestinian shepherd with an iron rod.
They killed and injured sheep, too.
The Israeli administration bends over backwards to help "settlers" harass Palestinians and drive them off their land.
29 August 2013 (Systematic Israeli torture of Palestinian minors)
B'tselem documents the systematic Israeli torture of Palestinian minors.
29 August 2013 (Israeli Arabs trying to return to lands temporarily confiscated in 1948)
Israeli Arabs are trying to return to lands from which they were ordered to leave, a few weeks after Israel was established.
29 August 2013 (Israel demolishes Bedouin village for 54^th time)
Israel demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib for the 54^th time. Jailed residents, offered release on the condition that they not return there, said they'd rather stay in prison.
29 August 2013 (The Leveraged Buyout of America)
The Leveraged Buyout of America.
29 August 2013 (Wisconsin to give half a million dollars to lobbying organization)
Wisconsin has arranged to give half a million dollars to a right-wing lobbying organization.
After all the budget cuts and union-busting, the state has a little cash on hand.
28 August 2013 (Seed freedom)
Vandana Shiva: Seed freedom is the answer to hunger and malnutrition.
28 August 2013 (Former UK military high commanders warn against attacking Syria)
Former UK military high commanders warn against attacking Syria.
Using a military attack to "send a message" is a rather inarticulate form of communication, as the US found out when it tried "graduated response" in the Vietnam War.
28 August 2013 (Kenya allows polygamy in one direction only)
A woman in Kenya wants to marry two willing men, but the state is sexist and won't allow polygamy to go in that direction.
28 August 2013 (Satirizing Putin now forbidden)
In Russia, satirizing Putin is now forbidden.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
28 August 2013 (Heroism of Manning and Snowden)
The heroism of Manning and Snowden will mean nothing if the debate about how to judge them distracts us from the central issue: our government is trashing the constitution with massive surveillance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
28 August 2013 (Egypt's rulers framing arrested protesters)
Egypt's military rulers seem to be framing arrested protesters in order to "prove" that the Muslim Brotherhood is terrorist.
28 August 2013 (Iranian blogger on hunger strike getting ill)
An imprisoned Iranian blogger on hunger strike is getting ill.
28 August 2013 (NY Thug Department arbitrarily labels some mosques as "terrorists")
The New York Thug Department arbitrarily labels some mosques as "terrorist" and investigates anyone who goes into them.
28 August 2013 (Iranian Parliament has voted to sue the US)
Now that the CIA has admitted responsibility for the coup in Iran that toppled it democratic government in 1953, the Iranian Parliament has voted to sue the US.
There is plenty of justification for this suit, in the abstract; but Iran's current theocratic tyranny is part of the damage, and a suit is not going to fix that. Meanwhile, is there any court where such a suit could be heard and a judgment enforced?
28 August 2013 (Why military intervention in Syria would be wrong)
Why military intervention in Syria would be wrong.
It is hard to demonstrate what happened well enough for the purposes of justice.
A measured attack against Syria would change nothing.
On the other hand, an attack powerful enough to make Assad really notice would have unpredictable effects.
If the goal is to deter other dictators from using chemical weapons, it would be more effective to wait for a chance to punish Assad cleanly.
Hans Blix believes the military sponsors of both sides could make them agree to peace.
28 August 2013 (Urgent: Action against Walmart's low wages)
In the US: support an action on Sep 5 against Walmart's low wages.
28 August 2013 (Thug faces criminal charges for trying to frame press photographer)
A New York City thug faces criminal charges for trying to frame a press photographer.
It's about time — but it will take more than one thug on trial to make thugs stop testilying.
28 August 2013 (Journalism harder, slower and less secure)
Barry Eisler suggests the arrest of David Miranda indicates that surveillance state is trying to make journalism harder, slower and less secure.
He may well be right; this does not contradict my theory, that it is trying to declare journalism criminal.
28 August 2013 (Urgent: Do not attack Syria without consulting Congress)
US citizens: call on Obama not to attack Syria without consulting Congress.
28 August 2013 (US on side of al Qa'ida)
The US is planning to fight in Syria on the side of al Qa'ida.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Obama's intended attack might be meant to keep Iran isolated (i.e., scupper the opportunity for a peace deal).
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
28 August 2013 (Evidence that Assad's men used chemical weapons)
The evidence that Assad's men used chemical weapons came from an Israeli signal interception unit.
Israel has been trying to get the US to fight Syria for a year or two. Thus, I have to wonder whether this "intelligence" was fabricated for the purpose.
28 August 2013 (Crop losses in 2012)
The Federal Crop Insurance Program paid for 17 billion dollars in crop losses in 2012, far more than normal, due to extreme weather that will keep getting worse.
28 August 2013 (What the Assault on Whistleblowers Has to Do With War on Syria)
What the Assault on Whistleblowers Has to Do With War on Syria.
28 August 2013 (Urgent: Paying for college)
US citizens: support Senator Merkley's plan for paying for college.
27 August 2013 (South African equivalent of the NSA)
The South African equivalent of the NSA is explicitly meant for spying on South Africans, so it doesn't need to stretch the rules repeatedly — it monitors everything.
27 August 2013 (Bogus investigations of the NSA)
Three bogus investigations of the NSA are designed to reassure us that no major change is needed.
27 August 2013 (Obama's plan to link student aid to college tuition)
Colleges say Obama's plan to link student aid to college tuition could motivate colleges to reject students that need aid.
Overall, the Oregon solution looks better. It could be used to put pressure to cut costs.
27 August 2013 (Liberia shuts down newspaper for reporting on corruption)
The newspaper FrontPageAfrica has been closed, and its publisher jailed, for reporting on corruption in Liberia.
27 August 2013 (Australia's recently established marine reserves)
Australia's right-wing party says it will cater to fishermen by eliminating recently established marine reserves.
There is no one less concerned with the long term health of fisheries than the fishermen. They have a culture of short-term thinking, which is why they object to marine reserves; that reserves increase fish stocks outside, and lead to higher catches a few years later, is too long-term for them to appreciate.
27 August 2013 (Anti-gun-control forces concentrate money to defeat legislators)
Anti-gun-control forces are concentrating their money to defeat Colorado legislators who voted for gun control.
27 August 2013 (Japan demonstrates that stimulating the economy still works)
Japan is demonstrating that stimulating the economy still works.
We knew that in the US, too; but the plutocrats arranged for lots of economists to say that we need to cut the deficit.
27 August 2013 (Urgent: Oppose military involvement in Syria)
US citizens: phone the White House at 202-456-1111 to oppose military involvement in Syria.
Also, sign this petition.
27 August 2013 (Poor people logistically compelled to eat expensively)
Many poor people are logistically compelled to eat expensively; to eat cheap and healthy food, that theoretically would save them money, is out of practical range for them.
27 August 2013 (Tunisian group banned by prime minister)
A Tunisian group has been banned, accused of responsibility for assassinating two politicians.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]

The group might be guilty for all I know, but that should be proved in court, not decided by an official.
27 August 2013 (Greece should refuse to be "rescued" again)
Greece should refuse to be "rescued" again, since the previous "rescues" have only made things worse.
27 August 2013 (Jailed for failure to pay alimony while out of work)
Jail Becomes Home for Husband Stuck With Lifetime Alimony.

A professor told me he had been ordered to pay alimony and child support exceeding his salary. The sad thing is, he had a way to get that money. An evil way: proprietary software. It would have been more ethical to go to jail.
27 August 2013 (Former mayor of Salt Lake City to sue NSA)
The former mayor of Salt Lake City plans to sue the NSA for spying on all communications there prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics there.
27 August 2013 (NSA was already tapping emails in 1997)
Entrepreneur Chris Kitze says that in 1997 the NSA had already stuck computers into his company to tap all emails.
27 August 2013 (Google intimately involved with US gov't)
Julian Assange: Google has become intimately involved with the US government.
27 August 2013 (NSA spies on EU, UN, and IAEA)
The NSA systematically spies on the EU, the UN, and the IAEA. It has nothing to do with stopping terrorism, or even dissidents.
27 August 2013 (Slogan of unthinking patriotism)
In the US, "support the troops" is the slogan of unthinking patriotism.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
27 August 2013 (UN inspectors in Syria to ignore crucial question)
UN inspectors in Syria are only supposed to determine whether chemical weapons were used, not who used them.
However, the latter is the crucial question.
27 August 2013 (Zurich to provide safe facility for prostitutes)
Zurich will provide a safe facility for prostitutes to work in.
27 August 2013 (UK rebuked for its threats to the Guardian)
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers rebuked the UK for its threats to the Guardian.
27 August 2013 (The damage of privatization in Britain)
The damage of privatization in Britain, illustrated by taking a seaside holiday.
27 August 2013 (General monitoring of people causes psychological harm)
General monitoring of people causes various kinds of psychological harm.
27 August 2013 (Cuba cedes to US pressure, bars Snowden from traveling)
Reportedly Cuba ceded to US pressure to bar Snowden from traveling.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
This despite the fact that the US protects terrorists that made attacks in Cuba and imprisoned the Cuban 5 for infiltrating anti-Cuban terrorist groups and warning when they were going to attack.
26 August 2013 (California considers putting RFIDs into drivers' licenses)
California is considering putting RFIDs for tracking into drivers' licenses.
26 August 2013 (The elimination of 165 countries' equivalents of Glass-Steagall)
Greg Palast: How Larry Summers and Geithner bullied 165 countries into eliminating their equivalents of Glass-Steagall through the WTO.
And Obama is closely connected to their gang.
26 August 2013 (Google Play deletes man's whole collection of downloaded books)
Google Play deleted a man's whole collection of downloaded books because it saw he was in Singapore.
Android normally comes with Google Play, which is nonfree, so it's no surprise that it is malware too. Replicant, the free version of Android, does not contain Google Play.
26 August 2013 (The college loan racket)
The college loan racket screws all young Americans unless they are rich. If you go to college, you'll spend your life in debt; otherwise you can't get a job except at McDonald's.
Even if you're really smart and get a good job after college, you're not safe; you will be ruined permanently if you get fired or disabled.
Oregon's plan might be a solution: paying students' tuition in exchange for a share of their income.
However, people with poverty level incomes, or living on disability or other assistance, should not have to pay anything. They can barely get by anyway.
26 August 2013 (Boy Scouts of America bullying Hacker Scouts)
The Boy Scouts of America are bullying the Hacker Scouts, an organization which is very different in spirit and purpose.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
The BSA bans Atheists as members, which makes it discreditable in substance too.
26 August 2013 (Power of NSA in 1983)
1983: the power of the NSA was already dangerous.
26 August 2013 (Religious fanatics attacked Pastafarians)
Religious fanatics in Russia, encouraged by the dictatorship, attacked a small parade of Pastafarians.
26 August 2013 (Ecuador considering law to ban publication of secret documents)
Ecuador is considering a law to ban publication of secret documents, even if they have been published elsewhere.
The Obama regime makes itself a laughingstock for pretending that Wikileaks and Snowden material are still secrets; this law would do the same.
26 August 2013 (Jet Blue refused to let Hindu man board)
A Hindu man was taken for Muslim after he (not knowing why) set off the explosive detector in an airport, and his answers were misunderstood. But even after the TSA cleared him to fly, Jet Blue still refused to let him board.
Apparently someone on the flight crew exercised the despotic power kick anyone off, for no reason.
He thinks his home was subsequently searched and a photograph stolen.
26 August 2013 (Teens do care about being tracked through phones)
American teens do care about being tracked through portable phones. Over half of teenage girls have turned off location tracking — by their parents.
However, there is no way to stop Big Brother from tracking them, except to take the batteries out.
25 August 2013 (Colombians protest US-Colombia free trade treaty)
200,000 Colombians protested the US-Colombia free trade treaty, as part of a national strike.
Of course, the government said the strikers are controlled by the FARC and called them "terrorists". The FARC are terrorists, but not the biggest and worst terrorists in Colombia. That honor goes to the state-sponsored paramilitaries.
25 August 2013 (Beyond Intimidation)
Beyond Intimidation of Journalists
25 August 2013 (Internet companies got paid to put users in PRISM)
Internet companies that put their users in PRISM did so knowingly and got paid for the work.
25 August 2013 (Archeologists use drones to detect looting of ancient ruins)
Archeologists are using drones to detect looting of ancient ruins in Peru.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
25 August 2013 (Medecins Sans Frontieres urges countries to oppose TPP)
Medecins Sans Frontieres Urges Countries Not to Trade Away Health as Trans-Pacific Trade Pact Negotiations Intensify.
A treaty like this can't do anything good, except for the plutocrats.
25 August 2013 (MLK vs Obama)
Having Obama speak at the anniversary of MLK's March on Washington is a sacrilege.
25 August 2013 (UK imprisons Syrian dissident seeking asylum)
The UK imprisoned Syrian dissident Roudi Chikhi for using false papers to flee Syria to ask for asylum, and stole all his money too.
25 August 2013 (Progress in solar-powered vehicles)
Progress in solar-powered vehicles demonstrates that we ought to be putting hundreds of millions into research, rather than leaving the matter to a few enthusiasts.
25 August 2013 (Growing up in poverty tends to stunt children's development)
Growing up in poverty tends to stunt children's development permanently.
I'm sure it is true in the US too, though I don't have a study to point to. This is why we need a strong welfare system that lifts children out of poverty, not one that does only the bare minimum such as Clinton gave the US.
Of course, we also need to make it easy for poor people to avoid having children they can't afford to raise, by providing reliable contraception and abortion gratis to all women.
25 August 2013 (UN investigation of chemical weapons use in Syria)
Assad has agreed to cooperate with UN inspectors who are investigating use of chemical weapons.
If it is too late to detect the gas on the site, maybe autopsies can confirm that gas was used. The crucial question is who used it, and maybe some evidence about that can be found.
Assad and his supporters claim it was a false-flag operation by the rebels. I can't put it past them, but I think it is more likely that Assad's forces attacked with gas.
25 August 2013 (Obama hates our freedoms)
Obama hates our freedoms — he wants the Supreme Court to rule that thugs can search people's phones without a warrant.
25 August 2013 (Evidence of environmental harms from fracking buried by EPA)
The EPA buried its own evidence that fracking was dangerous, and Americans are increasingly organizing to block it — and now it turns out that the amount of gas that can be retrieved is much less than was thought.
In other words, we have to launch a massive program for renewable energy.
24 August 2013 (FISA rebukes NSA)
A 2011 FISA court decision, published in fragmentary form, rebuked the NSA for unconstitutionally stretching its surveillance powers.
24 August 2013 (Manning has asks Obama for pardon)
Manning has asked Obama for a pardon, and in the process, has taken back the ill-conceived apology.
Amnesty International says Obama should commute Manning's sentence and investigate the abuses he exposed.
I think Amnesty's stand is too weak. It should ask for a pardon, not a commutation.
24 August 2013 (Some NSA agents snoop on people they are attracted to)
Some NSA agents snoop on people they are attracted to.
Thugs have done this for ages ("running a plate for a date"), so it does not surprise me at all that NSA agents do it too. The crucial point is that there is nothing in the system to stop them from snooping on anyone they wish.
This validates Snowden's point that he could snoop on anyone. He wasn't "authorized" to do so, but he could do it.
The NSA staff call it "loveint", and the NSA punishes it, but only when it finds out. If a few cases have been discovered, there were probably many more that the NSA doesn't know about.
24 August 2013 (Urgent: "Fast Track" for the TPP)
US citizens: call on Congress not to allow "fast track" for the TPP.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]
24 August 2013 (Urgent: Stop equating journalism with terrorism)
In the US: tell the US and UK to stop equating journalism with terrorism.
24 August 2013 (Urgent: Treat workers decently)
In the US: tell Forever 21 you insist it treat workers decently.
24 August 2013 ("Big Data" often means "Big Intrusion".)
"Big Data" often means "Big Intrusion".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
24 August 2013 (US selling cluster bombs)
The US is selling 1300 cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia.
When cluster bombs are used, they kill children long after the war is over.
24 August 2013 (Global heating is good for some things)
Global heating is good for some things, such as the mosquito that spreads Dengue fever.
24 August 2013 (Urgent: Decent wage for Walmart workers)
In countries where Walmart operates: tell Walmart to respect their workers and pay a decent wage.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
24 August 2013 (Urgent: Funds transfers to China Labor Watch investigators)
Everyone: Call on Western Union to stop blocking funds transfers to China Labor Watch investigators that expose sweatshop practices in China.
24 August 2013 (Obama viewed against background of 1963 March on Washington)
Obama viewed against the background of the March on Washington 50 years ago.
24 August 2013 (Xu Zhiyong imprisoned for suggesting political discussions)
Xu Zhiyong has been imprisoned for suggesting that Chinese have dinner parties to discuss political issues.
24 August 2013 (Trance Pacific Partnership negotiations)
The US is running into stiff opposition in the Trance Pacific Partnership negotiations.
Apparently the other countries' negotiators are not entirely in a trance yet.
24 August 2013 (The lesson of Fukushima)
The lesson of Fukushima: nuclear reactors can explode. And there are dozens of reactors in the US which use the same design.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
24 August 2013 (The UK government's demand to destroy the Guardian's files)
The UK government's demand to destroy the Guardian's files was a direct attack against the foundation of democracy: freedom of the press to report how the state treats the people.
24 August 2013 (Forest fire threatens San Francisco water and electricity)
A 165-sq-mile forest fire in California is threatening to contaminate a reservoir for San Francisco as well as to destroy power lines that bring electricity there.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
24 August 2013 (Saudi censorship suppressing knowledge about MERS)
Saudi censorship is suppressing knowledge about MERS, which has killed half the people known to have contracted it. As a result, 3 million pilgrims to Mecca could get exposed to it and take it home with them.
24 August 2013 (Egypt after the revolution)
Egypt after the revolution: curfew nights and blood-stained days.
24 August 2013 (Koch brothers give up trying to buy Los Angeles Times)
The Koch brothers have reportedly given up on trying to buy the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers.
This avoided an immediate defeat but may not be a lasting victory.
24 August 2013 (Did US or UK make damaging leak)
Did the US or UK make a damaging leak pretending it came from Snowden?
24 August 2013 (Journalist hit on head with crowbar)
A journalist in Kazakhstan was hit on the head with a crowbar.
In the US they just get threatened with imprisonment.
24 August 2013 (Apple designing new surveillance product)
Apple is designing a new product to do surveillance on people's movements even more than mobile phones.
The idea of a "trust" to protect the use of the data is ridiculous. It won't be able to withhold anything from the NSA or GCHQ. It would be hard pressed to withhold anything from subpoenas for private lawsuits. Digital toll collection records are often subpoenaed.
24 August 2013 (Summarizing the NSA's series of lies)
Summarizing the NSA's series of lies.
24 August 2013 (Refuting lies about Washington's GMO-labeling initiative)
Refuting lies about Washington's GMO-labeling initiative.
24 August 2013 (Urgent: Dump Sallie Mae for predatory behavior)
US citizens: call on the Department of Education to dump Sallie Mae for predatory behavior that violated its contract.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
24 August 2013 (Urgent: Negotiate with new president of Iran)
Everyone: call on Obama to negotiate with the new president of Iran.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
24 August 2013 (Urgent: Sign petition in support of Justin Carter)
Everyone: sign this petition in support of Justin Carter, facing 8 years in prison for a joke threat that he said was a joke.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
It's not wise to make joke threats on the Internet. Carter should get a warning from the judge: "Remember, when you're on the Internet, lots of strangers are see or hear everything you say. You can't joke around as if you were among friends." I am sure he would learn that lesson.
I expect that the judge knows this, but takes pleasure in applying perverse "zero tolerance".
24 August 2013 (Taxing churches)
In favor of taxing churches — all of them.
24 August 2013 (Malaysia's gov't plans to extend snooping)
With the US morally compromised, now Malaysia's government plans to extend its snooping powers.
24 August 2013 (Mathematicians, why are you not speaking out?)
An Open Letter to My Former NSA Colleagues: Mathematicians, why are you not speaking out?
24 August 2013 (Royalties from oil drilling go to health care)
Brazil will pass a law that requires all royalties from oil drilling to go to health care. This has good and bad sides.
24 August 2013 (Rape victim will not be flogged)
A teenager in the Maldive Islands will not be flogged for having been raped.
This is a step forward, but they must do more: people who have sex voluntarily should not be punished either.
Can you guess which religion dominates the Maldive Islands?
23 August 2013 ('Outing Corporate Evil' protests)
'Outing Corporate Evil,' One City at a Time.
23 August 2013 (Making thugs wear cameras makes them less thuggish)
Making all thugs wear cameras makes them considerably less thuggish.
People working for the state are not entitled to the same rights of privacy that everyone else deserves, and if there's anyone for whom surveillance is necessary, it's the thugs. So I am mostly in favor of this. However, this could lead to intrusive surveillance too.
23 August 2013 (Global heating: risk management failure)
Global heating seen as humanity's greatest-ever risk management failure.
23 August 2013 (Seabirds threatened by global heating)
Seabirds are threatened by global heating.
The world's general slow rise in sea level paused during 2010 and 2011 because the water was piled on parts of Australia instead.
23 August 2013 (Kucinich says Snowden should get a parade and NSA should be abolished)
Kucinich says, give Snowden a ticker-tape parade and abolish the NSA.
I broadly sympathize, but given how badly the banksters have mauled our country, I am not sure a ticker-tape parade is appropriate treatment for a hero.
23 August 2013 (Corporate America's Greatest Weapon)
Cynicism is Corporate America's Greatest Weapon: Disarm It.
23 August 2013 (Manning sentenced to 35 years in prison)
Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison for revealing US crimes. When will we prosecute the ones who committed those crimes?
23 August 2013 (Fukushima could be much worse then "authorities" admit)
Some nuclear experts warn that the situation in Fukushima could be much worse than the "authorities" admit.
23 August 2013 (Urgent: Demand that next Fed chairman answer crucial questions)
US citizens: demand that the next chairman of the Federal Reserve answer some crucial questions.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
23 August 2013 (Plutocrats aim to inflame public)
Plutocratic politicians in ALEC aim to inflame the public against people who are oppressed a little less than they.
Of course, the ones you ought to hate are the plutocrats that fund and direct ALEC.
23 August 2013 (Militarization of thugs in the US)
The ACLU on the steady militarization of thugs in the US.
23 August 2013 (US director of "national security" started blog)
The US director of "national security" has started a blog with the aim of "more transparency".
This reflects his persistent campaign to make our activities and conversations more transparent to them.
23 August 2013 (Ladar Levison can't talk about court battle for privacy rights)
Ladar Levison can't talk about his court battle for our privacy rights, but he's drawing a lot of attention to the issue.
23 August 2013 (Inadequate measures to encourage universities to compete)
Obama proposes totally inadequate measures to encourage universities to compete on tuition.
23 August 2013 (Children in Pakistan getting sick with polio)
Children in Pakistan are getting sick with polio: perhaps this will convince the religious crazies to allow vaccination.
23 August 2013 (Mubarak released from prison)
Former dictator Mubarak was released from prison but will be held under house arrest.
23 August 2013 (UK should re nationalize railroads)
The UK should re-nationalize its railroads.
23 August 2013 (Correction: Clegg has not endorsed interrogation of David Miranda)
Correction: Clegg, head of the Lib Dems, has not endorsed the interrogation of David Miranda and seizure of his computer data.
Miranda's lawyers have won a symbolic victory with the court order for the state not to touch Miranda's memories "unless it is for the purpose of ensuring the protection [of] national security or for investigating whether Miranda is himself involved in the commission, instigation or preparation of an act of terrorism".
At present, it is only symbolic. Whatever they wish to do, they will do it anyway and say it is "protection of national security". Besides, they have surely given copies to the NSA, which will not be affected by this court order. In other words, they will continue playing the court, and the people, for fools.
22 August 2013 (Federal employees can be fired or punished arbitrarily)
A US court ruled that federal employees in "national security sensitive" positions can be fired or punished arbitrarily.
The next step will be for the government to drive them to suicide, to make sure they can't flee and start revealing dirty government secrets.
22 August 2013 (Over 50 large wildfires burning in western US)
Over 50 large wildfires are burning in the western US.
22 August 2013 (Air pollution monitoring stations face closure)
The cheap solution to air pollution: stop measuring it.
22 August 2013 (Force-feeding of prisoners prepared to fast to death)
Force-feeding prisoners who are prepared to fast to death solves nothing.
If they doubt whether prisoners really meant to order "don't feed me", why not just ask them now?
22 August 2013 (Thousands of prisoners killed by British thugs since 1969)
British thugs have killed thousands of prisoners since 1969, the last time a thug was punished for doing that.
Worse, relatives of the victims who campaigned for justice were subject to secret surveillance by thugs defending their buddies. But they still say, "if you're innocent, you have nothing to fear."
22 August 2013 (Declassified court document from 2011 about NSA's spying on Americans)
NSA gathered thousands of Americans' e-mails before court ordered it to revise its tactics.
22 August 2013 (Implications of Assad's apparent poison gas attack)
On the implications of Assad's apparent poison gas attack.
The fact that jihadis are fighting Assad makes it hard to see a way to help the rebels without potentially bringing to power those who are worse.
22 August 2013 (Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years imprisonment)
Bradley Manning was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment.
He got a far longer sentence than others convicted of espionage; perhaps because Manning gave information, not secretly to an enemy, but publicly to the people that the US government betrays every day.
22 August 2013 (Release of former Egyptian dictator Mubarak from prison)
Former Egyptian dictator Mubarak will be released from prison.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Will he be put back in power?
22 August 2013 (New Zealand votes to legalize more spying on everyone)
Another defeat for freedom: New Zealand voted to legalize more spying on everyone.
22 August 2013 (NSA collects 75% of US Internet traffic)
The NSA collects 75% of US Internet traffic.
Correction — it is 75% of communications traffic, which does not include distribution of TV shows, etc. Also, the word "collects" is not quite accurate; rather, this measures the fraction of the communications that the NSA searches through.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 August 2013 (Comcast threatens to sue Torrentfreak for publishing subpoena)
Comcast threatened to sue Torrentfreak for copyright infringement over publication of a subpoena, a court document in the public domain.
22 August 2013 (Six questions journalists should ask Obama)
Six Questions Journalists Should Ask Barack Obama When He Visits (Enter Your Country Name Here).
22 August 2013 (Miranda's Rights)
Miranda's Rights: How Europe Can Learn from Latin America's Independence.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 August 2013 (NFL cracks down on fans with prohibitions)
Using the Boston bombings as a pretext, the National Football League now prohibits fans from bringing in suitcases, fanny packs, even a thermos.
If I couldn't bring my computer in, that rules me out.
I'd never want to go to a football game, so this does not affect me, not directly. But the dangerous current will threaten everyone.
22 August 2013 (Government)
Government Works Fine, Just Not For You (i.e., non-plutocrats).
22 August 2013 (Interrogation of David Miranda ordered by UK prime minister)
The UK prime minister directly ordered the interrogation of David Miranda.
Even more horrible, the head of the Liberal Democrats supported the pretext for destroying the Guardian's disk drives.
22 August 2013 (Russia blocks Greenpeace icebreaker from entering Arctic sea)
Russia blocked a Greenpeace icebreaker from entering the Arctic sea, on the peculiar grounds that it isn't strong enough to deal with the little remaining ice.
21 August 2013 (The American Dream)
The American Dream Rewards Few, Enslaves Millions.
Only through collective action against the plutocracy can most Americans make their lives better.
21 August 2013 (The increasing frequency of severe heat waves)
More detail about the increasing frequency of severe heat waves, the damage they to do people and to agriculture, and how ceasing or continuing to emit greenhouse gases will affect the outcome.
21 August 2013 (Syrian rebels claim regime's troops fired poison gas missiles)
Syrian rebels claim the regime's troops fired poison gas missiles that killed over 200 people.
21 August 2013 (Leak from tank of contaminated water at Fukushima)
A tank of contaminated water at Fukushima has leaked, and the area around it is now dangerously radioactive.
21 August 2013 (Egyptian army and thugs' disregard for human life)
Amnesty International condemned the Egyptian army and thugs' "blatant disregard for human life", and calls for cutting off arms supplies to the government of Egypt.
[References updated on 2018-03-10 because the old links were broken.]
21 August 2013 (Heavy use of Facebook)
A study found that heavy use of Facebook tends to make people sad, independent of how the users felt at the start of the study.
The study eliminated the hypothesis that people used Facebook more because they were sadder to begin with.
This is not yet proof, but given so many other reasons to avoid Facebook, why not take this precaution?
21 August 2013 (Israel designates almost 1/5 of West Bank as "military firing zones")
Israel has designated almost 1/5 of the West Bank as "military firing zones" as an excuse to kick Palestinians off their land.
21 August 2013 (Israel forces Palestinian to pay to demolish his own home)
Israel forced a Palestinian to pay to demolish his own home in Jerusalem.
21 August 2013 (Undercover infiltration of dissident movements)
The UK undercover thugs that infiltrated dissident movements seem to be part of an organized plan including all European governments, the US, and other countries. The governments involved refuse to investigate.
In the US, we have been unable to get it to become a scandal. Perhaps because the mainstream media have stayed away from it.
21 August 2013 (The kind of biofuel that oil companies promote)
When oil companies promote biofuel, it's the kind of biofuel made by diverting land, water and chemical fertilizer that could have grown food. So it is a kind of greenwashing.
21 August 2013 (Why did Putin release Navalny?)
Conjecture: Alexei Navalny has been groomed by Putin to divide opposition and lead it nowhere.
21 August 2013 (UK makes single parents jump through arbitrary hoops to get welfare)
The UK treats single parents as unemployed people, and makes them jump through many arbitrary hoops to get welfare payments. If they fail to get all the hoops — perhaps because they are taking care of their kids — then the state cuts off their money and says it's their fault.
This is the face of plutocracy. The people who set up this scheme deserve no mercy, and those who carry it out deserve none either unless they quit.
21 August 2013 (Urgent: Condemn the detention of David Miranda)
US citizens: tell the UK we condemn the detention of David Miranda.
21 August 2013 (Homeless people to face choice of jail or jail-like "shelter")
Columbia, South Carolina, will give homeless people a choice between real jail and a "shelter" that is much like a jail.
21 August 2013 (Changing IP address to access public sites ruled a crime)
A court ruled that changing your machine's IP address to get access to a public web site is a crime under the CFAA.
This absurd result adds to the need to reform the CFAA.
21 August 2013 (US full-time jobs converted into part-time subsistence jobs)
Under the shadow of the recession, US companies have massively converted well-paid full-time jobs into part-time subsistence jobs.
21 August 2013 (Court allows California thugs to force-feed prisoners)
A court ruled that thugs can force-feed prisoners on hunger strike who signed papers saying to let them die.
Many of these prisoners have been put in solitary for a long time after they were falsely declared gang members based on coincidences.
21 August 2013 (Guantanamo guards did not allow Solzhenistsyn's Gulag Archipelago)
The Guantanamo prison guards did not allow a prisoner to get a copy of Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago.
Perhaps the guards are afraid the prisoners will see some similarity to their own lives.
21 August 2013 (UK thug whistleblower threatened)
UK thug whistleblower Peter Francis says the thugs are threatening to prosecute him for revealing the dirty work he did for them. He refuses to speak to the official inquiry because he suspects they will use his testimony to punish him.
21 August 2013 (The Guardian destroyed its London copies of Snowden's revelations)
The Guardian destroyed its London copies of Snowden's revelations to avoid the damage that would have been done by handing them to the regime, or being legally banned from talking about them at all.
21 August 2013 (Terror threat has become the excuse to curtail our rights)
"As in Russia, the terror threat has become the excuse to curtail our rights".
And in Egypt too.
21 August 2013 (Oswaldo Paya's relatives have sued)
Oswaldo Paya's relatives have sued Cuban officials for killing him.
21 August 2013 (Today is Earth Overshoot Day)
Today is Earth Overshoot Day, when humanity has consumed more natural resources since January 1 than our biosphere can replace in the whole year.
21 August 2013 (Low wages in US)
The low wages allowed in the US hurt and cost everyone (except the plutocrats).
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
21 August 2013 (The Moment the US Ended Iran's Brief Experiment in Democracy)
The Moment the US Ended Iran's Brief Experiment in Democracy.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
21 August 2013 (Libya is on the verge of disintegration)
Libya is on the verge of disintegration.
21 August 2013 (UK gov't said it interrogated Miranda because he was carrying "stolen documents")
The UK government said it interrogated David Miranda because he was carrying "stolen documents" — which could only refer to the information Snowden gave to Glenn Greenwald.
This claim is both absurd and outrageous. The absurdity is that Greenwald already has copies of all that material, so if Miranda was carrying more copies, it was irrelevant. The only significant thing Miranda might have had would be their journalistic work, which was not stolen from anyone.
The outrage is that the state has now declared its intention to wage unrestricted war against journalists. This is the UK's Putin moment, it shifts from trying to cover up its tyrannical deeds to proudly announcing them.
21 August 2013 (UK needs deep public inquiry into thugs' infiltration)
The UK needs a deep public inquiry into the thugs' infiltration of anti-fascist groups and aid to construction blacklists.
This is also one of the reasons why massive surveillance is dangerous.
21 August 2013 (Manicurists in UK have been trafficked)
100,000 manicurists in the UK are Vietnamese, and most of them have been trafficked.
The crucial questions are, how did they get there, and what keeps them there? If they are there involuntarily, what stops them from escaping?
21 August 2013 (Don't pathologize heroism)
Don't pathologize heroism, warns a soldier who confesses his cowardice, in failing to blow the whistle on the gratuitous violence his unit carried out against Iraqis.
21 August 2013 (Groklaw has shut down)
Groklaw has shut down because it can no longer protect its sources due to massive surveillance.
Here's Pamela Jones' statement.
21 August 2013 (Musharraf faces charges of murdering Benazir Bhutto)
Former Pakistani dictator Musharraf faces charges of murdering Benazir Bhutto, on the grounds that he took away her bodyguards when she was receiving death threats.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
21 August 2013 (Urgent: Stop attacking and intimidating journalists)
Everyone: tell the US and UK to stop attacking and intimidating journalists.
20 August 2013 (US cooperates with Egyptian military)
The US cooperates with the Egyptian military in return for convenience in attacking other countries.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Note how the New York Times headline, "Ties With Egypt Army Constrain Washington," presumes that the US could not possibly forfeit Egypt's military cooperation — a considerable exaggeration compared with the facts stated.
20 August 2013 (UK gov't forced The Guardian to delete all of Snowden's material)
The UK government forced the Guardian's London office to delete all of Snowden's material, on threat of seizing it.
Fortunately there were copies elsewhere, but this illustrates the fact that the UK and US governments will go to any lengths of lies and abuse to crush journalism that investigates their nastiest secrets.
It won't remain limited to those issues, because the plutocratic state is in cahoots with corporations that endanger our lives, health, and liberty. We have seen the UK thugs help businesses blacklist workers, while in the US, investigating factory farms is now a crime in many states.
These examples demonstrate that the US or UK will use its repressive power against any journalism that business finds annoying — not that different from China.
20 August 2013 (David Miranda describes interrogation)
David Miranda describes his nine-hour interrogation.
Using the "anti-terror" law to interrogate dissidents entering the UK is standard practice.
20 August 2013 (Egyptian thugs killed 36 prisoners)
Egyptian thugs killed 36 prisoners. The thugs said they were shot (with teargas) while trying to escape.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
20 August 2013 (Email is inherently unsafe)
If you are a journalist, or anyone else that must fear a repressive state, email is inherently unsafe, because you can't hide who you are talking with (i.e., metadata).
The article refers to trade secrets as "intellectual property", which is a gratuitous confusion because it conflates them with unrelated issues such as copyrights and patents. Every time the term "intellectual property" is used, it causes confusion — please join me in avoiding that term.
20 August 2013 (Urgent: Implore Tribune Company not to sell to Koch)
In the US: implore the Tribune Company not to sell its newspapers to the Koch brothers.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
20 August 2013 (Urgent: Support the Save America's Pollinators Act)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support the Save America's Pollinators Act.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
20 August 2013 (Floods in coastal cities)
By 2050, floods in coastal cities will cause a trillion dollars of damage per year.
In the US, Miami, New York and New Orleans are at high risk.
20 August 2013 (UK won't let people block fracking)
The UK helps people block wind farms even miles away from their homes, but won't let people block fracking even 10 feet away. Why this inconsistency? George Monbiot says he thinks that extraction is more macho.
He could be partly right, but I suspect that the extractors offer more money to corrupt the politicians.
Fracking debate: what does the battle for lead-free air teach us?
20 August 2013 (Thousands protested against fracking in England)
Thousands protested against fracking in England.
20 August 2013 (Urgent: Call on Kerry to prove he is serious about peace negotiations)
Everyone: call on Kerry to prove he is serious about peace negotiations by demanding that Israel cease expanding its colonies in Palestinian territory.
20 August 2013 (Urgent: Block USDA from letting poultry companies inspect themselves)
US citizens: call on Obama to block the USDA from letting poultry companies inspect themselves, and increase the contamination that's permitted.
Letting these companies "police themselves" is worse than letting teenage street gang members do so, because the companies have worse morals and are less trustworthy.
20 August 2013 (Propaganda)
US propaganda presents officials as "idealists" who wish they could make a better world — with no resemblance to the truth about them.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
20 August 2013 (Karzai)
Karzai fired a cabinet minister for meeting with Taliban negotiators.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
20 August 2013 (Egypt)
Islamist rebels in the Sinai stopped buses of Egyptian thugs and killed them.

The violent Islamists may be the worse of the two, in regard to disrespect for human rights, but we should not take this as excusing the massacres of nonviolent Islamists last week.
20 August 2013 (David Miranda)
"The innocent have nothing to fear?" They do if they embarrass America and happen to visit British soil.

The Brazilian government and MPs are rebuking the UK thugs for arresting David Miranda and taking his computer memories.

I've read that his computer memories included information obtained from Laura Poitras that he was bringing to Glenn Greenwald. This makes me worry: will the NSA be able to decrypt it? If they did not send it through the Internet, they must have been concerned about this possibility.

I hope Big Brother did not get anything important.
20 August 2013 (Education Standards)
The "Common Core" education standards, imposed on the US by the Gates Foundation, threaten to turn out to be the next stage in using standardized tests to declare children and public schools "failures".
20 August 2013 (US)
The military grip on US policing.
20 August 2013 (Obama's Speech)
Obama's speech about surveillance shows he wants to lull the public into forgetting about the problem, not correct it.

He also wants us to believe that his willingness to even pretend to discuss the issue is not due to Snowden.
20 August 2013 (Texas)
On two occasions recently, Texas thugs performed body cavity searches for no obvious reason on women stopped for speeding or littering (though the women deny those accusations).
20 August 2013 (Claim)
Ways to respond to the claim that "copying is stealing".
20 August 2013 (US Government)
The US government is making lots of money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but it is unable to do anything useful with the money.
20 August 2013 (Idaho)
Two wildfires in Idaho have burned almost 400 square miles.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
20 August 2013 (David Miranda)
The UK confiscated journalist David Miranda's computers and memories as he passed through Heathrow Airport, using powers supposedly meant for dealing with terrorists.

When the government says "terrorists", it means dissidents and journalists, or anyone that stands in the way of its abuse of power. If occasionally a would-be terrorist gets caught up in the net, they consider that a bonus.

David Miranda is Glenn Greenwald's mate, and this appears to be an attempt to intimidate Greenwald. But Greenwald is not intimidated.

If the UK regime still fears public disapproval, Greenwald will make it regret this.
20 August 2013 (Protest)
Over 2000 marched against fracking in the UK.
20 August 2013 (UK)
UK thugs investigated anti-fascist campaigners so as to blacklist them so they could not work.
20 August 2013 (Egypt)
The Muslim Brotherhood held protest marches, which were not attacked.
20 August 2013 (Refugees)
Jihadis in Syria attacked the Syrian Kurds, so 20,000 refugees have fled to the Kurdish part of Iraq.
20 August 2013 (Droughts)
A heat wave and drought are destroying the crops in Austria and Hungary.

We get droughts like this every year (though not always in the same place). And this is just the beginning.
20 August 2013 (Australian Aboriginals)
Australian aboriginals have a very high rate of problem drinking, but is jailing them if they don't go for rehabilitation a good solution?

If rehabilitation were a reliable treatment, perhaps no one would refuse it. But as far as I know, for alcoholics to stay sober requires a deep commitment. The threat of jail can make someone go to an activity, but can't give someone that kind of commitment. So I don't see how this can achieve its goal.

There is surely a relationship between the high consumption of alcohol and the way aboriginals were kicked off their land and continue to be downtrodden. Changing that may be the only way to correct this (though it will take decades).
20 August 2013 (Portugal)
Retired people in Portugal are protesting daily against the plan to cut their pensions to the bone.
20 August 2013 (Martin Manley)
Martin Manley set up a web site to represent him after his suicide, but Yahoo arbitrarily took it down.

His sister say Yahoo should put it back because Manley did not advocate suicide for others. But what if he had? That is no reason for censorship.
19 August 2013 (Urgent: Call on Herakles Farms not to cut down rainforest)
US citizens: call on Herakles Farms not to cut down 300 square miles of rainforest in Cameroon, which is habitat for chimpanzees and other threatened species.
19 August 2013 (Urgent: Oppose appointing Summers as head of Federal Reserve)
US citizens: sign this petition against appointing Larry Summers as head of the Federal Reserve.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
This is a different petition; if you signed the other, please sign this too.
19 August 2013 (What's Lost When Everything Is Recorded)
Technology to record all conversations could turn life into something unrecognizable.
19 August 2013 (Russia plans to ban Tor)
Russia plans to ban Tor, demonstrating how essential Tor is for resisting tyranny.
If the state has grounds to suspect that a person is committing crimes, it has many other ways to investigate, including planting microphones where that person lives and works. These take some effort, however, which is as it should be.
19 August 2013 (NSA's 2776 "accidental" violations of its own rules)
The NSA's 2776 "accidental" violations of its own rules in a 12-month period covered just the NSA headquarters. And the NSA concealed this report from the Senate Intelligence Committee until the committee saw the leak and asked for it.
19 August 2013 (Time Magazine writer says he wants to see US assassinate Julian Assange)
A Time Magazine writer said he wants to see the US assassinate Julian Assange.
19 August 2013 (Schools ban manga showing atrocities committed by Japanese troops)
Some Japanese schools won't let students read a famous manga book because it shows some of the atrocities that Japanese troops committed during the occupation of other countries.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
One kind of atrocity they committed was waterboarding. The US executed some Japanese soldiers for this. However, the US has done nothing to punish the Americans responsible for committing the same brutal act.
It's clear that the Japanese officials who imposed this censorship care more about whether Japan looks good than whether Japan is good. You can see the same behavior pattern in officials in other countries.
The capacity to commit atrocities exists in every nation. Thus, all governments must do their best to prevent atrocities by holding perpetrators responsible.
19 August 2013 (Uri Avnery on Israel's chutzpah)
Uri Avnery: Israel deserves the Guinness record for chutzpah, for condemning Palestinian "provocations" that are dwarfed by Israel's own provocations.
19 August 2013 (Salmon farm companies trying to take water needed by wild salmon)
Companies running salmon farms on the US west coast are trying to take water that needs to be released to rivers so that wild salmon can survive.
19 August 2013 (Statement from Government Accountability Project)
Government Accountability Project: Statement on Edward Snowden & NSA Domestic Surveillance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
19 August 2013 (Whistleblower Protection Act wouldn't have applied to Snowden)
Obama claimed that Snowden should have taken advantage of the protections in the Whistleblower Protection Act. But they didn't apply to him, since he employed by a contractor, not by the US government.
Even if that law had applied to him, other examples show he would have been a fool to try to depend on it.
19 August 2013 (US-run international "aid" for Haiti)
The US runs international "aid" for Haiti so that it goes to create resorts, mines and sweatshops owned by foreigners — while doing little for the Haitians who have been homeless for three years.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
19 August 2013 (Why massive surveillance is a threat to you)
Why the massive surveillance that Snowden showed to us is a threat to you … no matter who you are or what you do.
19 August 2013 (UK law professor suggests prison is wrong punishment for thieves)
A UK law professor suggests that prison is the wrong punishment for thieves.
19 August 2013 (Al Qa'ida too small to qualify as enemy to be at war with)
Under the standards of international law, al Qa'ida is too puny to qualify as an enemy to be at war with. It is unable to carry out military operations.
Thus, the US should stop treating this as a war.
Obama misused the word "decimated", which means to kill 1/10 of the soldiers in a military unit. (It was a Roman punishment for mutiny.) Al Qa'ida has been far more than decimated.
19 August 2013 ("Statesman" John Kerry)
Any Other 'Statesman' Who Negotiated Peace Like John Kerry Would Be Treated as a Thief.
19 August 2013 (UK housing bubble)
The UK had a housing bubble, fueled, like the US housing bubble, by enticing people into predatory mortgages, for which the capital was obtained by mortgage-backed securities. This article explains the whole process clearly.
In the US, the bubble popped and mortgage-backed securities lead to the systematic foreclosure fraud.
In the UK, according to this article, the bubble didn't stay popped; rather, the government patched it up and is blowing more mortgage funds into it.
Without the bubble's high prices, there would have been no need for so much money to pour into mortgages. Thus, I think mortgage-backed securities should be banned entirely.
However, the low rate of housing construction in the UK is also responsible.
19 August 2013 (Action by Hong Kong gov't suggests plan to repress protest)
Hong Kong's government is asking high-ranking thugs who are due to retire soon to stay on the job an extra 90 days, because of a planned Occupy protest.
This suggests to me that Hong Kong plans to repress the protest camp, as the US, UK, and other countries have done.
18 August 2013 (Mugabe Script with a Different Cast)
Uganda: Rigged Elections And Mysterious Killings: It's the Mugabe Script with a Different Cast.
18 August 2013 (Muslim Brotherhood and military supporters accusing US of supporting other side)
In Egypt, both the Muslim Brotherhood and the supporters of the military are accusing the US of supporting the other side.
18 August 2013 ("Smart" meters are sabotage devices)
"Smart" electricity meters are not only surveillance devices, but sabotage devices too.
It is most likely that crackers from China could turn off your electric supply at will. It is certain that agents from your own unjust and lawless state could do so.
18 August 2013 (Why Isn't Beirut Bombing Called "Terrorist"?)
Why Isn't Beirut Bombing Called "Terrorist"?
18 August 2013 (Bloodbaths Are Now a Daily Occurrence)
The Police Keep Firing; The Bodies Pile Up. In Cairo, Bloodbaths Are Now a Daily Occurrence.
18 August 2013 (Egypt: a coup is a coup)
Egypt: we may despise the Muslim Brotherhood, but a coup is a coup.
18 August 2013 (Suing Dubya for war crimes)
Sundus Shaker Saleh, an Iraqi, is suing Dubya for war crimes.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
18 August 2013 (US nuclear power plants are sitting ducks for terrorist attacks)
US nuclear power plants are sitting ducks for terrorist attacks. Essentially nothing has been done to protect them since 2001.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
18 August 2013 (UK working people use food banks)
The UK government's plutocratic policies are pushing even working people to use food banks.
18 August 2013 (Egyptian soldiers attacked a mosque)
Egyptian soldiers attacked a mosque occupied by pro-Morsi protesters. Armed men fired from the minaret. The protesters say that the doors to the minaret were controlled by the thugs, which would suggest that this was a false flag operation meant to create an excuse to attack the protesters. But even if they were real Morsi-supporters shooting at the soldiers, after being victims of a massacre while unarmed, they can't be blamed for fighting back.
Most Egyptians seem to be glad that the Muslim Brotherhood is out of power. I too would be glad of that if I were Egyptian. But banning the Muslim Brotherhood means excluding a large part of society from democracy. This is a recipe for inspiring an armed Islamic terrorist movement to replace the nonviolent movement that has just been defeated.
Fighting that will require long-term repression. How can there be room for democracy alongside that? I think the military are planning not to allow democracy.
18 August 2013 (Bahrainis have launched a renewed push for freedom)
Bahrainis have launched a renewed push for freedom despite laws more repressive than ever. Will the US support the repression because a fleet is based there?
18 August 2013 (A cute video can put a species in danger)
A cute video can put a species in danger.
18 August 2013 (Cruelty on the Internet)
Psychotherapy can teach people to refrain from cruelty on the Internet.
18 August 2013 (E-book publishers plan to use watermarks)
E-book publishers plan to use watermarks to identify who purchased a copy.
This is a further reason not to buy any e-book in a way that identifies you.
18 August 2013 (Prisoners with mental illness and solitary confinement)
Ever since New York State was ordered to stop keeping prisoners in solitary confinement if they had serious mental illness, there has been a mysterious trend to diagnose prisoners with mild mental illness instead. At least one seriously ill prisoner was driven to suicide by solitary confinement.
I have no easy answer for what to do with people like Amir Hall. However, any solution probably involves spending more money. If we end the war on drugs, and free lots of prisoners that shouldn't have been imprisoned in the first place, we could afford to care properly for those that we do need to imprison.
18 August 2013 (Merger between two large airlines in the US is being blocked)
A merger between two large airlines in the US is being blocked because an executive admitted the goal was to raise fares.
We are fortunate that these executives confessed the truth of their merger scheme, but in the future there will be other executives and they will learn from this mistake. We must not depend on such confessions in order to thwart them.
Oligopoly (just a few major sellers) starts to cause some of the same harms as monopoly (one single seller). Therefore, any merger that would create a company having over 8% of some market should be blocked automatically; and if it would have more than 4% of some market, it should face stiff disincentives.
18 August 2013 (Africa's richest woman)
Africa's richest woman is the daughter of the dictator of Angola — and not by coincidence.
18 August 2013 (Saudi prince has defected)
A Saudi prince has defected and describes how the regime persecutes anyone that calls for human rights.
18 August 2013 (America's cheering millions of high school graduates toward college)
America's cheering millions of high school graduates toward college every year, feeding them into the debt grinder under the banner of increased opportunity, when full disclosure would require admitting that there isn't a hell of a lot waiting for them on the other side, where the middle class has nearly vanished and full employment is going the way of the dodo.
18 August 2013 (Ladar Levison may face prosecution for shutting down Lavabit)
Ladar Levison says he may face prosecution for shutting down Lavabit.
18 August 2013 (Washington Post's new owner)
Will Bezos, as owner of the Washington Post, stand up to US pressure to conceal government wrongdoing? Not if Amazon is any guide.
18 August 2013 (Urgent: Thank Richard Pelletier)
US citizens: thank EPA official Richard Pelletier, who refused to lift Billionaire Polluter's suspension from bidding for US government contracts.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
BP has not been punished enough to teach it or other oil companies a lesson.
18 August 2013 (US arms aid to Egypt)
One reason the US doesn't cut off arms aid to Egypt is that the aid really goes to US arms companies.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
18 August 2013 (Médecins Sans Frontiéres withdraws from Somalia)
Médecins Sans Frontiéres has withdrawn from Somalia because gangs and militias, some of them allied with the government, are killing aid workers and kidnapping them for ransom.
18 August 2013 (Israel to pay students to post pro-Israel statements)
Israel plans to pay hundreds of students to post pro-Israel statements on Twitter and Facebook.
18 August 2013 (Great Divestiture coupled with Great Risk Shift)
The Great Divestiture (privatization state services to human beings) has been coupled with the Great Risk Shift (employers dumping various responsibilities onto individuals).
What we need is not "economic recovery" but reversal of those two changes. We must nationalize; we must re-regulate. And, as the article says, we must aid and encourage unions.
18 August 2013 (Obama's unmet promise to give us transparency about drone attacks)
In May, Obama promised to give us transparency about drone attacks. He has done none of that.
Who Dies in Yemen Drone Strikes?
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
5 Myths Used to Justify Death By Drone and America's Assassination Policy.
17 August 2013 (Bloomberg wants electronic locks on NYC public housing)
Bloomberg wants to install electronic locks on New York City public housing. This means that the doors will record who enters and when, and deliver this info to the state.
Oh, he also proposed fingerprinting the residents.
17 August 2013 (Law that would really curb global heating)
Senators Sanders and Boxer propose a law that would really do something to curb global heating.
17 August 2013 (NYC Comptroller proposes legalization and regulated sale of marijuana)
New York City Comptroller Liu proposes legalization and regulated sale of marijuana.
His report estimates the city could save $31 million a year by legalizing sale of marijuana, and bring in $400 million a year by taxing it to keep the price the same.
That's without counting all the other benefits, in the form of decreased repression and lives not ruined.
17 August 2013 (Young Dalit women taking lead to campaign against rapes and murders)
Young Dalit women are taking the lead to campaign against the rapes and murders carried out by upper-cast people to keep them down.
The perpetrators' first line of defense are the thugs, who refuse to take reports of these crimes, and even conspire with the perpetrators, who have the support of their caste-mates.
This calls to mind the racist arbitrary searches of people on the street in New York City. I think the fact that they are arbitrary already makes them wrong, but the racist application of arbitrariness is part of a broader pattern.
In several cases listed, Dalit victims committed suicide. Suicide sometimes works as a protest, but if you do it in private, it only gives the oppressor a further victory. If you are ready to die because you can't bear the oppression, you may as well go down fighting.
17 August 2013 (The U.S. Behaves Nothing Like a Democracy)
Chomsky: The U.S. Behaves Nothing Like a Democracy, But You'll Never Hear About It in Our 'Free Press'.
17 August 2013 (UK gov't treats NHS hospitals like failing banks)
The Lancet says that the UK government treats NHS hospitals like failing banks, seeking to close them, and never mind health care.
17 August 2013 (NSA "errors" "the tip of the iceberg")
The thousands of "errors" per year that the NSA has confessed to are "the tip of the iceberg", according to Senators Wyden and Udall.
17 August 2013 (60 more Egyptians were killed today)
At 60 more Egyptians were killed today as Morsi supporters protested.
Random violence plays into the hands of the military, which will use it as an excuse to condemn Morsi supporters. Therefore, I suspect that the unidentified gunmen who shot at passersby on the bridge in Cairo were from the military.
It seems there were armed men among the protesters, but they did not start the firing. Thugs seemed to be out to kill protesters for the sake of killing.
17 August 2013 (Zimbabwe opposition dropped court challenge to election)
The Zimbabwe opposition dropped its court challenge to the election, saying this is because the government refused to reveal crucial information about the vote.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
It is not clear what information this was.
17 August 2013 (SWAT teams for noise complaints)
US cities are sending SWAT teams for noise complaints and other matters where violence is not particularly likely.
That tends to cause violence.
17 August 2013 (4000 US women were forced to have babies)
4000 US women were forced to have babies in 2008 because they could not scrape together the money for an abortion until it was too late.
The figure will have risen since then because so many more Americans have become poor.
Women who cannot afford an abortion can't afford to raise children either.
17 August 2013 (Beyond Keystone XL)
Beyond Keystone XL: three other controversial pipelines.
17 August 2013 (Government's perpetual lies about massive surveillance)
First they came for the terrorists and the foreigners, and no one did anything. Then they came for the drug dealers. Then the tax cheats. Then the journalists. And that's just what we know about. How much worse does it have to get before we say enough is enough?
17 August 2013 (Tech company executives must fight government surveillance)
Tech company executives: fight government surveillance, or users will find out you didn't.
They are not limited to fighting in court. They can lobby, too.
17 August 2013 (Apple gets patent on phone back door)
Apple has got a patent on a phone or camera back door that would let Big Brother's men disable functions such as photography.
Actually implementing the idea would be a vicious attack on human rights, and would leave people vulnerable to the persistent abuse and lies of the state's forces.
Patenting the idea has no direct effect on users. It means that others would have to get permission from Apple if they wanted to implement this. But it shows Apple is at least thinking about trying to do this to us.
17 August 2013 (Barrett Brown)
The Strange Case of Barrett Brown Just Got Stranger.
Explaining all the charges against Barrett Brown.
17 August 2013 (Human rights case against Cisco)
EFF Supports Human Rights Case Against Cisco for Selling Surveillance Technologies to China.
I think it is wrong to sell them to the US government, too.
17 August 2013 (FISA court says it can not control NSA)
The FISA court says it really has no ability to control the NSA. So the rare occasions when it says "no", that may not have much effect.
Obama said that there were three pillars of oversight of NSA mass surveillance, but all three turn out to be empty.
17 August 2013 (News organizations use copyright to hush embarrassments)
News organizations are using copyright to hush up their embarrassments.
Now that I have read (for the first time) the joke pilot names, I reject the accusation that this joke was "racist". Making jokes about names and words in any language is normal humor. It was the wrong time to joke about an accident where people had just died, but that's not racism.
17 August 2013 (Coal mines in Australia making people sick)
Coal mines in Australia are making people sick. In one area, 40% of the children have asthma.
17 August 2013 (Bradley Manning's statement)
Bradley Manning's Statement: A Forced "Confession" Concludes A Drumhead Tribunal.
The defense witnesses tried to show that his heroic leaks were an error that he made because he was unable to think clearly.
17 August 2013 (Four questions for the next chairman of the Federal Reserve)
Four questions the next chairman of the Federal Reserve should have to answer.
17 August 2013 (Urgent: Move political prisoner out of solitary confinement)
Everyone: call on Kazakhstan to move political prisoner Aron Atabek out of solitary confinement.
17 August 2013 ("Terrorism" charges for posting a video)
Two Londoners face "terrorism" charges for posting a video.
The video they made involves gloating over the killing of a British soldier in London. They had nothing to do with carrying it out; they only expressed an opinion. I don't like the opinion, and maybe you don't either; but freedom of speech includes the freedom to express opinions we don't like.
17 August 2013 (Deadly heat waves will be common)
By 2040, deadly heat waves such as almost never seen today will be fairly common.
17 August 2013 (Extinction of large animals starving forest of nutrients)
The extinction of large animals, 12,000 years ago in South America, started a process starving the forest of nutrients that is still getting worse.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
17 August 2013 (Imaginary economy of banks)
The Bankization of America: the imaginary economy of banks drives the real economy down.
16 August 2013 (NSA breaks rules)
The NSA's official rules on surveillance mean little, since it breaks those rules thousands of times every year.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
16 August 2013 (Urgent: Dismiss ERM from evaluating environmental impact)
US citizens: call on the State Department to dismiss ERM from evaluating the environmental impact of the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
ERM concealed a conflict of interest: a business tie to Transcanada.
16 August 2013 (Urgent: Take action against global heating)
US citizens: call on the senate to take action against global heating.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
16 August 2013 (Companies and pressure groups that sponsored ALEC meeting)
Here's a list of companies and pressure groups that sponsored the latest ALEC meeting.
ExxonMobile, Wells Fargo and UPS would be easy to boycott. People in the computer field could put pressure on SAP.
16 August 2013 (South African gov't continues to stonewall)
A year after South African thugs massacred 34 striking miners, apparently as part of a plan, the government continues to stonewall.
I am in favor of nationalizing the mines; compensation is unnecessary, given how much the owners have profited and how much they ought to owe to their past and present workers. However, merely changing the identity of the owner won't by itself result in decent treatment for miners, or the poor in general.
16 August 2013 (Ecuador abandoned plan to keep oil in ground)
Ecuador has abandoned a plan to keep oil in the ground in exchange for foreign compensation.
Correa asked for half what ten years of oil drilling would have brought in, but received only a tiny fraction.
16 August 2013 (Bradley Manning Apology)
The Apology That Calls For An Apology
16 August 2013 (No Tanks)
No Tanks: Let's Not Kid About It, the Government Is Afraid of Its Own Citizens.
16 August 2013 (Corruption)
Corruption from Siemens is partly to blame for high bus fares in Sao Paulo that led to protests.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
16 August 2013 (Egypt)
Supporters of Morsi are now attacking government buildings in Egypt.

It is understandable they would do so after so many of them were killed.

Many Christian churches have been burnt, and one Christian was shot dead.

There is no excuse for this. However, it is invalid for the government to cite this violence as an excuse for the attacks which sparked it.
16 August 2013 (Coffee)
In the US, drinking over four cups of coffee correlates with a much higher death rate.

I'm not convinced this study shows that coffee is the cause of the higher death rate. Maybe people drink more coffee because of some condition that also makes them more likely to die young.
16 August 2013 (Obama Weak Response)
Obama's weak response to Egypt's bloody crackdown is tantamount to support.
16 August 2013 (The UK Crime)
One of the Greenpeace protesters who climbed a London skyscraper faces the threat of a long jail term for "aggravated trespass".

The UK crime of "aggravated trespass" was invented as an excuse to punish protesters that didn't injure anyone or destroy property. In other words, it is an explicit and intentional attack against democracy.
16 August 2013 (Afghan Woman)
An Afghan woman MP has been kidnapped by the Taliban.
16 August 2013 (South Africa)
Dozens of high ranking thugs in South Africa have been convicted of serious crimes (up to murder) and are not even fired.
16 August 2013 (Urgent: Move the 2014 Winter Olympics out of Russia)
Everyone: call for moving the 2014 Winter Olympics out of Russia.
16 August 2013 (Meritocracy in California)
Whites in California defend meritocracy except when they have to compete with people of Asian origin, who seem to have lots of merit.
16 August 2013 (Wikipedia refuses to participate in China's censorship)
Wikipedia refuses to participate in China's censorship.
16 August 2013 (Myhrvold's patent troll company hits small setback)
A tentacle of Myhrvold's patent troll company, Intellectual Ventures, has hit a small setback, but it isn't a defeat.
16 August 2013 (Nova Scotia criminalizes statements that hurt feelings)
Nova Scotia has passed a draconian law defining any communication that seems likely to hurt someone's self-esteem as "cyber-bullying", with harsh punishments.
The practice of criminalizing statements that hurt someone's feelings is a plague that affects most of the world.
16 August 2013 (Lunatic "zero tolerance" policies in schools)
A bill has been introduced in Congress to stop schools from punishing students for wielding pastries in the shape of a gun, or drawing a gun on paper, etc.
I support it, but it does not go far enough. We need to reverse the factors that pressure schools to adopt lunatic "zero tolerance" policies.
16 August 2013 (Brazil sues Samsung for operating a sweatshop)
Brazil has sued Samsung for operating a sweatshop.
16 August 2013 (NSA language-twisting)
More NSA language-twisting: they can search your email but it isn't "collected".
15 August 2013 (Transplanting organs from victims of execution)
China will stop the official practice of transplanting organs from victims of execution.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
15 August 2013 (Egyptian suppression forces killed over 500 protesters)
Egyptian suppression forces killed over 500 protesters.
Secular Egyptians mostly seem to support the military; I received mail from one that accused the Muslim Brotherhood of "terrorism". There has been some minor terrorism, specifically attacks against Christian churches (but not people, from what I've read), but as far as I know the Muslim Brotherhood does not advocate this. It might well have violated the human rights of women and non-Muslims, and maybe Muslims too (by forbidding them to stop being Muslims), but that is not the same thing as terrorism.
15 August 2013 (Egyptian thugs killed over 270 protesters)
Egyptian thugs killed over 270 pro-Morsi protesters, and eventually drove the doctors out of the protest camp field hospital by shooting tear gas at it. I wonder if the wounded protesters will turn up dead.
This means Egypt has turned to naked military rule. Will it be as repressive and persistent as it was under Mubarak? One can hope not, but the return of Mubarak's "emergency" law suggests the worst.
Mild criticism with zero firmness is how the US typically treats a repressive regime that it supports. I think it means that the US really supports the Egyptian military's repression and only pretends to disapprove.
15 August 2013 (Oil companies trying to destroy mandates for using ethanol in fuel)
Sustainable biofuel, not made using resources needed for making food, is now being developed, so the oil companies are trying to destroy the mandates for using ethanol in fuel.
The mandates should be changed so that they require ethanol made in sustainable ways.
15 August 2013 (The United Arab Emirates trying to close German server)
The United Arab Emirates is trying to close the German server of a news site that criticizes oppression in the UAE.
15 August 2013 (Sentenced to 12 Years in Jail for "Terrorism")
In Ecuador, Indigenous Leaders Sentenced to 12 Years in Jail for "Terrorism".
15 August 2013 (Urgent: Stop biasing surveillance debate)
US citizens: call on CBS to stop biasing the surveillance debate in favor of surveillance.
15 August 2013 (Tortured victims sued)
'Defense' contractor CACI International has sued the victims that its employees tortured.
15 August 2013 (Surge of Interest in Zinn's 'People's History')
Censorship Backfire: Surge of Interest in Zinn's 'People's History'
15 August 2013 (Longlines Killing Pacific Seabirds at Record Rate)
Longlines Killing Pacific Seabirds at Record Rate.
15 August 2013 (Endangered species protection proposed for Florida butterfly)
Endangered species protection has been proposed for a Florida butterfly, but if we don't stop pumping out CO₂, it will be drowned with the rest of South Florida.
15 August 2013 (Brazil demands clarifications on NSA surveillance)
Brazil demands clarifications on NSA surveillance.
15 August 2013 (US schools resembling prisons)
US schools have come to resemble prisons, physically and in the police state mentality applied to their inmates.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
15 August 2013 (Censorship of Venezuelan newspapers)
Two Venezuelan newspapers were fined for publishing photos of violent crime scenes.
I hope people who find this censorship ridiculous will also question the censorship plans of other countries such as the UK.
15 August 2013 (Shutdown of Indian TV stations)
Indian TV stations have been shut down for broadcasting coverage of a local autonomy movement.
15 August 2013 (Repression of nonviolent Islamists in Egypt)
The repression of the nonviolent Islamists in Egypt is likely to boost support for violent Islamists, who can now argue that peaceful methods won't be allowed to win.
15 August 2013 (Egyptian thugs targeted reporters)
It appears that Egyptian thugs intentionally targeted reporters.
15 August 2013 (450 disappeared people in Pakistan)
Pakistan has disappeared 450 people, and their relatives are trying to find out what happened to them.
15 August 2013 (Urgent: Oppose prosecution of Anonymous leaker)
Everyone: sign this petition calling for no prosecution of the Anonymous leaker whose leaks led to the prosecution of the Steubenville rapists.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
15 August 2013 (Brazilian thugs ban showing of documentary)
Brazilian thugs banned showing a documentary in a poor neighborhood because it might make them hate the thugs.
There is good reason it might, since the documentary shows how children in that very neighborhood got killed in some sort of run-in with the thugs.
Thugs must not be allowed to censor!
15 August 2013 (Urgent: Support amendments to reverse Corporations United decision)
US citizens: call on your elected representatives to support constitutional amendments to reverse the Corporations United decision. It's important to do this again even if you've done it before.
15 August 2013 (Failure to protect the atmospheric commons)
Governments that prosecute global heating civil disobedience are coming to court with dirty hands because they failed to protect the atmospheric commons.
15 August 2013 (CIA said it had no file on Noam Chomsky)
The CIA said it had no file on Noam Chomsky, but it had one in 1970.
15 August 2013 (Israel releases prisoners who killed civilians)
Israel has released 26 Palestinian prisoners, mostly people who killed civilians.
Can anyone tell me how these prisoners were chosen? Why not release the people who have been imprisoned without charges rather than prisoners convicted of something?
15 August 2013 (Compensation for innocent Yemenis killed by drones)
Does the US Pay Families When Drones Kill Innocent Yemenis?
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
15 August 2013 (Urgent: Oppose appointing NY Thug Commissioner Kelly)
US citizens: phone senators to oppose appointing New York Thug Commissioner Kelly to head the Department of Homeland Suppression.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
15 August 2013 (Rhino and elephant poaching)
Escalating military responses to rhino and elephant poaching are failing, just as they failed to stop drug trafficking, but efforts to convince people to stop buying them might work.
The big differences between poaching and drug trafficking are (1) legalization of hunting rhinos and elephants would not solve the problem, and (2) rhino and elephant horn have no physiological effect on their users.
15 August 2013 (NSA says it "touches" Internet traffic)
Another NSA snowjob: it "touches" only 1.6% of all Internet traffic, but communication is only 2.9% of all Internet traffic, so maybe the NSA looks at "only" 55% of all Internet communication.
Or maybe the number means nothing because we don't know their meaning of "touches".
15 August 2013 (Eastern European Autocrats Post New Test for Democracy)
Eastern European Autocrats Pose New Test for Democracy.
A Hungarian friend tells me that Orbán has chipped away at democracy and civil society to the extent that it is nearly impossible to challenge his power, but has avoided the sort of harsh measures that would make lots of Hungarians wish to try. So it is a nondemocratic regime, but not actively oppressive.
15 August 2013 (Responsibility for war crimes)
War crimes tribunals have set a high bar for proving that high officials are responsible for war crimes carried out when they were not present.
There will be times that underlings commit war crimes that their superiors did not approve, or would not have approved. It would be unjust to hold the superiors responsible for that. However, they can be held responsible for not taking action against the perpetrators.
15 August 2013 (Bahrain threatens violence on anniversary of 2011 protests)
The Bahrain tyranny threatens violence against those who commemorate the anniversary of 2011 protests.
This tyranny receives the firm support of the US government and its tyrannical regional allies.
15 August 2013 (UK agency rules against license plate recognition cameras)
A UK agency ruled against placing license plate recognition cameras on all roads leading to the town of Royston.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
However, there is no sign of any plan to limit the network that tracks car travel around the UK.
15 August 2013 (Tea Party split between grassroots and Koch brothers)
The Tea Party is being split between grassroots that support home solar power and the business-funded part that obeys the Koch brothers.
15 August 2013 (Obama rebuked for thwarting open debate about surveillance)
A former aide to Senator Wyden rebukes Obama for thwarting an open debate about massive surveillance in Congress for so long.
15 August 2013 (US gov't opposes a merger between giant companies)
Finally, the US government opposes a merger between giant companies.
All such mergers should be blocked as standard practice.
14 August 2013 (Obama ignores petitions)
Obama set up a web site and promised to respond to petitions, but he ignores some of the sharpest ones.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
14 August 2013 ("Bee-friendly" plants)
"Bee-friendly" plants for sale in major US chain stores contain neonicotinoid pesticides.
14 August 2013 (Privacy in Gmail)
Privacy in Gmail
14 August 2013 (Koch-funded Franklin Center)
The Koch-funded Franklin Center generates right-wing "journalism" so newspapers don't need to employ reporters any more.
14 August 2013 (Details of Hungarian gov't policies)
More details of the Hungarian government's policies that undermine democracy.
14 August 2013 (Several state governments subsidize ALEC)
Several state governments subsidize ALEC.
14 August 2013 (Guatemala may face trade sanctions)
Guatemala may face trade sanctions if it does not end the murders of union organizers.
Some of these murders are connected to Coca Cola Company, which is part of the motive for the world-wide boycott of that company.
14 August 2013 (Nidal Hasan)
Why it would be impossible, pointless and misguided to charge Nidal Hasan with "terrorism".
14 August 2013 (Refusing to allow food workers paid days off spreads illness)
Corporate greed, refusing to allow food workers paid days off, spreads illness to their customers.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
But hey, the plutocrats have their own cooks.
14 August 2013 (Charged for bombing of Jewish institution)
When Argentine prosecutors charged Iranian officials for the bombing of a Jewish institution, the only link connecting them to it came from the armed opposition (and sometime terrorist) group Mujahedin-E Khalq.
This is not a reliable enough basis to accuse anyone.
See previous notes for how the MEK got itself removed from the US list of "terrorist" groups.
14 August 2013 (Egyptian suppression forces attacked Morsi supporters' protest camps)
Egyptian suppression forces attacked the Morsi supporters' protest camps, killing dozens of them.
300 protesters had been killed in previous attacks.
A British cameraman was shot dead as he covered the attack.
Assuming he was shot by the suppression forces, that shows they were shooting at people who were offering them no violence.
The coup has a lot of popular support, but that doesn't justify repressing the people who oppose it.
14 August 2013 (Algorithms trained from data)
Algorithms trained from data can encode prejudice in a form that is hard to spot.
14 August 2013 (The hypothetical "grand solar minimum")
The hypothetical "grand solar minimum", even if it happens, would probably cool the Earth far less than we have already heated it up.
14 August 2013 (Urgent: Sign the initiative for an unconditional basic income)
EU citizens: sign the initiative for an unconditional basic income.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
14 August 2013 (Nuclear waste dump in aboriginal territory)
Australia plans a nuclear waste dump in aboriginal territory without the consent of the aboriginal people that live there.
14 August 2013 (Urgent: Increase social security benefits)
US citizens: call for increasing social security benefits and remove the cap on social security tax for the rich.
14 August 2013 (Urgent: Don't let NSA open its new Utah data center)
US citizens: call on elected officials not to let the NSA open its new Utah data center.
The NSA already stores too much data about all of us; if storage limitations force it to be selective, that will crimp its excesses. Obviously, this is not a full or elegant solution, but it is a step forward.
14 August 2013 (Australia plans to let mines pollute as much as they like)
Part of Australia plans to let mines pollute as much as they like at any given time, as long as the yearly average stays under a certain level.
14 August 2013 (Bangladeshi human rights leader arrested)
A Bangladeshi human rights leader has been arrested for "fabricating information" about atrocities by government suppression forces.
It's normal thug behavior to lie and cover up their brutality. Thus, if a government is minded to arrest the people who reported it, it can easily find witnesses to testilie that they must have "fabricated" the reports.
14 August 2013 (Snowden validated as whistleblower)
Obama's announced review of surveillance, in response to Snowden's revelations, validates Snowden as a whistleblower.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Those who betrayed the US are its leaders who have ignored their oath to defend the Constitution.
14 August 2013 (Urgent: Oppose plan to allow mining of publicly-owned coal)
US citizens: phone the Department of the Interior to object to the plan to allow mining of millions of tons of publicly-owned coal.
14 August 2013 (Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden talk)
Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden talk about how their cooperation started and how it proceeded.
14 August 2013 (Israel's cabinet votes to expand its colonies)
Israel's cabinet spat on peace negotiations by voting to expand its colonies in Palestinian territory.
14 August 2013 (Three journalists killed by Islamists in Banghazi)
Islamists in Banghazi have killed three journalists in the last four days.
14 August 2013 (The Moral Imperative of Activism)
The Moral Imperative of Activism.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
14 August 2013 (WiFi-tracking trash cans in London)
The WiFi-tracking trash cans have been de-installed from a part of London.
However, the phone company continues tracking phones and recording their movements.
14 August 2013 (LA thugs arrest photographer for photographing them)
LA thugs arrested a photographer for "interfering" with them by photographing them from 90 feet away (30 meters).
This is typical thug behavior, documented dozens of times in earlier political notes.
14 August 2013 (British Library's filtering software blocks Hamlet)
The British Library's filtering software blocked access to the text of Hamlet, calling it "violent content".
It is insulting to refer to Shakespeare's plays, or any works of authorship, as "content". Please join me in rejecting that term.
Calling Hamlet "violent", however, is accurate, and the example shows why blocking access to violent works (or any works) is wrong.
14 August 2013 (Most members of Congress kept in the dark about massive surveillance)
The Obama regime and congressional leaders kept most members of Congress in the dark about massive surveillance when they had to vote on it.
14 August 2013 (Small step towards ending the War on Drugs)
Holder plans to stop charging "low-level drug offenders" with crimes that require a prison sentence.
It is a small step towards what must be done: ending the War on Drugs.
14 August 2013 (High levels of strontium-90 in groundwater near Fukushima plants)
The groundwater near the Fukushima plants has so much strontium-90 that drinking it for a year would surely give a person cancer. When it gets into the ocean, it accumulates in algae and in fish, so the marine life in that region will be contaminated for a long time.
It would be interesting to see a comparison between the quantities of strontium-90 leaking from the Fukushima plants today and the amount released by above ground nuclear weapons tests in the 50s and early 60s.
14 August 2013 (John Grisham writes about innocent Guantanamo prisoner)
John Grisham, whose books are banned in Guantanamo, writes about an innocent prisoner who may finally be freed — and sent to a country where he knows nobody.
14 August 2013 (Australian gov't taking aboriginal children away from parents)
The Australian government is taking many aboriginal children away from their parents because of problems that are caused by poverty. Meanwhile, it cuts the assistance that would help aboriginal families cope.
At one point during 2012, 13,299 aboriginal children had been removed from their families.
These statistics say that about 2/3 are placed with relatives or indigenous people, but it is still a large rate of taking children away.
14 August 2013 (Turkish journalists sentenced to long prison terms)
Turkish journalists were sentenced to long prison terms for supposed participation in a conspiracy for a military coup.
It is not implausible, a priori, that Turkish generals were planning a coup. Turkey has seen such coups before. To claim journalists were involved in the conspiracy makes it implausible.
14 August 2013 (Zimbabwe women report interference with their voting)
Zimbabwe women report interference with their voting, and threats.
14 August 2013 (No scientific reason for killing whales)
There is no scientific reason for killing whales — the same information can be obtained through methods that don't hurt them.
14 August 2013 (The surveillance state)
The Surveillance State, You, and the Time Traveling Detectives.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
13 August 2013 (Murdoch orders journalists to bias their writing)
Murdoch is ordering journalists working for News Corp's Australian to bias their writing against the Labor government.
13 August 2013 (Universities snooping on students)
Universities snoop more and more on students, making a data base of data such as what web searches they do, their driving habits, whether they miss meetings, as well as how they use the library.
I think libraries should ensure that people's borrowing habits are not recorded in any permanent data base.
13 August 2013 (US drone attacks in Yemen)
US Drones on Yemen: 'al Qaeda's Public Relations Officer'.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
13 August 2013 (Why World Bank shies from energy efficiency)
Why the World Bank Shies Away From Energy Efficiency.
13 August 2013 (US does not recognize use of Agent Orange as war crime)
The US does not recognize that use of toxic Agent Orange was a war crime, and offers no compensation to millions of Vietnamese who were affected.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
13 August 2013 (President of Purdue tried to ban book from Indiana schools)
The President of Purdue University, when previously Governor of Indiana, tried to ban Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the US" from schools in that state.
13 August 2013 (Sending "child" pornography to journalists to get them imprisoned)
A new method for attacking dissident US journalists: send them a "leak" which is really "child" pornography, and get them imprisoned when they look.
To criminalize possession of any kind of digital material is an injustice, and endangers all other human rights.
13 August 2013 (Proposed ban for US firms that don't abide privacy laws)
German justice minister proposes ban for US firms that don't abide privacy laws.
Meanwhile, the German spy agency (BND) is passing metadata on to the NSA.
13 August 2013 (Teachers in deregulated schools pressured to inflate grades)
Teachers in the UK's deregulated "academy" schools report pressure from their managers to inflate grades.
This is a natural consequence of "grading" schools by the average grades of students.
13 August 2013 (Barnhart, Texas, runs out of water)
Thanks to fracking, the town of Barnhart, Texas, ran out of water.
Fracking adds to many other forms of overuse, which are running headlong into reduced rainfall caused by global heating.
13 August 2013 (Drone attack targeting rescuers)
During 2012, CIA repeatedly followed one drone attack with a second drone attack, targeting rescuers looking for wounded from the first attack. This tactic is a war crime.
It was used by Iraqi resistance fighters; maybe the US learned it from them.
13 August 2013 (Partially resisting surveillance is not enough)
Recommending computing practices that partially resist surveillance is not enough to count as a solution to the surveillance problem. We need to make privacy safe for ordinary users.
13 August 2013 (US Could Exploit Trade Deal to Expand Spying)
US Could Exploit Trade Deal to Expand Spying.
The "trade" deal in question, which is more about giving business more power than about trade in the usual sense, is TAFTA: Turn All Freedom To Ashes.
13 August 2013 (Criminal charges for reporting on blood diamonds)
Angola's principal investigative reporter, Rafael Marques de Morais, faces criminal charges for reporting on blood diamonds.
13 August 2013 (Ethiopia is systematically kicking certain ethnic groups off their land)
The government of Ethiopia is systematically kicking certain ethnic groups off their land, forcing them to settle in villages were they have no life, no farms and no future, in order to sell their land to foreign plantations.
When they object, they are tortured. Ethiopia's government has a close relationship with the US, and invaded Somalia for the US a few years ago.
I don't think the victims of this violence have any obligation to refrain from responding with violence.
Meanwhile, Nigeria plans to evict tens of thousands of people from urban areas, destroying their homes, for "redevelopment".
One of the causes of land conflicts like these is world population growth. Offering gratis contraception and abortion to all women will help to avoid some future conflicts.
13 August 2013 (Prisoners in Iran remain a political influence)
Political prisoners in Iran remain a political influence.
13 August 2013 ("Ninja Journalists" in Brazil)
"Ninja journalists" cover what Brazil's concentrated mainstream media ignore.
13 August 2013 (Torrent trackers should stop tracking their users)
Torrent trackers should stop tracking their users.
The same applies to network services in general, I think.
13 August 2013 (Obama regime asked mole to investigate reporter)
Why did the Obama regime ask its Wikileaks mole to investigate Guardian reporter James Ball?
He asks this question because it seems to illustrate a policy that threatens journalists in general.
13 August 2013 (Yemen al-Qa'ida organization seems to be getting stronger)
Despite a big increase in drone attacks in Yemen, the local al-Qa'ida organization seems to be getting stronger.
This is not surprising, because a guerrilla organization's strength is typically limited by its ability to recruit.
13 August 2013 (Thugs infiltrated tar sands resistance camp)
Undercover thugs infiltrated a tar sands resistance camp and sabotaged a civil disobedience action.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
13 August 2013 (Mainstream media present Michael Hayden as trustworthy authority)
The mainstream media present ex-officials such as Michael Hayden as trustworthy authorities, burying the fact that they misled us before and have commercial interests in distorting issues now.
13 August 2013 (New York Thug Department practicing discrimination)
A judge ruled that the New York Thug Department is practicing racial discrimination when it searches people on the street based on no evidence.
I think the question of discrimination is a side issue. Whether they search you because they don't like your skin color, or because they don't like your face, it is equally wrong.
13 August 2013 (The President Treated Us Like Five-Year-Olds)
On Friday, the President Treated Us Like Five-Year-Olds.
Liepman's claim, that the government is only listening to terrorists, is now known to be false. And it's not only drug dealers, either. Recall that "terrorist", for the US government, includes dissidents and whistleblowers.
13 August 2013 (Urgent: Resist Texas Taliban)
In the US: call on textbook publishers to publish real science and resist the Texas Taliban.
13 August 2013 (Banksters paid a pittance over the homes they foreclosed fraudulently)
Banksters paid a pittance to settle the US lawsuit over the homes that they foreclosed fraudulently. Now homeowners are suing, and we can see that they stole trillions of dollars.
12 August 2013 (State will take away children from gays couples)
Masha Gessen, her girlfriend and their children will flee Russia because the state will take away children from gay couples.
12 August 2013 (Urgent: Oppose plan to attack US Postal Service)
US citizens: oppose Rep. Issa's plan to attack the US Postal Service.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
12 August 2013 (What was it that Lavabit was ordered to do)
What was it that Lavabit was ordered to do, such that it shut down instead?
12 August 2013 (Energy investment projected to focus on unconventional oil and gas)
World energy investment is projected to focus mainly on unconventional oil and gas, that makes more CO₂ per energy delivered than ordinary oil.
12 August 2013 ("Safety Regulations" placed on abortion)
A Republican admits that the rash of un-satisfiable "safety regulations" being placed on abortion providers is meant to make them impossible.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
12 August 2013 (Urgent: close the Guantanamo prison)
US citizens: sign this petition to close the Guantanamo prison instead of US embassies.
12 August 2013 (Make biogas from wastes)
Instead of fracking, make biogas from wastes.
12 August 2013 (Urgent: Ban neonicotinoid pesticides)
US citizens: Call for a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides.
12 August 2013 (Patriarchy says 'no' means 'yes')
The patriarchy says, 'no' means 'yes', and they can ruin people's lives.
Others endorsed the opposite falsehood, claiming that 'yes' means 'no', and this too can ruin people's lives.
What part of 'yes', or 'no', don't they understand?
12 August 2013 ("Piracy" filter blocks access to political site)
An ISP's "piracy" filter blocks access to the political site torrentfreak.com as well.
Please don't refer to sharing as "piracy" — that is enemy propaganda. Please call it "sharing". The only case where it's proper to use the word "pirate" in this context is in the name "Pirate Party".
12 August 2013 (Urgent: Protection of wolves)
US citizens: call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to choose advisors about protection of wolves based on their expertise, and not reject them because they objected to previous distortion of their views.
12 August 2013 (Theocrats accusing Planned Parenthood of medicaid fraud)
Christian theocrats are accusing Planned Parenthood of medicaid fraud. Planned Parenthood says it isn't true, but defending the cases is so expensive that it has to settle instead.
12 August 2013 (Trash cans in London track all WiFi-enabled devices)
Trash cans in London track all WiFi-enabled devices as they pass by.
They do not track my laptop, as its WiFi device is normally turned off.
12 August 2013 (Regional attack on dissidents)
Bahrain has, in effect, exiled Maryam Al-Khawaja, by putting her on a "no fly" list.
Her father has been sentenced to life in prison there for protesting.
Saudi Arabia Continues to Fight Human Rights Organizations.
Jordan is imposing crushing censorship on the press.
This is part of a regional attack on dissidents.
12 August 2013 (The Failure of the GPL)
The Failure of the GPL
12 August 2013 (Urgent: Hold killers of Israel Hernandez accountable)
Everyone: call on Miami to hold the killers of Israel Hernandez accountable.
12 August 2013 (Dr Sanjay Gupta calls for legalization of medical marijuana)
Dr Sanjay Gupta, a prominent opponent of marijuana, calls for legalization of medical marijuana, because the US banned it without scientific evidence.
12 August 2013 (Urgent: Support the Frack Pack bills)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support the Frack Pack bills to regulate fracking to protect air and water. Also send a message through this page.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
12 August 2013 (Urgent: Thank Edward Snowden)
Everyone: thank Edward Snowden.
12 August 2013 (Tendency to define sadness as a medical condition)
Watch out for the tendency to define sadness as a medical condition.
12 August 2013 (Egyptian military privately permits Israel to attack with drones)
Israel made a drone attack in Egypt, with private permission from Egypt's military.
It is not inherently wrong for Israel to help Egypt against rebels, if that's what they are and Egypt is fighting them militarily. Nonetheless, for Egypt to get this help from Israel seems like asking for trouble, and we can't take Israel's word about who was targeted or who was actually hit.
12 August 2013 (Movement in Greece reconnects people to electricity)
A large movement in Greece reconnects people to electricity whose electric accounts have been shut off.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
In ordinary circumstances I would not support this. However, a government of occupation such as the one that rules Greece, a government that is putting undesirables in concentration camps is not entitled to criticize any form of resistance, as long as it doesn't attack ordinary people.
12 August 2013 (Head of NSA tells us to "get the facts")
The head of the NSA told us to "get the facts" instead of criticizing massive surveillance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Since it is only through Snowden that we get any facts about this, Obama should pardon him and thank him.
12 August 2013 (No accountability for Lac Megantic train disaster)
The tiny railroad company that caused the Lac Megantic disaster is bankrupt; its insurance will not cover the damages.
This company is a piece of a business empire structured as many corporations with small assets. The apparent purpose of this structure is to save the empire as a whole from paying the damages for accidents such as this. It limits the liability to one small piece, which can go bankrupt in order to spare the empire as a whole. That this leaves the victims screwed is of no importance to the callous rich.
It resembles the strategy used by Peabody Energy which spun off a subsidiary containing its retired workers' pension obligations, so it would go bankrupt and screw those former workers.
This practice is lawful due to politicians and parties that have sold out to business. If they represented the people instead of the plutocrats, they would have adopted laws that hold the entire empire liable.
12 August 2013 (Dubya can be accused of "aiding al Qa'ida")
Why not accuse Dubya of "aiding al Qa'ida"?
12 August 2013 (Radioactive material leaking from damaged Fukushima reactors)
The damaged Fukushima reactors are leaking radioactive material into the Pacific Ocean, and probably have contaminated the aquifer under the site.
The contaminated aquifer could contaminate plant life there for centuries.
12 August 2013 (Musician imprisoned for calling on Tibetans to be united)
A Tibetan musician was imprisoned merely for calling on Tibetans to be united and learn and speak Tibetan.
12 August 2013 (Pirate Party reports IT Minister to police for copyright infringement)
Pirate Party Reports IT Minister to the Police for Copyright Infringement.
12 August 2013 (Obama's jobs plan)
A Jobs Plan Only Big Business Could Love.
12 August 2013 (Store pressured to stop selling hair ornaments)
Amerindians in Canada pressured a store to stop selling hair ornaments which "make a mockery of their culture."
It looks like this is not real mockery, just a resemblance that they feel they are entitled to own.
No one has a right to own a style of ornamentation, and these people should get used to that. There is no point fighting to continue the sale accessories that offend someone — they are not important enough. But on principle that would be right.
12 August 2013 (Feinstein wants to further weaken press-shield bill)
Senator Feinstein, militantly pro-surveillance, wants to narrow further a press-shield bill that is already ridiculously weak.
12 August 2013 (The increase in wildfires in the West)
Quantifying how wildfires in the West have increased, and how they are projected to increase in coming decades.
This projection is not a certainty. What really happens could be less, or more.
11 August 2013 (Reporter Who Investigates Corruption arrested for Corruption)
Vietnam: Reporter Who Investigates Corruption Arrested for "Corruption".
11 August 2013 (Municipal composting programs)
US cities including New York are starting municipal composting programs.
11 August 2013 (Random searches on Americans everywhere)
The TSA is the Obama regime's scheme to impose random searches on Americans everywhere they go.
11 August 2013 (Minimum-wage employers are now biggest employers in US)
Minimum-wage employers are now the biggest employers in the US, and courageous workers are starting to go on strike.
The US need jobs more than it needs "efficiency". If companies use threats of automation as a lever to keep wages down, I suggest banning the automation that they would use. Why not ban automatic check-out machines in all stores?
11 August 2013 (Pope supports cruel Catholic dogma)
Although Pope Francis shows concern for the poor, he still supports cruel Catholic dogma.
11 August 2013 (How I Exposed an Undercover Cop)
How I Exposed an Undercover Cop.
11 August 2013 (Journalists and activists murdered)
Journalists and activists are murdered with impunity in the Philippines.
11 August 2013 (China and India plan over 400 hydroelectric dams)
China and India plan over 400 hydroelectric dams for the Himalayan region, and these are likely to cause big environmental problems.
11 August 2013 (Obama's NSA Proposals)
Wyden: Obama's NSA Proposals Are Nice, But They Don't Go Far Enough.
11 August 2013 (Stop prosecuting Snowden)
150 human rights organizations call on Obama to stop prosecuting Snowden.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Some of these organizations' activities are explained in Cory Doctorow's article.
11 August 2013 (US has sued Bank of America)
The US has sued Bank of America for tricking clients into buying bad investments.
Why no prosecution?
11 August 2013 (How did Shell get Irish thugs to attack protesters)
How did Shell get the Irish thugs to attack protesters? A company reportedly delivered around 50,000 dollars worth of whiskey to the thugs, as one among many other favors.
11 August 2013 (James Risen ready to go to jail to protect sources)
James Risen is ready to go to jail to protect his sources, but if the US is to reclaim democracy, it must ensure no reporter must do so.
11 August 2013 (Thousands Demand GMO Corporations 'Quit India')
Thousands Demand GMO Corporations 'Quit India'.
11 August 2013 (Systematic entrepreneurial corruption)
US forfeiture presented as an instance of systematic entrepreneurial corruption, as found in Russia and Iraq.
11 August 2013 (Jimmy Carter praises Snowden)
Jimmy Carter praised Snowden and said the US does not have a functioning democracy. US media ignored Carter's the speech, which goes against the official party line.
11 August 2013 (Urgent: Ratify the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels)
US citizens: call for ratification of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
11 August 2013 (Urgent: Require gov't contractors to pay a living wage)
US citizens: call on Obama to require government contractors to pay a living wage.
11 August 2013 (Obama's plans for reforming "Freddie Mac" and "Fannie Mae")
Obama's plans for "reforming" the government housing loan entities, "Freddie Mac" and "Fannie Mae", could lead to a repeat the mortgage bubble.
I think we should ban mortgage-backed securities and require each mortgage to remain in the hands of one sole bank — so that bank can give the homeowner an adjustment when it's called for.
11 August 2013 (Fighting NSA evidence in drug cases)
Defense Attorneys Plan to Fight NSA Evidence in Drug Cases.
11 August 2013 (NSA's "target")
The NSA collects Americans' communications in a very loose way by saying that someone else is the "target".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
11 August 2013 (CIA lists "security threats")
The second in charge of the CIA listed the "security threats" that the US faces, and none of them is much of a threat. So why not have a smaller military?
The principal real threats to the well-being of Americans are plutocracy and global heating. A large army can't tax the megacorps' offshored profits or hold back the rising sea. But it can feed our money to the military-industrial complex, and start wars.
11 August 2013 (The shutdown of Lavabit)
Glenn Greenwald comments on the shutdown of Lavabit.
I think the Obama regime will rue the day it did this. I cheer the courage of Lavabit's owner, who has dealt tyranny a great blow.
11 August 2013 (Urgent: Support repeal of PAT RIOT Act)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter and say, support Rush Holt's repeal of the PAT RIOT Act.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
11 August 2013 (Urgent: Prohibit labeling GMOs as "natural")
US citizens: call on the FDA to prohibit labeling GMOs as "natural".
11 August 2013 (Urgent: Oppose plan to destroy Bedouin villages)
US citizens: call on Obama to oppose Israel's plan to destroy Bedouin villages and to call on Israel to respect nonviolent protest.
11 August 2013 (Urgent: Reject letting Halliburton off with a tiny fine)
US citizens: call on the judge to reject letting Halliburton off with a tiny fine for its deadly practices.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
11 August 2013 (Urgent: Investigate dishonest use of NSA materials)
US citizens: Call on Congress to investigate the DEA's dishonest use of NSA materials.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
11 August 2013 (Urgent: Don't allow fracking on public lands)
US citizens: call on Obama not to allow fracking on public lands.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
10 August 2013 (US electric plants shut down because they can't get enough water)
The effects of global heating are already making US electric plants shut down because they can't get enough water. And it will get worse.
10 August 2013 (Student Loan Law Raises College Costs)
Student Loan Law Raises College Costs, Sanders Says.
10 August 2013 (Lavabit's Brave Stand)
Lavabit's Brave Stand (and Snowden's statement about it).
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
10 August 2013 (Oprah Winfrey was told, "That is too expensive for you")
There is a big fuss because Oprah Winfrey asked to see a $42,000 handbag in a store in Zurich and was told, "That is too expensive for you." Was this prejudice because of her skin color, or because of her body size?
Whichever it was, the store employee was nasty — but before we get too indignant about the unfairness of receiving an insult when considering buying a bag that costs more than a working-class American makes in a year, let's consider a more important ethical question: should rich people, regardless of skin color or body size, pay more money in taxes? Should some of their gains be spent on education, health care, and renewable energy — rather than $42,000 handbags?
10 August 2013 (The fisherman of Fukushima still cannot fish)
The fisherman of Fukushima still cannot fish, because radioactive material in water leaking into the sea pushes the local fish above the standard limit.
10 August 2013 (Lavabit has shut down rather than spy on its users)
The email service Lavabit has shut down rather than spy on its users.
Since the management of Lavabit would like to tell us what happened, and the US government wants to keep us in the dark, justice requires us to presume the worst about the US government.
10 August 2013 (Miami thugs killed a prized graffiti artist)
Miami thugs killed a prized graffiti artist because he ran away when they tried to arrest him for painting graffiti.
The family won't get any truth from the thugs. They will tell the story that serves their purpose.
Tasers kill quite a few people.
Every time you use one, you should realize, "This might kill."
10 August 2013 (ALEC continue campaign to falsify climate science)
ALEC and the Heatland Institute continue their funded campaign to falsify climate science and keep us on track to disaster.
ALEC continues to oppose gun control despite saying it would cease.
10 August 2013 (Dawkins tweeted to criticize Islam)
Richard Dawkins tweeted to criticize Islam because there are not very many Muslim Nobelists.
I don't think his point is cogent. Most have neither the talent nor the interest in doing the sort of work that might win a Nobel prize. If Islam diminishes one's chances of winning a Nobel prize, which has not been proven, that would at worst be marginally unfortunate, not wrong.
What is really wrong about Islam is its disrespect for human rights. For instance, its ban on conversion away from Islam. In general, Muslim countries prohibit this and punish those who try — in some places, with execution.
10 August 2013 (UK telecom companies have actively developed spy software for GCHQ)
Fresh leaks say that major UK telecom companies have actively developed spy software for GCHQ.
A legal campaign has been launched against UK telecom that cooperate with GCHQ surveillance.
A lawsuit was launched against Dubya's illegal warrantless wiretapping, but Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act which made it legal.
Now there are plans to try to reverse that.
10 August 2013 (Prosecutor Heymann compared Aaron Swartz to a rapist)
Prosecutor Heymann compared Aaron Swartz to a rapist, condemning him for dragging MIT through the ordeal of appearing in court by not making a plea bargain.
10 August 2013 (DC activists have identified an undercover thug)
DC activists have identified an undercover thug infiltrator who arranged for other thugs to sabotage nonviolent protests.
These protests were aimed at pressuring retailers to support safer working conditions in Bangladesh. In other words, aimed at retailers that put people's lives at risk. Why would the thugs help them? Thugs have a general practice of helping the rich (including these companies) against the non-rich.
10 August 2013 (Myth about defenders of computing freedom)
Cory Doctorow refutes the damaging myth that defenders of computing freedom are naive and foolish cyber-Utopians.
10 August 2013 (One reason the US experiences so many leaks)
One reason the US experiences so many leaks is that it is too quick to stamp things "secret".
On the distinction between real secrets and public secrets. Manning and Snowden revealed the latter kind.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
10 August 2013 (Broad U.S. Terror Alert Is Crazy Pants)
Broad U.S. Terror Alert Is "Crazy Pants".
10 August 2013 (Judge bribed by privatized juvenile prison sentenced)
A judge was bribed by a privatized juvenile prison to sentence lots of kids there. He has been sentenced to a long prison term.
That is justice, in the small; but the privatized prison system will lead to such crimes over and over until we put an end to it.
10 August 2013 (Racial profiling)
Atherton, California, seems to be doing racial profiling when it stops drivers: 95% of the drivers stopped by its thugs have Hispanic names. And there are other irregularities too.
10 August 2013 (Urgent: Call on NBC to stop rejecting anti-Keystone XL ads)
In the US: call on NBC to stop rejecting anti-Keystone XL ads.
10 August 2013 (Liberal Media)
15 Things Everyone [in the US] Would Know If There Were a Liberal Media.
10 August 2013 (Mothers face widespread workplace discrimination)
Mothers face widespread workplace discrimination even when they do good work.
10 August 2013 (Russian TV journalist threatened)
A Russian TV journalist who defiantly broadcast sober criticism of Putin is threatened with charges of "hooliganism".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
10 August 2013 (I Do Not Want My Daughter to Be Nice)
I Do Not Want My Daughter to Be "Nice".
10 August 2013 (UK border thugs copy data from people's phones and computers)
The UK border thugs sometimes copy all the data from people's phones and computers, just like the US border thugs, but in the UK they also threaten to imprison people for not handing over their passwords.
10 August 2013 (Many elevator Door Close buttons are dummies)
Many elevator Door Close buttons are dummies. (I have sometimes suspected that it was a dummy in a particular elevator.)
So are thermostats in many offices. But that would not convince me I don't feel hot — I know that from empirical evidence, and I have a thermometer to test my personal sensations against.
10 August 2013 (A giant sinkhole 24 acres in area)
A giant sinkhole 24 acres in area has swallowed part of Bayou Corne, and the toxic fumes make the rest of the town uninhabitable.
10 August 2013 (Urgent: Call for abortion coverage for peace corps workers)
US citizens: call for abortion coverage for peace corps workers in cases of rape or medical necessity.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
This is not enough, of course. Every woman should be able to get an early-term abortion at no cost.
10 August 2013 (British Columbia has a carbon tax)
British Columbia has a carbon tax, and gives the money to people with low incomes.
Thus, the poor are not shafted by the tax, but they do feel pressure to conserve, just as everyone else does.
This is the sensible way to use the market to push society away from burning fossil fuels.
10 August 2013 (Substantial future rises in sea level)
Our carbon emissions are gradually locking in substantial future rises in sea level that will eventually inundate large parts of many coastal cities.
This gives a new meaning to the concept of an "underwater mortgage".
10 August 2013 (Business may one day monitor employees' medical readings)
Businesses may one day demand to monitor employees' medical readings all the time. ("Big data" means "massive surveillance".)
Of course, this monitoring will be "optional", except for people who would mind being unemployed.
We should prohibit the practice before it gets started, because limiting mass surveillance is more important than any other pertinent goals.
10 August 2013 (Obama postponed (probably canceled) a summit meeting with Putin)
Obama postponed (probably canceled) a summit meeting with Putin because negotiations on many issues have stalled.
Obama took advantage of this to smear Snowden again.
10 August 2013 (Modern-Day McCarthyism)
John Kiriakou: Obama's Abuse of the Espionage Act is Modern-Day McCarthyism.
10 August 2013 (Legal action against zero-hours contracts)
Legal action against zero-hours contracts that leave workers in a totally precarious situation.
10 August 2013 (Rochelle Bing struggled for 4 years to prevent thugs from seizing her house)
Forfeiture at work: Rochelle Bing has struggled for 4 years to prevent thugs from seizing her house on the grounds that her son sold drugs there.
The supposed reason for this is to terrorize the head of every family exercise an impossible level of strict control over the rest. Perhaps a middle-class housewife can watch everything that people do in her house, though teenagers will tend to resist that. However, no working person could possibly do this.
That is purely theoretical. The real reason is that the thug department wants money, and will take it on any available pretext from anyone who is vulnerable.
Seizing property is a punishment, and calling it something else is merely a legal lie. Under the US constitution, a punishment should only follow due process of law: conviction of a crime.
As for the thugs and the money they thirst for, if we legalize regulated sale of drugs, we could get along with a lot fewer thugs. Not only the victimless drug crimes, but the robberies fueled by drug habits, would disappear.
The article tangentially touches on another grave danger: it is a bad thing for anyone to have 18 grandchildren. We need to prevent that from happening in the future, but seizing houses from grandparents is not going to help.
10 August 2013 (ALEC is about to privately present its agenda)
ALEC is about to privately present its agenda for the coming year: many possible attacks on democracy.
10 August 2013 (Egypt's military maybe-ruler associating himself with memory of Nasser)
Egypt's military maybe-ruler is associating himself with the memory of Nasser, a military dictator.
10 August 2013 (Using Interpol to find and harass dissidents)
Governments are using Interpol to find and harass dissidents in exile.
10 August 2013 (Journalists in Russia face repression)
Journalists in Russia who criticize mistreatment of people in connection with the coming Olympic games face repression.
10 August 2013 (All protests to get permission from the thugs)
Uganda has passed a law requiring all protests to get permission from the thugs.
It is not quite as nasty than Bahrain, but it's on the way.
09 August 2013 (Urgent: Support freedom of movement for Palestinian journalists)
Everyone: support freedom of movement for Palestinian journalists.
09 August 2013 (Seizing houses from banks)
Richmond, California, is seizing houses from banks using eminent domain so that the occupants can keep living in them.
09 August 2013 (Bennett's scheme of "grading" public schools)
Tony Bennett's scheme of "grading" public schools systematically hands out good grades to schools with prosperous students, and bad grades to schools with students from poor families.
Then the "failing" schools (those whose students are poor) get privatized.
I suppose the privatizers don't care which schools they privatize, but the wealthier families could resist harder, so this scheme lets them do it to the families that can't resist.
09 August 2013 (Urgent: Stricter standards for toxic pollution from automobiles)
US citizens: urge the EPA to set stricter standards for toxic pollution from automobiles.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
09 August 2013 (Urgent: Raise the minimum wage)
US citizens: call for raising the minimum wage to $10.50 an hour.
09 August 2013 (High-stakes standardized tests)
Five Absurdities about High-Stakes Standardized Tests.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
09 August 2013 (Restoring our trust in the US government)
What the US government must do to restore our trust.
09 August 2013 (Washington Post's new owner)
Bezos Buys the Post, Pulled Plug on WikiLeaks in 2010.
09 August 2013 (New Hampshire thugs describe protest groups as "terrorists")
New Hampshire thugs described protest groups as "terrorists" to apply for funds to buy an armored vehicle, with which to attack protests.
This is happening across the country, and the federal program that offers money to thugs to buy these armored cars (and other heavy weapons) is primarily to blame. Once the thugs in a town set up a SWAT team, they want to use it, so they set up criteria for when to use it. That results in fatalities because sometimes grandpa gets a heart attack when the house is attacked by a SWAT team.
Any city with less than five incidents per year for which a SWAT team is really needed should borrow one from a bigger city on those rare occasions.
09 August 2013 (Witch-hunt against child pornography)
Botnet operators takes advantage of the witch-hunt against "child pornography" to frighten users about getting their PCs disinfected.
This is yet another reason why the ban on possessing "child pornography" must be eliminated, to add to all the other reasons.
I put that expression in quotation marks because, in the US, it includes selfies made by teenagers for sexting.
08 August 2013 (Bahrain has banned all protests)
Bahrain has banned all protests. The repression of the government of Bahrain is supported by the US and US allies sent forces to impose the crackdown.
08 August 2013 (Cyber-Attack against Tor users)
The cyber-attack against Tor users may be due to some other agency rather than the NSA.
08 August 2013 (Corporate/State surveillance partnership)
The corporate/state surveillance partnership explains why the state can get so much information about nearly everyone.
It is a shame that the article starts with defeatist statements: "We all carry mobile phones", "We notify Facebook". Not everyone does these things: some of us refuse, as resistance to surveillance. It is not impossible.
The measures proposed in the article are not enough. If data is collected, it will be misused. We must force companies to redesign systems so that they don't keep much data about anyone, except when a court order requires them to keep data about someone in particular.
Another aspect of the corporate/state surveillance partnership permits corporate misuse of the data that is collected for the state.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
08 August 2013 (US Foreign Policy and Media)
The More Nefarious US Foreign Policy, The More It Relies on Media Complicity.
08 August 2013 (Gov't in Honduras seems to encourage the murder of indigenous leaders)
The coup-installed "business-friendly" government in Honduras seems to encourage the murder of indigenous leaders who oppose dams in their land.
08 August 2013 (Egypt's gov't threatens to attack the Morsi supporters)
Egypt's government threatens to attack the Morsi supporters by Sunday.
08 August 2013 (The one firefighter not killed reports feeling guilt)
The one firefighter who was not killed along with the rest of his group, because he was doing a job elsewhere at the time, reports feeling guilt that he was not with them, and is looking for some sort of "reason" why he survived.
This is a common pattern of irrationality among those who have the good fortune to escape a calamity. There was probably no "reason", only chance; and he has nothing to feel guilty about. If he had been there with them, he'd be dead too. One survivor is better than none.
08 August 2013 (UK provides great subsidies for fossil fuel)
The UK provides great subsidies for fossil fuel use but much less for renewable energy.
The US has the same harmful policy. I suppose that in both cases it is because the fossil fuel companies have purchased more political power than the renewable energy companies. In other words, it's a reflection of the fact that we have democracy in form, but plutocracy in substance.
08 August 2013 (Boycott of the 2014 Olympics in Russia)
A campaign calls for a boycott of the 2014 Olympics because of its repression of gays.
I think repression of political opposition ought to be cited also.
08 August 2013 (Congressman Lewis praised Snowden)
Congressman Lewis, who has long experience in civil disobedience, praised Snowden for it and compared today's surveillance with the surveillance of civil rights leaders such as Lewis himself.
08 August 2013 (US protects violent criminals from extradition)
While Russia protects an American hero from extradition, the US protects violent criminals from extradition.
This does not excuse Putin's repression of dissent, of course, but that's a separate issue.
08 August 2013 (Does surveillance do enough good to justify it)
Bruce Schneier, if head of the NSA, would ask if each surveillance program does enough good to the country to justify it.
That might be a good criterion if exercised by someone conscientious, but it would be too easily stretched, so adopting it would not fix the problem.
Meanwhile, I think it is not sufficient to stop the bulk collection of databases, and the bulk searching of massive databases (as in XKeyscore). We need to prevent these massive dossiers from existing about Americans except when probable cause has been shown to investigate someone.
07 August 2013 (NSA spying torpedoed the US Internet freedom agenda)
NSA spying has torpedoed the US Internet freedom agenda.
I, like the author, support that agenda, but Snowden's revelations show we need to apply it to the US as well.
07 August 2013 (The Bank of England says it will keep interests rates low)
The Bank of England says it will keep interest rates low until 750,000 more jobs are created.
That would be good, if low interests rates created jobs. There was a time when that was to be expected, but I don't think that's the case any more.
Thus, all the plutocrats need to do, to continue to borrow cheaply, is to avoid creating jobs in the UK.
07 August 2013 (Teenagers use ask.fm to invite people to insult them)
A fair number of teenagers use ask.fm to invite people to insult them. A few of them eventually kill themselves.
It seems to me that the site provided them with a way to nerve themselves to suicide, or (only slightly different) stimulated a latent fatal flaw. In other words, the site wasn't the cause of the problem; the problem came first.
To ban the site would be futile, and unfair to millions of others. Small tweaks in the site might reduce the frequency of making people feel miserable, but I doubt it, simply because that possibility always exists when people interact and want to be popular.
If we understood the reason why teenagers feel inclined to do this, maybe we could see a way to turn them away from death. My uneducated guess is that it will be something about their family life.
07 August 2013 (10 Ways to Reduce the Threat of Terrorist Attacks on Americans)
10 Ways to Reduce the Threat of Terrorist Attacks on Americans.
07 August 2013 (US political parties offer TV networks partnerships)
US political parties offer TV networks "partnerships" of a sort that is essentially corrupting.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
07 August 2013 (Peru gov't discharged ministers)
Peru's government has apparently discharged ministers that supported indigenous people's opposition to oil mining on their land.
07 August 2013 (Dishonest campaigns in Australia)
Dishonest campaigns oppose wind and solar electricity plants in Australia.
07 August 2013 (Forfeiture)
"Forfeiture", the practice of confiscating people's property without first convicting them of a crime, has reached the point where some US thug departments threaten bogus charges against people passing through simply in order to take their cash.
Isn't it sad how Ms Boatright still thinks of the thugs as "heroes" despite experiencing their ingrained corruption first hand?
07 August 2013 (US insurance companies not facing what the effects of global heating will do)
US insurance companies are mostly not facing what the effects of global heating will do to their businesses.
This is an important issue, because if they wake up to it, they will pressure governments to do something.
07 August 2013 (For Palestinian boys throwing or shooting stones is symbol for resistance)
For Palestinian boys, throwing or shooting stones at Israeli cars and even tanks is socially obligatory as a symbol of resistance.
Throwing stones harms the Palestinian cause, because it makes the Palestinians look bad. However, we have to compare it with Israeli teargas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets. All these weapons occasionally kill someone, but not often.
07 August 2013 (Palestinians protested against plan to evict Bedouin)
Palestinians protested in Jerusalem against the plan to evict Bedouin from their towns, and the army attacked them.
07 August 2013 (Israeli intelligence agency is interrogating political activists)
The Israeli intelligence agency is interrogating political activists to intimidate them.
07 August 2013 (Why Arabs rejected Zionism)
Why Arabs rejected Zionism, and how that affects the issue of peace today.
07 August 2013 (US plutocrats' war against the rest of the US population)
In the US plutocrats' war against the rest of the US population, Detroit Is the Front Line.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
The banksters whose LIBOR lies pushed Detroit into bankruptcy will now get priority over pensioners for the city's money.
The argument offered for this policy is, essentially, a statement that banks hold our country hostage. We need to destroy the bankster regime, regardless of the short-term damage — because letting them continue to bleed us will be worse in the long run.
07 August 2013 (Disaster even bigger than SOPA)
Removing the safe harbor provisions for commenting on the Internet would be a disaster even bigger than SOPA.
07 August 2013 (Urgent: remove David Koch from its advisory board)
In the US: call on WGBH to remove David Koch from its advisory board.
07 August 2013 (NSA feeding surveillance data to the War on Drugs)
The NSA is feeding its surveillance data to the War on Drugs and over criminal investigations that have nothing to do with "terrorism".
This makes trials unfair.
Just a few days ago the government was trying to describe this practice in a way that understates the extent of it.
07 August 2013 (Surveillance blimps now stationed over Washington DC)
Surveillance blimps now stationed over Washington DC can be used to monitor armed attack — and to monitor cars and maybe even people.
07 August 2013 (Wind power capacity in the prairie)
There's lots of wind power capacity in the prairie. We just need to upgrade the electrical grid to transport the electricity to its users from the prairie.
Electric storage facilities are needed too.
07 August 2013 (Post-Constitution America)
Welcome to Post-Constitution America.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
07 August 2013 (Three false arguments for lowering tax rate on US corporations)
Refuting three false arguments for lowering the tax rate on US corporations.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
However, maintaining the tax rate is not enough. We need to block the tricks that they use to shift the profits out of taxation.
07 August 2013 (Guantanamo prison)
The official who organized the use of Guantanamo prison now says it was fundamentally wrong.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
07 August 2013 (Imprisonment of transgender people in Greece)
Transgender people in Greece are being systematically imprisoned without criminal charges, along with homeless people, prostitutes, immigrants and people infected with HIV.
Who will be next?
07 August 2013 (Removing Israeli colonists from expropriated West Bank land)
Uri Avnery addresses what will need to be done to remove various groups of Israeli colonists from expropriated West Bank land.
07 August 2013 (US embassies close on same day as "1984 day" protests)
On the same day as the "1984 day" protests, the US closed several embassies and consulates in response to a high volume of "chatter". In other words, nothing specific.
No terrorist act has been reported, but they can always say they prevented one.
The US government has been caught using "terror alerts" for political purposes before.
07 August 2013 (Murder of Afghan woman accused of having an affair)
The murder of an Afghan woman because she was accused of having an affair demonstrates the cruel misogyny that typically accompanies Islam.
The official, Sharaf, said that she should instead have been put on trial. That reflects the fact that Islamic law is guilty of cruel misogyny.
Christianity used to carry similar misogyny, and for US theocratic Christians it still does so to some extent.
07 August 2013 (Uganda to allow thugs to ban any demonstration)
Uganda is passing a law that would allow thugs to ban any demonstration.
An American journalist who filmed Ugandan thugs attacked an unplanned opposition rally was deported, after being accused of committing journalism without a work permit.
The US also has the unjust policy of prohibiting foreign journalists unless they get special visas. Shame on the US!
07 August 2013 (Hot, dry weather in Alaska killing salmon and trout)
Hot, dry weather in Alaska is killing salmon and trout.
In 40 years, normal conditions in Alaska will be hot by today's standards.
07 August 2013 (Tor sabotaged by US gov't using Javascript)
The US government sabotaged Tor by means of malicious Javascript code.
Fingers point at the NSA.
Here's an explanation of the attack method. It seems that they attacked certain Tor nodes, and every user who (by chance) was routed to those nodes was attacked.
I've been told that the malicious Javascript was not introduced into Tor routing nodes, but rather into some .onion web sites hosted by the same company.
07 August 2013 (Political prisoners who have been convicted of "dangerousness")
Amnesty International calls on Cuba to free political prisoners who have been convicted of "dangerousness".
I agree, but Cuba is not the only country to imprison people because the state thinks they might commit a crime in the future. The UK does the same thing.
07 August 2013 (News apps)
Where Do "Good" Software Practices Fit Into News Applications?
07 August 2013 (Sri Lankan army attacks journalists)
In Sri Lanka, the army attacked journalists who were covering environmental protests.
07 August 2013 (Urgent: Save America's Pollinators Act)
US citizens: tell Congress to pass the Save America's Pollinators Act.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
06 August 2013 (President Rouhani wants direct talks with US)
President Rouhani says he wants direct talks with the US and would like to make a deal.
06 August 2013 (Government-Supported campaign to improve access to contraception)
A government-supported campaign to improve access to contraception has reduced Bangladesh's birth rate to roughly the replacement level.
The US should fund such campaigns in all countries with rapidly growing populations, including the US itself.
06 August 2013 (Prejudice against prostitutes)
The prejudice against prostitutes becomes visible when they are murdered, and again when the murder is not investigated much.
I am convinced that much of the pressure to crush prostitution, whether it be punishing prostitutes, closing brothels, or punishing customers, reflects the stigma against prostitutes. The claims that this is mean to "protect" them are hypocrisy.
06 August 2013 (Thai soldiers shot unarmed protesters)
In 2010, Thai soldiers shot unarmed protesters who had taken refuge in a temple.
06 August 2013 (NSA director trying to distract Americans with speculation)
The NSA director is trying to distract Americans with speculation about what some supporters of Snowden might do if the US caught him.
He hopes we will worry about this rather than about the NSA's cyber attacks against all of us.
06 August 2013 (Lousy precarious part-time jobs with no benefits)
When Obama cited Amazon as the source of jobs in the US, he is saying that he wants Americans to have lousy precarious part-time jobs with no benefits.
Here's why you should not buy from Amazon.
06 August 2013 (Poor people in Greece face hunger)
Poor people in Greece face hunger as food bank organizations close for a holiday in August and their volunteers are near burnout.
06 August 2013 (Global Heating pushing marine species toward the poles)
Global heating is pushing marine species towards the poles at around 4 miles a year.
It will get a lot faster in a few decades.
Since the poles are warming fastest, species that are now too hot at polar latitudes, such as polar bear and harp seals and penguins soon won't have any place to go.
06 August 2013 (Fracking CO2 emission)
Mining figures show that fracking in the US has not resulted in any decrease in CO₂ emission.
06 August 2013 (Disastrous Counter-terrorism Legacy)
President Obama's Disastrous Counter-terrorism Legacy.
05 August 2013 (Urgent: Treat rape as a serious offense)
Everyone: call on US colleges to treat rape as a serious offense.
05 August 2013 (Urgent: Support the EPA's authority to act to curb global heating)
US citizens: phone your congresscritters to support the EPA's authority to act to curb global heating. Also sign this petition.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
05 August 2013 (Spanish government's response to public condemnation)
The Spanish government's response to public condemnation is to harass Gibraltar. I hope the people of Spain are wise enough to see through this and refuse to be distracted from the corruption of the right-wing ruling party.
05 August 2013 (Significant reduction in US military forces)
The sequester cuts will result in a significant reduction in US military forces.
The US military is so much bigger than all its rivals that even after these cuts it would remain the most powerful in the world.
These cuts are very desirable. We should restore funds in areas that do real good for Americans.
05 August 2013 (Urgent: Stop funding the opposition to GMO labeling initiatives)
In the US, call on Safeway, Starbucks and Target to stop funding the opposition to GMO labeling initiatives.
05 August 2013 (Urgent: Let Google Fiber customers run personal servers)
Everyone: call on Google to let Google Fiber customers run personal servers.
05 August 2013 (Urgent: Stop selling neonicotinoid pesticides)
In the US: call on US stores to stop selling neonicotinoid pesticides.
05 August 2013 (Urgent: Oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean)
US citizens: call on Obama not to allow oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean.
05 August 2013 (Urgent: Strict safety regulation for undersea oil drilling)
US citizens: call on the Secretary of the Interior to give priority to strict safety regulations for undersea oil drilling.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
05 August 2013 (UK gov't fracking)
The UK government has ordered local planning authorities not to consider using renewable energy instead of fracking.
The claim that there is something good about fracking is based on a dishonest comparison with coal. But even if an honest comparison found that fracked gas was a little better, it is irrelevant to compare them, because fracking has not reduced the amount of coal that is being extracted and burnt.
Thus, this policy is based on pure dishonesty, and I suspect someone has been influenced by gas company money.
05 August 2013 (Urgent: Petition against government Internet censorship)
UK citizens: sign this petition against government Internet censorship.
05 August 2013 (Urgent: End tax deduct-ability of excessive pay to CEOs)
US citizens: call on Congress to end the tax deduct-ability of excessive pay to CEOs.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
05 August 2013 (JP Morgan Chase gets slap on wrist for manipulation electricity prices)
JP Morgan Chase manipulated electricity prices in the same way as Enron did,but the penalty was a slap on the wrist.
05 August 2013 (The conviction of Bradley Manning)
The conviction of Bradley Manning under the Espionage Act suggests a greater threat to Julian Assange from the Obama regime.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]

Another article.
05 August 2013 (The US should apply human rights law to end "perpetual war")
Human Rights Watch: the US should apply human rights law to end "perpetual war".

In other words, replace the "war on terrorism" with a "criminal investigation of terrorism".
05 August 2013 (Obama regime plans to present a half truth)
The Obama regime plans to selectively declassify some documents about surveillance, to make it look better.

This will be a half truth that, as the saying goes, is worse than a lie.
05 August 2013 (Fungicides contributing to death of honeybees)
Certain fungicides may be contributing to the death of honeybees.
05 August 2013 (Snowden's revelations)
Evgeny Morozov explains how Snowden's revelations upended the establishment political certitudes about the Internet.

He notes the danger in the "smart" products that will spy on you.

He is mistaken on one point. Gmail could not encrypt email in such a way that it could never read the email. If the encryption is done by Gmail, Gmail has already had a chance to see the non-encrypted message, and could send it to the NSA first.
05 August 2013 (Right-wing attacks on abortion rights and women's health care)
Right-wing legislators have many ways of attacking abortion rights and women's health care, through pesky little regulations that cause considerable obstruction without being an absolute ban.
05 August 2013 (Congress considers proposals to limit surveillance)
Congress is considering various proposals to limit surveillance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]

Any of these would be an improvement, but none of them goes far enough to prevent the US from carrying out a total fishing expedition against anyone it can present suspicions about.
05 August 2013 (UK gov't undermines plans for marine reserves)
The UK government has quietly undermined plans for marine reserves, leaving wildlife in danger.
05 August 2013 (FBI forcing ISPs to install "port reader" software)
The FBI is forcing ISPs to install "port reader" software for total real-time surveillance.
05 August 2013 (Turkey's lack of democracy)
Turkey's Lack of Democracy Is Storing up Problems.
05 August 2013 (The effects of massive consumption of sugar)
The effects of massive consumption of sugar are showing up in a generation of obese children. And fruit juices have more sugar than sodas.
05 August 2013 (Russian web sites protest against SOPA-like law)
1700 Russian web sites protested against the Russian SOPA-like law.
05 August 2013 (Transcanada plans pipeline to the Atlantic)
Transcanada plans a pipeline to the Atlantic via Quebec to parallel the Keystone XL.
05 August 2013 (UK water and sewage companies pollute beaches)
UK water and sewage companies are the biggest polluters of beaches. The fines are too low to do any good.

The Water Companies And the Foul Stench of Exploitation.
05 August 2013 (Uruguay's plan to legalize sale of marijuana)
Uruguay's plan is to legalize sale of marijuana, but regulate it tightly.
05 August 2013 (Accusation of election-rigging in Zimbabwe)
Tsvangirai says the Zimbabwe election was rigged.

Since Mugabe rejected the usual international observers, there is every reason to believe this accusation.
05 August 2013 (Spying on people's mobile phones)
It is easy to spy a considerable amount on most people's mobile phones. Anyone could do it.

Contrary to the article, there are ways to guard against this. For instance, don't enable WiFi in your computer except on rare occasions.
05 August 2013 (Attack on whistleblowers undermines press freedom)
Even when whistleblowers are not convicted, the attack on them undermines press freedom in the US.
05 August 2013 (House Republicans pass bill to remove federal safety regulations)
House Republicans passed a bill to eliminate most federal safety regulations; meanwhile, the Senate will hold a hearing into the harm caused by the obstruction of necessary regulations.

The House bill is mere propaganda for the right-wing bullshit that regulations are bad.
05 August 2013 (US gov't double standards for extradition)
While the US government demands the extradition of Snowden, who has done the American people a heroic service, it refuses to extradite people accused of terrorism, murder, and fraud leading to economic collapse in other countries.
05 August 2013 (Unpopular pro-plutocrat views referred to as "center")
US mainstream media typically refer to unpopular pro-plutocrat views as the "center".
05 August 2013 (NBC misrepresents collateral murder video)
NBC misrepresents the collateral murder video.
05 August 2013 (Antibiotic resistance spreading to another class of bacteria)
Antibiotic resistance is spreading to another class of bacteria which could make common surgical operations likely to be fatal.
05 August 2013 (Violent thieves in thug uniforms)
Two violent thieves dressed in thug uniforms turned out to be real thugs.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
5 August 2013 (Arctic Sea Ice)
The decline in Arctic sea ice, even in the winter, is killing baby harp seals.
5 August 2013 (Neonicotinoid Pesticides)
As neonicotinoid pesticides enter the soil and rivers, we have no idea what species they are killing off.
5 August 2013 (Arctic)
The danger of a giant methane release from the Arctic should not be dismissed.
5 August 2013 (Ian Tomlinson)
The London thug department has apologized for killing Ian Tomlinson.
5 August 2013 (Hamburger)
A vat-grown hamburger is a first step towards producing meat without animals.
5 August 2013 (Tunisia)
Tunisia is plagued by attacks by Islamist fanatics, which secularists accuse the government of failing to fight against.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
5 August 2013 (US)
8 fields in which privatization in the US has done harm.
5 August 2013 (The Charitable-Industrial Complex)
The Charitable-Industrial Complex: rich "philanthropists'" giving to charities means they stay silent as the "philanthropists'" businesses continue making things worse.
5 August 2013 (Japan)
The East Japan Railway started selling weakly anonymized data from passengers' travel, which was tracked using transit passes that have the passenger's name.

If data is collected, it will be misused. The East Japan Railway, and all other transit systems, should keep no records of who travels where. They should make transit passes anonymous.
5 August 2013 (Tawakul Karman)
Nobel laureate Tawakul Karman was banned from Egypt because she had stated support for Morsi.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
5 August 2013 (Jimmy Mubenga)
A report found a slew of bad practices responsible for the killing of Jimmy Mubenga when he was being deported from the UK.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]

Privatization — the use of company employees to do things to prisoners — is surely the root cause.
5 August 2013 (Two Thugs)
Two thugs that stripped and chained a pregnant prisoner, keeping her shackled for half a day and causing her baby to be born prematurely, have been given a bad note, but not fired.
5 August 2013 (NSA)
Members of Congress Denied Access to Basic Information About NSA.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
5 August 2013 (Paul Lamb)
Paul Lamb, who wants someone to be allowed to help him die, lost his appeal in the UK.

He is condemned to decades of boredom unless something fortuitously kills him.
04 August 2013 (US system for food aid designed to aid US agribusiness)
The US system for food aid is designed to aid US agribusiness more than the recipients of the aid.
04 August 2013 (EFF: MIT was not neutral in the Aaron Swartz case)
EFF: MIT was not neutral in the Aaron Swartz case. It aided the prosecution.
Even more fundamentally, MIT never told the government that Swartz's use of MIT's network was not unauthorized.
That would have made the case disappear.
04 August 2013 (Google is attacking network neutrality)
Google is attacking network neutrality by saying that ordinary subscribers of Google Fiber will be banned from running Freedom Box.
04 August 2013 (UK border thugs accused of systematically accosting nonwhite persons)
UK border thugs are accused of systematically accosting nonwhite persons at a London train station and ordering each to "show your papers".
The threats to citizens who asked what was going on is typical thug behavior.
04 August 2013 (Fracking company settled with family sickened by contaminated water)
A fracking company settled with a family sickened by contaminated water, imposing a lifetime gag on everyone in the family including the children.
The company now says that the gag order did not cover the children.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
04 August 2013 (CFAA used to punish Manning twice for same act)
The CFAA has been used to punish Bradley Manning twice for the same act.
04 August 2013 (Republican administrators of EPA demand action to curb global heating)
Past Republican administrators of the EPA demand action to curb global heating.
Their time in office was before the fossil fuel companies cracked the whip and required Republicans to deny the facts.
04 August 2013 (Processors are vulnerable to malicious microcode updates)
Steve Blank says that Intel and AMD processors are vulnerable to malicious microcode updates, which could be sent by the NSA, by Intel, by Microsoft, or maybe by someone else.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
When microcode can be changed, it counts as software installed in the computer. Then it needs to be free software.
04 August 2013 (ACLU points out that Edward Snowden qualifies as a whistleblower)
The ACLU points out that Edward Snowden qualifies as a whistleblower under the definition in the Whistleblower Protection Act.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
That law does not protect people that work for the NSA, but this should still settle the question of whether Snowden is a whistleblower.
04 August 2013 (Why the Espionage Act was passed)
To understand the Bradley Manning case, look at why the Espionage Act was passed in the first place.
04 August 2013 (US gov't surveillance)
Although Michele Catalano was fingered due to local surveillance, the US government admits it looks for such searches.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
04 August 2013 (Harvest of Shame)
Migrant Workers and America's Harvest of Shame.
04 August 2013 (Obscene That The Govt. Profits Off Student Loans)
Senator Warren: It's Obscene That The Govt. Profits Off Student Loans.
When a government gives big handouts to the rich, then talks about "paying down the national debt" by squeezing students, it adds up to a government that's on the side of the plutocrats.
Paying off the national debt is a mistaken goal at present, because the way to end a recession is with deficit spending.
04 August 2013 (What does idealism get you)
"What Does Idealism Get You Today? Abuse, Derision, Or Sometimes Prison."
But not in the free software movement. Here we campaign for real change, and we implement it too. It's only one area of life, true; but a good example in one area can get things started in others too.
04 August 2013 (Child suicide bombers)
The Afghan government has no idea what to do with child suicide bombers who failed to detonate their bombs.
04 August 2013 (Urgent: Cut ties with ALEC)
US citizens: call on your state legislators to cut ties with ALEC.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
04 August 2013 (San Francisco to create city-owned bank)
San Francisco will create a city-owned bank to reduce the risk and cost of using privately owned banks.
04 August 2013 (Urgent: Limit NSA surveillance)
US citizens: call on Congress to limit NSA surveillance.
Just limiting the NSA's access is not enough, but it's a good first step.
04 August 2013 (150 million dollars from the NSA to GCHQ)
The NSA has paid 150 million dollars to the UK surveillance agency GCHQ to ensure it remains a surveillance proxy.
03 August 2013 (Iranian conservatives and US Republicans)
Iranian conservatives say it is a waste of time talking with the US. Republicans are trying to prove them right.
I would expect that the Israeli hawks' lobby is behind this. They want the US and Iran to make war, not a nuclear agreement.
03 August 2013 (Questioning what aim all our work is directed at)
The environmental movement must teach people to question what aim all our work is directed at.
In other words, if we stop the plutocrats from taking most of what humanity makes, we could all live comfortably.
03 August 2013 (Election rigging in Zimbabwe)
Tsvangirai says the election in Zimbabwe was rigged. Independent monitors seem to agree.
What else would one expect from Mugabe?
03 August 2013 (Oil drilling in Virunga national park)
Oil drilling in Virunga national park could wipe out mountain gorillas directly, as it helps wipe out most other species on Earth.
Since we need to leave 80% of all fossil fuels in the ground, why not include these as part of the 80%.
03 August 2013 (Mass surveillance for profiling)
If massive surveillance is used for profiling, most of suspects will be innocent. Here's a good example.
It is risky to let thugs search your house. Maybe you will luck out, as happened this time. But you should always consult a lawyer before you let them in, or answer questions for them.
03 August 2013 (First Amendment's protection must be extended to whistleblowers)
The First Amendment's protection must be extended directly to whistleblowers, now that it has become impossible for journalists to protect their sources as was customary.
03 August 2013 (Bloodshed soars in war-ravaged Iraq)
Deadliest Month in 5 Years: Bloodshed Soars in War-Ravaged Iraq.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
In other words, the disaster that Bush's occupation visited on Iraq is not over. Since Bush used lies to start the war, the war itself was his crime, and he is personally responsible for every Iraqi who is killed. He ought to serve hundreds of thousands of consecutive life sentences.
03 August 2013 (Statements from the US security state can not be trusted)
The US security state has told so many lies, and half-truths, that we cannot trust any statement unless we can verify it. And with so much secrecy, we can't verify anything. We can only judge who is trustworthy and then trust him.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Here's a lexicon detailing the Orwellian US government practice of twisting everyday English words and making statements that mean one thing to us, while they claim it means the opposite to them.
This practice is deceptive. So I refuse to use these words with their Orwellian NSA meanings. I will insist on using them with their normal meanings and applying those normal meanings to the NSA's actions.
Obama and his men have lied and betrayed us many times, in many areas; but Snowden's statements, even when they seemed incredible, have turned out to be true. I don't trust Obama. I trust Snowden.
03 August 2013 (Snowden granted asylum in Russia)
Snowden has been granted asylum in Russia.
I expect he is unhappy being stuck there, and would rather go to a country such as Venezuela which permits real political opposition, and has a real opposition press.
03 August 2013 (Foreclosed homes become valueless due to lack of maintenance)
The foreclosure of 4 million homes in the US has devastated neighborhoods and entire towns. The banks do not bother to maintain the foreclosed homes, so they are looted and become valueless.
What's the point of foreclosing a house and letting it be destroyed? The only point I can imagine is sheer malice, a desire to make others suffer. The banks which have done this deserve to be destroyed themselves.
As for the people who carry out these evictions, it is a wonder that nobody takes personal revenge on them.
03 August 2013 (Anthony Weiner's wife and sexting partners)
Anthony Weiner's wife and sexting partners aren't saints, sluts or victims.
03 August 2013 (UK telecom companies admit giving GCHQ access to tap their fiber optic cables)
UK telecom companies admit giving GCHQ access to tap their fiber optic cables.
The taps copy the full data, which the NSA can search via XKeyScore.
XKeyScore holds everyone's complete Internet data for the past few days. Messages or data considered "interesting" can be copied elsewhere for permanent storage.
This supports Snowden's claim that he could read anyone's email and demonstrates that, once again, our officials lied to us when they said he was lying.
03 August 2013 (Conviction of Bradley Manning threatens freedom of press)
Green Shadow Cabinet: The conviction of Bradley Manning for espionage directly threatens freedom of the press in the US, because the prosecution's argument was that publishing (true) information is a crime because it makes the US look bad.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
It is standard for tyrannical regimes to claim that exposing their flaws is disloyalty, as "grounds" to punish those who do it. Some of Dubya's followers argued that people who criticized Dubya's wars were supporting al Qa'ida. Obama has converted this notion into law.
When the US government calls on people to help it cover up crimes so as not to give opponents a way to make it look bad, we must respond, "You should have considered possible condemnation before you committed such acts." Then, as the Green Shadow Cabinet says, we must get the US to drop this practice.
But that's not enough. The US has an obligation to try the perpetrators of war crimes, starting with Dubya.
03 August 2013 (US funding for the Egyptian military)
Green Shadow Cabinet: US funding for the Egyptian military endangers the prospects for democracy in Egypt.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
03 August 2013 (Complexities of tying hot weather to violence)
Complexities of tying hot weather to violence.
03 August 2013 (Misuse and abuse of pesticides)
In poor countries, misuse and abuse of pesticides lead to illness and even death.
03 August 2013 (Carbon Bubble)
Stock markets value fossil fuel companies as if all their reserves were going to be used some day.
This has been referred to as the "carbon bubble".
The bubble is sure to pop, but will it pop only after global heating disaster, or will we make it pop sooner? The sooner the better, because these companies use their wealth to paralyze governments and to cause negotiations about preventing disaster to fail.
03 August 2013 (US companies talk about the cost of adapting to global heating)
US companies talk about the cost of adapting to global heating's effects, but say nothing about trying to prevent it.
Adaptation is a real possibility only in the early stages.
03 August 2013 (Thugs lying about general massive surveillance)
When thugs visited of couple suspecting them of terrorism, they said they were cued by general massive surveillance. It turns out they were lying — they were cued by local surveillance at the workplace.
I don't think this makes it much better, however, I think that it is scary people can be considered suspects just for looking for information about a topic.
03 August 2013 (Chilean miners blacklisted from working in mines)
The Chilean miners who survived being trapped in a mine have been blacklisted from working in mines any more. They are "too famous" — if they saw illegal dangerous practices, and reported them, the mine owners could not hush it up.
The article is mainly about the fact that the owners of the mine where they were trapped won't face charges. I don't know enough about the events, or Chilean law, to have an opinion about whether they were at fault.
03 August 2013 (Libya's government is unable to stop violence)
Libya's government is unable to stop violence, and Tunisia could be following a few steps behind.
03 August 2013 (Focus on US Government's Unlawful Behavior, Not Snowden)
Focus on US Government's Unlawful Behavior, Not Snowden.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
03 August 2013 (ALEC-sponsored bills aim to destroy state support for renewable energy)
ALEC-sponsored bills aim to destroy state support for renewable energy.
03 August 2013 (117 ALEC-sponsored bills in US states attack workers' rights)
117 ALEC-sponsored bills in US states attack workers' rights.
03 August 2013 (GMO companies set up a web site to answer virtually any question)
GMO companies have set up a web site to answer "virtually any question posed by consumers" — except whether the package of food you hold in your hand contains GMOs.
03 August 2013 (Hot weather increases violence)
A study finds that hot weather increases violence.
Global heating is likely give people lots of substantial things to fight about. Now we see it is likely to make them start fighting, too.
03 August 2013 (Global heating is causing various causes of illness and death to spread)
Global heating is causing various causes of illness and death to spread.
03 August 2013 (British GCHQ selling spying services to US)
Campaigners accuse the British GCHQ of selling its spying services to the US.
03 August 2013 (Berlusconi tax fraud)
Berlusconi's conviction for tax fraud has been definitively upheld, and he will have to serve a sentence.
03 August 2013 (Stealthy change to the constitution)
A right-wing Japanese politician proposed a stealthy change to the constitution, and proposed the Nazis' stealthy change to the German constitution as an example.
Proposing a stealthy change to the constitution is enough reason to end a politician's career, even if had not cited Nazis as a positive example of doing so. However, there is reason to think that that politician's may have other views in common with Nazis, as he visits the shrine in which war criminals, the Japanese equivalents of Dubya, are worshiped.
03 August 2013 (Urgent: Stand up for free range farmers)
US citizens: stand up for the right to sell free range chicken eggs in the US.
03 August 2013 (Urgent: Call for disclosure of CEO pay)
US citizens: call on the SEC to enforce the law requiring companies to publish how much their CEOs are paid.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
02 August 2013 (Thatcher considered trade unions the enemy)
Thatcher considered trade unions "the enemy".
It is typical of plutocratic states to consider working people as the enemy.
02 August 2013 (Obama scuttled Congressional testimony for critics of mass surveillance)
Obama scuttled Congressional testimony for critics of mass surveillance, with a last-minute request for House Democrats to meet with him at the scheduled time.
02 August 2013 (The Bradley Manning trial: Slow Death For Democracy)
The Bradley Manning trial: Slow Death For Democracy.
Ten important revelations the world received from Bradley Manning.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
02 August 2013 (Surveillance and the Corrosion of Internet Freedom)
Surveillance and the Corrosion of Internet Freedom.
02 August 2013 (Summary of MIT's report about the case of Aaron Swartz)
A summary of MIT's report about the case of Aaron Swartz.
MIT says it was neutral in regard to whether Swartz should be prosecuted.
The Swartz family say that MIT favored the prosecution in subtle ways, but even if it had been neutral, that is wrong when someone faces an absurd prosecution for actions that help the public.
MIT should atone for this by committing to defend anyone who is prosecuted for "crimes" that involve sharing scientific information with the public.
02 August 2013 (Urgent: Petition for oversight of NSA and require individual warrants)
US citizens: sign this petition for proper oversight of the NSA and to require individual warrants.
02 August 2013 (One further nasty side effect of the War on Drugs)
One further nasty side effect of the War on Drugs: it is as easy as pie to frame anyone by mailing drugs to him and giving the thugs an anonymous tip when the mail will arrive.
02 August 2013 (Monsanto increased power over farmers)
Argentina is planning to change laws to give Monsanto increased power over farmers there.
This has inspired protests.
02 August 2013 (Planned surveillance system has generated substantial local opposition)
Oakland's planned surveillance system has generated substantial local opposition.
Don't listen to defeatist propaganda saying "It's too late, privacy is dead" on the one hand, and "This is just an upgrade" on the other. We can defeat surveillance, if we recognize it as tyranny and demand "Whatever change is necessary".
02 August 2013 (Russia will move away from Foreign-Made electronic components)

Russia will move away from using foreign-made electronic components in sensitive activities, fearing they may have spy features or back doors.
This is a wise policy; several years ago I read that the Pentagon was concerned about possible malicious features in Chinese chips.
02 August 2013 (Convicted of insulting Islam)
Raif Badawi, the founder of the Free Saudi Liberals website, has been convicted of "insulting Islam".
The evil regime also threatened to kill Badawi if he stopped being a Muslim. Human rights include, for any person, the right not to be a Muslim. Or not to be a Christian. Or not to be a Buddhist. Or not to be an Atheist.
If you feel in the mood to insult Islam, you don't need to say anything yourself. Just spread the word about these events, and behold! Islam insults itself.
02 August 2013 (NTSB proposes to require cars to have wireless communication systems)
The NTSB proposes to require cars to have wireless communication systems.
There are two dangers here. First, we already know that many car systems have bad security, and many wireless systems have bad security. Anything like WiFi in a car could enable someone to cause a crash.
Even if the car does not turn out to have this problem, it could prove to be an excuse to deny car owners control over any of the software in their cars — even the software in the entertainment systems.
Second, if a car can be identified from its transmissions, this will become another surveillance system for tracking everyone.
We must insist that the design be such as to avoid both of these sorts of problems.
02 August 2013 (Australia plans to dump nuclear waste on Aboriginal land)
Australia plans to dump nuclear waste on Aboriginal land after bribing one of the many concerned groups to "give permission".
02 August 2013 (Learn some of the NSA's dirty secrets)
Close attention to what Senators Wyden and Udall say to Clapper enables us to learn some of the NSA's dirty secrets.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
02 August 2013 (Florida has refused to investigate how FBI agent killed Ibragim Todashev)
Florida has refused to investigate how an FBI agent killed Ibragim Todashev. It would be embarrassing if an investigation found it was murder.
02 August 2013 (Biofuel factory that would operate from plant waste)
A competition for making a commercial scale biofuel factory that would operate from plant waste reiterates that we should not be making biofuels from plants that use water, fertilizer or land that could grow other crops.
02 August 2013 (Urgent: Protest against massive surveillance on August 4)
In the US: join a protest on August 4 against massive surveillance.
02 August 2013 (Urgent: Tell Sallie Mae to stop supporting ALEC)
US citizens: tell Sallie Mae to stop supporting ALEC.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
02 August 2013 (Uruguay's congress votes to legalize marijuana)
Uruguay's congress has voted to legalize marijuana.
The people who say that cocaine users started with marijuana could equally well say they started with beer, or mate, or water. Nearly all of them surely used those three first.
02 August 2013 ("Third party doctrine" undermines privacy rights)
The "third party doctrine", that people have no privacy rights over data held by someone else, systematically undermines privacy rights in the US. An appeals court ruled no search warrant is needed to collect people's cell phone location data from the phone company.
It is not enough to limit government access to massive surveillance data. We must prevent the accumulation of those dossiers in the first place. Therefore, what we really need is to forbid phone companies from keeping that data for more than a few days.
02 August 2013 (Water in Colorado river insufficient for Phoenix)
The water in the Colorado river is insufficient to keep Phoenix going, and global heating is reducing the flow.
02 August 2013 (Fracking in North Dakota wasteful)
Fracking in North Dakota wastes and burns 30% of the gas extracted — equivalent to running a million more cars.
02 August 2013 (Manning's unjust trial)
Manning's trial was unjust because the Espionage Act facilitates the War on Whistleblowers.
02 August 2013 (Election-rigging in Zimbabwe)
Mugabe's opponents charge nonviolent election-rigging is going on.
02 August 2013 (US to use declassified info as propaganda)
The US is declassifying some info about surveillance as a form of propaganda, stuffing it with false claims.
But officials had to retract a piece of bullshit — that collecting complete phone call records was their "most important tool".
They are trying to pretend that it is ok to collect bulk information about everyone because only computers, not humans, pay attention to most of it.
On the contrary, simply to accumulate these dossiers is unacceptable no matter where they are kept. The state should only be allowed to start building a dossier about someone given a court order.
02 August 2013 (Egypt's gov't says it will break up protest camps)
Egypt's military-dominated government says it will break up the pro-Morsi protest camps.
That probably means an even bigger massacre.
I dislike the Muslim Brotherhood's politics as much as anyone in the world does, but they do not deserve to be attacked on the street.
02 August 2013 (Standards written by school privatizer)
A school privatizer in Indiana and Florida wrote standards to ensure a campaign donor would get a high mark.
02 August 2013 (Civilian casualties in Afghanistan rising)
Civilian casualties in Afghanistan are rising. Most are killed by Taliban land mines.
02 August 2013 (Record high winter temperatures in Australia)
Australia is experiencing record high temperatures in winter just as it did last summer.
While a warm winter may not be immediately unpleasant, it is very dangerous. For instance, it allows pests to spread which were previously limited by cold. This is why forests around the American west are now dying.
02 August 2013 (Medical care in Rwanda)
Rwanda provides medical care to 90% of the population.
When will the US do as well?
02 August 2013 (Slow Death For Democracy)
Slow Death For Democracy.
02 August 2013 (Wages of McDonald's store employees)
McDonald's would be doing fine if it paid its store employees twice as much.
02 August 2013 (Excuses used for ending protection of wolves rejected)
Scientists reject the excuses used for ending protection of wolves in the US.
02 August 2013 (Major US gay rights groups ignore Bradley Manning)
Major US gay rights groups have ignored Bradley Manning, probably in order to appeal to corporate America.
01 August 2013 (Illegal immigration of Mexicans to the US effectively ceases)
Illegal immigration of Mexicans to the US has effectively ceased: as many are leaving as are entering.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
This is due to economic policies that spread poverty in the US, making it more like Mexico.
Nonetheless, defending the US from a nonexistent menace can provide money to companies (which pay legislators to favor these measures) and provide an excuse to attack our human rights.
01 August 2013 (Swedish man drugged into confessing declared innocent)
A Swedish man who was drugged into confessing to multiple murders has been declared innocent.
01 August 2013 (Israeli thugs attacked and arrested peaceful protesters)
Israeli thugs attacked and arrested peaceful protesters against the plan to demolish Bedouin villages.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
01 August 2013 (Russia plans to track cell phones in the Moscow subway)
Russia plans to track cell phones in the Moscow subway.
01 August 2013 (US agreed to inform defendants when FISA spying was used)
The US agreed to inform defendants when FISA spying was used in making the case against them.
This puts an end to a catch-22 that made it impossible ever to challenge the legality of that spying in court.
01 August 2013 (82 of Top 100 Companies Used Tax Havens in 2012)
New Study: 82 of Top 100 Companies Used Tax Havens in 2012.
01 August 2013 (Urgent: Support an amendment to reverse the Corporations United decision)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support an amendment to reverse the Corporations United decision (*)
* To call it what it really is.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
01 August 2013 (Did US Help New Zealand Spy on War Crimes Reporter?)
Did US Help New Zealand Spy on War Crimes Reporter?
01 August 2013 (Why Bradley Manning deserves the Nobel Peace Prize)
Why Bradley Manning deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
Receiving this prize will give Manning a chance to face the real consequences of his actions, which (aside from Obama's retaliation) are very good consequences indeed.
01 August 2013 (Campaign against the constantly expanding surveillance state)
Senator Wyden talks about his campaign against the constantly expanding surveillance state.
01 August 2013 (Israeli settlers attacking the house of "Youth Against Settlements")
Israeli settlers keep attacking the house of "Youth Against Settlements" in Hebron, most recently by shooting at it.
01 August 2013 (Urgent: Thank Senator Reid)
US citizens: Thank Senator Reid for connecting wildfires with global heating.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
01 August 2013 (Israel's expulsion of Bedouin from their homes)
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay criticized Israel's expulsion of Bedouin from their homes.
01 August 2013 (Negotiations that go nowhere, useful for Israel)
Uri Avnery says that the negotiations that Kerry has started can only succeed if the US ensures both sides get what they need most.
A lawyer for Volunteers for Human Rights talks about defending human rights in Israel, and says that peace talks are a distraction that enables Israel to get away with anything.
Starting peace talks also releases the boycott pressure that was starting to make Israel uncomfortable.
All in all, having talks that go nowhere is quite useful for Israel.
01 August 2013 (Israeli annexation wall)
The Israeli annexation wall will separate the Cremisan Monastery in Bethlehem from most of its land.
01 August 2013 (Netanyahu authorized new colony in East Jerusalem)
Netanyahu expressed his contempt for peace talks by authorizing a new colony in East Jerusalem.
01 August 2013 ("Moral Monday" protests in North Carolina)
"Moral Monday" protests in North Carolina have focused public attention on the right-wing policies most people disapprove of.
The governor's popularity has dropped 20%.
01 August 2013 (Iran foreign minister nominee)
Iran Nominee Seen As Olive Branch to United States.
01 August 2013 (Election in Zimbabwe)
As Zimbabwe votes, Mugabe's violent intimidation is limited to rural areas where the world doesn't notice so much.
01 August 2013 (Convictions against Bradley Manning)
Bradley Manning was convicted on most of the charges.
He was found innocent of "aiding the enemy", but convicted on other charges that threaten journalism in general.
Meanwhile, those guilty of real war crimes including torture and kidnapping receive Obama's protection.
Shame on you, Obama!
01 August 2013 (Protests in Bulgaria)
Persistent protests in Bulgaria brought down one government and may bring down another.
01 August 2013 (Asylum seekers in the UK on hunger strike)
Asylum seekers in the UK are on a hunger strike to death.
01 August 2013 (Nastiness towards women)
Characters on MMORPGs that appear female are subject to repeated nastiness which isn't done to characters that appear male. One woman demonstrated this by trying both ways of presenting her character.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
I can't understand what motivates men to be so nasty to women, and I think we should condemn threats of violence. At the same time, I think everyone needs to learn not to bow to verbal hostility from strangers.
This is why I admire Tuesday Cain, the Texas girl who rebuked the right-wing misogynists that called her a "slut" because of her political sign.
By the way, the word "slut" is twisted in the first place. It presumes that there is something immoral about a female's being disposed to have sex. Why should that be immoral for a female, any more than it is immoral for a male? Or any more than it is immoral to be monogamous, or celibate? The word packages two kinds of prejudice, anti-female and anti-sex. No wonder theocratic Christians use it.
If we dispute whether person X is a slut, we endorse the prejudices in the word. We should condemn the word instead. I have never used the word "slut".
01 August 2013 (Reckless endangerment of species in Australia)
Transferring control of forests in Australia to the states has led to reckless endangerment of species.
01 August 2013 ("Zero-hours contracts")
"Zero-hours contracts" make the lowest paid employees even more precarious.
I agree that this should be illegal.
01 August 2013 (New EPA chief calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions)
New EPA chief Gina McCarthy calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and points out that this will create jobs in the US.
It has already created lots of jobs in some other countries.
01 August 2013 (Obama proposes to cut taxes for corporations)
Obama proposes to cut taxes for corporations, as a "bargain" with Republicans whose goal is to spread poverty.
Half of Americans consider themselves middle class, but the fact is 80% will need government assistance before retirement age.
Paying for this assistance calls for more taxes on the rich. That's also what's needed to enable lots of Americans to become middle class once again.
Eliminating business tax deductions is a good idea, but it won't go far enough, and there should be no cuts in the tax rate. Meanwhile, what really needs to be changed are the loopholes that permit offshoring of profits.
01 August 2013 (Dredging in Gladstone Harbour, Australia, linked to sick crabs)
Dredging in Gladstone Harbour, Australia, released toxic metals which are making crabs in the area sick.
01 August 2013 (Journalist interviews Taliban fighter)
A journalist interviews a Taliban fighter.
01 August 2013 (Tough copyright laws chill innovation)
Tough Copyright Laws Chill Innovation, Tech Companies Warn Lawmakers.
They refer to the value of innovation because that's a value that Congress claims to care about. I think freedom to share is more important than innovation.
The twisted values of Congress are reflected also in the use of the term "intellectual property" in the name of this committee.
01 August 2013 (Robbed by thugs, then framed for having drugs)
Being robbed by thugs, then framed for having drugs, is standard practice in the US. Here's one example.
01 August 2013 (The long war in Colombia)
Enough! Accounting and Remembering the Long War in Colombia.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
01 August 2013 (Privatized government services in the UK)
In the UK, many privatized government services and government-created monopolies have fallen to a company that has been charged with cheating the government.
You'd expect the government to ban this company from new contracts, and terminate old ones, if it wanted the public treasury not to be cheated. But the contracts are written so the company gets a bonus no matter how badly it ruins the service. Hmm, perhaps the whole point was for the public treasury to be cheated.
01 August 2013 (Regulation of recreational drugs)
Why recreational drugs must be regulated instead of banned.
01 August 2013 (Global heating denialists on Senate Environment Committee)
All 8 Republicans in the Senate Environment Committee are global heating denialists.
Meanwhile, the Marshall Islands face inundation from its effects.
Let's challenge those fools, who are certainly rich, to buy land in the Marshall Islands with all their money.
31 July 2013 (Undermining democracy through media)
How media bosses in Turkey undermine democracy.
Much the same thing happens in the US mainstream media, except that instead of catering directly to the US government, they cater to the business interests that are above the US government.
31 July 2013 (UK to charge high fee for complaints against employers)
The UK will protect employers from accusations of sexual harassment and racial discrimination by charging a high fee for each complaint.
31 July 2013 (Cambodian election)
The opposition in Cambodia says that the ruling party rigged the election by leaving over a million people off the voting list.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
It's like what Dubya did in Florida in 2000, only bigger.
31 July 2013 (Movie subtitle fansite raided)
Movie Subtitle Fansite Raided By Copyright Industry And Police.
31 July 2013 (Comparing the cases of Edward Snowden and Robert Lady)
Comparing the cases of Edward Snowden and Robert Lady demonstrates what it means for the US to have tremendous global power and use it with arrogance.
31 July 2013 (Arrested in Russia for interviewing gays)
A Dutch documentary crew was arrested in Russia for interviewing gays to make a film.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
31 July 2013 (Free Trade with Vietnam)
Obama wants "free trade" with Vietnam, which achieves low export prices with child labor and slave labor and prohibits trade unions.
See my latest cartoon.
31 July 2013 (Some governors face persistent protests)
Some plutocratic Republican governors face persistent protests.
31 July 2013 (Attack on Turkish democracy)
Yavuz Baydar: My sacking is an attack not just on journalism, but on Turkish democracy.
31 July 2013 (Egypt's gov't reactivated repressive units of thugs)
Egypt's government has formally reactivated repressive units of thugs.
31 July 2013 (Today's Apple sweatshops nastier than before)
Today's Apple Pegatron sweatshops are even nastier than the Foxconn sweatshops it used before.
Just because you're not pregnant, should that make it ok to require you to work 11 hours a day, 6 days a week? Apple is culpable if its products are made by people working a longer workweek than is allowed in the US.
31 July 2013 (Hawaii offer homeless people gratis ticket to the US mainland)
Hawaii offer homeless people a gratis ticket to the US mainland. The danger is that thugs may bully people into leaving.
If this were applied only to people with an invitation to live with someone in another state, or whose last domicile was in another state, it might do more good than harm.
31 July 2013 (NSA: permission to spy in Germany)
NSA: permission to spy in Germany.
31 July 2013 (Two steps back for media freedom in US)
One step forward, two steps back for media freedom (in the US).
31 July 2013 (Abdulelah Haider Shaye is no longer in prison)
Abdulelah Haider Shaye is no longer in prison, but will be blocked from committing further embarrassing acts of investigative journalism in Yemen by two years of house arrest.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
31 July 2013 (World Rallies Behind Bradley Manning)
'Do the Right Thing': World Rallies Behind Bradley Manning.
31 July 2013 (Russia's persecution of gays)
Russia's persecution of gays is reaching extreme levels of cruelty.
Is Stolichnaya vodka Russian?
It seems to me that the company is not Russian, and if it claims on the bottle to be Russian, that is false advertising. The company cannot complain about being targeted as Russian if it has brought that on itself by a false claim. And maybe it should be prosecuted for that claim. However, this is not going to achieve the aim of punishing Putin.
Boycotting brands that are actually made in Russia could start.
In regard to the Olympics, if male athletes publicly kiss each other and female athletes publicly kiss each other, that would embarrass Putin. They don't need to actually be gay.
31 July 2013 (UK cuts help for vulnerable children)
The UK government talks about "protecting children" through censorship to cover up for cuts in real help for vulnerable children.
If you don't like prostitution, it seems to me you ought to help people avoid being prostitutes who wish to avoid it, rather than stigmatizing or attacking prostitutes. Stigmatizing prostitutes causes them suffering and danger.
31 July 2013 (Australia must stop investing in carbon)
Australia must stop investing in carbon.
31 July 2013 (Thugs in schools)
Thugs in schools combined with "zero tolerance" policies lead systematically to arresting, injuring and killing students.
31 July 2013 (Proposed UK Internet censorship)
Proposed UK Internet censorship would be dangerous, ineffective, and inconsistent.
And it might distract people from other sorts of censorship — such as increasing blockage of sites used for sharing copies of works.
31 July 2013 (Entrepreneurship)
Thomas Friedman aims to make massive US poverty look acceptable: holding out hope of very unlikely kinds of success and pretending we could all do it.
Being an entrepreneur involves taking a risk: most of those who try this fail. Around 1990 I read that 90% of new businesses in the US failed within 5 years; I doubt it has changed much. Most Americans can't afford to take a risk like this.
31 July 2013 (Oil spills in Alberta)
Oil spills in Alberta show how toxic tar sands oil is.
31 July 2013 (Green objection to technologies)
Green objection to technologies are not anti-science; rather, they are against extrapolating too far from limited scientific knowledge.
31 July 2013 (Immigration bill would expand prison population)
The immigration bill would expand the prison population.
31 July 2013 (Mexico spying on activists and journalists)
Mexico is spying on the communications of activists and journalists.
31 July 2013 (Thousands in Germany protest NSA surveillance)
Thousands in Germany Protest NSA Surveillance.
31 July 2013 (Ex-CIA agent convicted of involvement in kidnapping)
Ex-CIA agent Sabrina De Sousa, who was convicted by Italy of involvement in the kidnapping of abu Omar, says that Condoleezza Rice and Dubya personally approved the kidnapping but the US and Italy are scapegoating the underlings.
31 July 2013 (Urgent: Support fast food workers)
Everyone: call on US fast food chains not to retaliate against workers that strike.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
31 July 2013 (Urgent: Support whistleblowers)
US citizens: tell Obama to stop prosecuting whistleblowers.
31 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose fracking near Grand Junction)
US citizens: call on the Bureau of Land Management not to allow fracking in the Grand Valley area of Colorado near Grand Junction.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
31 July 2013 (Urgent: Support negotiation with Iran)
US citizens: call on your senators to support serious negotiation with Iran.
31 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose plant variety patents)
EU citizens: call for a ban on patenting plant varieties.
More info.
31 July 2013 (EU Plant variety patents)
The European Patent Office is issuing patents on new varieties of food plants.
The German parliament has banned these patents.
30 July 2013 (Kicked out for having chocolate on school trip)
Zero tolerance on a school trip: an unemployed mother was thrown into debt to collect her daughter, who was kicked out for having chocolate.
When someone in a position of power demands people agree to strict conditions, I don't think that buys any moral authority. For Holli to bring chocolate on her trip for her friends was about as wrong as violating a publisher's selfish EULA — that is, not wrong at all.
30 July 2013 (Evidence against Bradley Manning is being kept secret)
Crucial evidence against Bradley Manning is being kept secret, including an alleged chat conversation with someone from WikiLeaks which the government cites to insult WikiLeaks.
30 July 2013 (Narrow escape from a forced marriage)
A 10-year-old girl in Yemen had a narrow escape from a forced marriage.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
30 July 2013 (Effect on children when mothers take cocaine)
When mothers take cocaine, that seems to have no long-term effect on their children. However, growing up in poverty does horrible things to children.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
30 July 2013 (Tuesday Cain defends abortion rights)
Tuesday Cain defends abortion rights and sticks it to the Christian theocratic bigots.
30 July 2013 (Recycling of e-waste)
A bill in Congress would require recycling of e-waste in the US.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
30 July 2013 (Organizations reject US-based Internet hosting and services)
Concern about snooping is leading many organizations outside the US to reject US-based Internet hosting and services, as they should.
When you consider using some Internet service, even for a single interaction, it is important to scrutinize carefully the privacy implications of using it. In other words, the right attitude is exactly the opposite of the attitude suggested by the word "cloud".
30 July 2013 (US gov't tries to make Internet companies hand over users' passwords)
The US government tries to make Internet companies hand over users' passwords for cracking purposes.
30 July 2013 (Thug agent caught on camera planting cocaine)
An undercover thug agent was caught on camera planting cocaine to frame the owner of a smoking paraphernalia shop.
The things sold by the store are legal because they can be used to smoke addictive, deadly tobacco, but they can also be used to smoke a less dangerous illegal drug.
30 July 2013 (US is at war with a secret list of enemies)
Obama says the US is at war with a list of enemies, and the list is secret.
29 July 2013 (BP claims to be victim of the Big Spill)
Billionaire Polluters claims to be the victim of the Big Spill.
29 July 2013 (Bahrain Parliament Upholds Banning Protests in Capital)
Bahrain Parliament Upholds Banning Protests in Capital.
The government started the violence and has committed most of it, but in typical dishonest fashion it puts the blame on the victims.
29 July 2013 (Global heating effects are biggest threat to agriculture in UK)
UK farmers say that global heating effects are the biggest threat to agriculture in the UK.
The heat wave this summer was a disaster for the wheat crop.
This is a big threat in the US, and around the world, but we don't hear much about it in the mainstream media.
29 July 2013 (Thousands Turn Out Against New Spy Powers in New Zealand)
Thousands Turn Out Against New Spy Powers in New Zealand.
29 July 2013 (Americans in or near poverty or unemployment)
4/5 of Americans are forecast to live in or near poverty or unemployment.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
29 July 2013 (Treaty to defend peasants' rights)
The US leads the opposition to a treaty to defend peasants' rights.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
29 July 2013 (GMO corn)
GMO corn could be causing allergic reactions in some people.
29 July 2013 (What the FBI Needs to Tell Americans About Its Use of Drones)
What the FBI Needs to Tell Americans About Its Use of Drones.
The US border patrol wants to install not-usually-lethal weapons on drones.
Note that the US border patrol can operate at a considerable distance from the border, and the border includes all coastlines, so this area includes a large fraction of the US population.
29 July 2013 (Leaked Philip Morris documents)
Leaked Philip Morris documents show that the public position of tobacco companies, that the UK should wait and study the effect of imposing plain packaging, was a false front for a planned lobbying campaign.
29 July 2013 (Black government minister target of racist abuse)
The first black government minister in Italy is the target of racist abuse.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Racism is despicable, and people of good will in Italy should condemn it and use this as an opportunity to examine racism in Italy.
However, prosecuting people for throwing bananas (regardless of who is the target or why) would be an offense against democracy. Bananas are not dangerous weapons. People should not be prosecuted for that way of expressing disapproval, not even when their reasons are despicable.
29 July 2013 (Aiding the enemy charge endangers journalism in the US)
The "aiding the enemy" charge endangers journalism in the US.
29 July 2013 (UK censorship will include many categories of sites)
UK censorship will include, by default, many categories of sites including "web forums" and "web-blocking circumvention tools".
More info.
29 July 2013 (FBI says it won't scan people's irises secretly)
The FBI says it won't scan people's irises secretly.
Do you trust any assure from the FBI? I don't. We already know that they play word games with their assurances.
29 July 2013 (Urgent: Support 21^st Century Glass Steagall Act)
US citizens: tell Congress to pass Sen. Warren's 21^st Century Glass Steagall Act.
29 July 2013 (Comic: Trance Pacific Partnership)
New cartoon: Trance Pacific Partnership.
29 July 2013 (Urgent: Support voter's rights in the US)
US citizens: sign this petition calling on Congress to replace the recently invalidated parts of the Voting Rights Act.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
29 July 2013 (Urgent: Support removal of troops from Afghanistan)
US citizens: sign this petition to remove all US troops from Afghanistan.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]
29 July 2013 (Urgent: Support progressive college plan)
US citizens: support extending Oregon's plan for paying for college to the whole US.
More information.
29 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose plan to destroy Great Barrier Reef)
Everyone: oppose the Australian plan to destroy the Great Barrier Reef by shipping giant amounts of coal across it.
When I signed, I mentioned that burning so much coal will cause ocean acidification that is likely to kill nearly all the world's coral.
29 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose dangerous parts of PAT RIOT and FISA Amendments)
US citizens: call on Congress to repeal the dangerous parts of the PAT RIOT Act and FISA Amendments Act.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
29 July 2013 (Urgent: Halt environmental review of Keystone XL pipeline)
US citizens: sign this petition calling on Kerry to halt the environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline and first investigate a lie by a company engaged to work on it.
29 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose appointing Summers as head of Federal Reserve)
US citizens: sign this petition against appointing Summers as head of the Federal Reserve.
29 July 2013 (Canceling the sequester)
Canceling the sequester could add 1.6 million jobs in the US.
29 July 2013 (A way to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere)
Biochar provides a way to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. However, to prevent further heating, it would need to be used on a tremendous scale.
29 July 2013 (Human rights in Egypt)
Human rights organizations call on Egypt's military to respect human rights and the laws that protect them.
29 July 2013 (Obama regime may send Shaker Aamer to Saudi Arabia)
The Obama regime may send Shaker Aamer to Saudi Arabia to be tortured, so that he will be unable to testify about how the US tortured him.
29 July 2013 (FISA court made even more lax)
Justice Roberts' selections have made the FISA court even more of a push-over than it was designed to be.
29 July 2013 (US gov't promises not to torture or execute Edward Snowden)
US Government Promises Not to Torture or Execute Edward Snowden.
29 July 2013 (Rich boys get special treatment from Australian thugs and courts)
The thugs and courts in Australia are trained to let rich boys get away with crimes, while they fatally attack Aboriginals who have done nothing.
29 July 2013 (Defenders of NSA spying in Congress)
The defenders of NSA spying in Congress are the loyal machines of both parties.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
29 July 2013 (Acupuncture)
After 3,000 studies, there is no evidence that acupuncture provides any significant benefit other than that of a placebo.
29 July 2013 (Obama regime argues that officials should be autonomous)
The Obama regime argues, in court, that its officials should be autonomous and should not have to worry about laws or courts.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
29 July 2013 (The coup against Morsi)
The coup against Morsi seems to have been organized since November, and Sisi's call for mass rallies could be interpreted as calling for massive violence against Morsi's supporters.
28 July 2013 (Effort that it takes to increase the number of tigers that survive)
An example in Nepal shows the sort of effort that it takes to increase the number of tigers that survive.
In 40 years, will anyone have money to protect tigers, elephants, rhinos, penguins, and thousands of other endangered species? Not if we continue causing global heating disaster.
28 July 2013 (Charade disguises sweatshops in India)
A complex "ethical" charade disguises sweatshops in India.
28 July 2013 (Egypt: Snipers were shooting to kill)
Egypt: "The Injuries Were Very Precise as The Snipers Were Shooting To Kill".
The Arab Spring Is Being Stifled by the Force of Arms.
28 July 2013 (Consumerist economy is unsustainable and already starting to collapse)
The consumerist economy is a recent thing, and it is unsustainable and already starting to collapse. Which poses the question of how to move forward.
28 July 2013 (Congresscritters who voted to continue collecting all US phone call data)
The congresscritters who voted to continue collecting all US phone call data are getting paid more by the companies that profit from doing it.
28 July 2013 (Villagers think of supporting al Qa'ida)
In rural Yemen, villagers think of supporting al Qa'ida so they will get paved roads and electricity. (They fear drone attacks in any case.)
28 July 2013 (Urgent: Require publicly traded corporations to disclose political spending)
US citizens: comment to the SEC in support of requiring publicly traded corporations to disclose their political spending.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
28 July 2013 (Urban Surveillance State Prototype)
Urban Surveillance State Prototype in Oakland Exemplifies "Security" Mission Creep.
Kafka's America: Secret Courts, Secret Laws, and Total Surveillance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
28 July 2013 (Big Brother pushing companies to hand over SSL master keys)
Big Brother is pushing companies to hand over SSL master keys.
28 July 2013 (Overreaction of the week)
Overreaction of the week: a college in the US is pressuring students to use iris scans to get entry to college buildings, supposedly for their safety.
If you have any contact with students there, please ask them to "opt out". We must oppose all new "security" measures unless there is a specific strong local justification. School shootings in the US are a very small cause of death, so small that they don't justify contorting peoples lives in any matter at all.
I have opted out of the RFID-equipped ID cards that are the main method of getting into the MIT building where my office is.
28 July 2013 (Secret only from us, not from the enemies)
The big secrets Manning and Snowden revealed were secret only from us, not from the enemies the US admits to.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
28 July 2013 (Crimes against Dalits)
In some parts of India, nearly all those accused of crimes (including murder) against Dalits go free because the witnesses are intimidated into not testifying.
28 July 2013 (Protection of Internet speech from state laws)
US law protects Internet speech from state laws. State attorneys general are asking to abolish that protection.
Wikipedia could be destroyed if their plan is adopted.
28 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose making Larry Summers head of Federal Reserve Bank)
US citizens: oppose making Larry Summers head of the Federal Reserve Bank.
28 July 2013 (Israel blocks EU projects to help Palestinians)
Since the EU decided that cooperation with Israel may not include helping Israel to colonize Palestine, Israel has retaliated by blocking EU projects to help Palestinians.
In effect, Israel is using Palestinians as hostages. Not for the first time.
28 July 2013 (Egyptian military investigates Morsi for working with Hamas)
The Egyptian military is investigating Morsi for working with Hamas as the revolution started.
28 July 2013 (US blacks still face big disadvantage)
US blacks still face a big disadvantage in getting jobs and entering the middle class.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
The plutocratic parties have a plan for eliminating this disparity: shrink the middle class so nobody has much chance of entering it.
28 July 2013 (Senate plans trade war against any country that shelters Snowden)
The Senate is planning trade war against any country that shelters Snowden.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
28 July 2013 (US support for Colombia's gov't during massacres)
How the US supported Colombia's government as its right-wing gangs were carrying out massacre after massacre.
28 July 2013 (Candidate Obama's tribute to whistleblowers)
Obama's Tribute to Whistleblowers Disappears Two Days after First Snowden Revelations.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
28 July 2013 (Public giveaways to sports teams)
Packaging public giveaways to sports teams in complex deals disguises the fact that they are public giveaways to sports teams.
28 July 2013 (Halliburton pleads guilty to destruction of evidence)
Halliburton has pled guilty to destruction of evidence about the big spill. The fine is so tiny, for a company like Halliburton, that it will hardly be noticed.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
27 July 2013 (Israeli expansionists buying houses in Arab quarter of Jerusalem)
Israeli expansionists are buying houses in the Arab quarter of Jerusalem, while putting Arabs under pressure to sell.
If all they did was offer to buy, and did not couple that with harassment, I would not criticize it.
27 July 2013 (Scientist won award from NSA then condemned the NSA)
Dr. Joseph Bonneau won an award from the NSA, then condemned the NSA while accepting it.
27 July 2013 (Most Americans want to end the War in Afghanistan)
Most Americans want to end the War in Afghanistan and believe it does not improve the security of the US.
When I supported attacking the Taliban, it was to end the oppression of the Afghanistanis. They appreciated that, in the first years when Afghanistan mostly experienced peace. I did not think the Taliban would resurge and turn life in Afghanistan into permanent war.
27 July 2013 (Is requiring corporations to disclose their political spending partisan)
Is requiring corporations to disclose their political spending "partisan"?
This is not partisan in terms of Democrat and Republican; lots of people in both parties support it. However, if we imagine a struggle between Bow to Business party and the Restore Democracy party, on this scale it is partisan, and the government should be partisan too.
27 July 2013 (Businesses want TAFTA to exclude politics from deciding policies)
Businesses want TAFTA to exclude "politics" from deciding policies that affect business. For "politics", read "democracy".
27 July 2013 (#Summerheat Activists Arrested)
#Summerheat Activists Arrested Protesting State Dept Contractor Who Lied About TransCanada Ties.
27 July 2013 ('Bailouts For Banks, Not People')
As Detroit Drowns, GOP says: 'Bailouts For Banks, Not People'.
27 July 2013 (Two assassinated Tunisian leaders)
The two assassinated Tunisian leaders were shot with the same gun.
27 July 2013 (Egyptian thugs killed at least 38 Morsi supporters)
Egyptian thugs killed at least 38 Morsi supporters who wanted to continue a sit-in protest.
27 July 2013 (Tsvangirai accuses Mugabe of election fraud and dishonesty)
Tsvangirai accuses Mugabe of election fraud and dishonesty. Strangely, the head of the African monitoring team went so far as to claim there were no such complaints.
27 July 2013 (New president of Iran)
The new president of Iran seems to have brought small but visible relaxations of some tyrannical practices.
27 July 2013 (Car ignition locks depend on security through obscurity)
Car ignition locks depend on security through obscurity, and car companies have gagged scientists who discovered the secret algorithm and were going to publish a paper about it.
The manufacturers should have published the algorithm themselves and let the public hammer on it for a few years, before trusting it so far.
27 July 2013 (Path for the US to Return to Its Better Self)
Manning And Snowden Light Path for the US to Return to Its Better Self.
27 July 2013 (Summary of the environmental disasters we will cause by 2050)
A summary of the environmental disasters we will cause by 2050 if we don't change course now.
27 July 2013 (Scientist who led flawed study that appeared to exonerate neonicotinoid)
A senior UK scientist who led a flawed study that appeared to exonerate neonicotinoid has gone to work for a company that produces one of them.
Officials that take actions to help business are often rewarded with a job later on.
27 July 2013 (Global heating denialist became editor at Reuters)
A global heating denialist became editor at Reuters and cut the coverage of climate issues by 50%, says a reporter who quit in response.
This makes me wonder: why did Reuters hire him? I have a hunch this was not an accident.
27 July 2013 (UK thugs spied on Janet Alder and her lawyer)
It appears UK thugs spied on Janet Alder and her lawyer, while she campaigned for justice for her brother, who had died while held by the thugs.
Comparison with the thugs' handling of some other cases suggests they may have sought a way to smear Ms Adler so as to distract attention from their own dirty deeds.
27 July 2013 (Boycott of Russian vodka)
Punishing Putin's anti-gay repression with a boycott of Russian vodka.
Alas, the campaign has apparently missed the mark by targeting a brand of vodka that is not Russian any more.
27 July 2013 (The movie Cars a commercial for toys)
The movie Cars was profitable … as a commercial for toys.
Do you want to watch a movie that is effectively a commercial for toys? Do you want your children to see it? If you are worried they will watch porn, you've been distracted from the truly harmful media.
27 July 2013 (Drug prohibition kills)
Drug prohibition kills — not only through the gangs that it fuels, but also by making fairly safe drugs fatal.
27 July 2013 (Urgent: Expand Social Security)
US citizens: sign this petition to expand Social Security.
27 July 2013 (Persecution of journalists by Turkish gov't)
The Turkish government is systematically persecuting journalists who covered the protests.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
27 July 2013 (Unions should be speaking out against Prism)
If Unions Are Not Speaking Out Against Prism, It Is Because They Have Short Memories.
27 July 2013 (America's Real Subversives)
America's Real Subversives: FBI Spying Then, NSA Surveillance Now.
27 July 2013 (France eliminates law against offending the president)
France has eliminated the unjust law making it a crime to "offend the president". This leaves in place the unjust law making it a crime to defame the president (and other officials).
27 July 2013 (Another Tunisian secular political leader assassinated)
Another Tunisian secular political leader has been assassinated.
26 July 2013 (Turkish regime and publishers colluding to censor criticism)
Turkish editor Yavuz Baydar says that publishers and the regime are colluding to censor criticism of the state.
In the US, the regime works for the megacorporations and the megacorporations own the mainstream media, so it comes out the same.
26 July 2013 (Urgent: Tell Google to stop funding global heating denialists)
Everyone: tell Google not to fund global heating denialists such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
26 July 2013 (Urgent: Support freedom for Pussy Riot)
US citizens: tell Putin you support freedom for Pussy Riot.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
26 July 2013 (US restaurant chains don't want to pay workers for sick days)
US restaurant chains are organizing to fight against laws requiring paid sick days for restaurant workers.
26 July 2013 (North Carolina Senate pushes attack on voting rights)
After the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, the North Carolina Senate is pushing a broad and drastic attack on voting rights.
26 July 2013 (Head of Egyptian army asks public to rally against "terrorists")
The head of the Egyptian army asked the public to rally against "terrorists", which apparently is meant to refer to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Morsi continues to be imprisoned without charges.
26 July 2013 (Relatives of Guantanamo prisoners ask US Senate for justice)
Relatives of Guantanamo prisoners ask the US Senate for justice.
26 July 2013 (Koch Industries: oil speculator)
Koch Industries is an oil speculator.
26 July 2013 (Hypocrisy of "informed" debate on spying)
NSA Opponents Call Out White House for Hypocrisy of "Informed" Debate on Spying.
26 July 2013 (NY Thug Commissioner tries to justify stop-and-frisk policy)
Thug Commissioner Kelly claims his practice of searching people with no grounds is justified by the big drop in the murder rate that happened before he started it.
26 July 2013 (Loss of Arctic sea ice and the giant methane escape)
More about loss of Arctic sea ice and the giant methane escape.
26 July 2013 (European Investment Bank to stop financing ordinary coal plants)
The European Investment Bank has decided to stop financing ordinary coal plants.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
26 July 2013 (How some rich Americans propose to help the poor)
Some rich Americans propose to help the poor by eliminating the minimum wage and soup kitchens.
"Dump them in the ocean and see if they drown," is their philosophy.
26 July 2013 (Greater torrential rains expected in the UK)
The UK will see even greater torrential rains in the future, due to global heating.
And that's not counting the flooding of the coasts.
26 July 2013 (US-style economic inequality bad for business)
US-style economic inequality is bad even for business.
Alas, it may not be bad for the banks. Today's banks seek to make a killing through fraud, not a reliable income from providing a service to society.
25 July 2013 (Electric companies in the UK imported and burned more coal)
US fracking reduced US coal consumption. This made coal cheap, so electric companies in the UK imported and burned more coal.
This shows the error in supposing that fracking means that gas replaces coal. Not as long as a market determines the price of coal and we fail to drive the price up artificially.
25 July 2013 (Rush Holt running against an Obama-like suck-up to Wall Street)
In the Democratic primary on Aug 10 for senator from New Jersey, Rush Holt (who calls for repealing the PAT RIOT Act) is running against an Obama-like suck-up to Wall Street.
Here's what his opponent is like.
25 July 2013 (Refugees often have to do without contraceptives)
Refugees often have to do without contraceptives, so they have babies in the worst possible circumstances for someone to be born into.
25 July 2013 (Anti-Terrorism laws intimidate and hamper humanitarian aid)
Anti-"terrorism" laws intimidate and hamper humanitarian aid.
25 July 2013 (Right-wing terrorist paramilitaries killed more)
A study sponsored by the Colombian government says that the right-wing terrorist paramilitaries killed more than the left-wing guerrillas that are officially labeled as "terrorist".
25 July 2013 (Anonymous blog breathes political opposition into Zimbabwe)
An anonymous blog breathes political opposition into Zimbabwe.
This is an example of the importance of anonymous publication on the Internet.
25 July 2013 (Amendment to limit NSA collection of phone records was defeated)
The amendment to limit NSA collection of phone records was defeated, but very narrowly.
This shows that we have hope of winning if we keep pushing.
25 July 2013 (UK NHS running short of doctors)
The UK National Health Service is running short of doctors.
The government is trying surreptitiously to destroy the NHS, by cutting its funds so it does a bad job.
25 July 2013 (Refugees from Syria overwhelming region)
Refugees from Syria are overwhelming the surrounding region.
1/4 of the population are now refugees.
25 July 2013 (Loss of Arctic sea ice)
The loss of Arctic sea ice could trigger a giant release of methane, which would cause tremendous global heating.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
The damage could amount to 60 trillion dollars.
How does that compare with the cost of writing off 4/5 of the world's fossil fuel reserves, so as to prevent this disaster?
25 July 2013 (Urgent: More state support of mass transit in Massachusetts)
Citizens of Massachusetts: call for more state support of mass transit.
25 July 2013 (Legislators introduce pro-oil bills after trip to Alberta)
ALEC brought state legislators on a tour of tar sand mines, paid for by oil companies and Alberta, and they subsequently introduced pro-oil bills.
Such handsome "thank you" notes suggest these legislators have more to be grateful for than just a trip to Alberta.
25 July 2013 (Israel's arrest of a 5-year-old boy)
What is the context for Israel's arrest of a 5-year-old boy?
25 July 2013 ("Stand your ground" laws)
"Stand your ground" laws have led to many shootings.
25 July 2013 (Urgent: Increase Social Security)
US citizens: call on the Senate to increase Social Security.
25 July 2013 (Urgent: March for peace and justice)
In the US: march on Washington for peace and justice.
25 July 2013 (Israeli soldier shoots representative of human rights group)
An Israeli soldier shot a representative of the human rights group B'tselem who was filming the weekly protest at Nabi Saleh.
The video shows that she was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet at close range, in violation of orders and safety standards, for no good reason. Not so unusual, actually, because the army doesn't punish the soldiers that do this.
25 July 2013 (More retailers ban products from Israeli colonies)
Three retail chains in the Netherlands have decided not to sell products made by Israeli colonies in Palestinian territory.
25 July 2013 (Kerry's peace talks)
Both Israel and Palestine assume that Kerry's peace talks will go nowhere.
25 July 2013 (Israeli army and right-wing "settlers": good cop bad cop)
The Israeli army and the right-wing "settlers" play "good cop / bad cop" to Palestinians.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
"Settlers" have repeatedly attacked the Jaber family and destroyed their trees, irrigation systems and homes, hoping to drive them out and steal their land.
A right-wing mob attacked a Bedouin village in Israel.
24 July 2013 (If company uses bitcoin no guarantee it isn't a scam)
If a company uses bitcoin, that is no guarantee it isn't a scam.
24 July 2013 (Troops at breaking point)
Hagel: "Troops At a Breaking Point"; Vets: "Then Bring Us Home".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
24 July 2013 (US trying to stifle resistance to genetically engineered foods)
The US is trying to stifle resistance to genetically engineered foods in Ghana.
24 July 2013 (Require farms to disclose when they use certain especially toxic pesticides)
Activists in Hawaii are pushing for a local law to require farms to disclose when they use certain especially toxic pesticides, which are suspected of poisoning the drinking water.
24 July 2013 (Mali is being rushed into elections)
Mali is being rushed into elections, which are not being held very well. Many eligible voters have been dropped from the list, apparently due to carelessness.
24 July 2013 (Asylum seekers imprisoned by Australia are often raped)
A former guard says that asylum seekers imprisoned by Australia in Manus Island are often raped and often try to commit suicide.
Salvation Army staff who have been there support the claims.
24 July 2013 (Rubber-Stamp Approval of Dangerous GE Seeds)
USDA Fast-Tracks "Rubber-Stamp" Approval of "Dangerous" GE Seeds.
24 July 2013 (Dishonest scheme that triggered the financial crisis)
Greg Palast explains the dishonest scheme that triggered the financial crisis, and the small part in it played by the only participant that is being prosecuted.
I see no need to use the smear term "frog" to refer to someone who is French. And what's wrong with garlic, anyway?
24 July 2013 (Urgent: Limits on keeping data from license plate readers)
Massachusetts citizens: call for limits on keeping data from automatic license plate readers.
24 July 2013 (Urgent: Raise the US minimum wage to $10.10 per hour)
US citizens: sign this petition to raise the US minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.
24 July 2013 (Journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye freed)
Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye has been freed in response to public pressure. He had been accused of aiding the rebels thanks to his reporting on a US drone attack that killed civilians, and was kept in prison due to pressure from Obama.
His release has conditions, though: he has to stay in the capital, and thus cannot investigate any more drone attacks.
24 July 2013 (Protecting privacy can be interpreted as felonies under the CFAA)
Standard technique for protecting privacy on-line can be interpreted as felonies under the CFAA.
24 July 2013 (Stores trying new methods of identifying physical customers)
Stores are trying new methods of tracking and identifying physical customers.
24 July 2013 (Thug put on "desk duty" after leaking confidential gov't data)
A thug who leaked photos of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been tentatively punished.
It is interesting to compare this case with that of Edward Snowden. Both released confidential government data, but beyond that the circumstances were very different. Whereas Snowden's leaks told us about massive and grave government abuses, Murphy's only attempted to make Tsarnaev look bad — for shallow reasons.
Tsarnaev is accused of murdering several strangers, and I see no doubt about his guilt. This is the basis of my opinion of him. Only a fool judges someone morally based on how handsome or how weak he looks. How foolish it would be to think better of Tsarnaev due to a photo in Rolling Stone. How foolish it would be to think worse of him due to photos leaked by Murphy.
24 July 2013 (NSA says it can't search its own emails)
The NSA says it can't search its own emails.
That's ridiculous — it can search yours and mine.
24 July 2013 (Utah's "ag-gag law")
Suing to overturn Utah's "ag-gag law".
24 July 2013 (Congress and Justice Department's attempts to define "journalism")
Congress and the Justice Dept's Dangerous Attempts to Define "Journalist" Threaten to Exclude Bloggers.
24 July 2013 (Congress considers "patent reform" bills)
Congress is considering two "patent reform" bills.
They are small steps for the better. They might reduce the total amount of harm done by patents in computing, and some other fields, but don't try to really solve the problem.
24 July 2013 (Al Qa'ida attacks Iraqi prisons)
Al Qa'ida attacked three Iraqi large prisons simultaneously, and freed hundreds of prisoners, including some of its followers.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Al Qa'ida operates in Iraq thanks to the US conquest and occupation of Iraq.
Iraq is experiencing the return of the sectarian killing, which also started as a result of the US conquest and occupation of Iraq.
23 July 2013 (How Californians enacted a tax increase for the rich)
How Californians enacted a tax increase for the rich. The state's "Democratic" governor wanted to tax mainly the workers.
23 July 2013 (Congress reduced sentencing disparity between crack and other cocaine)
The US congress reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and other cocaine, but Obama's men don't want the prisoners already convicted under the old higher sentences to have their sentences reduced.
23 July 2013 (Increased goat-herding in Asia)
Increased goat-herding in Asia is driving many wild species into a little marginal land.
That area can't support so much human population.
23 July 2013 (Important butterfly species in Europe have declined by half)
Important butterfly species in Europe have declined by half, threatening pollination.
23 July 2013 (Does the NSA Tap That?)
Does the NSA Tap That? What We Still Don t Know About the Agency s Internet Surveillance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
23 July 2013 (Detroit and Goldman Sachs: Makers and Takers.)
Detroit and Goldman Sachs: Makers and Takers.
23 July 2013 (Australia delivers gay asylum seekers to persecution)
When Australia forcibly renders asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea, it delivers gay asylum seekers to persecution.
23 July 2013 (Pretending wind turbines cause health problems)
An astroturf campaign pretends that wind turbines cause health problems.
I wonder if this is funded by coal mining companies.
23 July 2013 (Big banks get bailouts — big cities don't)
In the US, big banks get bailouts — big cities don't.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
And auto companies get bailouts at the expense of their workers and the cities where they live.
The auto companies outflanked the unions through "globalization" (outsourcing). Democracy should not allow outsourcing to low-wage countries as an excuse to knock wages down.
23 July 2013 (Wild koalas are being wiped out)
Wild koalas are being wiped out by cutting down the trees they live on.
23 July 2013 (Preserving the wild relatives of crops)
Preserving the wild relatives of crops such as wheat and potato could be worth $200 billion over the foreseeable future.
23 July 2013 (Obama's mega-gift to the banksters)
The next installment of Obama's mega-gift to the banksters: making Lawrence Summers chairman of the Federal Reserve.
23 July 2013 (Examining officials and companies that promote massive surveillance)
Examining officials and companies that promote massive surveillance and profit from it too.
23 July 2013 (Intervention in Syria likely to lead to unintended and unpredictable consequences)
The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff warned senators that intervention in Syria is likely to lead to unintended and unpredictable consequences.
23 July 2013 (Digital license plates could lead to more surveillance)
California's planned "digital license plates" could lead to even more surveillance of car travel.
23 July 2013 (The World Bank invests in mining companies)
The World Bank invests in mining companies, then pressures countries to rewrite their mining laws to favor those companies.
23 July 2013 (Urgent: Reduce PAT RIOT act surveillance power)
US citizens: email your congresscritter in favor of reducing the PAT RIOT act surveillance power.
Pass the word: Support the Amash amendment, not the deceptive Nugent amendment.
Also phone — that has more effect.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
23 July 2013 (Russia's new copyright enforcement law)
Russia's new copyright enforcement law allows blocking web sites without even a trial, like SOPA/PIPA.
Please do not make the mistake of referring to sharing as "piracy". That's the enemy's propaganda.
23 July 2013 (Obama's escalating war on journalism)
Obama's escalating war on journalism directed at the security state.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
23 July 2013 (Interception of all pager messages in the US in 2001)
Who was intercepting all pager messages in the US in 2001?
23 July 2013 (Assad's plan to expel Sunnis)
Assad seems to be planning to expel Sunnis from a strip of Syria from Damascus to the coast.
23 July 2013 (Urgent: Human rights for people, not for corporations)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support a constitutional amendment saying that human rights are for people, not for corporations.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
23 July 2013 (Crisis for US agriculture)
Global heating is colliding with business-imposed agricultural policies to create a crisis for US agriculture.
23 July 2013 (Texas school district to track kids with surveillance cameras)
Texas School District Drops RFID Chips, Will Track Kids With Surveillance Cameras Instead.
23 July 2013 (Visualizing phone location tracking data)
Visualizing phone location tracking data as music.
23 July 2013 (Opening film for Durban film festival banned)
Director Jahmil Qubeka's film, which was due to open the Durban film festival, has been banned as "child pornography".
Don't be surprised — this is what censorship does.
23 July 2013 (US gov't now allowed to produce and show propaganda)
The US government is now allowed to produce "news reports" (i.e., propaganda) and show them in the US. Henceforth the security state won't have to depend on the mainstream media to make propaganda for it.
22 July 2013 (Form to fill out to turn off censorship on UK Internet connections)
Here's the form people will have to fill out to turn off censorship on their UK Internet connections.
22 July 2013 (Why humanity has failed to take the necessary action to stop global heating)
Why humanity has failed to take the necessary action to stop global heating.
22 July 2013 (Norwegian woman in Dubai pardoned)
A Norwegian woman in Dubai told the thugs she had been raped, and was sentenced to prison for non-marital sex. Now she has been "pardoned".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
This is one of the perverse cruelties of Islamic law: a woman who accuses rape, unless the rapist confesses, will in general be punished in this way.
22 July 2013 (Morsi's family say they will sue)
Morsi's family say they will sue over his imprisonment without trial.
22 July 2013 (High Civilian Death Toll in CIA Drone Strikes)
Leaked Pakistani Report Confirms High Civilian Death Toll in CIA Drone Strikes.
22 July 2013 (The US Government Metamorphosing Into the Borg)
The US Government Is Metamorphosing Into the Borg.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2013 (UK Conservatives' strategist advised companies how to exploit failings of NHS)
The UK Conservatives' "strategist" advised companies how to exploit the "failings" of the NHS.
Perhaps he advises the Conservatives on how to change the NHS to make more "failings" that he can then advise other clients on how to exploit.
22 July 2013 (Syrian cartoonist given Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning)
Syrian cartoonist Akram Reslan has been given the Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning. He cannot personally accept it because he is in prison.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2013 (Urgent: Reduce price of medicines)
US citizens: ask your congresscritter to cosponsor a move to reduce the price of medicines for a subset of Medicaid patients.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2013 (Riot started in France)
A riot started in France when thugs checked the identity of a woman with her face covered.
I have to admire such firm defense of a custom against the state. At the same time, it is a shame that the custom being defended is a form of women that women are pressured into.
I have to wonder whether her husband really attacked the thugs. It could be true, but thugs often fabricate such accusations.
It is not only Muslim women who should have the right to cover their faces. Everyone must have this, especially in a protest, in case they wish to avoid the danger of retaliation — from the state, from their employers, or from the state and their employers in collusion.
22 July 2013 (Urgent: Ban some uses of neonicotinoid pesticides)
US citizens: call on your congresscritter to support the bill to ban some uses of neonicotinoid pesticides.
22 July 2013 (Treasury secretary supports continued austerity)
Obama's treasury secretary supports continued austerity in Europe. He told the Greek government to keep on making the people sacrifice.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2013 (Amina Sboui)
Amina Sboui could be imprisoned for 9 years for her nonviolent protest.
22 July 2013 (Indonesia's Law)
Human Rights Watch condemns Indonesia's law that restricts mass organizations.
22 July 2013 (Kashmir)
Indian border thugs killed protesters in Kashmir.
22 July 2013 (China)
Chinese thugs threatened to kill reporters, but (for the moment) just beat them with sticks.
22 July 2013 (2055)
A study forecasts that starting around 2055 there will be a period every year when there is no ice in the Arctic.
22 July 2013 (Global Heating)
Global heating could deprive Volta Basin of water.

This would be a disaster for several African countries.
22 July 2013 (FBI Claims)
FBI experts often made claims about hair matching, convicting people of murder, which could not be sustained by the real science.
22 July 2013 (Prosecution)
Barrett Brown Prosecution Threatens Right to Link, Could Criminalize Routine Journalism Practices.
22 July 2013 (China)
China closed a think tank connected with criticism of the government, based on lies as usual, and has arrested the lawyers that try to defend arrested activists.
22 July 2013 (Kuwaiti Activist)
A Kuwaiti activist has been sentenced to prison for offending the potentate and offending Islam, with tweets.

To punish either of those things is an outright injustice.
22 July 2013 (Ocean)
A large fraction of mercury in the ocean, which makes fish dangerous to eat in quantity, is due to human industrial activity, and it will persist in the ocean for centuries or millennia.

The main activities adding to this pollution are gold mining and coal burning.
22 July 2013 (Plants)
With greater heat, plants lose ability to remove ozone from the air.
22 July 2013 (Puerto Rico)
The Puerto Rico thug department will be reformed in an attempt to end their systematic thuggishness.
22 July 2013 (Hudson River)
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Widespread in Hudson River, Study Finds.
22 July 2013 (Privacy)
Even if someone gives away a lot of his privacy, that doesn't excuse taking away the rest of it.

A lot of the "voluntary" giving away of privacy results from "services" that are designed to herd people into doing so. Even young people would maintain their privacy more if they were not systematically pressured to surrender it.
22 July 2013 (Pharma Companies)
Pharma companies are using astroturf "patient groups" to campaign against a requirement to publish all the studies that test the effects of drugs.

This requirement would make it harder for pharma companies to misrepresent the effectiveness or safety of drugs.
22 July 2013 (Snowden)
In Finland, a citizen's initiative proposes Snowden's Law, which would punish excessive surveillance on citizens as a crime, while protecting whistleblowers.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]

A German author calls on Germany to offer Snowden asylum because in the past it drove so many to seek asylum.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2013 (CIA Torture Prison)
Poland is trying to investigate the secret CIA torture prison that a previous government allowed to operate.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2013 (Ethiopia)
Ethiopia: Anti-Terror Law Terrorizing Journalists.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2013 (US Government)
Evidence that the US government records and saves the content of lots of phone calls, in the absence of specific cause — not just the call records.
22 July 2013 (Antonio Morrison)
Thugs on a power trip arrested Antonio Morrison for barking at their dog.
22 July 2013 (Protest)
Extinct golden toads will protest in British banks.
22 July 2013 (Peace Talks)
Kerry's Israel-Palestine peace talks seem not to be really happening.
22 July 2013 (US banksters trying to use EU to get rid of regulations)
US banksters, with Obama's quiet help, are trying to use the EU to get rid of the weak and inadequate bank regulations of the Dodd-Frank bill.
22 July 2013 (Urgent: End long-term solitary confinement in California prisons)
Everyone: call on California to end long-term solitary confinement in its prisons.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2013 (Offensive US cyber-war actions around he world)
The US is conducting offensive cyber-war actions around the world.
22 July 2013 (US cannot campaign for Internet freedom abroad)
The US cannot campaign for Internet freedom abroad while trashing it at home.
22 July 2013 (Number of deaths in the US due to not taking the usual vaccines)
A thousand people have died in the US since 2007 due to not getting the usual vaccines.
22 July 2013 (Only "official" journalists to get protection)
The Department of "Justice", in drawing up conditions for protecting journalism, is defining a class of privileged "official" journalists who will get protection, in order to deny it to most journalists.
Of course, the protected journalists will be those from the mainstream media, who will usually support the state (with occasional exceptions).
22 July 2013 (US gov't pretends Snowden's leaks still secret)
Staff at the Committee for Public Safety * have been ordered not to view certain Washington Post articles on computers not classified "secret", because then for bureaucratic reasons they will have to go through a sort of secrecy exorcism.
The US government pretends that Snowden's leaks are still secret, and is carrying this to the level of lunacy.
A person that persistently denies reality is dangerous. A powerful state that persistently denies reality is extremely dangerous. These delusions could become a "reason" to kill people.
* Officially, the "Department of Homeland Security".
22 July 2013 (Use of information in court derived from massive surveillance)
The US takes two contradictory positions about disclosing when it uses information in court that was derived from massive surveillance. Each position is used to block judicial consideration of the constitutionality of massive surveillance.
22 July 2013 (Display of arrogance by NY thugs)
New York thugs display their arrogance by playing the storm troopers' theme from Star Wars out of their cars.
22 July 2013 (Press photographer Mandi Wright attacked by thug)
As press photographer Mandi Wright filmed thugs arresting someone on the street, a thug in civilian clothes attacked her, stole her video camera, and threatened her with prosecution.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2013 ("Command influence" on judge in Bradley Manning's trial)
The judge in Bradley Manning's trial nearly always decides questions in favor of the prosecution.
This does not surprise me. It looks like an instance of a fundamental flaw in military trials, known as "command influence". The judge is a military officer who reports ultimately to Obama, Obama wants Manning convicted, and the judge knows this. The judge wants to be promoted, and the people who will decide on her promotion also work for Obama and want Manning convicted. What would an ambitious judge do?
22 July 2013 (MIT secrets)
MIT requested and got the chance to keep MIT secrets out of the documents that the Secret Service is required to turn over to reporter Kevin Poulsen. This leads Edward Felten to suspect that MIT is looking for a chance to spin the discussion of some MIT actions that might appear nasty.
21 July 2013 (Obama trying to confront the WTO's ruling against dolphin-safe tuna labels)
Obama is trying to confront the WTO's ruling against "dolphin-safe" tuna labels by making the criterion stricter, rather than by weakening it.
This is a good response to the specific problem, but it is a general problem and the general solution is to do away with the "free trade" treaties.
21 July 2013 (Personal privacy and government transparency conflict)
The pending publication of lists of people who get state pensions in California spotlights the point where personal privacy and government transparency conflict.
I value freedom more than transparency; I think the list of people who get pensions should not be published.
If that statement surprises you, you may be misinformed about my views. For instance, I never advocated "open source"; that's the slogan of people who disagree with me. I advocate "free software", free as in freedom.
See also Evgeny Morozov's article on the difference between the two.
21 July 2013 (Goldman Sachs intentionally delaying the delivery of aluminum)
How Goldman Sachs makes big profits by intentionally delaying the delivery of aluminum to US factories.
21 July 2013 (Pogroms against Dalits have never stopped)
In India, pogroms against "uppity" Dalits have never stopped.
21 July 2013 (Blocking searches in search engines)
The UK wants to extend its witchhunt against "child pornography" to blocking searches in search engines.
Don't they do that in China already?
There are other materials on the web that are deemed "illegal". If search engines accept this form of censorship, the next step will be to make them block searches for Snowden's revelations.
I find gruesomely violent pornography disgusting, as disgusting as gruesomely violent pornographer. However, censorship is far more disgusting. The UK is rife with censorship, and that's the injustice it ought to address.
21 July 2013 (UK privatized payment of support for refugees)
The UK privatized payment of support for refugees, and some people have been evicted because the company didn't do the job.
21 July 2013 (Urgent: Put heat on McDonald's)
Everyone: put heat on McDonald's for telling workers to keep working in the kitchen during a heat wave with the air conditioner broken.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
21 July 2013 (Uri Avnery thanks Europe)
Uri Avnery thanks Europe for making government cooperation and contracts exclude Israeli institutions and businesses that have any connection to Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine.
I did not realize before that this included European government purchases. That will put substantial pressure on Israeli business.
Avnery's article was evidently written before the announcement that Israel and Palestine have agreed to hold talks about having peace talks. Based on his past writings, I expect he will show that these talks about talks don't really change anything.
21 July 2013 (Urgent: Support rule change for filibusters)
US citizens: sign this petition to the Senate to support a rule change so that filibusters require senators to actually speak on the senate floor.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
21 July 2013 (Tea plantations pay starvation wages)
Tea plantations in Assam pay starvation wages, and claim they "can't afford" to pay more.
Of course they can afford it. They simply have to raise the price. That's fine — we can pay a little more for our tea.
The poverty of the workers pushes them to fall prey to selling their children to be domestic slaves. This is a separate problem, and could be tackled by informing people around India about the dishonesty of these recruiters/purchasers.
21 July 2013 (Papal visit to Brazil will be occasion for protests)
A papal visit to Brazil will be the occasion for protests, both against the public subsidy for the visit, and against some positions of the Catholic Church.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
21 July 2013 (Protest transformed HSBC banks into food banks)
A protest by UK Uncut transformed HSBC banks into food banks.
21 July 2013 (National Constitutions Update)
Updates to Suggestions for National Constitutions.
21 July 2013 (Barrett Brown could be sentenced to 105 years in prison for journalistic activity)
Journalist Barrett Brown could be sentenced to 105 years in prison for journalistic activity, including posting a link to a site with scandalous information that had been obtained by a cracker from HBGary.
21 July 2013 (Protest in US permitted in theory but not in practice)
Protest in the US is getting the same treatment as abortion clinics in Texas: a series of laws, enforced with bizarre strictness, leave it permitted in theory but not in practice.
Our response to this must be to say that such laws are just bricks in the wall, and breaking them is not wrong.
The same applies to laws that forbid government officials from telling us how the state really treats us.
21 July 2013 (TAFTA treaty a means to bypass democracy)
The proposed TAFTA treaty is purely a means to let a range of businesses bypass democracy to get rid of the regulations they don't like.
21 July 2013 (Lt. Adam Cohen faces prosecution)
Lt. Adam Cohen faces prosecution instigated by the officer he accused of raping him.
It seems crazy to prosecute anyone for homosexuality after the law was changed so that it is no longer illegal
21 July 2013 (Concealed weapons in the Trayvon Martin killing)
The crucial role of concealed weapons in the Trayvon Martin killing.
21 July 2013 (US phone and telecom privacy coalition)
Big US phone and telecom companies have formed a "privacy coalition" to lobby for something.
21 July 2013 (Urgent: Humane release for Herman Wallace)
Everyone: call for humane release for Herman Wallace, who has been in solitary confinement for 40 years and now has terminal cancer.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
21 July 2013 (The 3 Most Absurdly Outdated Internet Laws)
The 3 Most Absurdly Outdated Internet Laws (in the US, that is).
21 July 2013 (Talks about starting talks)
The "talks" Kerry has arranged to start are actually talks about starting talks.
It looks like they will not go so far as to start actual peace talks.
20 July 2013 (Israel and Palestine restart negotiations)
Kerry has convinced Israel and Palestine to restart negotiations. However, an unusually honest remark from an Israeli official suggests that Israel wants to be able to say, "See, we are negotiating," while making sure no agreement is reached.
20 July 2013 (Obama rebukes Putin)
Obama rebuked Putin for trying to lock up people that disclose the state's dirty secrets, even as the US made sure a fleeing international criminal would not be extradited.

I agree with Obama's rebuke: prosecuting whistleblowers is wrong when the Putin regime does it — just as wrong as when the Obama regime does it. However, as an American, I believe Americans have a particular responsibility to defend freedom and justice in our own country.

More such irony.
20 July 2013 (Definitions)
Can we assume that "terrorism" means violence? Can we assume that a "weapon of mass destruction" can kill thousands of people? Not when the US government is talking.

When the US government says "terrorists", think "dissidents", and you can judge its proposals properly.
20 July 2013 (McDonald's)
McDonald's published a suggested budget employees which says they need a second job, and continues by saying they can't afford food, medical care, or heat in the winter.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
20 July 2013 (Turkish Protest Movement)
The Turkish protest movement continues activities every day.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
20 July 2013 (Remember, Remember the 4th Amendment)
The NSA is considering leaving people's phone call records "in" the phone companies — and searching it there, Prism-style, still without individual warrants.

This would not respect the 4th Amendment, or our freedom, but it would given them a way to confuse the issue.

Note the argument that it is ok to collect everyone's communications records ("metadata") because they are "information that the telecommunications companies obtain and keep for their own business purposes." The implicit premise is that if it is legitimate for a business to amass certain information about those who choose to be its clients, then the government is entitled to systematically seize all that information. This is blatant contempt for the 4th Amendment.

However, it is also true that any data that businesses record about people could be obtained by the state, and amounts to a massive dossier about each person. We must make businesses collect and retain less information about people — regardless of "business purpose".
20 July 2013 (James Risen)
Reporter James Risen may have to go to jail to protect a whistleblower.
20 July 2013 (UK Conservative Party)
The UK Conservative Party's main election strategist also works, in parallel, as a PR agent for many businesses, including tobacco and fracking.

In effect, he is an embedded lobbyist.
20 July 2013 (The NSA Collecting Data)
The NSA has announced that it will continue collecting data about all phone calls in the US.

This represents an act of defiance against freedom-minded Americans, meant to make us despair and give up.
20 July 2013 (Indonesia)
Global political organizing, using available satellite data, made it possible to put pressure on Indonesia to take action against massive fires that are set by humans.
20 July 2013 (Panama: CIA)
Panama reportedly allowed the CIA agent wanted for kidnapping in Italy to return to the US.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]

The US has a lot of power over the government of Panama, enough apparently even to spring a kidnapper.
20 July 2013 (NSA)
The ex head of the NSA is campaigning to imprison journalists, citing Glenn Greenwald as the base of his campaign.
20 July 2013 (An excuse to recreate segregation)
Charter schools in the US are often an excuse to recreate segregation.
20 July 2013 (Turning education into a factory)
The Gates Foundation is trying to "reform" education by optimizing it as one might optimize a factory — resulting in schools more like factories. Hardly anyone in education dares to express doubt about whether this is a good thing, because they are all desperate for Gates' money.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
There would be no need to turn education into a factory for efficiency's sake if we were collecting enough taxes from the rich.
20 July 2013 (Urgent: Protect whales near Alaska)
US citizens: Call on the US not to allow prospecting for oil near Alaska using air guns that deafen whales.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
20 July 2013 (Urgent: Restrict shark fin trade)
US citizens: call on the National Marine Fisheries Service to cooperate with state laws that restrict the shark fin trade.
20 July 2013 (Urgent: Repeal the "stand your ground" law)
US citizens: call on your state legislature to repeal the "stand your ground" law, if your state has one.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
20 July 2013 (UK cancels some arms exports to Egypt)
The UK has canceled some arms exports to Egypt because the arms might be used to repress protesters.
The US is legally required to do likewise but is ignoring the requirement.
20 July 2013 (UK admits to pandering to Putin)
The UK admits that it rejected an inquiry into Litvinenko's death in order to pander to Putin.
20 July 2013 (American racism)
The Zimmerman case is a return to the "business as usual" of American racism.
20 July 2013 ("Aiding the enemy" charge against Bradley Manning still not dismissed)
The judge in Bradley Manning's trial upheld the basic concept that informing the American people implies aiding "the enemy", under certain circumstances.
Whether Manning will be punished under this heading remains to be seen, but the United States of America is already being punished.
20 July 2013 (Stopping businesses from tax dodging)
The OECD has made a list of proposed changes to stop businesses from tax dodging.
My proposal could also help.
[Reference updated on 2022-07-15 because the old link was broken.]
20 July 2013 (Zambian gov't arresting reporters)
The Zambian government is blocking access to exile news sites and arresting their reporters.
19 July 2013 (Arbitrarily refused asylum)
People who arrive in Australia by boat will be arbitrarily refused asylum.
In other words, asylum is only for those wealthy enough, and un-persecuted enough, to get on a plane.
19 July 2013 (Corporate Internet surveillance)
Corporate Internet surveillance is nasty in its own right, not solely because all the data is available to Big Brother.
19 July 2013 (California prison guards are retaliating sadistically)
California prison guards are retaliating sadistically for the prisoners' hunger strike.
Many of the so-called "gang members" have been "identified" based on coincidences.
19 July 2013 (Egypt's new gov't has cracked down on media that don't support it)
Egypt's new government has cracked down on media that don't support it.
This could mean they hope to get away with killing protesters because we won't see it.
19 July 2013 (Egypt is cooperating with Israel in besieging Gaza)
Egypt is cooperating with Israel in besieging Gaza. Very little construction materials and fuel are now reaching Gaza, and people find it hard to get out.
19 July 2013 (Spanish thugs attacked thousands of people protesting)
Spanish thugs attacked thousands of people protesting against austerity and the government's demonstrated corruption.
19 July 2013 (High economic growth rates have become impossible)
Some economists predict that high economic growth rates have become impossible, because resource availability now limits growth, and productivity per worker is not increasing.
Productivity per worker increased greatly in the US from 1973 to 2013, but workers did not get a corresponding raise. This shows that workers' income is not really tied to their productivity. For US workers to get a raise, they need to fight for it politically.
In addition, increases in productivity per worker nowadays tend to go with reducing the number of workers, and that's no good for most people. In the next decade, robots could tremendously boost productivity per worker in the US, by putting millions of Americans out of work, and they will never find another job. The number of jobs in the US has not increased in decades.
I am glad that the article points out how important it is to reduce the population growth in the rest of this century.
19 July 2013 (Public Citizen fought to establish Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
Public Citizen fought to establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and fought for years to get Richard Cordray confirmed as its head.
19 July 2013 (Urgent: Call on Obama not to nominate New York's Chief of Thugs)
US citizens: call on Obama not to nominate New York's notoriously unjust Chief of Thugs to head the Department of Homeland Suppression.
19 July 2013 (Urgent: Call on AARP to stop sponsoring Rush Limbaugh)
Everyone: call on the AARP to stop sponsoring Rush Limbaugh.
The AARP purports to represent retired people in the US, while lobbying for right-wing policies that would harm their interests. This is why I am not a member of the AARP.
19 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose the "Monsanto & Animal Torture Protection Amendment")
US citizens: call your congresscritter to oppose the "Monsanto & Animal Torture Protection Amendment", the latest perversely cruel Republican measure. It would ban states from regulating farms, whether to avoid inhumane treatment of animals, or to require labeling of GMOs.
19 July 2013 (CIA agent arrested in Panama)
A CIA agent has been arrested in Panama, and may be extradited to Italy where he has been convicted of kidnapping for the US.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
19 July 2013 (UK gov't actively helps corporations buy influence)
The UK government actively and structurally helps corporations buy influence where it does the most harm.
19 July 2013 (Texas Governor Perry signs anti-abortion law)
Texas Governor Perry signed the restrictive anti-abortion law, pretending to the last that it will protect women. In fact it is likely to kill women instead, by forcing them to choose between underground abortion and childbirth, each of which is dangerous compared with a proper abortion in a proper facility.
The law is likely to be overturned by courts, though.
19 July 2013 (Detroit's bankruptcy)
Detroit's bankruptcy will be devastating to retired workers, since US bankruptcy law gives priority to the banks that inveigled Detroit into bad investments.
19 July 2013 (Gina McCarthy confirmed as head of EPA)
Gina McCarthy has been confirmed as the head of the EPA.
She wants to try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Alas, as long as the president wants to use "all of the above" sources of energy, it is impossible to make enough progress towards reducing them.
19 July 2013 (Obama regime won't say if it will continue collecting phone records)
The Obama regime refuses to say whether it will continue collecting records of all the phone calls in the US.
19 July 2013 (Peru to give solar panels to poor people)
Peru will give solar panels to 2 million poor people.
19 July 2013 (Unprovoked Egyptian soldiers planned attack against protesters)
When Egyptian soldiers killed 51 protesters, it was planned and unprovoked attack against civilians who were only praying.
19 July 2013 (Gay rights activist tortured and murdered in his home)
A gay rights activist in Cameroon was tortured and murdered in his home.
19 July 2013 (ALEC pushes bills to reduce compensation for injuring people)
ALEC is pushing bills in many states to reduce the compensation businesses pay when they injure people.
If these bills pass, big corporations will do more things that injure people. They are psychopaths by their structure, and too big to be restrained by anyone's human conscience; "I'll sue" is the only language they understand.
18 July 2013 (ALEC pushing hard to privatize US public schooling)
ALEC is pushing hard to privatize US public schooling.
18 July 2013 (Stand you ground law enabled Zimmerman to escape)
How Florida's "stand your ground" law enabled Zimmerman to escape conviction.
I support repeal of these "stand your ground" laws. This would reintroduce the "duty to retreat", so that shooting must be the last resort means for defending oneself, rather than the first priority.
However, it is clear that Zimmerman did not approach Martin in a friendly way, saying "Hi, what's up?" Zimmerman must have tried to threaten Martin in some way — something that gave Martin a motive to fight with him. Perhaps Zimmerman said, "What are you doing here?"
Thus I suggest another change in the law: to make it a crime to approach someone in a threatening way while carrying a weapon, or perhaps while carrying a concealed weapon, outside of certain special exceptions.
Cars can be deadly. We allow people to own and drive cars, but we require them to get training and pass a test, and we punish certain dangerous ways of using them (while drunk, racing on the street, etc). Why not do the same with guns? Carrying a gun could bring with it the special responsibility not to accost people and demand they explain themselves.
Punishing these actions even when they don't result in a death — and they usually don't — would teach most of the Zimmermans of the world to avoid the sort of conduct that led to this killing.
18 July 2013 (Movement for a basic income)
The movement for a basic income aims to give every citizen an income that is adequate for a non-luxurious life.
The more work gets automated, the more necessary a basic income will become. However, in order to make it possible, we need to make sure that the owners of the robots can't dodge taxes.
18 July 2013 (UK examined people's phone call and Internet contact data)
The UK examined people's phone call and Internet contact data half a million times in the past year.
18 July 2013 (Tech companies pressuring US)
Many tech companies are pressuring the US to allow them to publish information about the number of users that the US has demanded info about using National Security Letters.
18 July 2013 (House Judiciary Committee criticisms of NSA's surveillance)
House Judiciary Committee criticisms of the NSA's general surveillance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
18 July 2013 (Russia has become a tyranny)
Russia has become a flat-out tyranny that crushes all opposition, even weak and powerless opposition.
18 July 2013 (Snowden, True Hope for Change.)
Edward Snowden, True Hope for Change.
Could we convince him to run for president?
18 July 2013 (Russian dissident sentenced to 5 years in prison)
Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to 5 years in prison after an absurd trial.
18 July 2013 (Israeli army arrested a 5-year-old Palestinian)
The Israeli army arrested a 5-year-old Palestinian, supposedly for throwing a stone at a car.
The army says he was not arrested, which I consider a lie. It probably represents a policy of abusing language.
18 July 2013 (Families cut off from olive trees by Israel's annexation wall)
25 Palestinian families are cut off from their olive trees by Israel's annexation wall. They heard chainsaws, but could not approach their trees to see that 1150 of them were being cut down.
Another Palestinian was forced out of his house by fanatical "settlers" who later stole his olive harvest. Recently they set fire to it. The army won't allow him to go there and see what the damage was.
The army says it's all his fault; that his house's proximity to a colony (i.e., "settlement") "causes friction".
18 July 2013 (Bumblebee colonies have dangerous parasites)
3/4 of the bumblebee colonies imported into the UK have dangerous parasites.
18 July 2013 (Additional austerity in Greece)
Greece's government of occupation has imposed an additional austerity measure.
They do it step by step so that people won't see, at any point, how bad a change it will add up to.
18 July 2013 (Mass protests to keep land)
Peasants in Catatumbo, Colombia, are staging mass protests demanding government protection so they can keep their land.
In some parts of Colombia, the "paramilitaries", essentially gangs of thieves connected to the army and supported by the state, have invaded villages and killed lots of peasants to scare the survivors into selling their land very cheap. I suspect that the "land that communities were forced to abandon", which "fell into the hands of businesses", was the subject of this practice. If so, the subsequent owners would have been involved with the paramilitaries.
The previous president, Alvaro Horrible (officially "Uribe"), was found to have connections with the paramilitaries. I don't know of any evidence against the current president, Nonsantos; but since he was previously the minister in charge of the army, I would not be surprised if he had such connections.
18 July 2013 (Bounty to anyone that shoots down a drone)
A town in Colorado proposes to pay a bounty to anyone that shoots down a drone aircraft.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
18 July 2013 (Urgent: Ban neonicotinoid pesticides in the US)
US citizens: call for legislation to ban neonicotinoid pesticides in the US.
18 July 2013 (Three degrees of separation from a terrorist suspect)
The NSA says it is allowed to investigate anyone up to three degrees of separation from a terrorist suspect. That would be a large fraction of the US. It got this broad permission from the FISA court.
18 July 2013 (Chinese control of Internet public opinion)
Chinese control of Internet public opinion is becoming more subtle, involving spin as much as outright deletion.
This resembles what businesses do to shape Internet public opinion. John Dvorak presented evidence that Microsoft was doing this to create a favorable attitude towards Windows 8.
18 July 2013 (UK thugs tried to undermine campaign for proper murder investigation)
A UK thug chief admits that undercover thugs gathered evidence about the relatives of murdered Stephen Lawrence.
There was no reason to suspect them of any crime, but they were campaigning for a proper investigation of Lawrence's death. (Fortunately their campaign was successful, and found the real killers.)
I do not see anything particularly bad about using the names of dead children. It's not as if they could be hurt, and if their parents ever met these thugs, they would think it was a coincidence of names.
18 July 2013 (Leak suggests EU is about to abandon network neutrality)
A leak suggests that the EU is about to abandon network neutrality.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
18 July 2013 (Surveillance of cars by license plate readers)
As Americans campaign against NSA surveillance, we should also limit surveillance of cars by license plate readers.
These systems can serve valid purposes, but they are unacceptable if they surveil everyone. They must be designed so that they don't really "see" a car unless its plate is on a list, and only a specific court order about a specific plate should put it on the list.
18 July 2013 (Back door into CPU chips)
It's possible that Intel has given the NSA a back door into CPU chips.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
In any case, upgradable microcode that isn't free software means that these processors require nonfree installed software to run.
18 July 2013 (Lawsuit filed to end massive gov't collection of phone records)
A coalition led by the EFF has sued to put an end to massive government collection of Americans' phone call records.
The Free Software Foundation is one of the plaintiffs. Here's more information about the range of organizations.
Sad to say, even if this suit is successful, it won't go far enough to give us privacy rights. We must not allow a complete dossier about every American to be there, just waiting for the government to have some reason to investigate him.
Bills proposed to put an end to massive surveillance also do not go far enough to really solve the problem.
18 July 2013 (Urgent: Close Guantanamo and free or charge each prisoner)
US citizens: phone your senators and say, close the Guantanamo prison and free or charge each prisoner. Don't allow imprisonment without trial. The Senate will vote soon on the issue.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
18 July 2013 (Spanish ruling party accused of corruption)
The right-wing Spanish ruling party is accused of corruption, but hopes to survive by refusing to acknowledge it.
18 July 2013 (Ecosystems changed drastically by global heating)
Global heating changes ecosystems drastically, in the Southern Ocean and in Missouri.
18 July 2013 (Absence of Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt's new cabinet)
The Muslim Brotherhood complains of being excluded from Egypt's new cabinet but maybe it is actually boycotting the cabinet.
18 July 2013 (Rules for filibusters)
The Senate has not formally changed the rules for filibusters, but when Democrats showed they would do so, Republicans gave up on obstructing many of Obama's nominations.
I advocate changing the rules so that a filibuster must be carried out physically by senators prepared to speak as long as necessary.
18 July 2013 (Amazon warehouse working conditions)
Workers in an Amazon warehouse and shipping center walk all day under the orders of a computer, and are forbidden even to speak to each other.
17 July 2013 (Urgent: Ban US from spending money to arm Syrian rebels)
US citizens: ask your congresscritter to support an amendment to ban the US from spending Pentagon money to arm Syrian rebels.
A spending ban is not airtight. When Congress banned spending money to aid right-wing rebels in Nicaragua, Reagan arranged for private arms dealers to ransom American hostages by selling arms to their terrorist kidnappers, then used the "private" profits to fund those rebels. Obama might try the same thing.
Still, the spending ban is a good step forward.
17 July 2013 (Urgent: Repair the Voting Rights Act)
US citizens: call on Congress to repair the Voting Rights Act.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
17 July 2013 (Urgent: Support UN efforts toward global nuclear disarmament)
US citizens: call on Obama to support UN efforts toward global nuclear disarmament.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
17 July 2013 (Urgent: Order gov't contractors to pay living wage)
US citizens: call on Obama to order government contractors to pay a living wage.
17 July 2013 (Urgent: Prevent pollution that makes US beaches unsafe)
Urgent: US citizens: call on the EPA to prevent the pollution that frequently makes US beaches unsafe.
17 July 2013 (Urgent: Cancel the F35 fighter jet)
US citizens: call on Congress to cancel the F35 fighter jet.
17 July 2013 (Long-term unemployment in UK)
Long-term unemployment in the UK has reached a 17-year high.
17 July 2013 (PayPal blocks payment for books with "Iran" in title)
PayPal blocks payment for books that have "Iran" in their name.
17 July 2013 (Former Senator Gordon Humphrey supports Snowden)
Former Senator Gordon Humphrey says Snowden did the right thing and wishes him success in finding asylum.
17 July 2013 (The concept of homicide by a corporation)
On resurrecting the concept of homicide by a corporation in the US.
I am left wondering why the practice ceased. If it was done before under state law, why not now?
17 July 2013 (Feminism fights to free men as well as women)
Feminism fights to free men as well as women from patriarchy.
17 July 2013 (10 commentaries on George Zimmerman verdict)
10 commentaries on the George Zimmerman verdict.
17 July 2013 (Urgent: Call on McDonald's to stop making workers pay to collect pay)
Everyone: call on McDonald's to stop making workers pay to collect their pay.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
17 July 2013 (India's new wealth directed towards a few)
Amartya Sen's new book points out how India has directed its new wealth towards a few. 50% of Indians have no access to a toilet, and 50% of the children are stunted by malnutrition. Poorer neighboring countries have done much better for the poor, and so has China.
17 July 2013 (Shipment of oil around North America by rail)
Large and increasing quantities of oil are being shipped around North America by rail, making disasters only a matter of time.
Pipelines would solve this problem, but they won't prevent the bigger disaster that burning oil is likely to cause. We need a "none of the above" solution — move away from fossil fuels.
17 July 2013 (Another pesticide banned by EU to protect honeybees)
The EU has banned another pesticide to protect honeybees.
17 July 2013 (Russia blocks creation of marine life sanctuary)
Russia blocked the creation of a marine life sanctuary near Antarctica.
This is a victory for the short term over the long term.
17 July 2013 (Morsi's supporters continue protesting)
Morsi's supporters continue protesting, while talks between them and the government were a failure.
17 July 2013 (A world in which no one wanted by the US can find shelter)
The US is trying to create a world in which no one the US wants to get can find shelter.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
17 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security)
US citizens: ask your congresscritter to sign the Grayson-Takano letter, promising to vote against any bill that would cut Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
16 July 2013 (Mining company uses masked armed guards)
A mining company, freshly given state permission to pollute water supplies, uses masked armed guards to "protect" itself from imaginary violent protesters.
16 July 2013 (World Bank backing big dams in Africa)
The World Bank is once again backing big dams in Africa, despite the visible problems of their previous big dams in Africa.
I wonder if the companies that use most of the electricity from these dams are related to mining. If so, these dams could be regarded as another projection of the political power of the mining companies.
16 July 2013 (Chinese gov't persecuting anticorruption activists)
The Chinese government is persecuting anticorruption activists, thus undermining its own proclaimed campaign against corruption.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
16 July 2013 (EU deals for cooperation with Israel now required to exclude Israeli colonies)
All EU deals for cooperation with Israel are now required to explicitly exclude Israeli colonies in Palestinian territory — specifically, the West Bank.
16 July 2013 (Urgent: Write to Obama against the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline)
US citizens: write to Obama against the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
16 July 2013 (Urgent: Approve Gina McCarthy as head of the EPA.)
US citizens: call on your senators to approve Gina McCarthy as head of the EPA.
16 July 2013 ('You Can Trust Good Guys to Spy on You')
'You Can Trust Good Guys to Spy on You': The Difference Between Bush's Spying and Obama's Spying, as Explained by 'Obama'.
16 July 2013 (2.3 meters of sea-level rise)
A study confidently predicts 2.3 meters of sea-level rise per degree of increase in the global average temperature.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Thus, two degrees rise would mean many coastal cities are in big trouble. And it will require vigorous efforts to avoid even worse trouble.
16 July 2013 (SEC prosecuting underling involved in massive fraud)
The SEC is prosecuting an underling who was involved in a massive fraud, but shows no interest in prosecuting the higher-ups.
I don't think it is wrong to prosecute Fabrice Tourre if he knew what he was doing. (I don't need to try to judge, for myself, whether he did.) The wrong is in letting the others off the hook, and failing to change banking law so it can't happen again.
16 July 2013 (Afghan gov't soldiers continue shooting gov't and NATO troops)
Afghan government soldiers continue shooting government troops and NATO troops. One who was caught and arrested has escaped through the help of one of the officers in charge of the prison.
These events demonstrate that the Taliban inspire a kind of loyalty which Karzai's government can't compete with. It is difficult to win a fight against that sort of disadvantage.
16 July 2013 (The killing of Trayvon Martin)
Alice Walker's reflections on the killing of Trayvon Martin.
The chain of events that directly led to his killing started when a white racist assumed a young black man was a criminal mainly because of his looks, then pursued him. That must happen fairly often in the US. If it leads to a fight, there is some chance one of the people will be killed (most likely the young black man).
A crucial psychological principle is that the probability of punishment and the frequency of punishment matter more than the amount of punishment. If we want to prevent repetition of this chain of events, it would be more effective to punish or discourage some event near the start, rather than an unusual outcome. Perhaps limiting carrying concealed weapons is a good solution.
15 July 2013 (GlaxoSmithKline is accused of bribing doctors in China)
GlaxoSmithKline is accused of bribing doctors in China.
I won't say it can't be true.
15 July 2013 (Demand that Texas investigate why state troopers confiscated tampons)
Demand that Texas investigate why state troopers confiscated tampons
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
15 July 2013 (Oyster reefs and wetlands provide vital protection)
Oyster reefs and wetlands provide vital protection from the ocean inundations that global heating will bring.
15 July 2013 (FISA court rubber-stamps massive surveillance)
How the FISA court rubber-stamps massive surveillance.
15 July 2013 (Palestinian prisoners are still hunger striking)
Palestinian prisoners are still hunger striking.
15 July 2013 (Attacking individual scientists with insults and lawsuits)
Those who wish to discredit science operate by attacking individual scientists, with insults and lawsuits. Scientists have organized to defend science from this.
15 July 2013 (Banning abortions)
We must directly confront those who pretend that banning abortions is an expression of concern for people.
15 July 2013 (Russian surveillance)
Russia wants to make multinational Internet companies cooperate with Russian surveillance rather than US Internet surveillance, regarding data about Russia and Russians.
15 July 2013 (The NSA mission)
The NSA says its mission is to collect "all" data, and it effectively targets everyone.
15 July 2013 (Urgent: Release EPA report about flammable tap water)
US citizens: call on the EPA to release its report about flammable tap water due to fracking.
15 July 2013 (Australia's treatment of asylum seekers)
Australia deposits asylum seekers in a prison in Papua New Guinea while their cases are heard. A committee that is supposed to monitor how these prisoners are treated has never actually met.
15 July 2013 (DuckDuckGo can't guarantee anonymity)
DuckDuckGo can't guarantee anonymity for users' searches even given the best will in the world. And neither could any other search engine in the US.
The NSA could be monitoring the search requests before they arrive at DuckDuckGo's servers. Those servers are hosted by Amazon, and Amazon could monitor them too.
BUT, if you visit through Tor, you block that.
15 July 2013 (Return of bison to former American prairie)
The return of bison to part of the former American prairie restores the ecology.
15 July 2013 (Debunking the lies that try to excuse TAFTA)
Debunking the lies that try to excuse TAFTA (and other free exploitation treaties).
A further one: the idea that economic growth will benefit most people no matter how it is brought about. If the means to achieve growth serve the rich in other ways, they will get the increased income and the rest may be worse off.
15 July 2013 (Facing over a hundred years in prison for posting a link)
Barrett Brown faces over a hundred years in prison for posting a link to the (already published) data obtained from Stratfor.
15 July 2013 (Kyrgyzstan wonders why UK shields son of former dictator)
Kyrgyzstan, the one democracy in central Asia, wonders why the UK shields the son of the former dictator, who is accused of stealing tremendous amounts of money.
15 July 2013 (UK gov't arbitrarily cancels citizenship of dual nationals)
The UK government arbitrarily cancels the citizenship of dual nationals, typically when they are outside the country.
15 July 2013 (US gov't blocks tax reforms that would prevent tax avoidance)
The US government is the principal opponent of tax reforms to prevent Internet companies from escaping taxes.
15 July 2013 (Guantanamo hunger strike numbers)
The Guantanamo prison guards are trying to pretend that fewer prisoners are now on hunger strike.
15 July 2013 (Acquittal of George Zimmerman)
The acquittal of George Zimmerman could encourage racist whites to attack black teenagers presuming they are criminals, and then kill them.
Black leaders in the US want George Zimmerman to be tried on a federal charge of "violating civil rights."
I don't support this campaign because I think the practice is a sneaky way to violate the constitutional prohibition of double jeopardy.
Something needs to be changed in the law so as to avoid encouraging such killings, but I am not sure what it should be.
15 July 2013 (Tasers fired at the chest can cause heart attack)
The manufacturer of tasers says, don't fire at the chest — it can cause a heart attack. Can you guess what body part thugs usually fire at?
15 July 2013 (Australian right-wing's phony "plan" to confront global heating)
The Australian right-wing "plan" to confront global heating is a phony plan developed by deniers.
15 July 2013 (Net neutrality in Europe)
Leaked Regulation: Schrödinger's net neutrality on its way in Europe.
15 July 2013 (Resisting massive surveillance)
To resist massive surveillance, people must learn to reject invitations to use services that surveil their users.
Although the article has a valid point, it undermines itself with the typical defeatist statements that "we" all engage in these surveillance-feeding practices now. Readers might well suppose that if "everyone does it" then there is no point seriously thinking of stopping.
But it's not all of us, only some of us. It is possible to say no. I have never used Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Foursquare, Google+ or Path. (I might consider using Twitter for tweeting, if it were convenient for me.) I don't have a portable phone because I don't want to tell a phone company everywhere I go.
15 July 2013 (How US pressures Internet companies into cooperating with Prism)
How the US pressures Internet companies into cooperating with Prism: by threatening to install their own surveillance gear without the companies' help.
15 July 2013 (Privacy International sues UK gov't)
Privacy International is suing the UK government over its massive surveillance practices.
Other human rights organizations are demanding changes in surveillance policies.
15 July 2013 (Edward Snowden was right to flee)
Daniel Ellsberg: Edward Snowden was right to flee; the US of today is "not the same country" as the one Ellsberg dared to remain in.
The latest media campaign to smear Snowden is to point out that Venezuela is guilty of some wrongful surveillance too.
Surveillance of people because they are opposed to government policies is no more legitimate in Venezuela than it is in the US. However, that need not stop Snowden from accepting asylum in Venezuela.
There are also reports that the Venezuelan government is harassing a journalist that published reports about Chavez's cancer, much as the US harasses some journalists. This too is no reason why Snowden should go to the US and face even nastier treatment himself.
As a patriotic American, Snowden's focus is how his own government wrongs his own countrymen, but his efforts will tend to help other countries too.
If we can accept that the world's most powerful government sometimes needs to work closely with really horrible states, we should accept that an individual hero fleeing the world's most powerful government can't be expected to choose only spotless states to ask for asylum. He needs to accept shelter wherever he can find it.
Ideally he would get shelter and protection from the US government itself.
15 July 2013 (US officials' misleading statements about surveillance practices)
US officials have a pattern of making misleading (or outright dishonest) statements about surveillance practices.
15 July 2013 (Psychological manipulation of gratis-to-play games)
How gratis-to-play games psychologically manipulate players into paying over and over to have a chance of winning.
There is nothing exploitative in a chess set, a deck of cards, or an ordinary board game; the company that sells them doesn't manipulate the game you play so as to pressure or trick you into buying more of its product. Those are the standard of comparison by which we can see if some other game is exploitative. When you see how these companies fool people into spending money, I hope you will decide never to deal with them.
15 July 2013 (John Kiriakou on getting medical treatment in prison)
John Kiriakou explains what he had to go through to get medical treatment when he broke his finger while in prison.
15 July 2013 (Phone call records)
Once phone call records are saved and made available for later examination, governments examine them for the smallest of reasons.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
15 July 2013 (Nina Paley on limiting mass immigration)
Nina Paley on limiting mass immigration … of sperm.
15 July 2013 (TAFTA)
The benefit of increased trade from TAFTA is projected to amount to three cents per person per day.
Of course, that benefit won't be evenly divided. It will be for the rich. The rest will get only the fallout from everything else in the treaty, whose name stands for Turn All Freedom To Ashes.
15 July 2013 (Skanska construction quits US Chamber of Commerce)
Skanska construction quit the US Chamber of Commerce because that organization is lobbying against green construction methods.
15 July 2013 (Summarizing the dangers of fracking)
Summarizing the dangers of fracking: polluting the water globally, and increasing heating globally.
15 July 2013 (Obama plans to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014)
Obama plans to keep troops in Afghanistan far beyond 2014.
15 July 2013 (Many vertebrate species can't survive global heating)
An experiment found many vertebrate species can't adapt fast enough to survive global heating.
They can adapt to 1C of temperature change in a million years, not 2C (let alone 4C) in a hundred years.
14 July 2013 (House Republicans have removed food stamps from the farm bill entirely)
House Republicans have removed food stamps from the farm bill entirely.
14 July 2013 (Republican leaders made a plan to sabotage Obama in every way)
Republican leaders met and made a specific plan to sabotage Obama in every way.
However, their sabotage campaign is broader than that. They also try to sabotage everything that contributed to women's rights, the wellbeing of poor Americans. or even energy efficiency.
Obama is easy for the friends of the plutocrats to sabotage, since he never tries very hard to oppose them. A real friend of most Americans would have used the Republicans' sabotage plan to attack them. But since he won't do that, it is up to us to do it.
14 July 2013 (US neglects activities that could really make world more secure)
As the US directs ever more resources into "security", which includes massive surveillance and war, it neglects the activities that could really make the world more secure.
Avoiding global heating disaster is one of those activities. The Pentagon recognizes that the effects of global heating will cause "instability" (wars, mass migration, etc.), but Congress and the President do not pay due attention to this.
14 July 2013 (Billionaire says Eliminating The Minimum Wage Will Help The Poor)
Billionaire Koch Brother Says Eliminating The Minimum Wage Will Help The Poor.
He suggests that we judge US wages by comparing them with wages in other countries, which implies a great reduction in US wages. That's an admission of what we figured the US plutocrats want.
14 July 2013 (Judge ordered Microsoft to give Chevron massive amounts of personal data)
A federal judge ordered Microsoft to give Chevron massive amounts of personal data on 30 anonymous Internet activists tangentially related to Chevron's lawsuit against Ecuador.
14 July 2013 (Local Leaders Threaten Hong Kong Press Freedom)
China, Local Leaders Threaten Hong Kong Press Freedom.
14 July 2013 (Urgent: Call on US not to allow seismic test with very loud noises off the Atlantic coast)
US citizens: call on the US not to allow seismic test with very loud noises off the Atlantic coast. It can kill whales by deafening them.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
14 July 2013 (Urgent: Call on Starbucks to move to compostable containers)
Everyone: call on Starbucks to move to compostable containers.
14 July 2013 (Urgent: Reform the filibuster)
US citizens: sign this campaign to reform the filibuster.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
14 July 2013 (Moral dilemmas of Syria and Egypt)
Uri Avnery: the moral dilemmas of Syria and Egypt.
14 July 2013 (Time Magazine's idea of a discussion)
Time Magazine's idea of a discussion on US budget policy was to present two Republicans who disagree on some details.
It could have been worse: they could have presented a Republican and a Democrat like Obama that is little different from a Republican.
14 July 2013 (Anchor Has to Remind You You're Not Watching an Ad)
At NBC News, the Anchor Has to Remind You You're Not Watching an Ad.
14 July 2013 (Americans with an income under $200,000 a year are negligible)
TV pundit David Gregory treated Americans with an income under $200,000 a year as negligible.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
14 July 2013 (Parents in UK won't let their children wander outdoors)
Many parents in the UK won't let their children wander outdoors. As a result, children hardly ever go outdoors, and when they do, it is like a package tour in a foreign country.
The same thing happens in the US: parents are terrified of allowing children to be alone. These children are totally dependent on parents for transportation, and the parents are stressed by the need to do this.
14 July 2013 (UK union leader suggests that unions drop their support for Labour party)
A UK union leader will suggests that unions drop their support for today's "Labour" party, which has become almost as plutocratic as the Tory party.
14 July 2013 (Urgent: Maintain EPA's regulation of toxic coal ash)
US citizens: tell your senators not to weaken the EPA's regulation of toxic coal ash.
14 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose lobbying against improved fuel efficiency)
Everyone: tell UPS to stop lobbying against improved fuel efficiency.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
14 July 2013 (Texas republicans pass law to restrict abortion)
Texas Republicans passed their law to restrict abortion, which will probably be blocked as unconstitutional.
14 July 2013 (Student writes about NSA recruitment event)
One of the students who talked back to NSA recruiters writes about the experience.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
14 July 2013 (Malala Yousafzai addresses UN)
Malala Yousafzai addressed the UN on her 16th birthday, advocating the cause of providing education to the 57 million children who are denied schooling.
14 July 2013 (Overfishing in the Mediterranean)
Overfishing in the Mediterranean is coming back to haunt humans as jellyfish take over many beaches in the Mediterranean.
14 July 2013 (Obama regime's new guidelines for investigating leaks)
The Obama regime says it will (for the time being) not get search warrants against reporters that publish leaks to find their contacts.
Unfortunately, this doesn't do as much good as one might hope. Thanks to the massive surveillance that Snowden has revealed, they can find the reporters' sources without a subpoena on the reporters.
14 July 2013 (Portuguese Socialist Party rejects further austerity)
The Portuguese Socialist Party has rejected further austerity, which was demanded in return for yet another "bailout".
"Bail out" means "we're pushing your country out the door of the plane".
14 July 2013 (EU encourages corporate land-grab in Cambodia)
The EU encourages the corporate land-grab in Cambodia.
14 July 2013 (Tension between secular and jihadist rebels in Syria)
Secular and jihadist rebels in Syria are on the brink of fighting each other.
If they do become enemies, that might have the paradoxical result of opening a path for foreign aid to the secular rebels without helping the jihadis. However, that doesn't mean it would be a good idea to get hitched to the FSA.
14 July 2013 (Latin American countries respond to blockage of Evo Morales' plane)
Latin American countries including Brazil and Argentina will withdraw their ambassadors to Spain, France, Italy and Portugal for the blockage of Evo Morales' plane.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
This will have a real impact. I won't try to guess whether it will be enough.
14 July 2013 (US attacking world standards of human rights)
The US is attacking world standards of human rights in order to get Snowden.
It is also denouncing Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for standing up for Snowden's human rights, and for what he did for everyone else's human rights.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Obama replied to Snowden's statement by rebuking Putin for repressing human rights organizations in Russia.
That is a valid criticism. Putin's regime is not in general a supporter of whistleblowers. It did not just kill whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky in prison; it put him on trial after death. (I am sure Snowden wishes he could go straight to South America without needing Russian help.)
However, that doesn't excuse what Obama is doing to punish an American hero. "Better than Putin" is no standard for judging our own government.
14 July 2013 (Twitter has given France personal data)
Twitter has given France the personal data about people who posted anti-semitic insults.
These insults are nasty, but censorship is nastier.
14 July 2013 (UK gov't canceled plans to require plain packages)
The UK government has canceled plans to require plain packages, based on reasons that can't be serious. The UK government austerity policies aim to reduce the number of jobs, and plain packages in terms of marketing need not be easy to counterfeit.
13 July 2013 (Obama regime considering reducing bulk collection of phone records)
Senator Wyden says the Obama regime is "considering" reducing the bulk collection of Americans' phone records.
I would not trust the Obama regime to really do so, but what this shows is that the movement against massive surveillance is strong enough to win something real.
13 July 2013 (Newark's Adoption of Stop-and-Frisk Transparency Policy)
ACLU-NJ Praises Newark's Adoption of Stop-and-Frisk Transparency Policy.
I think the celebration is premature. This policy may be a step forward if it makes thugs do that less, or shows people how bad it is. But thugs shouldn't have the power to search you at any time on the street without cause.
13 July 2013 (Republican policies cause suffering for modern families)
Republican "pro-family" policies cause suffering for modern families.
Having a baby in the US is especially expensive and dangerous to the mother, and Republican policies put the safer alternatives such as contraception and abortion out of some women's reach.
If the article's author thinks babies are adorable and something to celebrate, she should not claim we all feel that way. I don't, and you don't have to. When a baby is born, we should help it achieve a good life, but the world would be no worse off if that baby had not been born.
13 July 2013 (Wild elephants and humans in conflict)
The spread of human activities in India has brought wild elephants and humans into conflict.
13 July 2013 (Republicans killing the immigration bill)
The Republicans in the House are killing the immigration bill.
I'm in favor of offering immigrants without papers a path to citizenship, but the immigration bill has another provision which would require employees to have state-issued ID cards, making them in effect almost national ID cards. I think this is a change in the wrong direction.
If we don't want a surveillance state, we must start opposing and reversing surveillance measures.
13 July 2013 (Alex Navalny will likely be imprisoned on bogus charges for opposing Putin)
Alexei Navalny is running for mayor of Moscow, but will most likely be imprisoned on bogus charges for opposing Putin.
13 July 2013 (Snowden has asked for asylum temporarily in Russia)
Snowden has asked for asylum temporarily in Russia until he can get to one of the Latin American countries that has offered him asylum.
13 July 2013 (Florida banned all Internet connections)
Florida set out to ban Internet cafes, which is unjust, and accidentally banned all Internet connections.
13 July 2013 (Urgent: Call for an investigation of oil companies)
US citizens: call for an investigation of oil companies for manipulating the price of oil.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
13 July 2013 (Urgent: Stand firm against Walmart bullying and sign living wage act)
Everyone: urge the mayor of Washington DC to stand firm against Walmart bullying and sign the living wage law.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Any community is better off without a Walmart store. Walmart systematically pushes down wages.
13 July 2013 (Urgent: Call for negotiation with Iran)
US citizens: call for serious negotiation with Iran about uranium enrichment.
13 July 2013 (Urgent: Support re-institution of the Glass Steagall Act)
US citizens: support re-institution of the Glass Steagall Act to separate banking from investment gambling.
13 July 2013 (Don't celebrate election of president approved by theocracy)
Don't celebrate the election of an Iranian president approved by the theocracy.
The election was not free, since candidates were limited by the theocratic regime. The new president is not to be celebrated, as he will not give human rights Iranians. However, he might be open to a reasonable settlement on the uranium refining dispute, and the US should be ready to make one.
In order to do this, the US will have to defy the Israeli hawks' lobby, that want conflict between the US and Iran regardless of the pretext.
13 July 2013 (Air pollution kills 2.5 million people a year)
Air pollution, mostly soot and ozone, kills 2.5 million people a year.
The soot comes from diesel engines, power plants and coal fires. The ozone comes from engines.
13 July 2013 (Mining companies pressuring the Australian government)
Mining companies are pressuring the Australian government to relax environmental protections on exploratory drilling.
If the drilling finds gas, supposedly it would provide 1/4 of the gas that New South Wales would plan to burn. So what? We already have far more supplies of fossil fuels than we dare use; what good is it to find more?
13 July 2013 (Fires in Indonesia on palm oil plantations)
Some of the large fires in Indonesia are on palm oil plantations.
Some of them are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
13 July 2013 (Urgent: Support prisoners on hunger strike in California)
US citizens: support the prisoners on hunger strike in California.
There may be a good reason for imprisoning them, but that doesn't justify cruelty.
13 July 2013 (Urgent: Stop support of deforestation in Indonesia)
Everyone: call on Kellogg to stop supporting deforestation in Indonesia (for palm oil plantations).
13 July 2013 (Urgent: Elimination of filibuster for presidential appointments)
US citizens: support elimination of the filibuster, for presidential appointments.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
13 July 2013 (UK "open for business", marketing cigarettes to young people)
The UK put off plans to discourage marketing of cigarettes to young people in order to show it is "open for business".
This demonstrates that "open for business" is the wrong thing for any country to try to be.
13 July 2013 (Justin Carter faces absurd charges for joke)
Justin Carter, accused of making a threat in an explicitly labeled joke, received a gift of money for bail, but still faces absurd charges.
13 July 2013 (Peaceful protests in Rio de Janeiro turn violent)
Organized peaceful protests in Rio de Janeiro turned violent after discovery of a box of Molotov cocktails, which might have been planted by thugs so as to be discovered.
13 July 2013 (Legalization of abortion in Ireland)
Ireland has legalized abortion in some limited situations. This decision, defying threats from the Catholic Church, is an important victory for women and for humanity, even though it does not go far enough.
Meanwhile, the law imposes a harsh penalty on abortions in other circumstances.
13 July 2013 (Opposition to the Olympics)
San Francisco mounted real opposition to a bid to hold the Olympics there.
So did Chicago, although the campaign failed.
13 July 2013 (CO₂ emissions must be cut even more sharply)
If we are to avoid the other disasters that CO₂ emissions will cause, aside from those due to temperature, we need to cut emissions even more sharply.
13 July 2013 (Palestinian prisoners have been on hunger strike for months)
Palestinian prisoners, imprisoned without trial, have been on hunger strike for months.
13 July 2013 (Palestinian children face life imprisonment)
Palestinian children chosen at random face life imprisonment after being tortured into confessing to throwing stones. It is not clear whether any stones were actually thrown.
12 July 2013 (Greenpeace civil disobedience)
Greenpeace is making a success of a range of civil disobedience campaigns.
12 July 2013 (Afghan gov't moved to protect people who torture child brides)
The Afghan government has moved to protect people who torture child brides.
12 July 2013 (Journalist a social network rather than a profession)
Journalism is now a social network rather than a profession.
12 July 2013 (Burma has convicted 25 people of murders)
Burma has convicted 25 people of murders carried out in a pogrom against Muslims.
12 July 2013 (US underestimated the monetary value of damage caused by Big Spill)
The US has underestimated the monetary value of the damage caused by the Big Spill.
12 July 2013 (Deeper corporate crime behind the oil train explosion)
The deeper corporate crime behind the oil train explosion in Lac-Megantic.
12 July 2013 (Microsoft helped NSA spy on users)
Microsoft changed several systems to help the NSA spy on users. These systems include Skype, web chats, email, and remote file storage.
This means that Microsoft's claims about encryption and privacy in these programs and services are effectively fraudulent.
There is no US law requiring user software for encryption to have a back door. But you can't trust encryption unless it is done by a free program in your own computer.
12 July 2013 (UK thugs spied on anti-racism campaigners)
The UK thugs systematically spied on anti-racism campaigners who were supporting a man they were trying to frame, looking for "subversives".
12 July 2013 (Fracking can cause large earthquakes)
A study suggests fracking can cause large earthquakes. (It is known to cause small ones.)
12 July 2013 (The Horrible Psychology of Solitary Confinement.)
The Horrible Psychology of Solitary Confinement.
12 July 2013 (Journalists should expect surveillance)
Journalists should learn to expect surveillance and protect themselves from it.
I find the term "Hidden Wiki" strange and misleading, but Tor is a good thing.
12 July 2013 (Abortion restrictions in North Carolina)
Republicans in North Carolina attached severe abortion restrictions to a bill about motorcycle safety.
12 July 2013 (US schools need to study freedom of speech)
US high schools and colleges need to study freedom of speech.
12 July 2013 (Censorship and repression in Turkey copied to social media)
Censorship and repression in Turkey is being copied from traditional media to social media.
12 July 2013 (Human rights organizations in France sued tech companies and US agencies)
Human rights organizations in France have sued tech companies and US agencies for their cooperation in handing over the data of French citizens.
12 July 2013 (Researchers build an all-optical transistor)
Researchers build an all-optical transistor
12 July 2013 (Campaign against using Facebook now has support from Venezuela)
My campaign against using Facebook now has support from Venezuela.
It is useful to be able to communicate with people, but let's not use a platform that hands your data to the CIA. What we really want is a distributed system where your data is in your own server and made available to others as you see fit.
12 July 2013 (A victory against copyrighted laws)
A victory in the US against copyrighted laws.
12 July 2013 (Nationalism, Tech Giants, and Spy States)
Nationalism, Tech Giants, and Spy States. Why don't big tech companies lobby to keep their customers' data private?
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
12 July 2013 (Republicans want US children to go hungry)
"Pro-life" Republicans want US children to go hungry.
They value "human" life only before a human is born.
12 July 2013 (Horrible treatment of prisoners in US-funded private prison)
Mexican prisoners (who say they were forced to sign blank confessions) are being treated horribly in a new US-funded private prison.
12 July 2013 (Saudi princess living in the US charged with keeping a slave)
A Saudi princess living in the US has been charged with keeping a Kenyan woman as a domestic slave.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
12 July 2013 (French parliament votes for free software in higher education)
The French parliament voted to give free software (logiciel libre) priority in higher education.
"Priority" is a rather weak preference; it is too easy to justify making an exception. Also, this doesn't apply to primary and secondary schools. However, it is a good step forward.
12 July 2013 (Egypt's military arrests journalists)
Egypt's military has arrested journalists from Al Jazeera and other foreign media.
12 July 2013 (Walmart rejects scheme for improving factory safety in Bangladesh)
Walmart and other US companies have rejected the binding scheme for improving factory safety in Bangladesh. They have set up their own dummy plan so they can pretend to be doing something about the problem.
12 July 2013 (US and China agree to cooperate on reducing pollution)
The US and China agreed to cooperate on reducing pollution and global heating, but they are only considering nibbling around the edges.
12 July 2013 (Spike in pesticide use)
Pesticide Use Spikes as GMO Failure Cripples Corn Belt.
12 July 2013 (Election in Zimbabwe rigged again)
The election in Zimbabwe is rigged again, but opposition leader Tsvangirai has not done a good job of winning support either.
12 July 2013 (UK's welfare cuts)
The UK's welfare "changes" (cuts dressed up as a reform) have tripled the number of people turning to private charity for food.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
12 July 2013 (The power to stop NSA surveillance)
How do we build the power to stop NSA surveillance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
12 July 2013 (Non-uniformed thugs attack University of Virginia student)
Non-uniformed thugs attacked a University of Virginia student for buying a six-pack of soda-water. They later said they thought she had bought beer. She did not know they were official thugs and tried to drive away.
They charged her three felonies: failure to read thugs' minds, failure to clairvoyantly recognize them as thugs, and attempted self-protection when attacked by a group of threatening strangers. These are not official felonies, of course. They represent what plainclothes thugs generally do people who try to protect themselves when attacked by an armed group of strangers for no obvious reason.
Fortunately the charges were dropped. But the thugs deserved to be fired at the very least. Firing might be sufficient in this case since they didn't permanently injure the victims.
12 July 2013 (11-year-old Chilean pregnant girl)
There is a dispute about whether the 11-year-old Chilean pregnant girl was raped. Her mother said the sexual relations were voluntary. The girl said the man hurt her, which might mean she does consider it rape, or might mean something else.
She also says she wants to have the baby, and was praised by plutocrat president Piñera.
Piñera calls her position "maturity"; I call it childish folly. I won't rebuke her for having sex with anyone she chooses to have it with, as long as they take precautions so it goes no further than that. But I doubt that she is ready to have children, either medically or psychologically, and it seems that she is putting her health at risk if she does not get an abortion (though it is not stated why). In other words, Piñera is urging her to risk grave harm.
12 July 2013 (Allowable greenhouse gas emissions)
To avoid disastrous ocean acidification, ice melt, and decrease of food production, in addition to disastrous global heating, requires a much stricter limitation on the amount of greenhouse gas emitted.
12 July 2013 (Senators and Congresscritters who support reversal of Corporations United)
See which US senators and congresscritters support a constitutional amendment to reverse the Corporations United decision (to call it what it really is).
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
12 July 2013 (Pakistani report on Osama bin Laden)
Tariq Ali: the Pakistani report on Osama bin Laden admits to incompetence to cover up something worse.
12 July 2013 (al-Nusra)
Interviews with Syrians about al-Nusra.
12 July 2013 (Egyptian military)
The Egyptian military have called for arrest of more leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, meanwhile imposing a plan to amend rather than replace the constitution that it imposed.
11 July 2013 (Burning 1/3 of fossil fuel reserves is likely to trigger runaway greenhouse effect)
Burning even 1/3 of the fossil fuel reserves is likely to trigger a runaway greenhouse effect through release of methane hydrates from tundra and sea bottoms.
Look at Venus for an example of where that goes.
We may be only 10 years away from this disaster. Or maybe 30 years. Whichever it is, the fossil fuel companies are forcing Earth to disaster.
11 July 2013 (Apple convicted of conspiring with publishers to fix e-book prices)
Apple has been convicted of conspiring with publishers to fix e-book prices.
While I disapprove of fixing prices, we must compare it with what Amazon does. Since Amazon is so close to a monopoly, it can effectively fix prices all by itself. The ban on price fixing makes sense only as part of a comprehensive policy to prevent any one company from being in such a position.
However, the price of ebooks is a minor issue compared with the injustice of most e-books. I wouldn't buy an e-book from Apple or Amazon even for a negative price.
11 July 2013 (Swedish agency that wiretaps Russian communications for NSA)
A Swedish agency that wiretaps Russian communications for the NSA also conceals vital intelligence from the Swedish navy.
11 July 2013 (Modern intensive agriculture can backfire)
Modern intensive agriculture can backfire in strange ways. Slugs thrive because their predators are wiped out, so people kill them with chemicals that we then have to ingest.
Now put this together with superweeds and the fact that we're running out of water for agriculture, and compare that with the increasing population and you wind up with a choice, soon, between birth control now and starvation in a decade.
11 July 2013 (Antarctic krill may die out in a few decades)
A study finds that tiny Antarctic krill, which are food for a large part of sea life, may die out in a few decades due to acidification of the ocean from the CO₂ we are pumping out.
Many species of whales eat krill. We don't have to worry about whaling if the whales will starve.
The Great Barrier Reef's health was estimated as "poor" in 2011 due to heavy rain in the neighboring land.
The coral has declined by 50% since 1985.
11 July 2013 (UK gov't report warns droughts will devastate food production)
A UK government report warns droughts will devastate food production there starting in ten years or so.
11 July 2013 (Phone transmitting lots of personal data)
A user found that his Motorola Droid X2 phone was transmitting lots of personal data to Motorola.
He could have prevented this if his phone allowed him to install a software load consisting of entirely free software.
11 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose exempting mines from environmental regulations)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter to oppose HR 761, which would exempt mines from many environmental regulations.
11 July 2013 (Urgent: Support removal of US troops from Afghanistan next year.)
US citizens: support removal of US troops from Afghanistan next year.
11 July 2013 (US failed to protect marine species)
The US has failed to take action to protect endangered marine species.
11 July 2013 (Urgent: Vote to reduce student loan interest rates)
US citizens: tell your senators to vote to reduce student loan interest rates.
11 July 2013 (Israeli army used Palestinian children as human shields)
The UN has concluded that the Israeli army used Palestinian children as human shields. Some soldiers have been convicted of this, but they got no punishment.
When Israeli troops take over a peaceful Palestinian village, is it training, or just to show them who's boss?
11 July 2013 (Military trial for peaceful protest)
Two Palestinians face a military trial for a peaceful protest in their village. The army had declared the village a "closed military zone" to provide an excuse. The prosecutor admitted the real goal is to deny Palestinians the right to protest over the theft of land from their village.
11 July 2013 (Israeli troops arrested Palestinian film-maker)
Israeli troops arrested Palestinian film-maker Mohammad al-Azza. They didn't fracture his skull, they just hit him where they fractured it last time.
11 July 2013 (Israeli colony in Palestine destroyed Palestinians' farmland)
An Israeli colony in Palestine destroyed Palestinians' farmland by pumping sewage onto it.
Fanatics from other colonies carried out a pogrom against Bedouin in Palestine. "Pogrom" is the word that was used when Russians did likewise to Jews. My mother told me about how her mother lived in fear of pogroms.
Soldiers ransacked another Palestinian village, whose inhabitants are threatened with expulsion.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
11 July 2013 (Urgent: Tell Google to stop funding global heating denialists)
Everyone: tell Google to stop funding Senator Inhofe and other global heating denialists.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
11 July 2013 (Complexity used as excuse for irresponsibility)
One aspect of corporate power today is that the managers are never responsible for anything they do wrong. They can always say the system is so complex that nobody could possibly monitor it.
Part of the motive for treaty-imposed globalization of business was to make things so complex that businesses could use this excuse. Thus, canceling those treaties (needed to restore democracy) would also help with that.
11 July 2013 (30,000 California prisoners start hunger strike)
30,000 California prisoners have started a hunger strike to protest long-term solitary confinement, which is a form of brainwashing.
11 July 2013 (The arguments used by the Obama regime to justify surveillance)
The arguments used by the Obama regime to justify massive surveillance would equally well justify putting surveillance devices in every home.
Of course, that's exactly what is being done, in the form of the portable phone (which can be remotely converted into a listening device) and the Xbox One.
These devices are not mandatory; we have the option to reject them. That does no good unless we do reject them.
10 July 2013 (UK troops alienated population and strengthened Taliban)
UK troops in Helmand alienated the population and strengthened the Taliban, according to a study.
10 July 2013 (Le Carre's fiction can't do justice to Snowden's truth)
Even Le Carre's latest fiction can't do justice to Snowden's truth.
10 July 2013 (Disabled veteran told to remove uniform to enter ceremony to honor him)
Irony of ironies, a disabled veteran was told to remove his uniform to enter the California State Capital, where he was invited to a ceremony to honor him. His medals set off the medal detector. But this was hard for him to do, due to his permanent injuries.
10 July 2013 (Banning pants that sag)
Some US cities are banning wearing of pants that sag.
10 July 2013 (Plutocratic politicians dodge pressure to run economy)
Plutocratic politicians are giving us progress on gay rights so they can dodge the pressure to run the economy for the benefit of all.
10 July 2013 (Comparing US NSA with Stasi)
Comparing the data collection of the US NSA with that of the former East German NSA ("Stasi", in German).
10 July 2013 (France stopped punishing file-sharing with disconnection from Internet)
France has stopped punishing file-sharing with disconnection from the Internet, but has not stopped attacking individuals for sharing.
Meanwhile, Ireland has adopted a similar unjust plan.
French and Irish Internet subscribers, like those everywhere, should run WiFi nets without passwords so as to avoid being instruments of unjust state power. Both file sharing and Internet anonymity are at stake.
10 July 2013 (All data collected about you is "secret")
The NSA says all the data it collected about you is "secret", even if you are not suspected of anything.
10 July 2013 (FBI nominee defends surveillance)
Obama FBI Nominee Defends NSA's Dragnet Surveillance. He also wants to attack protection of journalists' sources.
10 July 2013 (More about the lawsuit to end collection of Americans' phone calls)
More about the Electronic Privacy Information Center's lawsuit to end blanket collection of Americans' phone calls.
10 July 2013 (Right-wing think tanks' absurd arguments)
Right-wing think tanks and media that repeat their stories allow the most absurd arguments to pass as valid.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
10 July 2013 (Indonesia limits causes that civil organizations can stand for)
Indonesia has put limits on what sorts of causes a civil organization can stand for. A wide range of causes are banned, including amending the constitution.
The importance of this is shown by the organizations now campaigning to amend the US constitution to reverse the Corporations United decision. Imagine if that were banned.
Indonesia's official philosophy, Pancasila, demands that everyone have a religion. Thus, this law forbids organizations to campaign for the right to be recognized as an Atheist in Indonesia.
10 July 2013 (Urgent: Protest outside a Turkish embassy or consulate)
Everyone: protest on July 28 by standing still outside a Turkish embassy or consulate.
10 July 2013 (Intense US surveillance in South America)
Thanks to Snowden, countries in South America, many supposedly friends of the US, know about intense US surveillance, including business secrets as well as military secrets.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
10 July 2013 (Double standard of justice applied to Christians and Muslims)
Both Christians and Muslims in the US occasionally throw up a religiously-motivated murderer. More of them have been Christian. Irrationally, the US heavily infiltrates the Muslims and doesn't bother the Christians. Meanwhile, a double standard of justice is applied to the two groups: general statements condemning the government are recognized as acceptable under the first amendment when Christians say them, but put Muslims in jail.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
10 July 2013 (Urgent: Fix the Voting Right Act)
US citizens: call for replacing the part of the Voting Right Act that the Supreme Court destroyed.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
10 July 2013 (Rupert Murdoch being investigated)
Rupert Murdoch is being investigated after a recording was leaked in which he said that paying police for information was standard practice.
10 July 2013 (Small ISP in Utah protects customers)
One small ISP in Utah protects its customers from massive surveillance.
10 July 2013 (Jury rules that guards killed Jimmy Mubenga)
A jury ruled that guards killed Jimmy Mubenga while deporting him from the UK to Angola.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
10 July 2013 (Retired FISA Judge speaks out against secret courts)
Retired Judge Robinson, whose responsibilities including supervising the FISA court, say it has ignored its legal authority and is unable to keep surveillance in check.
10 July 2013 (2 million rural Tibetans forcibly relocated by China)
China has forcibly relocated 2 million rural Tibetans, forcing them into towns where they have no income.
10 July 2013 (Google funds global heating denial)
Google is raising funds for senators that pretend there is no global heating, and has funded a denialist legal harassment organization.
10 July 2013 (Egyptian troops shoot and kill pro-Morsi protesters)
Egyptian troops shot and killed pro-Morsi protesters.
10 July 2013 (Ellsberg says Snowden was right to flee)
Daniel Ellsberg says that Snowden was right to flee; the Obama regime has no respect for legal rights when it is out to get someone.
No one has an obligation to face unjust prosecution by an evil regime.
10 July 2013 (Obama ceases to speak about creating jobs to fight global heating)
Obama talks about the danger of global heating, but has given up on proposing to create jobs by addressing that danger.
My analysis of the reason is slightly different. Unemployment is still a great problem in the US, but Obama sees no need to even talk about trying to address it.
10 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose "Insider Threat Program")
US citizens: tell your senators you object to telling federal employees to report their coworkers for anything that seems out of the ordinary.
10 July 2013 (Stopping elephant poaching in Africa)
Perhaps traditional values in Africa might help stop poaching of elephants.
Another idea that occurs to me, as a last resort: cut off all but the root of the elephants' tusks, and attach ceramic prostheses for them to use instead.
10 July 2013 (UK thugs kick man after tasing him)
UK thugs tased a man, then kicked him after he fell on his face. Apparently he had not complied with an order to "put his hands up". Perhaps the tasing left him unable to move.
Reportedly the man was trying to steal food. Stealing is bad, in general; but there is an exception: anyone unable to get food to eat, in a land with plentiful food, is entitled to take food to eat.
It's possible this man had food to eat, and was taking something fancy that he did not need. That would be wrong. But if he was going hungry for want of food, that is the state's fault, and there was no reason he should starve when food was to be had.
10 July 2013 (Chinese thugs shoot Tibetan monks)
Chinese thugs shot Tibetan monks who were carrying out a ceremony.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
10 July 2013 (Sexual violence against women in Egypt)
Many Egyptian men, and even religious authorities, say women deserve and want to be raped, if they don't stay at home.
Many Western men make claims of a similar spirit based on different actions women take.
10 July 2013 (Improving safety in factories in Bangladesh)
European clothing labelers have committed to improving safety in factories in Bangladesh, but US companies have mostly refused to support this.
10 July 2013 (Bribery)
1/4 of all people surveyed, world wide, paid a bribe last year.
10 July 2013 (Extreme heat waves in Australia)
The probability of extreme heat waves in Australia is five times what it was years ago, due to global heating.
10 July 2013 (Free Software and Solidarity Economy)
Personal Declaration of Richard Stallman and Euclides Mance on Solidarity Economy and Free Software.
10 July 2013 (Rivers and lakes in South Minnesota are polluted)
1/4 of rivers and lakes in South Minnesota are so polluted by agricultural nitrogen fertilizer runoff that they could not be used for drinking water.
10 July 2013 (Forcing every user to make a Microsoft service account)
With Windows 8.1, Microsoft is moving step by step closer to forcing every user to make a Microsoft service account. And it will spy on users' searches, Ubuntu-style.
We could call it Windows Prism Edition.
10 July 2013 (Lose an average of 5 years of life due to burning coal)
500 million Chinese lose an average of 5 years of life due to burning coal.
I think that some of the coal they are burning is exported from the US.
10 July 2013 (Giving arms to school staff)
Republicans say schools should keep students safe by giving arms to their staff. Insurance companies refuse to cover schools which do that, saying it is too dangerous.
10 July 2013 (11 year old pregnant due to rape cannot have an abortion)
A Chilean girl, 11 years old, is pregnant due to rape, but she cannot have an abortion there.
10 July 2013 (Privacy Is Lost, And We Are All To Blame)
Privacy Is Lost, And We Are All To Blame.
Actually, it's not all of us. I refuse to do many of the foolish things the article says that we "all" do. But if you don't refuse, you are partly to blame.
So redeem yourself by fighting hard now!
10 July 2013 (GOP want to tax students and not polluters)
Why GOP Wants to Tax Students and Not Polluters.
(It wants to discourage studying and encourage polluting.)
10 July 2013 (Epic sued to put an end to FBI's collection of phone call records)
The Electronic Privacy Information Center sued to put an end to the FBI's collection of all phone call records.
09 July 2013 (UK will convert wheat into ethanol)
A great step backward: the UK will convert wheat into ethanol, not very useful as wheat production is endangered by global heating.
09 July 2013 (Capacity to grow staple foods reaching limits)
Capacity to grow staple foods, in Europe and Asia, is reaching physical limits.
09 July 2013 (Pakistani gov't condemned Pakistani intelligence)
A Pakistani government report condemned Pakistani intelligence for failing to find Osama bin Laden, and the US for invading Pakistan to kill him.
09 July 2013 (Australian opposition wants to cut taxes on mining and carbon emissions)
The Australian opposition wants to cut taxes on mining and carbon emissions.
Why tax mines if you can dump on poor people instead?
09 July 2013 (UK plans to ban two organizations without trial)
The UK plans to ban two organizations without trial.
To ban an organization without trial is a violation of freedom of association. The fact that other countries (including the US) do it too is no excuse whatsoever. Boko Haram is a terrorist group, responsible for horrible atrocities, according to what I have read; but there should be a trial to establish this and not merely a political decision.
This ban will result in sentences of 10 years in prison for wearing certain forms of clothing. I am going to the UK soon, and I don't know what forms of clothing they are; am I in danger? Can someone tell me what I need to avoid? And can someone try to demonstrate that this doesn't infringe freedom of expression?
The US has applied such bans to charities that had bent over backwards to follow US rules in order to aid the poor and not terrorism.
09 July 2013 (Suffering of those that try to get to Europe by boat)
Pope Francis visited Lampedusa to call attention to the suffering of those that try to get to Europe by boat — and the poverty in Africa which impels them to do it.
09 July 2013 (Xbox One new feature monitoring users)
The Xbox One's great new feature is advertising targeted based on monitoring users.
09 July 2013 (US agreement with non-US telecom companies to retrieve data at will)
The US has agreements with non-US telecom companies to retrieve data at will.
09 July 2013 (Copyright makes books and songs disappear)
Empirically, copyright makes books and songs disappear after a few years.
09 July 2013 (Nick Turse harassed with accusation that he was a jihadi)
Nick Turse tried to interview US soldiers at a base in Qatar (which in the Obama fantasy world is not called a base). He got a runaround, and on returning to the US was harassed with accusations that he was a jihadi.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
09 July 2013 (Examples of Corporate Tax Avoidance)
Four Contemptible Examples of Corporate Tax Avoidance.
08 July 2013 (US number 27 among countries in median wealth)
The US is now number 27 among countries in median wealth, reflecting the effects of austerity and catering to the banksters.
08 July 2013 (Rimsha Masih brought to safety in Canada)
Although blasphemy charges were dropped against Rimsha Masih, she still faced the danger of lynching by Muslim fanatics. She has been brought to safety in Canada.
08 July 2013 (Urgent: Restrict use of surveillance drones in Massachusetts)
Citizens of Massachusetts: ask your state legislators to restrict surveillance using drones.
08 July 2013 (An excuse for the US to order people to decrypt their files)
The witch-hunt against people who watch "child pornography" may provide an excuse for US to start ordering people to decrypt their files.
Note that "child pornography" in the US includes images of people who are old enough that they can lawfully have sex in many states.
08 July 2013 (UK gov't proposes to scrap protections against torture)
The UK government proposes to scrap the protections against torture that blocked its attempts to deport Abu Qatada. He returned to Jordan when UK negotiators obtained assurance he would get a fair trial there.
It seems to me that if the UK stopped promoting and facilitating torture, it might have more success in discouraging other countries from practicing torture, and then it would have an easier time deporting unwanted visitors, or even convincing them to leave, without trampling human rights.
08 July 2013 (Prisoners in Italy ask for execution instead of life in prison)
Hundreds of prisoners in Italy, sentenced to life in prison, asked to be executed instead.
The death sentence is an injustice, but anyone should have the right to die (and to ask for help in dying, in case they can't bring themselves to commit suicide). There is no reason to deny prisoners that right.
There is a valid concern that, if prisoners have the right to get help in dying, the prison may be set up so as to drive prisoners to want to die.
However, prisons can be set up that way in any case, and often are, in the US. A number of prisoners in Guantanamo have killed themselves — but it's not just there.
08 July 2013 (Germany's cooperation with the NSA)
Snowden describes how Germany cooperates with NSA spying on Internet traffic passing through Germany.
08 July 2013 (Metadata)
Me and my metadata — thoughts on online surveillance.
08 July 2013 (AT&T to sell use of data about cell phone customers)
AT&T plans to sell use of the data it gets about cell phone customers.
08 July 2013 (UK deports Abu Qatada to Jordan)
The UK has finally succeeded in deporting Abu Qatada to Jordan, but it is not clear whether there was any reason to do so, as he was never accused of a crime except based on evidence obtained by torture.
It is especially strange to say the goal was to get him out of the UK, then oppose bail on the grounds that he might leave the UK.
08 July 2013 (Interview with Kristinn Hrafnsson of WikiLeaks)
An interview with Kristinn Hrafnsson of WikiLeaks.
08 July 2013 (Effects of global heating killing whole forests)
We have not taken care of trees well enough, and now the effects of global heating are killing whole forests.
08 July 2013 (Eviction and harassment of women's rights activist in China)
Ye Haiyan, women's rights activist in China, has been evicted and harassed by local governments, including sending people to beat her up, accusing her of injuring her attackers, and kicking her out of her home.
08 July 2013 (How do you know when President Obama is lying?)
How Do You Know When President Obama is Lying? MSNBC Won't Tell You.
08 July 2013 (Intelligence agencies in Western countries working with the NSA)
Snowden says that the NSA works with intelligence agencies in Germany and various Western countries on a "no questions asked" basis.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
08 July 2013 (Using location traces from mobile phones to identify people)
95% of people can be identified from hourly location traces from their mobile phones.
This is why I don't think getting a prepaid phone anonymously is acceptable.
08 July 2013 (Email metadata)
Get a picture of how thoroughly Big Brother knows about your life by looking at your email metadata.
08 July 2013 (Morsi's downfall)
The history of Morsi's downfall.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Violating the Egyptian Constitution is not such a grave thing, considering that it was imposed by Islamists, not long ago, over the objections of the Secularists. What is crucial is to establish a democracy that the people accept and that respects human rights.
US law requires cutting off aid to Egypt until a democratically elected government takes office.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
08 July 2013 (Russia's libraries protest new law allowing state to block web sites)
Russia's libraries protested a new law allowing the state to block web sites accused of sharing.
The US already practices a form of such oppression, through seizing domain names without a trial, and has narrowly escaped laws such as SOPA/PIPA which would extend it.
08 July 2013 (Dissidents in United Arab Emirates convicted of dissent)
68 dissidents in the United Arab Emirates were convicted of dissent, in a bogus trial.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
08 July 2013 (Intelligence lies)
The Intelligence Lies Just Keep Coming…
08 July 2013 (This century's first decade: hottest and wettest on record)
The first decade of this century was the hottest and wettest on record.
08 July 2013 (Urgent: Confirm Richard Cordray)
US citizens: call on your senators to confirm Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
08 July 2013 (Removal of Observer story about European involvement with NSA)
The Observer published a story reporting that various European countries share personal data with the NSA, then removed it after concluding that the source was not dependable.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
I had a political note pointing to that story, which I removed after the story disappeared. Until seeing this, I didn't know until now why it had been deleted.
If the report was based on documents posted by the NSA, I think that is sufficient basis to say that the NSA claims that other countries cooperate with it in the reported ways, and never the non-dependable intermediate source.
08 July 2013 (NSA recruitment at college)
The NSA went to a college to recruit, and students gave it some hard questions.
08 July 2013 (Obama regime reimposes secrecy on number of nuclear weapons)
The Obama regime has reimposed secrecy on the number of nuclear weapons the US has, after publishing the number once.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
08 July 2013 (Google search changed to include more bias)
Google search has been changed to give overwhelming precedence to search results that somehow have a special preference from Google. In one case, only 7% of the screen was used to display anything else. In another case, one had to scroll down four screens to find anything else.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
I think that my occasional searches will be less vulnerable to this problem that most people are. I rarely search for a product or service in the first place. I search for other sorts of things that are less business-oriented.
It seems silly to use a search engine to search for "Italian restaurant" — that is not the way to find a good Italian restaurant. I would not make the decision to "eat in an Italian restaurant" in the absence of knowing about a specific good Italian restaurant that is feasible to eat in. If there isn't one, I'd rather eat in a good restaurant of some other kind.
However, this doesn't make the article's issue unimportant. A biased search engine is no substitute for an unbiased one.
Someone did a similar study in 2015 and says things are not as bad.
08 July 2013 (Jeff Olson acquitted of vandalism charges)
Jeff Olson was acquitted of vandalism charges brought because he had written slogans condemning Bank of America in chalk on the sidewalk.
However, fear of the hassle of being prosecuted may still have a chilling effect on what people say. I suggest holding a mass chalk-in in San Diego to uphold freedom of of expression.
08 July 2013 (FBI tried to entrap John Kiriakou)
John Kiriakou writes that the FBI tried to entrap him to give them an excuse to prosecute him.
He warns people never to cooperate with the FBI in any fashion.
07 July 2013 (Crucial points in Bradley Manning's trial withheld from public)
Obama has kept the public in the dark about crucial points in Bradley Manning's trial.
However, we know the crucial point: Obama is out to get him because he was loyal to the American people.
The case against Bradley Manning has gaping holes.
Even if it fails, he will still be imprisoned for the lesser charges to which he pled guilty. I suggest we celebrate Bradley Manning Day annually on Dec 17 (his birthday).
07 July 2013 (UK gov't could demand release of Shaker Aamer if it wanted to)
The UK government claims to be powerless to do anything about Guantanamo, but it could demand release of Shaker Aamer if it wanted to.
07 July 2013 (Where should Snowden go)
Where should Snowden go to be immune from US authorities?
07 July 2013 (MasterCard resumed allowing donation to Wikileaks)
MasterCard has voluntarily resumed allowing donations to Wikileaks.
07 July 2013 (Google shut down Google Reader because)
Speculation: Google shut down Google Reader because RSS does not fit with server companies' idea of controlling everything a user does.
You shouldn't use Facebook or Google+, or any communications service that demands to know your "real name".
07 July 2013 (Amazon's distributed sweatshop)
Amazon's Mechanical Turk service is a distributed sweatshop.
It's not the only sweatshop that Amazon runs. Amazon mistreats independent bookstores, publishers, authors, the national treasury, and its workers — as well as readers that use the Amazon Swindle.
07 July 2013 (Republicans campaigning against fictitious war on coal)
Republicans are campaigning against a fictitious "war on coal".
We should have a war on coal. Coal mining is done today by removing the top of a mountain, which poisons the surrounding streams permanently. Burning the coal produces pollution that kills people, too. And it contributes greatly to global heating.
Therefore, it is no surprise that the corporatocracy in the US has no "war on coal". Coal mining continues as before; as the US burns less coal, it exports more to be burned elsewhere.
07 July 2013 (Nevins regrets he listened to Senator Gillibrand)
Joseph Nevins regrets that he listened to Senator Gillibrand speak without protesting her support for US wars and proxy occupations.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
07 July 2013 (Urgent: Sign the Anti-Corruption Pledge)
US citizens: sign the Anti-Corruption Pledge.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
For other ways to support.
07 July 2013 (Urgent: Protection of Atlantic herring)
US citizens: call for protection of Atlantic herring; overfishing them leaves many other fish and whales insufficient food.
07 July 2013 (Thug infiltrator that spied on dissident groups)
Another UK undercover thug infiltrator that spied on dissident groups, and later managed the whole group of them, has confessed.
07 July 2013 (Stop judicial bullying of Palestinian activists)
Amnesty International calls on Israel to stop judicial bullying of Palestinian activists.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
07 July 2013 (Egypt's army shot protesters and shut down TV stations)
Egypt's army shot protesters supporting Morsi and shut down TV stations that support the Muslim Brotherhood.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
A Christian priest was shot, perhaps sectarian violence.
07 July 2013 (Suppression services of countries collude in kidnapping, disappearance, and torture)
The suppression services of Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asian countries collude regularly in kidnapping, disappearance, and torture.
They also extradite accused people rapidly, disregarding objections from the European Court of Human Rights that they are supposedly committed to obey.
The US and EU countries are so deeply involved in similar outrage that they don't dare criticize when Russia does it.
07 July 2013 (South Korea's spy agency sabotaged last presidential election)
South Korea's spy agency sabotaged the last presidential election with a massive attack campaign against opposition parties using large numbers of sockpuppets.
The campaign was criminal but its leaders have not been punished, and it is destroying evidence.
If South Korea doesn't make sure this can't happen again, its will not have a fair election again.
07 July 2013 (Jay-Z released song through app that spies and extorts)
Jay-Z (a rapper, apparently) released a song through a nasty app that spies on users and extorts them into advertising the song to others.
If people don't push back hard, in two years this will become "normal", as have so many other nasty practices.
07 July 2013 (WSJ says Egypt need murderous dictator)
The Wall Street Journal says Egypt needs a murderous dictator.
07 July 2013 (World approaching "peak water")
The world is approaching "peak water", when the supplies of fresh water for growing plants will decrease. Countries including the US, India and China are exhausting the aquifers they use.
We could make enough food with considerably less water, if we ate a lot less beef. However, in the long them, the regions that can't grow food any more need to stop their populations from growing.
07 July 2013 (Internet Music)
Updates to the Internet Music page.
06 July 2013 (Asylum for Snowden)
Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have offered asylum to Edward Snowden.
06 July 2013 (Shamai Leibowitz convicted of espionage for telling public about FBI crimes)
Shamai Leibowitz was convicted of espionage for telling the public about FBI crimes. He believes that Obama punished him in an attempt to teach whistleblowers a lesson — and thinks that Snowden learned useful lessons from it (though not the ones Obama had in mind).
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Leibowitz cites "the obligation to our consciences and basic human rights" as the justification for doing his duty despite laws against it, but he could also cite the US Constitution.
06 July 2013 (Commentary on Morsi's ouster)
Commentary on Morsi's ouster.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
06 July 2013 (Saudi activists face jail)
Saudi activists face jail for taking food to woman whose husband left her effectively locked in the house without enough food or money to get it.
06 July 2013 (Soldiers shot at Muslim Brotherhood's supporters)
The Muslim Brotherhood's supporters held a large rally in Cairo, and soldiers shot at them.
Elsewhere in Cairo, Secularists and Islamists fought, and someone started shooting. Perhaps that was the army too.
Rebooting democracy with new elections might be the best thing under the circumstances; repressing the Muslim Brotherhood would make it much worse. Excluding them from democracy for a substantial time would be oppression; however, what they do when they get power is also oppression. It is hard to choose between them.
One article suggests this might convince Islamists around the world to give up on seeking power through democracy, and use violence instead.
This might occur, but what they do when they gain power includes violence too.
The second article suggests a stratagem that might have avoided both of the repressive outcomes. I don't know enough to judge whether it would work.
06 July 2013 (Impossible to buy home in London if you're not rich)
Right-wing UK policies have made it impossible to buy a home in London if you're not rich, and hard to rent one either.
Allowing people to buy their apartments in public housing was a fundamental mistake, unless the state was going to build more public housing apartments as fast as they were sold.
06 July 2013 (Thug who shot man dead may finally face murder prosecution)
A UK thug that shot a man dead for no reason may finally face a murder prosecution.
The government went to great lengths to prevent an inquiry.
06 July 2013 (TPP aims to ban advantages that public medical systems offer)
The TPP aims to ban the advantages that public medical systems offer, and require patents on surgical and other medical treatments.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
06 July 2013 (Putin's feudal state)
Dissident Alexey Navalny, in the closing arguments of his trial, condemned Putin's "feudal" state.
06 July 2013 (US politicians and journalists trying to smear Snowden)
US politicians and even journalists are trying to smear Edward Snowden by fabricating the claim that he specifically collaborated with enemies of the US.
What he did was collaborate with the American people; but perhaps the American people qualify as enemies of the US state, considering the plans for the TPP.
06 July 2013 (Labeling leaders as bandits to excuse killing them)
The US makes a habit of labeling the Haitian people's leaders as "bandits" to excuse killing them.
The Haitian revolution made US leaders uncomfortable because they feared slaves in the US would rebel next.
06 July 2013 (Verizon want to stop providing land-line telephone service)
Verizon wants to stop providing land-line telephone service in some areas, and force people to use a wireless service that is technically limited, unreliable in disasters, and imposes nasty conditions.
06 July 2013 (Thugs secretly recorded meeting between Brooks and lawyer)
UK thugs secretly recorded a meeting between Duwayne Brooks and his lawyer.
The thugs were trying to frame Brooks for the murder of his best friend, rather than find who really did it.
06 July 2013 (Trans-Pacific Partnership about giving corporations more power)
Supporters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership call it a "trade treaty", but most of it is not about trade at all. It's about giving corporations more power.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
For instance, the TPP would ban the sorts of regulation needed to keep banks from cheating their clients and causing a financial crisis.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
06 July 2013 (University financial aid staff corrupted by banksters)
University financial aid staff have been corrupted by banksters to steer students into disadvantageous loans.
06 July 2013 (Privatizing our water)
There Is Nothing Innovative About Privatizing Our Water.
There is no difficulty investing public funds in water infrastructure. We just need to tax the rich and businesses enough.
06 July 2013 (Draft EU documents)
Draft EU documents reveal plans to use "trade treaties" to exclude the public and democracy from regulatory issues.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
06 July 2013 (European companies may stop hosting their data on US servers)
European companies may stop hosting their data in US servers, thanks to Snowden's disclosures.
It's about time!
The purpose of the term "cloud" is to create a cloud in your mind, that you will use Internet services indiscriminately without posing crucial questions such as, "Which companies and countries would I be trusting this data to? What data would they get? Would they get control over how my computing is done?" If you think about Internet services with your mind in a "cloud", you will surely make bad choices.
There are some Internet services that are acceptable to use, but companies (and governments!) in Europe must never entrust any of their data to servers outside Europe.
06 July 2013 (Unreasonable searches)
What the TSA has in common with the NSA: unreasonable searches.
I don't object strenuously if someone touches my genitals while searching me. I don't see why other people care so much about this.
Rather, I object to searching people and their baggage for anything other than weapons that could endanger the safety of the plane. Being stabbed with a tiny knife is a tiny danger. Someone with a tiny knife could stab you on a plane, or in a store, or on a street. Where is it more likely to happen? On a street. To trample our rights to avoid this tiny danger in planes is unjustified.
The fact is, the TSA searches for anything it can find that can be used to arrest people — and then tries to fool you about this with the same sort of dishonest language that the NSA uses. "We don't intentionally target your marijuana, etc.. However, if we notice it inadvertently while checking to see whether you have a forbidden tiny knife, we inform the [thug] who is waiting near by to arrest you."
06 July 2013 (Morsi may be prosecuted for "insulting the presidency")
Morsi may be prosecuted for "insulting the presidency".
There is no insult to the presidency like the president's own actions. If insulting the presidency were a crime in the US, we would prosecute Dubya and Obama.
However, I have a hunch that the Egyptian military does not see the irony of this, and must have dredged up some words Morsi spoke as an excuse to prosecute him.
Freedom of speech includes the right to insult any one, any thing, any view, and any institution. Including, of course, the presidency of any country.
06 July 2013 (Limited available supplies of phosphorus and potassium)
Limited available supplies of phosphorus and potassium for fertilizers could make today's farming impossible in 40 years.
06 July 2013 (Whistleblower reports on oil companies in the North Sea)
A whistleblower reports that oil companies operating in the North Sea between the UK and Norway make a mockery of safety.
06 July 2013 (New York reduces the number of prisoners and the crime rate)
New York is reducing the number of prisoners and the crime rate, and it seems to be due to the use of alternative forms of sentencing.
Private prison companies try to prevent such success. In fact, some of them fine the state if it doesn't imprison a certain number of people.
Meanwhile, the whole US could tremendously reduce the amount of incarceration by legalizing possession of drugs. It would probably reduce the rate of other crimes too.
05 July 2013 (Campaign to eradicate mice and rats on South Georgia island)
A campaign to eradicate mice and rats on South Georgia island may allow seabirds to return.
05 July 2013 (Floods that global heating will bring)
The floods that global heating will bring are likely to destroy valuable farmland as well as people's homes.
05 July 2013 (Rushing to search for oil in the Arctic)
Oil companies are rushing to search for oil in the Arctic, which will constitute an additional positive feedback in global heating.
05 July 2013 (France practices massive surveillance)
France practices massive surveillance on people's communications.
05 July 2013 (Military trying to arrest 300 members of Muslim Brotherhood)
The Egyptian military is trying to arrest 300 members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Although I condemn their theocratic views, they have a right to express them.
05 July 2013 (Restore the 4th!)
Restore the 4th! A movement to opposing massive government surveillance.
05 July 2013 (Thank a Protester)
Americans: This Independence Day, Thank a Protester.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
05 July 2013 (Blocking payments to VPN companies)
Payment companies are blocking payments to VPN companies.
It looks like a systematic attack on people trying to get around national censorship or surveillance.
05 July 2013 (Urgent: Get workers rehired)
US citizens: call on Aida Alvarez, a director of Walmart, to get the workers fired for striking rehired.
05 July 2013 (Urgent: Call on EPA to adopt strictest C02 emissions)
US citizens: call on the EPA to adopt the strictest proposed standards for power plant CO₂ emissions.
05 July 2013 (Urgent: Raise the minimum wage)
US citizens: support Rep. Ellison's call for raising the minimum wage to a living wage.
05 July 2013 (The Clergy Project)
The Clergy Project gives religious preachers support in coming out as nonbelievers.
05 July 2013 (US photographs the covers of all snail mail in US)
The US photographs the covers of all snail mail in the US, which fills the gaps in the complete communications dossier for every American.
05 July 2013 (Urgent: Protect orcas)
US citizens: call on the US to protect orcas from plans to export 100 million tons of coal per year.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
Of course, burning that coal would endanger all of us by boosting CO₂ emissions.
05 July 2013 (European countries that provide communications data to the US)
The UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy have all had formal agreements to provide communications data (about their citizens) to the US.
05 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose US intervention in Syria)
US citizens: call on your congresscritter and senators not to allow US intervention in Syria.
05 July 2013 (Urgent: Stop use of bank cards with imposed fees as payment)
US citizens: call on McDonald's to stop using bank cards with imposed fees as the imposed system of payment.
05 July 2013 (Austerity in Portugal fails ostensible goal)
Austerity in Portugal has failed in its ostensible goal, as bond interest rates have shot up.
The plutocrat's response, as usual, is to complain that wages haven't been driven down enough and demand further cuts.
05 July 2013 (Egyptian army removes Morsi)
The Egyptian army has removed Morsi as president.
Intervention of the military in politics is always dangerous, but in Egypt the alternative was dangerous too. The army says it will make the head of the constitutional court an interim president to hold new elections for president and congress. On the other hand, I have read it has shut some TV channels, including the Egyptian branch of al-Jazeera. I don't think I can tell whether this is heading for democracy or tyranny.
05 July 2013 (Prejudiced UK thug fired)
A UK thug who called an arrested man a "nigger" has been fired.
In general, expressions of racist views should not be a crime. Freedom of speech must include the ideas we disagree with.
However, public officials dealing with the public are a special case, because they represent the state. They must conduct themselves without prejudice — not only in their words, but in their acts (such as searching people on the street).
05 July 2013 (Authoritarian states say surveillance "keeps us safe")
Westerners made a grave mistake in accepting the creeping general surveillance that authoritarian states say "keeps us safe".
05 July 2013 (Fallout from French nuclear tests in Polynesia)
Fallout from French nuclear tests in Polynesia spread plutonium over Tahiti and all of French Polynesia. Increased levels of cancer have resulted.
05 July 2013 (Misuse of the doctrine of legal negligence)
Parents whose child died as a result of eating their heroin have been sentenced to long prison terms.
It is gratuitously cruel to punish people harshly for not preventing a tragic and unusual accident (tragic for them!), the danger of which they didn't recognize. If the goal is to teach other parents to prevent such dangers, merely publicizing the events of the child's death would do the job.
The doctrine of legal negligence has a valid place. There are common dangers that everyone is supposed to know about and actively prevent. But this one seems too unusual to claim everyone should know about it.
I wonder if the doctrine of legal negligence should be accompanied by a state responsibility to inform people from time to time of their responsibilities to avoid accidents. Not only could that help legitimize punishing people who fail to carry out those responsibilities; it might also in practice do far more to reduce these accidents than the remote threat of punishment.
05 July 2013 (US food companies prepare to block GMO-labeling laws)
Giant US food companies are preparing to spend millions, perhaps billions, in many states to block laws to require labeling of GMOs.
05 July 2013 (US border patrol considers putting weapons on drones)
The US border patrol is considering putting not-usually-lethal weapons on drones to operate near the US border.
05 July 2013 (Imposing Christian theocracy in the name of opposing Muslim theocracy)
A bill in North Carolina would shut most abortion clinics in the name of preventing the imposition of Shari'a law in that state.
Thus, opposing vicious Muslim theocracy (fortunately no threat today in North Carolina) is used as the excuse to impose vicious Christian theocracy.
05 July 2013 (NSA ingratiates itself with US children)
The NSA ingratiates itself with US children in school by putting its name on educational materials with various sorts of advice.
Many of these seem to be good advice, but the side lesson is "The NSA is your friend".
It also recruits through the Crypto-kids program.
05 July 2013 (The practice of attacking first aid workers)
A US drone attack killed 17 people in Pakistan. The many wounded had to wait for medical care because first aid workers were scared to approach them, lest they be bombed in turn.
The practice of attacking the first aid workers was started by terrorists, then picked up by the US.
Killing tourists in retaliation is not legitimate guerrilla war; it is attacking civilians deliberately, which is even worse than what the US does with the drones.
05 July 2013 (Why European Nations Must Protect Edward Snowden)
Why European Nations Must Protect Edward Snowden.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
05 July 2013 (Germans file criminal charges against the US over NSA spying)
Individual Germans are filing criminal charges against the US over NSA spying.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
I agree with what the German Pirate and Green politicians say.
05 July 2013 (Nestlé's water pumping operations during drought conditions)
Over 140,000 Demand Nestlé Reduce Canadian Water Pumping Operations During Ontario Drought Conditions.
The government should have the authority to impose these limits, even if Nestle has a contract to buy water.
05 July 2013 (Requiring warrants to access cell phone location data)
The ACLU is arguing in an amicus brief that the state should need a warrant to access a cell phone's location data.
Some states are passing laws requiring this.
These laws are a step forward, but they are inadequate.
A GPS tracker on a car collects data only once it is placed. Requiring the state to get a warrant before placing a tracker on someone's car is adequate protection of privacy in regard to that technology, because it prevents the state from tracking everyone's car all the time (at least, doing so this way).
By contrast, requiring the state to get a warrant in order to access previously recorded cell phone location data is inadequate, because the system builds a dossier about each person advance, and the state could take it later if it presents a reason to investigate someone. This is ideal for fishing expeditions against whistleblowers, or anyone the state wants to get. Cell phones perform dangerously excessive surveillance by collecting this data in the first place.
To restore privacy rights we must prevent the collection of so much data about a person unless there is already a warrant.
05 July 2013 (FISA spying criteria)
FISA spying criteria were designed carefully to allow the NSA to collect lots of information about Americans while creating excuses to say it was "inadvertent" and we were not "targeted".
05 July 2013 (Senior gov't officials can lie to Congress)
If They Can Lie About NSA/Snowden, They Can Lie About Syria & Iran.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
05 July 2013 (US security state origin was occupation of the Philippines)
If the US security state resembles a government of occupation, that's because its origin was in the occupation of the Philippines.
Biometric ID cards were a central part of this, which is why we must fight to prevent their adoption, or to put an end to them.
I support in principle the idea of offering a path to amnesty and citizenship for the many illegal immigrants in the US; but I oppose the current immigration bill because of its requirement to increase the need for a government-issued photo ID card, in effect converting them into national ID cards.
05 July 2013 (Government-Aligned journalist describes alleged corruption and infighting)
In Venezuela, a recording, supposedly of government-aligned journalist Mario Silva in conversation with a Cuban agent, describes alleged corruption and infighting in the government.
However, Silva says the conversation did not occur, and the recording was faked by editing snippets of other conversations.
05 July 2013 (Mannequins with cameras)
Stores are using mannequins with cameras to track customers.
I think there should be laws to limit the ways stores watch their customers. Security cameras should be allowed only if their recordings are not available on the Internet and are deleted within 2 weeks unless there is an incident or court order to justify checking them.
05 July 2013 (Amnesty International condemned US attempts to stop Snowden from gaining asylum)
Amnesty International condemned US attempts to stop Snowden from gaining asylum, and says that no country should return Snowden to the US because he might be subject to inhumane treatment.
In addition, Amnesty said that Snowden's "crimes" consisted of revealing violations of human rights and that they must not be prosecuted at all.
05 July 2013 (Hidden microphone in Ecuadorian embassy in London)
A hidden microphone was found in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
05 July 2013 (Sonar connected to mass strandings of whales)
Military sonar has been connected to mass strandings of whales.
05 July 2013 (New Zealand law to permit increased surveillance)
New Zealand is considering a law to permit increased surveillance.
05 July 2013 (Steps to try to improve carbon emissions trading system)
The European Parliament approved steps to try to improve the broken European carbon emissions trading system — temporarily.
05 July 2013 (Global heating making wildfires go beyond our methods of containment)
How global heating is making wildfires go beyond what our methods of containment can handle.
05 July 2013 (Vienna forced Morales to submit his plane to a search for Snowden)
Vienna forced President Morales to submit his plane to a search for Snowden. The result is a diplomatic crisis as other South American countries support Bolivia.
05 July 2013 (Countries that condemned US spying revealed by Snowden denied him asylum)
Countries that condemned US spying revealed by Snowden nonetheless denied him asylum, and even blocked President Morales' flight alleging he might have Snowden with him.
Morales should show his firmness against this intimidation by going back to Moscow now to pick up Snowden.
05 July 2013 (Warmest decade since records started)
2001-2010 was the warmest decade since records started.
04 July 2013 (Urgent: Keep student loan interest rates down)
US citizens: ask your senators to vote for keeping student loan interest rates down.
04 July 2013 (Urgent: New criterion for "pre-clearance" in voting rights act)
US citizens: call and ask your congresscritter to fix the voting rights act by setting up a new criterion for "pre-clearance". Also send a message through this page.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
04 July 2013 (Rise of poverty among children in the US)
Poverty among children has been rising in the US, showing that the "recovery" is a misnomer.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
04 July 2013 ("Think tank" funding)
Most "think tanks" get funding from companies and this directly shapes the positions they take.
04 July 2013 (Making parents pay for school buses)
Many parts of the US make parents pay for school buses. When this is applied only to magnet schools, it can have the effect of excluding excellent but poor students from magnet schools.
04 July 2013 (Media executives and pundits get rich by supporting plutocracy)
While reporters are losing their jobs, a few media executives and pundits are getting rich by supporting plutocracy.
04 July 2013 (Clapper's excuse for giving false testimony before Congress)
Clapper said he gave a false answer because he "forgot about" the PAT RIOT act.
No one could "forget about" something so important, for testimony before Congress, when he had been informed of the question in advance. His statement is really an expression of contempt for the Senate and the people. It says, "I am prepared to tell even the most incredible lies."
04 July 2013 (Urgent: Negotiate elimination of nuclear weapons)
US citizens: call on Obama to negotiate elimination of nuclear weapons.
04 July 2013 (Why technological advances have led to more surveillance)
We have relied on technical and economic constraints to the extent of government surveillance of everyone, so technological advances have led to more surveillance.
04 July 2013 (Republicans stop denying human cause of global heating)
Republicans have switched from denying that human activity causes global heating to obstructive quibbling about the expense of stopping it.
"Cap and trade" might be effective if it worked as intended, but the European experience shows that the system is too easy to game or defraud. I support a simple carbon tax.
04 July 2013 (Statements made by NSA officials questioned)
Senators accuse NSA officials of misleading them on additional points.
03 July 2013 (Massive surveillance making some Americans hesitate to sign petitions)
Massive surveillance is making some Americans hesitate to sign petitions lest they be punished by intensified personal surveillance.
This is the result of the state's demonstrated practice of treating dissidents as "terrorist suspects".
The US is not close to being a dictatorship with one tyrant at the top, but that's not the only nondemocratic form of government. What rules the US now is a plutocracy — government of the people, by the flunkies, for the rich and their businesses. It steadily eats away at what remains of our democracy, while increasing the repression against those that try to defend it.
Thus, the fact that a one-dictator state is not likely in the short term is of less significance than one might have wished.
03 July 2013 (Some Egyptian Islamists say they will fight to impose religion's cruelty)
Some Egyptian Islamists say they will fight to impose their religion's cruelty on the country.
03 July 2013 (As E-Commerce makes retail more efficient lots of jobs are disappearing)
As e-commerce makes retail more efficient, lots of jobs are disappearing in the US.
If retail were the only sector increasing efficiency by eliminating jobs, it might not be a problem. But it's happening, or will soon happen, in many other sectors, resulting in a large pool of people who can't ever get work. Of course, the plutocrats want to get rid of those people by condemning them to sickness, or pushing them into crime so that they can be locked up and turned into slave labor. The school-to-prison pipeline is part of that scheme.
03 July 2013 (Respect the rights of all participants in journalism)
Calling on the US government to respect the rights of all participants in journalism.
03 July 2013 (Doctors secretly perform medically necessary abortions)
Doctors in some Catholic hospitals secretly perform medically necessary abortions, hiding the practice so that bishops can't stop them.
I wonder if it would be possible to pass an initiative in the State of Washington saying that hospitals may not impose a policy of refusing to provide a lawful life-saving medical procedure for non-medical reasons. This might make the Catholic Church sell its hospitals there, which would be a decisive victory.
03 July 2013 (Thugs shot dog for no reason)
Thugs in a town near Chicago shot Randy Green's dog for no reason. The dog had got loose in the yard, but never showed any hostility towards the thugs.
I read in an article I don't want to link to (because it focuses on a video in YouTube) that thugs in California shot a man's dog because he made a video of them.
03 July 2013 (Brain-Eating amoeba spreading apparently due to global heating)
A brain-eating amoeba is spreading in range, apparently due to global heating.
03 July 2013 (Rehan Motiwala eventually allowed to fly back to US)
Rehan Motiwala was eventually allowed to fly back to US, but does not know whether he is still on the no-fly list.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
The no-fly list is a form of punishment without trial, and should be abolished. If these people were searched very carefully before boarding a plane, that would achieve the same supposedly intended result. Anyone that is not a US citizen and not in the US can simply be denied a visa.
03 July 2013 (US officials teasing the press)
US officials are teasing the press with vague stories claiming terrorist groups have somehow learned from Snowden's revelations to change their communication methods. But they won't say how, even though the terrorists presumably already know.
[Reference updated on 2022-07-11 because the old link was broken.]
There are several reasons to suspect that this is manipulation, and that we wouldn't reach the intended conclusion if we knew all about it.
03 July 2013 (China's massive surveillance)
Discussion in China about US massive surveillance sparked concern there about China's massive surveillance.
Of course, China's massive surveillance is worse — it does not have the flimsy limits that apply to the NSA. This does not make US surveillance legitimate. We must hold a "free country" to a higher standard than that defined by China.
03 July 2013 (The idea that a corporation's prime duty is to make money)
The idea that a corporation's prime duty is to make money for its shareholders is presented as an unquestionable given, but it comes from an article published in 1970.
03 July 2013 (Fake drug checkpoint)
Since stopping drivers to check for drugs is illegal, thugs in Ohio are using a fake drug checkpoint to see if anyone gets worried about it.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
There seems to be no limit to the level of dishonesty thugs will practice to trample people's rights.
Of course, imprisoning people for possession of drugs is an injustice no matter how they identify these people.
03 July 2013 (When all political parties are lousy they trigger protests)
When all the political parties are lousy, they trigger protests, but it's hard for protests alone to bring about a better government.
03 July 2013 (Contaminated meat from Australia)
Six Months Later, U.S. Still Importing Contaminated Meat From Australia.
The US government pretends that Australia's self-inspection system is adequate because it wants to introduce the same inadequate system in the US.
03 July 2013 (Urgent: Demand investigation of massive surveillance)
US citizens: call your congresscritter to demand an investigation of massive surveillance like the Church Committee.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
03 July 2013 (BP's 20 billion will be exhausted in a few months)
BP's 20 billion dollars for damages from the Big Spill will be exhausted in a few months.
I hope it will have to pay more, because the damage is ongoing, and having to pay more will scare oil companies a little.
03 July 2013 (Iran's new president)
Iran's new president wants to reduce censorship and improve human rights.
That would be a welcome rejection of the worldwide trend. However, I think he won't be permitted to go very far in this direction.
03 July 2013 (The Dictionary of the Global War on You (GWOY))
The Dictionary of the Global War on You (GWOY).
03 July 2013 (Alberta is flooded)
Even as Alberta is flooded, its politicians still push accelerated global heating.
03 July 2013 (US gov't blocked access to entire Guardian web site)
The US government has blocked access to the entire Guardian web site from military bases in Afghanistan, South Asia and the Middle East.
Perhaps they want to keep the troops ignorant so they can be manipulated into carrying out atrocities and imagining that they are "serving their country". Or perhaps they are simply trying to prove on principle that truth cannot overcome their wall of ignorance.
03 July 2013 (Urgent: Rebuke Texas legislature for trying to ban abortions)
In the US: rebuke the Texas legislature for trying to ban abortions.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
03 July 2013 (Organizers for community currency in Kenya charged with "forgery")
A community currency in a slum in Kenya was working well for alleviating poverty, but the organizers have been charged with "forgery".
These charges are obviously absurd, but I fear that the state will excuse them based on a legal lie.
03 July 2013 (Issue of cracking by companies suppressed by UK gov't agency)
A UK government agency knew for years that companies were regularly breaking into other companies' computers, and decided to suppress the issue.
03 July 2013 (Drone attacks deadlier per attack to civilians than manned bombers)
A US military study found that, empirically, drone attacks in Afghanistan are ten times deadlier per attack to civilians than attacks using manned bombers.
Meanwhile, the US has little ability to tell whether the casualties from drone attacks outside Afghanistan were civilians.
03 July 2013 (Snowden drops request for asylum in Russia)
Snowden has dropped his request for asylum in Russia in response to Putin's statement that the condition would be to shut up.
03 July 2013 (French right-wing candidate faces prosecution for speech)
French right-wing candidate Le Pen faces prosecution for comparing the presence of Muslims praying as an "occupation".
This demonstrates how France fails to respect freedom of speech.
03 July 2013 (Population growth and bad gov't policies widen inequality)
Due to widening inequality, hundreds of millions of children remain poor in countries that are not considered poor overall.
Part of the cause of this problem is that poor people have too many babies. However, that's partly our fault for not giving them the reliable contraception which they can't afford.
Rapid population growth, caused by bad government policies on birth control and abortion, will push the biosphere closer to disaster.
We need to slow this down.
03 July 2013 (Ads that pretending not to be ads on Twitter)
Twitter is being used for advertisements that pretend not to be advertisements.
[Reference updated on 2022-07-11 because the old link was broken.]
03 July 2013 (Republicans punishing the unemployed)
The Republicans pretend they can get Americans back to work by punishing the unemployed.
That's like trying to squeeze blood into a stone, when there's no space in the stone.
03 July 2013 (US Treasury Secretary trying to undermine Europe's planned tax)
The US Treasury Secretary is trying to undermine and destroy Europe's planned tax on financial transactions, by getting an exemption for the big US banks.
Sad to say, under a government that basically represents the rich, the question is not whether but how it will betray the rest of us.
03 July 2013 (Death of 19 elite firefighters in Arizona)
The investigation into the death of 19 elite firefighters in Arizona will focus on the immediate causes, which might enable avoiding putting teams into such conditions in the future.
However, the underlying cause is well understood, predictable, and correctable with sufficient will: global heating.
03 July 2013 (UK gov't fights to maintain farm subsidies for the rich)
The UK government cuts aid for the poor, but fights to maintain farm subsidies for the rich.
This is entirely consistent, since its policy is to help the rich and crush everyone else.
03 July 2013 (Snowden denounces Obama's efforts against him)
Snowden denounces Obama's efforts to block him from receiving asylum, saying they are meant to frighten future whistleblowers.
03 July 2013 (Clapper trying to get away with lying to Congress)
Clapper is trying to get away with lying to Congress by saying it was the smallest possible lie.
That excuse could apply to any lie he wants to tell, so we must not believe anything he says.
03 July 2013 (Urgent: Investigation of the NSA and FBI)
US citizens: call for an investigation of the NSA and FBI like the one carried out by the Church committee in the 70s.
03 July 2013 (Protests in Hong Kong demand democracy)
Large protests in Hong Kong demanded real democracy, despite heavy rain.
03 July 2013 (Egyptian Army gives Morsi ultimatum)
The Egyptian Army gave Morsi an ultimatum: deliver "the demands of the people" in 48 hours or (it isn't clear what).
Morsi has not yielded to this.
03 July 2013 (Young, educated Europeans unemployed)
Young, educated Europeans find that their skills are of no interest to any employers.
One side effect, falling birth rates, is good for society. But that can be achieved in other, less damaging ways.
I don't think this problem will ever get better as long as the plutocrats remain in power. In a few decades, the poverty of austerity will merge with the increased poverty of global heating.
03 July 2013 (Urgent: Subsidized quality education)
US citizens: call for offering subsidized quality education to all.
03 July 2013 (Stigma on widows in parts of Africa)
Campaigning to change the traditional scorn for widows in parts of Africa.
There is no stigma on widows in the US or Europe, so this one seems absurd to us. However, we do have a tradition of scorn for other groups, such as homosexuals, prostitutes, and ephebophiles, and most people in the US and Europe find that as natural as scorn for widows seems in parts of Africa.
03 July 2013 (Snowden denied asylum)
Putin offered Snowden asylum if he stops revealing US dirty secrets. Putin realizes that Snowden won't want to accept this offer, because he does not seek personal safety at the cost of letting his country down.
President Correa rejected helping Snowden reach Ecuador to apply for asylum.
He also said he would consider a US request to deny him asylum. I find this extremely disappointing.
Here is the private (leaked) letter that Snowden sent to Correa.
03 July 2013 (The Welsh nationalist party)
Many in England tell the Welsh nationalist party they wish it offered to represent them in England, because of its progressive position.
Perhaps its Welsh supporters could be persuaded they don't need to separate from England, if they could instead govern England with their English allies.
03 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose prosecution of Jeff Olson)
Everyone: call on San Diego to drop its prosecution of Jeff Olson for writing a protest slogan on the sidewalk in wash-away chalk.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
03 July 2013 (US army bases block access to reporting about Snowden's revelations)
All US army bases are blocking access to all reporting about Snowden's revelations of mass surveillance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
The authoritarians who have hijacked our government would block access for all of us if they could — and this blockage may be a precursor to that.
Glenn Greenwald called this a "prestigious award for good journalism", and he's right. But it is more than an award — it is an opportunity for activism.
Is there a US military base near you?
Print many copies of a few banned articles giving lots of substance about the issues, showing clearly the well-known newspapers or magazines they came from, and make a big sign saying, "MASSIVE SPYING: THE US WANTS TO STOP YOU FROM READING THIS". Stand near the road, far enough away from the gate of the base — perhaps around the next corner in the road, so that soldiers driving by can stop unobserved — and hold the sign. Give copies to the people who stop and ask for them.
Bring a friend with a videocamera to discourage anyone from messing with your constitutional rights.
03 July 2013 (Twelve True Patriots for July 4)
Twelve True Patriots for July 4.
03 July 2013 (Online tracking-and-advertising industry)
The online tracking-and-advertising industry is very troubled by Snowden's revelations, knowing that if people get mad enough at massive general surveillance, they might demand laws that really put a stop to it.
I don't mind seeing ads. I would not bother to block ads on the Internet if all they did was present a message to me. However, I find the tracking done by today's digital advertising unacceptable.
So how should we support web sites and their services, when those cost money?
We should be able to make an anonymous payment to use the site.
03 July 2013 (Bradley Manning supporters march in SF Gay Pride Parade)
2000 supporters of Bradley Manning marched in the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade.
03 July 2013 (Student loan interest rates)
Republicans blocked action to keep student loan interest rates down.
03 July 2013 (Roundup-resistant weeds)
Fighting Roundup-resistant weeds requires ever-higher dosages of highly toxic herbicides.
03 July 2013 (Prisoners communicate using toilet pipes)
Prisoners in a US jail, locked in their cells for 23 hours a day with little to do, communicate using toilet pipes as speaking tubes.
03 July 2013 (History of using deceptive language to mislead public)
US officials including Obama have a history of using deceptive language to mislead the public about massive surveillance, and even flat-out lies.
Congress should jail Clapper for this.
03 July 2013 (Countries in EU not on track to meet renewable energy targets)
Many countries in the EU are not on track to meet their renewable energy targets for 2020.
It is difficult to achieve substantial changes by setting a distant target first. Success comes from firm policies whose effects can be predicted.
03 July 2013 (Tons of plastic trash pile up)
Tons of plastic trash pile up on remote beaches in Alaska, as measured by volunteers who travel there to collect the trash. In some cases, it's a ton per mile. And it kills birds and fish.
If we made some of this stuff biodegradable, it would not pile up so high.
03 July 2013 (Americans want to believe Hillary Clinton would be a good president)
Many Americans want to believe that Hillary Clinton would be a good president.
I see no indication that she would try to do what America needs any more than Obama does. She has not shown an inclination to fight the authoritarians and plutocrats on any of their major attack fronts (fossil fuels, banksterism, copyright, austerity/unemployment, privatization,war on drugs, surveillance). She's just another bought politician, another right-wing Democrat.
Thus, while I would be glad to see the US capable of electing a woman president, I will not support Ms Clinton just because she's a woman. A candidate's gender is as unimportant as a candidate's skin color.
03 July 2013 (Timbuktu saved from theocratic rule but not back to normal)
Timbuktu has been saved from theocratic rule, but it is not back to normal or even close.
03 July 2013 (Austerity continues making unemployment rise)
Euro-austerity continues making unemployment rise.
03 July 2013 (Elite firefighters killed)
A "hotshot" crew of elite firefighters was killed, every last one, because the Arizona fire spread too fast for them.
High heat and drought and dead trees, which global heating tends to cause, make fires spread faster. In effect, these men were killed by global heating, and it's going to kill a lot more as it gets hotter.
03 July 2013 (Cameron brushed off concern for human rights)
UK PM Cameron contemptuously brushed off concern for human rights in Kazakhstan, saying that his reason for going there was oil and profits, not human rights.
Of course, we knew already that he puts money above people, but now he has admitted it.
Cameron thus gained the personal endorsement of the strongman of Kazakhstan:
That's a strong recommendation for Britons to vote for some other party, but which one would be better? Not New Labour, which says it will not try to reverse most of the harm that the Conservatives have done. Perhaps the Green Party.
03 July 2013 (Possible to reduce use of palm oil)
Private initiatives show it is possible to reduce the use of palm oil, the production of which is ecologically destructive.
However, I suspect that it will require government actions such as tariffs to make a big dent in the use of palm oil. This would require defeating free exploitation treaties.
03 July 2013 (Chinese herbal medicines have small amounts of pesticides)
Chinese herbal medicines sold in Europe and North America often have small amounts of highly hazardous pesticides.
03 July 2013 (Sumatran tigers half as numerous as was supposed)
Sumatran tigers are half as numerous as was supposed; human activity is the main problem.
03 July 2013 (Grant to create a reserve but now plans to drill for oil)
Peru received a grant to create a reserve for wildlife and "isolated" tribes, but now plans to drill for oil there.
02 July 2013 (Urgent: Rally for the Fourth Amendment on July 4)
In the US: rally for the Fourth Amendment (limiting searches and seizures) on July 4.
02 July 2013 (Urgent: Guarantee of due process for Snowden)
US citizens: call on Obama to guarantee due process for Snowden.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
I hope Snowden never falls into US hands, but that is a different matter.
02 July 2013 (Bond rating agencies corrupted by Morgan Stanley)
Morgan Stanley corrupted bond rating agencies so they would certify collections of bad mortgages as super-safe AAA-grade investments.
Matt Taibbi's long article shows that there have been no reforms and there is no reason to think that bond-rating companies will be honest in the future.
02 July 2013 (Globovision sold)
Globovision, the pointedly anti-government TV station in Venezuela, has been sold to new owners that won't criticize the government strongly.
Nonetheless, there remains opposition press in Venezuela.
02 July 2013 (Bush forces soldier convicted of murder to be freed)
A Bush forces soldier who was convicted of murdering an Iraqi will be freed because he was held in solitary confinement without access to a lawyer.
02 July 2013 (Urgent: Stop massive logging of old-growth trees)
US citizens: call on the government to stop the massive logging of old-growth trees in Alaska's Tongass National Forest.
02 July 2013 (Urgent: Restore the Voting Rights Act)
US citizens: sign the NAACP's petition to restore the Voting Rights Act.
02 July 2013 (Edward Snowden Isn't on the Run… We Are)
Edward Snowden Isn't on the Run… We Are.
02 July 2013 (Why do politicians push for genetically modified food?)
Why do politicians push for genetically modified food, when there are other good methods to produce desirable food varieties?
The article speculates, and I agree, that the push comes from companies such as Monsanto. It is unfortunate that the article uses the misleading overgeneralization "intellectual property" rather than being clear and specific by saying "patents".
02 July 2013 (Protesters arrested after blocking train carrying toxic oil)
Global heating protesters were arrested after blocking a train carrying very toxic oil obtained by fracking in the US, for export to Canada.
02 July 2013 (Pakistan-Afghanistan relations)
Reportedly the UK government is concerned that Pakistan may "neglect" relations with Afghanistan.
Contrast this with the article that says Pakistan's powerful intelligence service regards Afghanistan as a proxy for India.
02 July 2013 (Further details of Prism published)
Further details of Prism have been published, showing that the NSA's equipment can fish directly and arbitrarily in the data bases of companies such as Google and Microsoft.
02 July 2013 (James Madison on maintaining liberty)
What (later president) James Madison said about maintaining liberty versus ceding control to the forces of order and submission.
01 July 2013 (India's new surveillance network)
India's new surveillance network is even worse than the NSA's.
Italy's and Canada's are too.
This doesn't make the NSA's spying acceptable. We must demand that our governments respect our rights. It is not enough that some other state is worse.
01 July 2013 (Urgent: Stop forcing workers to take their pay in debit cards)
Everyone: tell McDonald's to stop forcing workers to take their pay in debit cards that charge them fees.
This practice ought to be illegal.
01 July 2013 (Massive protests against Morsi)
Massive protests call for Morsi to leave office.
01 July 2013 (US focuses spying on EU officials)
The US has focused its spying on EU officials, including the embassies of many "allies" of the US.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
01 July 2013 (Gandhi the journalist)
Comparing Snowden and Greenwald to Gandhi the journalist.
01 July 2013 (Imprisonment for criticizing the gov't)
HRW: EU Should Demand Release of Activists (in Bahrain).
A high school student was sentenced to a year in prison for a tweet that criticized the government.
Unfortunately, the US is not free of such oppression.
01 July 2013 (A radio system that tracks people behind walls)
A radio system can track people behind walls.
We have to prohibit the state from tracking us all this way.
01 July 2013 (Prosecuted for writing in chalk on the sidewalk)
Jeff Olson is being prosecuted for writing in chalk on the sidewalk to criticize Bank of America.
He faces 13 years in prison, and his lawyer has been forbidden to talk about the first amendment in the trial.
The judge apparently realizes how shameful this is, because he has ordered Olson not to talk about it.
I moved some IRA money out of Bank of America a couple of weeks ago. The FSF moved its money out of Bank of America a year or two ago. If you have any money there, please move it out.
01 July 2013 (The latest step in giving US corporations human rights)
The latest insane step in giving US corporations human rights is to claim they can be religious.
01 July 2013 (Activists seek more information on PRISM)
Activists Leverage Stronger EU Privacy Laws to Seek More Information on PRISM.
01 July 2013 (Treaty establishing copyright exception for blind people)
Amazingly, WIPO has finalized a treaty establishing a copyright exception for blind people.
Although the copyright industry has become so greedy that it opposes the treaty, I fear that they will accept it, and use it to show that DRM is ok because it no longer shafts blind people.
01 July 2013 (How Dangerous is the 'Security/Digital Complex')
How Dangerous is the 'Security/Digital Complex'
01 July 2013 (Unanswered Questions in NSA Disclosures)
Unanswered Questions in NSA Disclosures
01 July 2013 (Japanese gov't unable to decontaminate area near Fukushima)
The Japanese government was unable to decontaminate an area near Fukushima to the planned safety level, so it told the inhabitants to go home with dosimeters to see if they are getting dangerous amounts of radiation exposure.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
The idea is not necessarily misguided. The purpose of decontaminating the ground is so people don't get high exposures of radiation. If the ground isn't decontaminated, but people lower their exposures to the same intended level by staying indoors, they will be just as safe.
However, some may be rather unhappy about having to spend their lives indoors. Perhaps Japan should pay nonathletic geeks to move to Fukushima, because they will stay indoors and not mind it.
Meanwhile, we should stop making plans that suppose it is feasible to decontaminate areas covered with fallout from reactor explosions, because apparently that can't really be done.
01 July 2013 (Winner of Nobel Peace Prize says Manning deserves one)
Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, says Bradley Manning deserves one.
01 July 2013 (Everyone will be an organ donor)
In Wales, everyone will be an organ donor unless he says no in advance.
This is a good policy and we should copy it. Meanwhile, if you live in a place which doesn't have this policy, please fill out the form to be an organ donor, as I have done.
I don't think a person's relatives should have any say in the matter. What happens to that person's corpse might affect their feelings, but nothing else, and their hurt feelings don't count for much compared with saving lives.
01 July 2013 (Jeremy Forrest's girlfriend says their relationship was her initiative)
Jeremy Forrest's girlfriend says their relationship was her initiative, she still loves him, and she wants to visit him in prison and marry him after he gets out.
I would not bet on their relationship's lasting till he gets out of prison. Forrest has not been good at making relationships last, and most 16-year-olds aren't either. However, she is doing her best to defend his name against the legal fiction that he kidnapped her.
The dishonest basis of the prosecution shows clearly in the rebukes of the judge, the detective, the mother, etc., that Forrest (actually both of them) perturbed their families. That could equally well have been said about Romeo and Juliet, which is a reductio ad absurdam. (The refutation does not depend on assuming that this couple is like Romeo and Juliet in any other way. It's enough that the same argument would have applied to those two.)
The court pretends, contrary to all the facts, that Forrest did something wrong to his girlfriend, while in fact punishing him for how their relationship made her parents and other people feel.
After the two were captured, she was forcibly returned to her parents, and while the articles claimed they were giving her some sort of support, it is clear they tried to brainwash her into supporting their way of seeing things. It is good for her that they failed.
She should demand a conjugal visit in prison. That will give those cruel prudes apoplexy.
01 July 2013 (Ecuador's new media law)
RSF: Ecuador's new media law — mix of good principles and bad provisions.
Ecuador's new election law bans media from promoting candidates for 90 days before an election. If interpreted strictly, this could chill coverage of the campaign and the candidates.
The CPJ has many criticisms of Ecuador, some of which are valid while others seem exaggerated based on the facts I have found.
01 July 2013 (Republicans implementing voter-suppression measures)
Racist Republican politicians are charging ahead in implementing voter-suppression measures that were blocked under the Voting Rights Act before the Supreme Court threw it away.
01 July 2013 (Replacement for racist Jim Crow laws)
The imprisonment of a large fraction of the American black population — mostly for possession of small amounts of drugs — amounts to a disguised replacement for the racist Jim Crow laws that were abolished in the 1960s.
01 July 2013 (Obama's climate plan too little too slow)
Obama's climate plan is too little, too slow.
Instead of an "all of the above" energy plan, we need an "all of the above" greenhouse gas reduction plan.
01 July 2013 (Nonviolent activists put on domestic terrorist list)
We know the US considers dissidents "terrorists". What's news is that some specific nonviolent activists were put on the "domestic terrorist list".
01 July 2013 (No-Fly list is kafkaesque excuse)
The no-fly list is a kafkaesque excuse to stick US citizens in foreign prisons.
01 July 2013 (Thousands protested after thugs killed Kurdish protester)
Thousands protested in Istanbul after Turkish thugs killed a Kurdish protester.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
The Turkish government has repressed not only Kurds but people who supported human rights for Kurds.
01 July 2013 (Stealing elections)
The Supreme Court has opened the door to stealing elections.
01 July 2013 (Thugs stripped woman and kept her handcuffed in cell for 11 hours)
UK thugs stripped a woman and kept her handcuffed in a cell for 11 hours. They also beat her up, causing premature birth of her baby.
It could have been worse — they might have killed her, as they have done to many others.
01 July 2013 (Resistance to privatization)
Legal resistance to privatization is starting in the US.
01 July 2013 (The Criminal N.S.A.)
The Criminal N.S.A.
01 July 2013 (What anonymous US officials want us to believe)
Anonymous US officials want us to believe that terrorists will benefit from knowing about how the US government spies on us all.
The danger from these terrorists is too small to worry about, and even if it were doubled, it would still be too small to worry about. Thus, if this means Americans might actually be able to protect our privacy through our own actions, it is good news.
However, I don't think we can do the job individually. We need to organize to limit surveillance.
01 July 2013 (Urgent: Oppose expanded fracking)
US citizens: tell Energy Secretary Moniz not to encourage more fracking.
01 July 2013 (Negotiations with Abbas would give Netanyahu immediate benefits)
Uri Avnery: Netanhayu would get immediate political benefits from starting negotiations with Abbas. Then he can spin them out forever with no agreement, to ensure he loses nothing.
01 July 2013 (Gov't tracking all your contacts)
It's wrong, and unconstitutional, for the government to track all your contacts without specific grounds, even if it does not proceed to repress you in additional ways.
01 July 2013 (Wikileaks participant gave information to FBI for money)
A Wikileaks participant gave information to the FBI for money. He seems to have done other nasty things for money too.
01 July 2013 (Traffic Cameras Bring Tiny Ohio Village To A Stop)
Traffic Cameras Bring Tiny Ohio Village To A Stop.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
30 June 2013 (War on Drugs against state legalization of marijuana)
The US Conference of Mayors unanimously called on the Obama regime not to impose its War on Drugs against state legalization of marijuana.
30 June 2013 (8 years in prison for threat)
Justin Carter is threatened with 8 years in prison for a "threat" that was followed by "lol, just kidding".
Note how the "authorities" look for excuses to disregard part of the truth in order to twist something into a crime.
30 June 2013 (US film studios collaborated with Hitler's regime)
US film studios collaborated with Hitler's regime in the 30s, changing films to avoid losing revenue from Germany.
We've seen a similar pattern of US businesses' catering to China and Chinese censorship in the past decade.
30 June 2013 (South Sudan oppressing journalists)
The people of southern Sudan won freedom from the government of Sudan. Now the government of South Sudan is oppressing journalists that criticize it.
30 June 2013 (Barbuda destroying itself to get short-term income)
The island of Barbuda is destroying itself by sand mining to get short-term income.
Lots of irreplaceable things on Earth will be destroyed forever in this century, on the same logic. If we invest in sustainable activities, we can reduce this — but part of that is having fewer children.
Besides which, these beaches, this sand, will probably be inundated in this century anyway if we don't stop causing sea level to rise.
30 June 2013 (Republicans blame individual Americans for having no work)
Now that Republicans and Democrats have created a shortage of jobs in the US, Republicans blame individual Americans for having no work.
30 June 2013 (National-Security Letter)
What It's Like to Get a "National-Security Letter"
(that is, a demand to give data to the state secretly and you'll be imprisoned if you ever tell anyone).
30 June 2013 (Plutocrats drawn to geoengineering schemes)
Some plutocrats are drawn to geoengineering schemes to try to compensate for our CO2 emissions.
The sulfate scheme is toxic and fails to prevent the other harm done by CO2: ocean acidification, which can kill a large fraction of the life in the oceans.
Removing CO2 by fertilizing plankton would prevent both problems. It might be better than allowing the disaster to happen.
However, we could still probably prevent the disaster through renewable energy, which would be better than stopping it using drastic measures.
30 June 2013 (Republicans' response to Obama's climate plan)
Republicans' response to Obama's climate plan is to extract more fossil fuels.
Unfortunately, Obama's plan isn't very different from that.
30 June 2013 (Night-mayor and thug chief trying to defeat bill to limit arbitrary searches)
New York's night-mayor Bloomberg, and the thug chief Kelly, are still trying to defeat the bill to limit arbitrary searches.
The bill would also increase civilian control over the New York thugs, who have been found to systematically repress human rights.
Bloomberg explicitly advocates increased racism in these searches.
Such racism is wrong, but it's a secondary aspect of the wrong. The root of the wrong is allowing thugs to search people arbitrarily.
30 June 2013 (Anyone demonstrating at the site where soldier was killed will be arrested)
The UK says that anyone carrying out a demonstration at the site where a soldier was killed will be arrested. So much for political freedom in the UK.
Whether we agree with those people's politics is beside the point.
30 June 2013 (Hospital patient throw away 82,000 meals every day)
Hospital patients throw away 82,000 meals every day in the UK, because the food is so lousy they don't want to eat it. The staff say they would not eat it either.
This is the result of the budget cuts which are intended to ruin and then destroy the NHS.
30 June 2013 (Susan Rice downplayed effect of Snowden's revelations)
US national security advisor Susan Rice downplayed the effect of Snowden's revelations. We will cite this when someone says they "hurt the US".
Of course, what such officials mean by "the US" is the power of the state, not the collectivity of Americans. We Americans are "the enemy" that people like Bradley Manning are accused of aiding.
30 June 2013 (Biometric cars)
"Biometric cars" will monitor their users in many ways, and of course the data will be warehoused for companies to hand to the NSA via PRISM.
We must insist on free software in our cars.
30 June 2013 (Nuclear settlement between Iran and US)
Iran's new president says he wants to reach a nuclear settlement with the US.
I hope the US looks for a settlement, and offers an end of sanctions as part of the deal. We can't take this for granted. Netanyahu will use his influence to prevent any settlement, because he wants the US and Iran to go to war rather than resolve differences peacefully.
The Iranian regime is a disgusting tyranny, which oppresses women and sometimes men too. But the US can't change this by conflict with Iran; the sanctions drive Iranians into supporting their government. Resolve this dispute, and the state will have nothing to distract the people with.
30 June 2013 (Urgent: Thank Wendy Davis)
Everyone: thank Wendy Davis for defending women's rights with courage.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
30 June 2013 ("Stop and frisk" by NY municipal thugs)
The New York City Council adopted some limits on arbitrary searches of people's persons by the municipal thugs.
"Stop and frisk" without reasonable grounds for suspicion should not be allowed at all.
30 June 2013 (Urgent: Sign the Washington Statement on privacy rights and data)
Everyone: please sign the Washington Statement on privacy rights and data.
29 June 2013 (Urgent: Protest disguised cuts in Social Security)
In the US: join a human chain protest on Tuesday against disguised cuts in Social Security.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
29 June 2013 (Wendy Davis's filibuster)
Wendy Davis's filibuster won't permanently stop Texas Republicans from passing the law to close most abortion providers. But it may reinvigorate supporters of women's rights in Texas.
29 June 2013 (Germany and UK blocked stricter EU fuel economy standards)
Germany and the UK blocked stricter EU fuel economy standards.
The German PM was obeying orders from car companies — a form of corruption common in the plutocracy. Companies powerful enough to issue such orders must not be allowed to continue to exist.
29 June 2013 (26 senators have demanded that the NSA come clean about massive surveillance)
26 senators have demanded that the NSA come clean about its massive surveillance based on "secret law".
29 June 2013 (Mother of murder victim says it will take time for the thugs to regain her trust)
The mother of murder victim Stephen Lawrence says it will take time for the thugs (who tried to smear her and her relatives) to regain her trust.
Mere time should not suffice: unless they stop their violence and lies, and their sabotage of democracy, nobody should trust them.
29 June 2013 (Law that would protect only journalists of the mainstream media)
The US mainstream media are pushing a federal shield law that would protect only the journalists of the mainstream media.
These are the same media that call Snowden a traitor; not much use for telling us what the government is really doing.
29 June 2013 (Global heating wiping out forests)
Global heating is wiping out forests in Oregon. When trees burn, they don't come back.
29 June 2013 (Require insurance to cover contraception)
Obama is finalizing a rule that will require insurance to cover contraception for employees of most employers.
The policy as originally proposed was better, but this is pretty good.
The issue of "religious" employers would not exist if not for the misguided US policy of associating health care with employment. This causes several problems:
- It gives companies an incentive to replace US workers with foreign workers or machines, so as to reduce what they pay for their employees' health care.
- It gives companies an incentive to use part-time workers who are not entitled to health coverage. Walmart does this.
- It means unemployed people often have no health care. (Though Obama's health care law may reduce this problem.)
- It gives religious employers an excuse to meddle with the health care of their employees.
We should tax companies based on their income, and use the money to provide health care for all Americans whether employed or not.
[Reference updated on 2022-07-15 because the old link was broken.]
29 June 2013 (Harmful software patent was invalidated)
With a big effort, one very harmful US software patent was invalidated.
One down, hundreds of thousands to go. It is a shame to talk about "bad patents" as if only some computational idea patents might be good.
Trying to make software safe from patent extortion by fighting patents one at a time — under the patent system's current rules — is like trying to make people safe from malaria by swatting mosquitos (and only the ones that come within reach of your hands). We need to get rid of them all, and I've proposed the way.
29 June 2013 (Liberal responds to mailing from Rand Paul)
A Liberal like me responds to a mailing he received from Rand Paul.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
I agree with most of his points, but I disagree on one of them. I don't think we should disparage abortion as "the last resort", because human population growth is a big danger to life on Earth. I encourage people to have an abortion rather than a baby.
29 June 2013 (Fast food workers accuse employers of stealing pay and obscuring it)
NYC fast food workers accuse their employers of stealing pay and obscuring it by making it hard to determine what what they were owed.
29 June 2013 (US Army blocking access to Guardian)
The US Army is blocking access from its computers to the Guardian's coverage of the NSA spying scandal.
It is afraid that soldiers who see the unapproved side of the story will be tempted to take the people's side instead of the government's side.
If you know anyone in the US military, offer to show that person the pages that are blocked.
29 June 2013 (Ecuador as a refuge for Snowden)
Why Ecuador Would Be an Ideal Refuge for Edward Snowden.
Criminalizing libel is an injustice, but lots of countries do it, including the UK, France and Italy. A man was arrested in France just for saying "Sarkozy I see you" when he witnessed an injustice. We should campaign to abolish these laws, in whatever country suffers from them, but in the mean time this is no reason to condemn Ecuador.
29 June 2013 (Heavy rain in Indian Himalayas)
Heavy rain in the Indian Himalayas is not unusual, but human construction and deforestation turned it into a disaster.
29 June 2013 (UK to draw up "national pollinator strategy")
The UK says it will draw up a "national pollinator strategy".
I hope it is a serious attempt to protect pollinators rather than an excuse to keep using neonicotinoids for longer.
29 June 2013 (Dependence on fracking)
Dependence on fracking is a foolish policy even if it offers riches to those who get the profits.
29 June 2013 (Increasing the wealth and power of Brazil's rich)
President Rousseff has abandoned Lula's commitment to participatory democracy, human rights and popular movements, while focusing on increasing Brazil's economic strength — which has the effect of increasing the wealth and power of Brazil's rich.
29 June 2013 (Urgent: Petition against expulsion of Trenton Oldfield)
UK citizens: sign this petition against the expulsion of Trenton Oldfield.
29 June 2013 (NSA extracts data from the whole world)
The NSA extracts data from the whole world, often through the idiotic cooperation of other governments.
Please don't call this "hacking" — it's an insult to us hackers to compare us with the NSA.
29 June 2013 (Urgent: Rebuke Walmart for firing striking workers)
Everyone: rebuke Walmart for firing striking workers.
http://action.sumofus.org/a/walmart-firings/2/3/
http://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4023/c/33/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=6782
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
(Why not sign both?)
29 June 2013 (Obama trying to punish someone who told us about Stuxnet)
Obama is trying to punish someone who told us about the Stuxnet cyber-attack.
29 June 2013 (The dead zone in Gulf of Mexico)
The dead zone in Gulf of Mexico has reached the largest extent ever observed.
It is caused by nitrogen from sewage and fertilizer.
29 June 2013 (Using aborted fetuses for research)
A cell culture from an aborted fetus has "no doubt saved the lives of millions of people" through development of important vaccines. However, even if the abortion had not led to such tremendous benefits, it was a good thing, because the woman who was pregnant did not want another baby.
We must firmly reject the idea that there is something ethically dubious about using aborted fetuses for research. These ideas come from people who want to ban abortions, typically based on religious dogma; they hope that tainting everything that relates to abortions can help them achieve that nasty goal. If they kill millions of real people along the way, that's just collateral damage.
I don't think there is any reason to require a patient's consent for research use of removed tissue unless that research might somehow hurt the patient. That is starting to become a possibility, since genetic analysis of that tissue might reveal things about the patient which could cause that patient to be denied health insurance or denied employment. However, the same analysis can be done for other reasons and cause the same dangers; meanwhile, those dangers can be prevented entirely with proper health care laws.
Likewise, the idea of paying the patient from whom the tissue was removed is absurd. What we need from medicine is not the chance of a windfall on the rare occasions when our cells are used in a big enough way that we'd get a significant sum. What we need is for important research to be done, and for the resulting treatments to be available to all those that need them. We can easily have this, if we resume taxing businesses and the rich sufficiently.
The demand for this income comes from people who face the effects of growing inequality that forces many down into poverty. If they joined the campaign against plutocracy instead, we might all win.
29 June 2013 (Using a refrigerator to block a cell phone listening device)
One way to block a cell phone listening device from listening to you and transmitting the conversation is to put it in a refrigerator, which blocks the radio signal.
However, if the programmers of the spy software are clever, they might make it compress and save the audio and transmit it later when it gets signal. Thus, blocking the signal is not reliably sufficient. Blocking it from hearing you is more reliable, if you can be sure the audio blockage is adequate.
29 June 2013 (George Orwell's birthday celebrated in Utrecht)
George Orwell's birthday was celebrated in Utrecht by putting party hats on the surveillance cameras.
29 June 2013 (Conditions of prison in Tunisia)
Foreign protesters released from prison in Tunisia describe the horrible conditions of the prison there.
Their apology deserved to be withdrawn, since it endorsed the idea that their protest was wrong. However, it was bad that they apologized for it at all. I understand how this might have required a sacrifice they could not make, but it still would have been better to refuse.
29 June 2013 (Reporter accused of treason for covering protests in Turkey)
President Erdogan accused a reporter of treason for covering the protests in Turkey.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
I wonder if examples of similar claims from the US against journalists such as Wikileaks and Glenn Greenwald encouraged him to think he can get away with this.
29 June 2013 (Sustainable energy future within grasp)
A Sustainable Energy Future is Within Our Grasp.
However, governments that kowtow to fossil fuel interests won't grasp it.
29 June 2013 (Surveillance state will almost inevitably become terror state)
The surveillance state, faced with inevitable unrest because of the increasing poverty it encourages combined with the effects of global heating, will almost inevitably become a terror state.
29 June 2013 (Urgent: Pardon Snowden)
US citizens: call on Obama to pardon Snowden.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
29 June 2013 (Facebook shuts down pages about protests in Turkey)
Facebook shut down some pages about protests in Turkey because they had "fake profiles". No surprise that people protesting in Turkey may not want to tell the Turkish state who they are.
This shows why any communication system that requires users to identify themselves is inadequate for democracy. That means Facebook and Google+ are no good. (Google+ allows pseudonyms, but since Google has an office in Turkey, Google would have to tell Turkey the user's real name.)
28 June 2013 (Thugs removed protesting students)
Chilean thugs removed protesting students who had occupied schools that are supposed to be used as polling places.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Even if there are problems with the electoral system, or no good candidates, I don't think occupying polling places is a good idea.
28 June 2013 (Restrain War on Drugs from boosting spread of diseases)
The Support, Don't Punish campaign aims to restrain the War on Drugs from boosting the spread of diseases.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
28 June 2013 (Infiltration of dissident groups is covered by limits that are weak)
Massive US infiltration of dissident groups is covered by limits that turn out to be quite weak. And there is evidence that infiltrators have intentionally started violence to discredit protests.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
28 June 2013 (Thug Department gave CIA agents excuse to spy on Americans)
The New York Thug Department gave CIA agents an excuse to spy on Americans. And their attitude is, the more people they spy on, the better.
28 June 2013 (Ecuador stood up to US threats)
Ecuador stood up to US threats to cancel a trade treaty by canceling it unilaterally.
In addition, Ecuador offered the US aid in human rights training.
28 June 2013 (Mass protests are called for Sunday in Egypt)
Mass protests are called for Sunday in Egypt, by the group that has got 15 million signatures on a petition for Morsi's resignation.
28 June 2013 (Another legal excuse for surveillance)
James Comey's threat to resign blocked the NSA's massive surveillance only until it found another legal excuse for that surveillance. That one, he accepted, it appears.
The NSA systematically collected email metadata about everyone in the US for two years under Obama.
This apparently included every communication between people whose identity the NSA did not know (since in that case it would not have known that either party was a US citizen).
28 June 2013 (UK's program to get disabled people to work failed)
The UK's program to get disabled people to work is failure at its stated purpose. However, it was quite effective at fabricating excuses to cut off benefits by falsely claiming that people were not disabled.
28 June 2013 (Glenn Greenwald conversation monitored)
Glenn Greenwald gives suggestive evidence his Skype conversation was monitored.
28 June 2013 (Mass protest in Chile)
Someone started violence before 100,000 started a peaceful mass protest in Chile.
I wonder if the violence was organized by thugs as a provocation. That is standard thug tactics.
28 June 2013 (Urgent: Protect Bristol Bay)
US citizens: call on the EPA to follow its own conclusions and protect Bristol Bay, by banning Pebble Mine, if you haven't done so already.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The Koch brothers are recruiting lots of people to submit comments in favor of the mine. Please help cancel them out!
27 June 2013 (Deregulation of logging could wipe out endangered species)
Deregulation of logging in part of Australia could wipe out endangered species.
27 June 2013 (People across Russia dislike government)
A report suggests that people across Russia dislike their government, but the Moscow-centered opposition failed because it lacked a connection with people elsewhere in Russia.
The article seems to present this as a personal failing of the opposition activists. I think that criticism is unfair; they can only use what they have. However, this is something that activists in Russia should think about.
27 June 2013 (Turkey threatens to block Twitter)
Turkey threatens to block Twitter unless it submits to Turkish censorship.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
It is ironic that "insulting Ataturk" is cited as a reason for Turkish government censorship, since President Erdogan is the worst insult to Ataturk that there could ever be.
This example shows that German censorship of Nazis sets a dangerous precedent for other censorship. I detest the views of Nazis — they would kill me just because of my ancestry — but censoring any political views leads to spreading repression.
27 June 2013 (Governor Perry to try again to pass anti-abortion bill)
Texas Governor Perry called a special session of the state legislature to try again to pass the anti-abortion bill.
27 June 2013 (Companies will stop competing if they know about your purchasing practices)
If companies know all about your purchasing practices, and can offer you prices based on that knowledge, they will stop competing. They will each arrive at the same price to offer you.
27 June 2013 (Urgent: CNBC stop denying global heating)
Everyone: call on CNBC to stop denying global heating.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
27 June 2013 (Urgent: Give Snowden asylum)
Everyone: ask President Correa to give Snowden asylum.
27 June 2013 (Urgent: Repeal dangerous parts of PAT RIOT Act)
US citizens: call for repeal of the dangerous parts of the PAT RIOT Act.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
27 June 2013 (Texas continues executing people)
Texas continues eagerly executing people even though some of the people executed were almost certainly innocent.
27 June 2013 (Future bank bailouts)
The EU has made provisions for future bank bailouts to be done at the expense of the banks.
This is how it should be, but a proper system also requires (1) making sure that no bank can get too big, and (2) limiting the ways they deal with each other so that failure of one bank can't pull down other banks.
27 June 2013 (Campaign funds from richest Americans)
Almost 1/3 of the campaign funds in US elections now come from the richest .01% of Americans.
And this is without considering all the corporate money allowed by the Corporations United decision; a large fraction of that is surely under these people's control too.
27 June 2013 (Brazil transport improvements and other reforms)
Brazil's president Rousseff has proposed transport improvements and other reforms to try to satisfy the protesters.
27 June 2013 (Broken whistleblower system)
Snowden Saga Reveals a Broken Whistleblower System.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
27 June 2013 (NSA deletes dishonest "fact sheet")
The NSA deleted the dishonest "fact sheet" from its web site but refuses to acknowledge this.
27 June 2013 (UK spies find excuses to ignore legal limits)
A UK politician says that UK spies have found excuses to ignore legal limits on what they can do.
Mother Teresa exploited India's poor sick people, raising money but spending none of it on medical care for them. It would not surprise me if spies are just as bad.
27 June 2013 (Urgent: Obama's global heating reduction plan)
US citizens: call on Congress to approve Obama's global heating reduction plan.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
It is not sufficient, but it is necessary.
27 June 2013 (Urgent: Repair the Voting Rights Act)
US citizens: call on Congress to repair the Voting Rights Act.
27 June 2013 (Glenn Greenwald presents issues being used to try to smear him)
Glenn Greenwald presents the minor issues that mainstream "journalists" want to use to smear him, hoping we will be distracted from important issues such as how the government spies on us.
27 June 2013 (Ethnic dimension of civil war in Afghanistan)
The civil war in Afghanistan has an ethnic dimension, and is also a proxy for the rivalry between India and Pakistan.
27 June 2013 (Urgent: Thank Wendy Davis)
US citizens: Thank Wendy Davis for blocking the Texas anti-abortion law.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
27 June 2013 (Urgent: Support Obama's plan for reducing global heating)
US citizens: Support Obama's plan for reducing global heating.
It is not enough, but we need to fight those who will oppose it anyway.
Please sign this one too.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
27 June 2013 (Supreme Court guts the Voting Rights Act)
The Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, opening the way for Republicans to block millions of Americans (mostly black, Hispanic or poor) from voting.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The election of Obama has mistakenly convinced many Americans that there is no racism.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
But even if Republicans are not racist, they are unscrupulous. They don't need to hate blacks or Hispanics or poor people to try to disenfranchise them.
27 June 2013 (Supreme Court decision on accountability of Abu Ghraib torturers)
Thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision, contractors employed for torture in Abu Ghraib can't be sued in the US by their victims.
27 June 2013 (Drones tempt leaders to make war)
Drones make war, or assassination, so easy that leaders are very tempted to do it.
The article also shows in detail how Obama's criteria for approving drone assassinations are deceptive and mean the opposite of what they appear at first glance to mean.
27 June 2013 (Big sugar companies uprooting Guatemalan peasants)
Guatemalan peasants are being uprooted by big companies that grow sugar cane.
27 June 2013 (EU proposes penalties for distorting market indices)
The EU proposes substantial penalties for the individuals and firms that distort market indices such as LIBOR.
27 June 2013 (Supreme Court invalidates Defense of Marriage Act)
The Supreme Court invalidated the Defense of Marriage Act, saying that same-sex couples legally married in any state are entitled to whatever benefits the US government gives to married couples.
27 June 2013 (Republicans want to force Americans to go to work when sick)
Republicans want to force Americans to go to work when sick, and skip visits to the doctor so they won't be fired.
27 June 2013 (Clapper must be fired)
Clapper must be fired for intentional premeditated lying to Congress and the public.
27 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose relaxing requirements for wiretapping)
Citizens of Massachusetts: oppose relaxing requirements for wiretapping.
27 June 2013 (UK thugs' practice of spying on and smearing people)
The UK needs a public inquiry into the thugs' systematic practice of spying on and smearing people who get in their way.
27 June 2013 (Senator Wendy Davis blocks Texas anti-abortion law)
Texas State Senator Wendy Davis personally spoke for almost 11 hours to block approval of an anti-abortion law.
I have supported the campaign to reform the filibuster in the US senate to require senators to personally speak on the senate floor as long as it takes. I have not supported abolishing the filibuster entirely, because it's a good thing that this form of resistance is available when legislators are willing to go to great personal lengths to do it.
26 June 2013 (UK policies insufficient to achieve CO2 emissions)
The UK adopted long-term CO2 emissions targets but its actual policies are insufficient to achieve them.
A long-term target is a handy a way to avoid real action.
26 June 2013 (Harder for states to protect wetlands and other aspects of environment)
The Supreme Court made it harder for states to protect wetlands and other aspects of the environment, giving landowners priority.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
If taxes on the rich and business were high enough, we could afford to "compensate" landowners when their land must be protected.
26 June 2013 (German gov't objects strongly to UK spying)
The German government objects strongly to UK spying.
It has a duty to protect its citizens from this spying.
26 June 2013 (Espionage Act in US harsher than laws of other countries)
The Espionage Act in the US is much harsher than the laws of other countries about leaks to the public.
26 June 2013 (EFF sticker considered a warning sign)
For the NSA, having an EFF sticker on your computer is considered a "warning sign".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
26 June 2013 (Australia has taken Japan to court for whaling)
Australia has taken Japan to the World Court for its "scientific" whaling.
26 June 2013 (Urgent: Support amendment to assure voting rights)
US citizens: support a constitutional amendment to assure voting rights.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
26 June 2013 (Urgent: reverse Corporations United decision)
US citizens: sign this petition in favor of a constitutional amendment to reverse the Corporations United decision.
(It is hypocritically referred to as the "Citizens United" decision, but I prefer to call it what it really is.)
26 June 2013 (300 untested recreational drugs sold legally)
300 untested recreational drugs are now being sold, legally.
Some of them might be safer than tobacco or alcohol. Some might even be as safe as marijuana or MDMA, but some might be more dangerous than those. It would be better to steer people towards the safer drugs that are now illegal.
26 June 2013 (State power over journalism)
US mainstream media choose state power over journalism, featuring "journalists" that demand the arrest not only of Snowden but even of Glenn Greenwald.
26 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose Israel's plan to force Bedouin out of their homes)
US citizens: tell Israel's ambassador to the US that you oppose Israel's plan to force 40,000 Bedouin out of their homes.
Everyone else: sign this petition about the same point.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
26 June 2013 (UK gov't persistently sends asylum seekers back to be tortured)
The UK government persistently sends asylum seekers back to be tortured, even if they were tortured again since the previous time they were denied asylum.
If the state would rather not give them asylum, it should do more to discourage torture in their home countries.
26 June 2013 (Obama states plans to reduce CO₂ emissions)
Obama stated possibly significant plans to reduce CO₂ emissions, but the details will determine whether they amount to anything.
If he is honest, he cannot deny that the Keystone XL pipeline will greatly increase CO2 emissions. But he may yet look for an excuse to pretend it is not so.
The Natural Resources Defense Council supports the plan, and so does Greenpeace, but even if it is carried out in a substantial way, it won't go far enough to prevent global heating disaster.
25 June 2013 (Suicide of former Bush forces soldier)
A former Bush forces soldier in "intelligence" committed suicide because he could not bear to think of the suffering of the widows and orphans he had made.
His guilt makes rational sense (I won't claim to understand it emotionally, since I have never had an occasion to feel that way), but I think if he had thought more calmly he could have found a better response. For instance, he could have published the details of the atrocities he felt guilty for, before committing suicide. Then his death would have helped to make the world better. It's even possible that the awareness that he was doing something to compensate for his past wrongs might have assuaged his guilt enough for him to face continuing to live, perhaps in Ecuador.
The sad general point is that so many soldiers sign up for the US military based on the myth that they are going to "serve their country". Many naive teenagers have never heard anyone question this.
If the idea of serving their country were 100% false, it would fade away; but occasionally it is true, and that real complexity keeps the simplistic myth alive. Young people who are indoctrinated in it are easy to manipulate into thinking that's what it's going to be like for them, and when they find out the truth they are caught and their lives are more or less ruined.
25 June 2013 (Campaign by UK thugs to smear and frame murder witness)
The main witness in the murder of Stephen Lawrence suffered a many-year campaign by UK thugs to smear him and frame him.
25 June 2013 (Disenfranchising minority group voters now much easier)
The Supreme Court made it much easier for states to disenfranchise minority group voters.
The Supreme Court not only denied the existence of racism, but the existence of callous Republican by-hook-or-by-crook voter suppression efforts.
That's the Republican strategy for holding power: by turning US elections into a sham.
25 June 2013 (Assad prosecutes nonviolent dissenters as "terrorists")
Assad continues prosecuting nonviolent dissenters as "terrorists".
If only the US were an example of something better.
25 June 2013 (Secret CIA prisons)
Lithuania: Reopen Investigation Into Secret CIA Prisons.
25 June 2013 (Violence against journalists at rally for nonviolence)
A rally in Egypt for nonviolence was the opportunity for violence against journalists.
25 June 2013 ("Advances" in computing technology)
Recent "advances" in computing technology deny any possibility of privacy. But fools will tell you to rush to use technology that spies on you and controls you, because otherwise you'll be left behind in the 90s.
If you're foolish, you can heed their advice. I don't use these "advances" — I think about the freedom and privacy implications of Internet services before I use them.
The article uses the term "cloud" to encourage people not to think carefully about new technology. For the sake of clear thinking, please don't use that either.
25 June 2013 (Arguments for banning tipping)
Arguments for banning tipping and paying staff a decent wage instead.
25 June 2013 (Senate amendment to immigration bill calls for militarization)
A senate amendment to the immigration bill calls for extreme militarization of the US border with Mexico.
I have to oppose this bill now, because of its requirements for every American to be listed in a government data base to be able to have a job.
25 June 2013 (Ecuador)
Postcard from Ecuador: A Living, Breathing Democracy.
25 June 2013 (Special unit of UK thugs set up to smear innocent people)
With UK thugs, innocent people have everything to worry about. A special unit was set up to smear innocent people, to suit the state or the thugs themselves.
25 June 2013 (UK's banksters setting up new tax haven in Kenya)
The UK's banksters are setting up a new tax haven in Kenya, even as they veto serious action against tax havens in British territories.
This uses the pretense of denying the power that the UK government exercises over those territories.
25 June 2013 (Israeli authors campaign against expulsion of Palestinians)
Israeli authors campaign against expulsion of Palestinians from their villages in the South Hebron hills.
25 June 2013 (Urgent: Ban toxic pesticide atrazine)
US citizens: call on Congress to ban the toxic pesticide atrazine.
25 June 2013 (Netanyahu demonstrated his contempt for Kerry)
Netanyahu demonstrated his contempt for Kerry and the US-supported "peace process" by visiting a school in an Israeli colony in Palestine a few days before Kerry came to see him.
Saeb Erekat: The Israeli government has officially declared the death of the two-state solution, and says the international community must "face reality".
25 June 2013 (Israelis who engage in pogroms against Palestinians qualify as terrorists)
Netanyahu acknowledges that Israelis who engage in pogroms against Palestinians qualify as terrorists, but says it would be disadvantageous to admit this.
I don't like stretching the word "terrorist", so I'd call them "violent bigots".
In any case, the official Israeli thugs protect these unofficial thugs.
25 June 2013 (Demolition of Palestinian homes)
Demolition of Palestinian homes is the constant background noise of the occupation.
25 June 2013 (UN accuses Israel)
The UN accuses Israel of killing and wounding Palestinian children, using them as human shields in battle, and torturing them in prison.
25 June 2013 (Israeli journalists condemned army)
Israeli journalists condemned the army for arresting Palestinian journalists.
25 June 2013 (Genetic Colonialists)
GM Crops: the Genetic Colonialists.
25 June 2013 (Warren attacked head of FHFA)
Senator Warren attacked the head of the FHFA for supporting high interest rates for student loans.
25 June 2013 (EU's broken emission trading system)
The EU's broken emissions trading system will negate progress towards renewable energy.
25 June 2013 (Expulsion of man who protested by stopping boat race)
A race rower opposes expulsion of the man who protested by stopping a UK boat race.
25 June 2013 (Subpoena because of connection with Wikileaks)
The US subpoena's Herbert Snorrason's email from gmail.com because of his past connection with Wikileaks.
25 June 2013 (Moral Monday protest)
Thousands joined the latest Moral Monday protest in North Carolina.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 June 2013 (US and Chinese governments resemble and deserve each other)
A Chinese state-run newspaper praised Snowden for "tearing off Washington's sanctimonious mask".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
US condemnations of China's human rights abuses are typically valid, and China's condemnations of US human rights abuses are typically valid too. These two governments increasingly resemble and deserve each other, but both Americans and Chinese deserve something better.
25 June 2013 (How the IRS chose groups to study carefully)
The IRS used various phrases to choose groups to study carefully, but studied them all by the same criteria.
The IRS also looked for some keywords associated with progressive groups for special scrutiny.
25 June 2013 (US anti-war activists infiltrated as "domestic terrorists")
The US infiltrated anti-war activists as "domestic terrorists"; this is proved because one infiltrator confessed.
UK thugs infiltrated groups that criticized the behavior of thugs (for instance, corruption and apparent killing of prisoners).
The UK human rights group Liberty demands an investigation of whether it has been spied on.
25 June 2013 (Berlusconi used official powers for cover-up)
Berlusconi has been found guilty of paying an underage prostitute, and then using his official powers to cover it up.
I don't think it should be a crime to pay an underage prostitute. (It should be a crime to force anyone into prostitution, but Ruby Heartstealer was not being forced.) However, his misuse of power deserves punishment.
It is important to treat prostitution as a normal part of society because that will help protect prostitutes from violence, disease, and extortion. In addition, reducing the stigma on prostitution will make it easier for prostitutes to switch to some other line of work.
25 June 2013 (Colorado wildfire)
A 100-sq-mi wildfire in Colorado was fed by global heating in three ways: lots of hot weather, drought, and trees killed by beetles that have spread due to higher general temperature.
25 June 2013 (UK man sentenced to prison for having copies of publications)
A UK man has been sentenced to prison solely for having copies of publications.
This is tyranny.
25 June 2013 (Senators demand NSA correct misleading statements)
Senators demanded the NSA correct misleading statements in its "fact-sheet" about surveillance.
25 June 2013 (US threatens countries to try to stop Snowden)
The US is threatening countries around the world to try to stop Snowden from reaching asylum.
25 June 2013 (US knowledge of oil in Haiti)
The US seems to have known for a long time about oil in Haiti. Its puppet government in Haiti may be intended to help the plutocrats take that oil for a pittance.
25 June 2013 (Proposed bill to narrow PAT RIOT act surveillance powers)
Senator Sanders has proposed a bill that would narrow some of the PAT RIOT act surveillance powers.
I can't tell without more information and advice whether this would be sufficient to make that law good, but it looks like a substantial change in the right direction.
25 June 2013 (Bob Brown faces 100 years in prison for exposing a conspiracy)
Bob Brown faces 100 years in prison, either for exposing a conspiracy to falsely smear Wikileaks and Glenn Greenwald, or for the rant he posted when he couldn't bear the government's threats about that.
There has been no investigation of the conspiracy he exposed.
This selective prosecution shows the government regards laws as means of imposing its power.
25 June 2013 (Imposing inappropriate US agriculture in Africa)
Genetically modified crops destroy African agriculture by trying to impose inappropriate US agriculture in its place.
25 June 2013 (The lies of banksters in Ireland)
Banksters in Ireland lied to sucker the state into giving them a bailout.
25 June 2013 (Israel shuts down Palestinian children's puppet festival)
A Palestinian children's puppet festival in Jerusalem was shut down by Israel because it was funded by the PA.
25 June 2013 (Student who had affair with teacher speaks out)
"Don't tell me my affair with a teacher was abusive — I'll be the judge of that."
The author dares to resist the pressure to pretend that Forrest is a predator and that his lover was his victim, saying that we should listen to her (she does not think so).
25 June 2013 (Urgent: Call on Obama to refrain from foul play against Snowden)
Everyone: call on Obama to refrain from foul play against Edward Snowden.
25 June 2013 (Urgent: Defend the Right to Protest)
In the UK: support Defend the Right to Protest.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 June 2013 (Misleading articles say global warming has slowed)
Misleading articles say global warming has slowed, but really it's just that the heat retained by greenhouse gases is mainly going into the oceans in recent years rather than into the air.
25 June 2013 (America's worst charities)
America's worst charities are less than 10% efficient in serving the causes they raise funds for. Here's a list.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 June 2013 (EU law make make it possible to stop UK massive surveillance)
UK massive surveillance violates the European Convention on Human Rights, and EU law may make it possible to force the UK to stop.
25 June 2013 (Public opposition inevitable)
Arguing that the hardened power structures today's states are based on make public opposition inevitable.
25 June 2013 (Drought in US southwest destroying forests)
The long drought in the US southwest is destroying forests there, through fires and through sheer dryness of the air.
A large fire can replace forest with grassland, and it can take centuries for forest to spread back in, even assuming the climate still permits trees to grow there.
25 June 2013 (Heatland institute trying to block wind farms)
The Heatland institute is using concern about bald eagles and condors to try to block wind farms.
We should make sure to protect eagles adequately as a species, but if wind farms are not a significant threat to them, that is no reason to stop building wind farms.
The biggest threat to California condors is the lead bullets in the carcasses they eat. That is where we need to put the effort to protect them.
25 June 2013 (Oil companies temporarily cease use of sonar guns)
Oil companies will cease using noisemaking devices that injure marine mammals' hearing, in some areas of the Gulf of Mexico, for 2.5 years.
Well, it's a start.
25 June 2013 (UK man wearing jacket in summer charged with "public nuisance")
David Mery writes about how London thugs arrested him because they found it suspicious he was wearing a jacket in summer and did not look at them when entering the train station — then charged him with "public nuisance" because they overreacted and shut the train station.
The mere fact that "public nuisance" carries a potential sentence of life imprisonment is already a reason to convict the UK state of the crime of repression.
25 June 2013 (Radioactive waste leak at Hanford)
Radioactive waste has apparently leaked out of a double-shelled tank at Hanford, WA.
25 June 2013 (Increasing human population)
Increasing human population is leaving no room for many mammals and birds.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 June 2013 (Australian jailed for nonviolent protest expelled from UK)
An Australian who was jailed for a nonviolent protest in the UK will be further punished by expelling him.
I suppose his British wife and child will follow him into exile.
This is the War on Democracy at work.
25 June 2013 (German parliament votes for resolution against software patents)
The German parliament voted for a resolution against software patents.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 June 2013 (Artificially low interest rates)
Banks point out that they can't keep stimulating economies through artificially low interest rates.
The right way to stimulate the economy is with deficit spending.
25 June 2013 (Pregnant woman in Spain drops baby down drain)
A pregnant woman in Spain dropped her baby down a drain, because she could not afford an abortion.
It should not cost anything for a poor person to get an abortion.
25 June 2013 (State asks thug to find way to smear family of murdered teenager)
An undercover UK thug infiltrator says the state asked him to find a way to smear the family of a black teenager who was murdered by racists, so as to blunt the pressure for a proper investigation.
25 June 2013 (Egyptian army threatens protesters)
The Egyptian army threatens proposed mass rallies against Morsi, "if they become violent".
The army can make them "become violent" whenever it wishes, and has made a practice of trying protesters in military courts.
The population of Egypt is estimated at 84 million. For 15 million to sign a petition is amazing.
25 June 2013 (Miami will be inundated due to the CO2 already in the air)
Miami will be inundated, probably before the end of this century, due to the CO₂ we have already put into the air.
At least a third of south Florida will vanish with it. And if we don't curb the greenhouse gases soon, more of Florida will vanish. And good bye to any chance of restoring the Everglades, too, if they are under water.
The State of Florida does not recognize this, and I can guess why: the current landowners want to sell their land to someone who doesn't realize it will melt away. This is comparable to the carbon bubble.
25 June 2013 (Margaret Doughty receives US citizenship)
Margaret Doughty was given US citizenship.
She was in danger of being refused it because regulations say that conscientious objectors have to present an endorsement from a church.
25 June 2013 (Walmart fires workers for participating in strikes)
Labor Group: Walmart Fired Five Workers For Participating In Strikes.
25 June 2013 (Republicans want to shift funds away from poorest schools)
House Republicans want to shift federal education funds away from the poorest schools.
25 June 2013 (Urgent: Support the Udall and the Tester amendments)
US citizens: support the Udall amendment (saying that human rights don't apply to corporations) and the Tester amendment (affirming the right to regulate spending on elections).
25 June 2013 (Edward Snowden seeks asylum)
Edward Snowden left Hong Kong (which refused to detain him) for Moscow, reportedly to head for another country for asylum.
25 June 2013 (Urgent: Strong steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions)
US citizens: call on Obama to take strong steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 June 2013 (Noam Chomsky on NSA surveillance)
Noam Chomsky: NSA surveillance is an attack on American citizens.
More of what he said.
25 June 2013 (Urgent: Open investigation of NSA's spying programs)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter via 1-STOP-323-NSA and call for an open investigation of the NSA's spying programs.
25 June 2013 (Turkish thugs break up memorial for protesters killed by thugs)
Erdogan insists he is not authoritarian, even as he sends thugs to break up a memorial for protesters who were killed by thugs.
25 June 2013 (Redd project might protect orangutan habitat)
A large Redd project in Indonesia might protect orangutan habitat.
If Birute Galdikas thinks it is good, I'm inclined to trust her.
24 June 2013 (Urgent: Protect brown bears)
US citizens: call for Louisiana water projects to protect brown bears.
24 June 2013 (Urgent: Call on PBS to stand up to Koch brothers)
In the US: call on PBS to stand up to Koch brothers money and show Citizen Koch.
24 June 2013 (Britons should care whether their DNA is in national registry)
Why Britons should care whether their DNA is in the national registry.
24 June 2013 (Tracking your purchasing habits)
If you allow grocery stores to track your purchasing habits, in some cases they use that to charge you more.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
24 June 2013 (Latest argument of supporters of massive surveillance)
The latest argument of supporters of massive surveillance: we must let the state take away our freedom because otherwise there will be a big terrorist attack and the state would then take away even more freedom.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Can you spot the unstated pernicious assumption?
24 June 2013 (Some Western clothing sellers agreeing to safety requirements for factories)
Some Western clothing sellers are agreeing to safety requirements for their factories, but Walmart is still marred and the Gap is a gap.
24 June 2013 (Surveillance can mission-creep without bounds)
Once "security" surveillance breaks loose from control by the public, it can mission-creep without bounds.
24 June 2013 (Who is the real traitor to the US)
Julian Assange asks, who is the real traitor to the US?
24 June 2013 (US risks getting stung by Stringer missiles)
The US risks getting stung by Stinger missiles again.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
(Warning: be on the lookout for sarcasm in the article.)
24 June 2013 (Unapproved genetically engineered wheat present in US seed supply)
Unapproved genetically engineered wheat is probably present in small quantities in the US seed supply.
If wheat is not exposed to Roundup, this modified wheat would have no advantage over normal wheat, so it would probably propagate but not increase as a fraction of the total supply.
24 June 2013 (The proper response for terrorism)
"Keep Calm and Carry On" is the proper response for terrorism, but not for plutocratic government. That calls for massive protests.
24 June 2013 (Republicans want to dictate NSF funding criteria)
Republicans want to require the NSF to fund only research that will have very important results.
This is ridiculous, since we can't tell in advance which lines of research will turn out to have very important results.
24 June 2013 (Moroccan thugs use torture to convict dissidents)
Moroccan thugs regularly convicts dissidents in occupied Western Sahara of crimes based on torturing confessions out of them.
Sometimes they forcibly push a man's hand against a fabricated statement to "sign" it.
24 June 2013 (Inequality and poverty in Brazil)
On the great inequality and poverty in Brazil that motivates the protests.
This inequality and poverty occur despite strong programs to help the poor, which have reduced poverty in recent years. The US, by contrast, is getting worse under the plutocracy. I hope most Americans will put a stop to plutocracy before it makes them as poor as most Brazilians.
24 June 2013 (Canada threatens prosecution of anyone protesting with a mask)
Canada threatens to imprison anyone wearing a mask during an "unlawful assembly", which threatens prosecution of anyone protesting with a mask if the thugs say the protest is forbidden.
24 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose raising allowed levels of glyphosate)
US citizens: call on the EPA not to raise the allowed levels of glyphosate.
Some new discoveries associating glyphosate with harm to human health.
It will take more time and study to be sure what level of harm glyphosate causes, but since the issue is in doubt, we should treat it cautiously.
This is in addition to other dangerous substances in Roundup.
24 June 2013 (Supreme Court bringing back Lochnerism)
The Supreme Court is bringing back Lochnerism, the discredited doctrine that laws can't limit what sort of contracts companies can make with workers or customers.
It seems to me that even rejecting the idea that corporations deserve human rights does not go far enough — because even if your employer is a human being rather than a corporation, it should still be possible for laws to limit what he can put in a contract with you.
24 June 2013 (Corporate concentration of the Internet)
The corporate concentration of the Internet is ideal for massive surveillance.
The NSA isn't satisfied yet — it wants Congress to give legal immunity to companies that help the NSA spy on people.
24 June 2013 (UK Internet filters)
One variant of UK Internet filters does not (as first thought) block YouTube by default. But it does block things such as the Jargon File (i.e., the Hacker's Dictionary) and a bunch more surprising sites.
They might correct these specific problems, and the errors vary from one scheme to another, but these censorship schemes are always full of errors. After all, there are too many web pages to have humans judge them all, so the filtering has to be computed by algorithms.
Even if there were no errors, censorship is an injustice. Remember that the government wants to impose these filters on everyone except those with private Internet connections.
24 June 2013 (Store recordings)
The NSA can easily afford to store recordings of all the phone calls made in the US.
24 June 2013 (The Snowden Principle)
The Snowden Principle — and how the authorities and their pets respond every time it is applied.
The accusations against Snowden say his revelations will "be used to the injury of the United States", but Obama's War on Journalism is what's doing the US injury.
24 June 2013 (Visit to Guantanamo)
A journalist reports of a visit to Guantanamo, where he was not allowed to talk to any prisoners and hardly even allowed to see them.
The guards say the prisoners are lying when they talk about the horrible conditions, but did not allow the journalist to check for himself, so I believe the prisoners.
24 June 2013 (4chan)
I'd like to clear up some erroneous information about where I stand that is circulating on 4chan and perhaps elsewhere.
24 June 2013 (Communications saved by the NSA)
Obama lied when he said, "I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls and the NSA cannot target your e-mails."
By contrast, Clapper this time played a word game, making a statement that didn't really mean what it appeared to mean.
The NSA saves all communications that it "happens to collect" that are encrypted or use Tor.
If you are using encryption because you're discussing committing a crime, and you never want it to come out, that might be of concern to you. As for those of us that use encryption on general principles to reduce massive surveillance, I don't think we should let this deter us.
24 June 2013 (Bills in Congress would declassify decisions of FISA court)
Bills in Congress would declassify the decisions of the FISA court; legislators don't like being kept so much in the dark.
23 June 2013 (Urgent: Protect endangered species from global heating)
US citizens: call on Congress to protect endangered species from global heating.
23 June 2013 (Urgent: Protect whales from undersea oil drilling)
US citizens: call on the US government to protect whales from undersea oil drilling in the Arctic.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 June 2013 (Urgent: EPA investigation of fracking)
US citizens: call on Obama and the EPA not to let frackers' friends substitute themselves for the EPA in investigating fracking.
23 June 2013 (Guantanamo guards adopt two new tortures for prisoners)
Guantanamo guards have adopted two new tortures for prisoners on hunger strike.
Obama is not "working on" releasing Shaker Aamer and the other prisoners. There is no "work" for him to do. He can order them released at any time, and the remaining bureaucratic work would be for others to do.
What's happening is that Obama refuses to release them, and wants to pretend he is not responsible for the decision. Quite a change from, "the buck stops here."
23 June 2013 (Global heating expected to affect NY City in this century)
How global heating is expected to affect New York City in this century.
23 June 2013 (Obama sows atmosphere of police state throughout gov't agencies)
Obama has ordered criminal charges against US government employees who don't report someone they suspect might be a whistleblower.
The example of Snowden shows that this won't stop real whistleblowers, but it will sow the atmosphere of a police state throughout government agencies.
Once they are used to living in it themselves, they will see no reason to hesitate to impose it on the rest of us.
23 June 2013 (Doubts about evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria)
There are doubts about evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria because of unclear chain of custody of the evidence.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
That doubt is only significant if the evidence could have been faked. I don't know whether it would be feasible to fake it.
However, it is not crucial, because there is no way to intervene in Syria and expect a good result. Even if Assad has used chemical weapons, it would be a mistake to intervene.
23 June 2013 (Urgent: Tell Domino's to stop firing workers who try to organize)
In the US: tell Domino's Pizza to stop firing workers who try to organize.
23 June 2013 (Supermarket purchase-tracking cards)
Supermarket purchase-tracking cards make shopping more expensive, but that's just the beginning of the harm.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 June 2013 (Toxic "inactive" ingredient in Roundup)
Roundup contains other "inactive" ingredients besides glyphosate, and one of them appears to be toxic.
23 June 2013 (Comey not a supporter of human rights)
Don't believe Comey is a supporter of human rights. He supported waterboarding, wire-tapping and imprisonment without trial.
23 June 2013 (The "Privacy and Civil Liberties Board")
Obama says that the "Privacy and Civil Liberties Board" will keep massive surveillance in check, but that board seems to have been stacked with people who won't try very hard — if it does anything at all.
23 June 2013 (GCHQ recording phone calls and emails from undersea cables)
GCHQ, the UK equivalent of the NSA, is recording phone calls and emails as well as metadata from undersea cables.
The system of oversight is more loophole than substance.
23 June 2013 (Corporate pressure for Facebook to censor material)
Companies are withdrawing ads from Facebook to pressure it to block misogynist material, including photos of women who have been attacked.
I expect I would find those photos unpleasant to look at, and I would prefer to avoid them. I understand that advertisers don't want their ads shown next to those photos.
However, if commercial pressure makes Facebook delete certain material, that would be censorship. When a single company is as powerful as Facebook is, its decision to refuse to publish something qualifies as censorship.
In other words, it is wrong for the range of material you can publish to be decided by what companies want to have their ads appear next to.
23 June 2013 (Corporatizing National Security)
Corporatizing National Security: What It Means.
If the NSA stopped outsourcing its work, some abuses would be prevented, but we must also limit what the NSA can collect about us.
23 June 2013 (The World Food Prize)
Unsurprisingly, the World Food Prize was given to genetic engineers. The Food Sovereignty Alliance says their work goes in the wrong direction for ending hunger.
23 June 2013 (Cities should use public banks)
Cities should use public banks, not big banks.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Aside from this, Americans must demand increased taxes on the rich, and on businesses. They must pay their fair share, which is larger than the fair share of anyone less rich or less powerful.
23 June 2013 (Mining US students' school records and personal data)
Mining US students' school records and personal data, thanks to the Gates Foundation.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 June 2013 (US workers forced to pay bank fees to get their pay)
Some US workers are being forced to pay bank fees to get their pay.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 June 2013 (2 million people join protests in Brazil)
2 million people have joined the protests in Brazil.
23 June 2013 (Spyware found on the phones and iBad given to Chen Guangcheng)
When Chen Guangcheng arrived at NYU, he was given phones and an iBad which had special spyware. That was perhaps intended to make them report his movements to China's Big Brother was well as to the US Big Brother.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 June 2013 (Metadata)
Metadata is more convenient than the "content" of our communications for building a dossier about each one of us.
23 June 2013 (Undercover thug coauthored McLibel leaflet)
One of the authors of the McLibel leaflet was an undercover thug.
23 June 2013 (The Constitution and the standard of human rights)
Comparing Obama with Bush is a distraction — we need to compare both of them with the Constitution and the standard of human rights.
23 June 2013 (Cluster bombs)
The first cluster bombs were dropped on England in 1943. Deadly bomblets still show up occasionally.
More recently, the US has dropped large numbers of cluster bombs which often kill children that play with them.
23 June 2013 (Air in Singapore un-breathable)
Massive forest fires in Sumatra, in many cases set for the purpose of deforestation (probably bad in itself), are making the air in Singapore un-breathable.
23 June 2013 (Increasing CO₂ may be causing spiny bushes to take over Namibia)
Increasing CO₂ in the air seems to be causing spiny bushes to take over Namibia, making survival difficult for farmers' cattle and for cheetahs.
22 June 2013 (Urgent: Sign the Education Declaration)
US citizens: sign the Education Declaration.
22 June 2013 (US Supreme Court gives businesses unjust power over workers)
The US Supreme Court allowed big businesses to impose contracts denying their clients (small businesses) the right to class action lawsuits.
The US had a similar problem in the first third of the 20th century: the Supreme Court persistently opposed attempts to limit what contracts could require, and that gave businesses dangerous and unjust power over workers.
22 June 2013 (Genetic engineering fails to help feed the poor)
Genetic engineering fails to help feed the poor. Given the requirements for pesticides, it may not be sustainable either.
22 June 2013 (Jeremy Forrest convicted of "abducting" his pupil)
Jeremy Forrest was convicted of "abducting" his pupil, who wept as she heard the verdict. Evidently they still love each other, and this is a typical legal lie.
I am glad for her that she has tried to help his case, because even though she failed to save him from conviction, she will know she did the right thing, and will not have to feel guilty.
From the information published, it appears that Forrest is not good at relationships, and doesn't have as good judgment as most adults. A teenager of 16 may not know her mind either. If these two were let alone, I would be surprised if their relationship were to last a year. It would probably have ended by now — and that would have been a much better outcome, for both of them, than what the court has done.
But that failure is not a certainty. Their relationship might last despite the adverse circumstances, or even because of them.
22 June 2013 (NSA allowed to keep and use recordings on variety of grounds)
When the NSA taps Americans' communication "inadvertently", which it does often, it is allowed to keep and use the recordings on a wide variety of grounds.
22 June 2013 (Burden of World Cup and Olympics on Brazil)
The monetary cost and practical burden of the present soccer world cup and the coming 2016 Olympics are a substantial grievance in Brazil.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
It may henceforth be more difficult to get countries to agree to host them. (That article suggests that world leaders trust Skype and Facebook; I guess the author doesn't know how foolish it is to trust them.)
If you live in a democracy and your city is proposing to hold Olympic games, organize now to scupper the bid!
22 June 2013 (Has U.S. started an Internet war?)
Bruce Schneier: has the US started an Internet war?
22 June 2013 (One Congressman allowed to see the TPP)
One Congressman has been allowed to see the TPP. He described it as a "punch in the face to the middle class of America."
The TPP is likely to undermine drug safety and food safety regulations, and make medicines more expensive.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
In broad terms, it would put businesses above governments.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The TPP would be the culmination of a long process in which businesses have negated state power in order to use the state against us.
Democracy means that the many non-rich unite to be stronger than the rich. To restore democracy, we must establish a state that will keep businesses under firm control no matter how they squirm.
22 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose US intervention in Syrian civil war)
US citizens: ask your elected officials to oppose intervention in the Syrian civil war.
22 June 2013 (Federal anti-HIV funds)
The Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-HIV funds cannot be conditioned on taking a pledge to condemn prostitution.
22 June 2013 (Obama winning his war on journalism)
The president of the Associated Press warns that Obama is winning his war on journalism.
22 June 2013 (NSA director's claims)
Senators Wyden and Udall say that the NSA director is bullshitting us when he claims that massive surveillance prevented attacks.
However, even if it had, mass surveillance is the bigger danger.
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Support Chicago fast food workers' strike)
Everyone: support the strike by Chicago fast food workers. [archived link]
21 June 2013 (Recognizing negative characteristics in people)
I saw an article which makes a false assumption that calls for criticism: it equates recognizing some negative characteristic in a person with despising or mocking it.
Friendship does not call for denying facts about a person, not even the fact that you find something about your friend annoying. Denial isn't required. You can even criticize them constructively. However, being a good friend means not sneering at the annoying characteristics that you find in your friends.
21 June 2013 (Republicans help defeat farm bill)
Republicans helped defeat the farm bill. They realized their constituents wouldn't stand for cutting food stamps as the Republican leaders wanted to do.
21 June 2013 (Data storage services subject to snooping)
Professionals must not store information about their clients in servers that might yield that data to Big Brother.
The lesson is, store your data on your own computers, not in some service.
The article uses the term "cloud", but that term clouds the issues. I think we should avoid it.
21 June 2013 (US house prices)
US house prices are increasing, but it's big real-estate businesses that are buying; Americans who want a place to live can't afford them.
21 June 2013 (Food production increasing more slowly than human population)
Food production is increasing more slowly than the human population.
We need more effort in reducing birth rates.
21 June 2013 (Another "war of choice")
The US is on the brink of another "war of choice".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 June 2013 (Countries where children are better off)
Children are better off in countries that (1) give better care to old people and (2) give less profit to the banks.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 June 2013 ("Free trade" never really about trade)
"Free trade" was never really about trade. That's why I call them "free exploitation agreements".
21 June 2013 (The time it takes to pass through Israeli checkpoint)
Israel says it takes 7 minutes to pass through a checkpoint in the annexation wall, but empirically it takes 28 minutes — on a good day.
On a bad day, it can take an hour; but this does not count the hours waiting in line. Nor does it count the radiation from the body scanners (we don't know what sort of radiation they use).
21 June 2013 (FBI starting to use surveillance drones)
The FBI is starting to use surveillance drones in the US.
21 June 2013 (European responses to US Internet surveillance)
(European) Data Protection Responses To PRISM "A Smokescreen".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 June 2013 (The US should have armed Afghan women)
Karzai's complaints scuttled the planned meeting between US and Taliban representatives.
Afghan women are worried that the Taliban will deny them what rights Karzai's regime has established for them.
The US should have armed Afghan women. Who knows what sort of gun a woman has under her burqa, and if a woman kills a Talib, there will be no way to identify her afterward. Eventually the Taliban would be forced to order women not to wear burkas.
21 June 2013 (Cruelty of commander at Guantanamo)
The commander at Guantanamo intentionally responds to the hunger strike with extreme cruelty.
21 June 2013 (30% of women suffer violence from their lovers)
30% of women suffer violence from their lovers at some time.
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Support the Right to Heal initiative)
Everyone: support the Right to Heal initiative for a hearing into the human rights and health impacts of the US interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 June 2013 (Mimi and Eunice calendar)
A Mimi and Eunice calendar.
21 June 2013 (Protesters in Brazil say education more important than football)
Protesters in Brazil say that education is more important than football.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Of course, that is true, but it is amazing to see large numbers of Brazilians come to their senses and recognize this.
21 June 2013 (How the FBI justifies shooting an unarmed man)
The FBI's "time-tested" way of judging whether shooting an unarmed man was justified: wait a while and say "yes".
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Thank Senator Udall)
US citizens: thank Senator Udall for opposing US involvement in Syria.
21 June 2013 (Repeal the PAT RIOT Act)
Jim Hightower says, repeal the PAT RIOT Act.
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Confirm Gina McCarthy as head of EPA)
US citizens: Call on your senators to confirm Gina McCarthy as head of the EPA.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Sanctions on Iceland for killing whales)
US citizens: call for sanctions on Iceland for killing whales.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Investigate intelligence gathering by FBI, NSA and CIA)
US citizens: call on the senate to investigate intelligence gathering by the FBI, NSA and CIA.
21 June 2013 (Mali reaches cease-fire with Touareg separatists)
Mali has reached a cease-fire with Touareg separatists.
21 June 2013 (UK man gets 11-month prison sentence for refusing to wear clothes)
A UK man has been sentenced to 11 months in prison for refusing to wear clothes.
What horrible damage his nakedness must do to anyone in the vicinity ;-). I will spare people the sign of my naked body, but I admire his indomitable spirit.
21 June 2013 (Sea level rise)
U.S. Airports Face Increasing Threat From Rising Seas.
Look Out Below: Antarctic Melting From Underneath.
21 June 2013 (Illinois adopts strict fracking regulations)
Illinois Adopts Nation's Strictest Fracking Regulations.
Laws like this, if enforced, will give Americans a fighting chance to protect their drinking water from fracking. However, there's also the issue of CO₂ pollution.
21 June 2013 (Republicans creative in finding ways to cut food stamps)
Republicans are very creative in finding ways to cut food stamps and condemn Americans, who are increasingly poor, to hunger.
21 June 2013 (Force-feeding)
An interview with George Annas, M.D., about force-feeding.
21 June 2013 (Obama plans to hold 48 men without trial)
Among the 48 men that Obama plans to hold prisoner without trial, there are 5 that Obama would like to try in civilian courts.
Imprisonment without trial negates the idea of human rights. Every one of those prisoners deserves to have a fair trial or be released promptly. They deserve this because they are human beings. They deserve this whether they understand the idea of human rights or not — because the US is supposed to understand it.
If an honest and decent president told Congress, "Permit trying these people in civilian courts, or I will have to release them," Congress would probably allow them to be tried. Has Obama ever been honest and decent as president?
21 June 2013 (Bank of America)
Bank of America Whistle-blower Bombshell: "We Were Told to Lie" to Rip Off Borrowers.
This will give us another chance to see which US officials are on our side and which are on the plutocrats' side.
21 June 2013 (The spying approved by Comey)
Is the Spying Comey Approved More Important Than the Spying He Opposed?
21 June 2013 (Companies can not trust Microsoft)
How Can Any Company Ever Trust Microsoft Again?
21 June 2013 (Metadata reveals what you do rather than what you say)
Collecting metadata is worse than listening to you. Instead of what you say, it records what you do.
21 June 2013 (Republican wants gender stereotypes taught in elementary school)
The latest Republican idea: teach gender stereotypes in elementary school.
He need not bother. These stereotypes (and lots of others) are taught informally to everyone.
21 June 2013 (FISA Amendments Act allows calls and emails to be collected)
Under the FISA Amendments Act, Your Calls and Emails Can't Be "Targeted," But They Can Certainly Be Collected.
Glenn Greenwald explains with great care, and shows how the FISA court "oversight" is so weak it is effectively none.
21 June 2013 (ACLU sues NY Thug Department over surveillance of Muslim groups)
The ACLU has sued the New York Thug Department over its systematic infiltration of Muslim groups.
21 June 2013 (US campaigns for "Internet freedom" in other countries)
US campaigns for "Internet freedom" in other countries — a laudable goal — have been undermined by seeing the US contempt for Internet freedom at home.
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Support Citizens' Climate Lobby)
US citizens: support the Citizens' Climate Lobby.
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Ban neonicotinoid pesticides in the US)
US citizens: call for banning neonicotinoid pesticides in the US.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 June 2013 (Increasing fraction of Israelis favor evacuating colonies)
An increasing fraction of Israelis, now almost 1/4, say they favor evacuating Israel's colonies in Palestine in exchange for peace with Palestine.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 June 2013 (Google challenging restrictions on reporting gov't surveillance)
Google is challenging the restrictions on reporting the extent of government surveillance under the PAT RIOT Act.
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Transfer nuclear waste to dry casks)
US citizens: ask your senators to push for transferring nuclear waste from "spent fuel pools" to dry casks.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Require labeling of GMOs in food)
Citizens of Massachusetts: call for a Massachusetts law to require labeling of GMOs in food.
21 June 2013 (Over 900 Israeli soldiers have gone to Breaking the Silence)
Almost a thousand Israeli soldiers have gone to Breaking the Silence to confess horrible things they have seen or done in the occupation of Palestine.
The army responds with excuses for not investigating these reported crimes.
21 June 2013 (Ishmael Coovadia incensed over trees planted "in his honor")
Ishmael Coovadia was incensed when he received a certificate saying that the Jewish National Fund had planted trees "in his honor", on top of an erased Arab village.
21 June 2013 (Urgent: Continue making mines pay for cleaning up their messes)
US citizens: tell Congress the EPA should continue making mines pay for cleaning up their toxic messes.
21 June 2013 (1000 olive trees burned by Israeli colonists last Saturday)
Israeli colonists in Palestine burned 1000 olive trees last Saturday.
21 June 2013 (Racist vandals attack cars in Arab village of Abu Ghosh)
Racist vandals attacked cars and wrote "Arabs out" in the Arab village of Abu Ghosh.
Abu Ghosh is full of restaurants that cater to non-Arab clients. On my first visit to Israel, my Israeli relatives brought me there for dinner. They told me that the that the residents of Abu Ghosh were considered allies of the Jews in 1947.
21 June 2013 (Israel cheated on deal with Palestinians)
Israel made a deal with Palestinians so that they would not ask for UNESCO protection of the old irrigation works of Battir. Once the UNESCO deadline was passed, Israel cheated on the deal.
21 June 2013 (Oppression of Palestinians living in the "seam zone")
For Palestinians whose homes or land fall in the "seam zone" between the annexation wall and the border of Palestine, ordinary activities require military permits which the Israeli military makes rather hard to obtain.
A different form of oppression is opposed on Palestinians in "area C", which contains a large fraction of the West Bank.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 June 2013 (EU considers placing limit on biofuels made from food crops)
The EU is considering placing a limit on biofuels made from food crops. Agribusiness companies are trying to prevent this, so that they can go on with wasteful production and make poor people around the world go hungry.
20 June 2013 (Most popular candidate for mayor of Jalapa: Morris the cat)
The most popular candidate for mayor of Jalapa is Morris the cat. (Not the same Morris that was used in an advertising campaign.)
Jalapa gave its name to jalapeńo peppers, which are too spicy for me to eat. It is home to a museum that displays fascinating Olmec sculpture.
In the 1970s, Woodstock the cat ran for head of MIT's student government, with the slogan, "A good lack of student government requires a good lack of students." MIT called the votes for Woodstock "spoiled ballots" and refused to say how many of them were cast; however, some calculations show that Woodstock almost certainly won.
Woodstock was run over by a car a couple of years later, in what was suspected of being political retaliation. Watch out, Morris!
However, who is mayor of a city ought to make more difference than who was the head of MIT's student government.
20 June 2013 (Global heating will devastate agriculture in Africa and Asia)
Global heating will devastate agriculture in parts of Africa and Asia within 20 years, throwing millions (and then hundreds of millions) into poverty.
20 June 2013 (Russia may imitate US in Internet surveillance)
A Russian official proposes Russia should arrange to imitate the US in Internet surveillance.
20 June 2013 (China imposes tighter censorship on Tibet)
China has imposed tighter censorship on Tibet, by requiring all Internet access and mobile phones to be identified by people's official names.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
This shows why restriction of anonymous commenting is a dangerous injustice.
20 June 2013 (UK's new "secret court sessions" law)
The UK Supreme Court told other courts to limit their use of the new "secret court sessions" law. This does not mean that the danger of that law has been eliminated.
20 June 2013 (The World Food Prize)
The World Food Prize, Brought to You By Monsanto.
20 June 2013 (Contamination of groundwater near Fukushima nuclear reactors)
High levels of radioactive substances are in the groundwater near the Fukushima nuclear reactors.
20 June 2013 (NSA continues trying to justify massive surveillance)
The NSA continues offering fear and vague claims to justify massive surveillance.
20 June 2013 (Moral Monday protest in North Carolina)
The latest Moral Monday protest in North Carolina had 1000 participants.
More about these protests against right-wing cruelty.
20 June 2013 (US has history of applying spy mechanisms to domestic dissent)
The US has a long history of applying its spy mechanisms to domestic dissent: it's in the nature of such surveillance to wander off its original target.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Fisa Court Oversight: A Look Inside a Secret and Empty Process
20 June 2013 (Urgent: Support Meals on Wheels)
US citizens: tell Congress to support Meals on Wheels.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
20 June 2013 (Republican hostility to abortion rights)
Republicans reminded US women of their hostility to abortion rights.
I hope women will respond appropriately, and that means more than just voting for candidates that support abortion rights. If you go out with a Republican, you're asking to be mistreated.
20 June 2013 (Medical examinations for Guantanamo prisoners)
Doctors call on Obama to allow Guantanamo prisoners independent medical examinations.
20 June 2013 (UK report proposes changes in punishing banksters for misconduct)
A UK report has proposed substantial changes in punishing banksters for misconduct.
20 June 2013 (Protests across Brazil)
On the causes and demands of the protests that have spread across Brazil.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
20 June 2013 (Pesticide companies host events about how to "save the bees")
"Bee-washing": pesticide companies are hosting events about how to "save the bees", and inviting some serious scientists to them, to focus the public's attention on all avenues except the one that leads to their pesticides.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
20 June 2013 (US to enter negotiations with Taliban)
The US (and Karzai) will enter negotiations with the Taliban.
20 June 2013 (Mobile phone use while walking appears to be dangerous)
Using a mobile phone while walking appears to be dangerous.
20 June 2013 (Assange dares not leave the Ecuadorian embassy)
Assange says he would not dare leave the Ecuadorian embassy even if Sweden dropped its extradition request; his lawyers say the UK would extradite him to the US instead.
20 June 2013 (Germany trying to weaken rules for automobile emissions)
Germany is trying to weaken new EU rules for automobile emissions.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 June 2013 (Urgent: Call on Israel to allow students to leave Gaza for study)
Everyone: Call on Israel to allow students to leave Gaza for study.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 June 2013 (Destabilization propagating between countries in Africa)
Destabilization is propagating between countries in Africa. The overthrow of Gaddafi allowed Islamist fanatics to get arms.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Should we have helped Gaddafi crush the uprising and stay in power? I don't think so, but the countries threatened by Islamist fanatics deserve help in fighting them off.
19 June 2013 (US Thugs using drivers' license photos)
US thugs are using drivers' license photos to identify people from photos in many kinds of circumstances.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 June 2013 (Thugs attacked marching union members)
Turkish thugs attacked marching union members in Ankara.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 June 2013 (Some banksters have been charged)
Some banksters involved in LIBOR rigging have been charged.
However, they seem to be small fry.
19 June 2013 (Ethiopian project to dam Nile could leave Egypt short of water)
An Ethiopian project to dam the Nile could leave Egypt short of water.
A segment of Ethiopians, in cities, have found prosperity.
But that doesn't excuse letting companies drive poor Ethiopians off their land.
19 June 2013 (Africa Ripped Off Big Time)
Africa 'Ripped Off Big Time' by Foreign Resource Firms, according to the head of the African Development Bank.
19 June 2013 (Elephant ivory destabilizing Africa)
The demand for elephant ivory is destabilizing central Africa.
19 June 2013 (Protect Great Barrier Reef)
UN Challenges Australia to Protect Great Barrier Reef.
19 June 2013 (Turks protest by standing silently)
After thugs attacked, Turks turn to protesting by standing silently.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 June 2013 (Urgent: Reject expanded wiretapping in Massachusetts)
Citizens of Massachusetts: tell your legislators not to give the state increased power to spy on us.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 June 2013 (Urgent: Stop G8 from spewing more austerity)
US citizens: tell public officials, don't let the G8 spew more austerity.
19 June 2013 (Urgent: Repeal parts of U SAP AT RIOT Act)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter to repeal parts of the U SAP AT RIOT Act.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
19 June 2013 (Urgent: Apply usual ethical code for US judges to the Supreme Court)
US citizens: call on the Chief Justice to apply the usual ethical code for US judges to the Supreme Court.
19 June 2013 (Protests in Brazil sparked by increase in bus fares)
Brazil's biggest cities are overrun with protests sparked by an increase in bus fares.
19 June 2013 (Greek public broadcasting)
Greek public broadcasting will continue operating while it is restructured.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The next crucial question is whether the restructure provides an opportunity to increase political control over what they broadcast.
19 June 2013 (Clever new ways to market junk food to children)
Big Food is finding clever new ways to market junk food to children, including various sorts of computing that you ought to reject anyway.
19 June 2013 (List of people held indefinitely without trial in Guantanamo)
The Obama regime has published the list of people that are being held indefinitely without trial in Guantanamo.
Clearly identifying the injustice can be the first step towards correcting it. But if we don't push hard, it could be the next step towards making it "normal".
19 June 2013 (100-acre toxic spill in Canada kills every plant there)
A 100-acre spill in Canada of water tainted by petroleum toxins killed every plant there.
19 June 2013 (NSA program "BLARNEY")
The NSA program "BLARNEY" appears to collect data from all the communications flowing through certain major Internet hubs.
19 June 2013 (Saudi blogger imprisoned for a year while awaiting charges)
Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been imprisoned for a year, while awaiting charges of "blasphemy" that could get him killed.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 June 2013 (Opposition to ag-gag laws)
US/North Carolina: Don't Deter Workers From Reporting Abuses.
19 June 2013 (Congress is cutting SNAP)
SNAP, which helps many Americans avoid extreme poverty, is being cut by Congress.
19 June 2013 (Fracking already straining US water supplies)
Fracking Is Already Straining U.S. Water Supplies.
19 June 2013 (Publishers plan to alter words in individual copies of e-books)
Publishers plan to alter the words in individual copies of e-books as a sort of watermark.
This technique depends on making people who get copies identify themselves. Since you should never identify yourself when acquiring a book, this won't affect you if you are protecting your freedom properly.
19 June 2013 (Pentagon Papers absent from corporate-written US textbooks)
Corporate-written US textbooks have forgotten the significance of the Pentagon Papers, and don't tell students that the US lied about the war.
19 June 2013 (US will consider marine reserve for Bering Sea)
The US will consider a marine reserve for the Bering Sea.
19 June 2013 (Urgent: Employment nondiscrimination protection)
US citizens: call for passage of employment nondiscrimination protection for gays and transgenders.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 June 2013 (Shrimp farm company uses child labor and abuses workers)
A major Thai shrimp farm company uses child labor, and abuses their workers. US companies such as Walmart have various ways of disguising and whitewashing what's going on.
Shrimp farms cause other problems, too.
19 June 2013 (Long-term food sustainability)
Food aid does a short-term job, but building long-term food sustainability is also necessary.
Unfortunately, US government and plutocratic actions have the opposite result, in Haiti and in Africa.
19 June 2013 (Urgent: Gun control legislation)
US citizens: call on Congress to support reasonable gun control legislation.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 June 2013 (The 5 Uncontrollable Urges of the US Security State)
The 5 Uncontrollable Urges of the US Security State.
19 June 2013 (Free exploitation treaties)
Explaining how free exploitation treaties enable powerful companies to make sustainable development impossible.
The Green Shadow Cabinet calls on everyone to oppose the TPP.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
It's democracy or plutocracy.
19 June 2013 (US and EU plan new "trade" agreement)
The US and EU are planning a new "trade" agreement that would surely involve preventing governments from protecting citizens from abuses by businesses.
Cameron pretends that it would create jobs.
That's what they say about every proposal to increase the plutocrats' power. They use one-sided reasoning to try to justify it and hope it gives the bought legislators enough of an excuse.
19 June 2013 (Campaign for strict protection in users' data in the EU)
Snowden's revelations have invigorated the campaign for strict protection in users' data in the EU.
19 June 2013 ("New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition" and land-grabs and patented seeds)
Bono's ONE campaign, and the Gates Foundation, are supporting the "New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition", which pressures African governments to permit corporate land-grabs and patented seeds.
Any nutrition and food security resulting from this plan will be exported to the wealthier inhabitants of the wealthier countries, while those dispossessed (often by force) from their land face precarious lives or start guerrilla wars.
19 June 2013 (Morsi appoints member of Islamist militant group as governor)
Morsi appointed a member of an Islamist militant group as the governor of Luxor.
19 June 2013 (Q&A with Edward Snowden)
Q&A with Edward Snowden.
His answers when asked about what access the NSA has to record your phone calls are not entirely clear.
19 June 2013 (Food stamps)
As US employers pay less and less, so that workers need food stamps, sneering Republicans cut food stamps saying they help shirkers.
The idea that "If you don't work, you don't eat" is pure injustice in a country like the US that doesn't offer enough jobs for everyone.
19 June 2013 (China no better than the US)
The Chinese government praises Snowden while Chinese people try to hint, despite censorship, that China is no better than the US.
19 June 2013 (Israeli minister openly proposes annexing part of Palestine)
An Israeli minister has openly proposed annexing part of Palestine, rejecting the very idea of making peace.
19 June 2013 (Cross-examination of Jeremy Forrest's teenage girlfriend)
Jeremy Forrest's teenage girlfriend said in court that she was going to run away in any case, and he went with her so she would not be alone.
19 June 2013 (Shipment of medicine to Iran)
Obama says he will unblock shipment of medicine to Iran.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 June 2013 (Closing Guantanamo)
Obama Needs to Show Some Spine on Guantanamo Closure.
However, Obama only has spine for attacking whistleblowers.
There are good and bad ways to close Guantanamo. Moving the prison to US territory while continuing imprisonment without trial is what Obama tried before.
19 June 2013 (NY Times editors and columnists on Snowden)
New York Times editors and columnists think Snowden should have obeyed orders instead of his oath to defend the Constitution.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The surveillance state has an excuse to block every avenue to find out what it is doing. If we could count on the president, congress, or the courts to keep it in check, we would not depend on whistleblowers.
19 June 2013 (Corporate tax avoidance and broke schools)
Why Our Schools Are Broke: Five Years of Corporate State Tax Avoidance.
19 June 2013 (Whistleblowers)
The latest generation of sincere American patriots choose the principles America is supposed to stand for, against the government's contempt for them.
19 June 2013 (Weapons in Syria)
Syria is awash with weapons, except for heavy ones, and any that are sent to the rebels will be traded to jihadis.
19 June 2013 (Urgent: Side-effects of Roundup)
Everyone: Tell Monsanto to provide real information on the side-effects of Roundup.
18 June 2013 (Coal-Powered electric plant replaced with renewable)
Nevada has decided to replace a pollution-spewing coal-powered electric plant with renewable generation.
This is a step in the right direction, but if the coal is exported to be burnt elsewhere instead, this won't make a difference as regards global heating. We need to reduce the total amount of coal mining in the world, and drastically.
18 June 2013 (UK spied on diplomats' messages at G20)
The UK spied on diplomats' messages at G20 meetings in London in 2009.
It planned to snoop on a Commonwealth meeting too.
18 June 2013 (Polio vaccination workers shot in Pakistan)
More polio vaccination workers were shot in Pakistan by Islamist fanatics.
This parallels the Christian theocrats that keep girls ignorant so that they get pregnant, then kill them by denying them abortions. However, this is even more deadly, since it could keep polio a real danger world-wide.
18 June 2013 (How Google and Silicon Valley screw workers)
How Google and Silicon Valley Screw Their Non-Elite Workers.
18 June 2013 (Tibetan singer who praised self-immolation protests sentenced to prison)
Tibetan singers who praised self-immolation protests have been sentenced to prison.
A Tunisian singer was sentenced to prison for "insulting the police". He called them "dogs"; I think "thugs" is a more accurate description of how they attacked people at the end of the trial.
18 June 2013 (People will lose their homes if F-35 is based there)
Residents of Burlington, Vermont say thousands of people will lose their homes if the F-35 is based there, because it will subject their homes to unacceptable noise levels.
18 June 2013 (Treating pipeline protesters as terrorists)
TransCanada gave US thugs training in treating pipeline protesters as "terrorists".
When the US government talks about how it "protects us from terrorists", remember that this means protecting TransCanada from the Americans it threatens.
18 June 2013 (Vietnam continues arresting bloggers)
Vietnam continues arresting bloggers.
Vietnam depends on the friendship of the US, which apparently does little to pressure it not to be a tyranny.
18 June 2013 (UK will impose filtering on all public wifi access point)
The UK will impose filtering on all public wifi access points, supposedly to "protect children".
That means anyone who isn't an Internet subscriber will be "protected" by censorship even if he is not a child. And since these filterage lists are full of errors, lots of material that isn't porn will be blocked.
18 June 2013 (Reporters attacked in Guinea since elections announced)
15 reporters have been attacked in Guinea since elections were announced.
18 June 2013 (IRS tracks people's financial transactions)
The IRS tracks lots of people's financial transactions.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Too bad this will only catch the small fry. The big tax evaders, such as Apple, have procured laws to let them get away with it.
18 June 2013 (Thugs building up large DNA databases)
US thugs are building up large DNA databases.
18 June 2013 (Brazilian thugs attacked nonviolent protesters)
Brazilian thugs attacked nonviolent protesters against a raise in bus fares.
18 June 2013 (Government accountability project)
The Government Accountability Project discusses the issue of Snowden's whistleblowing.
18 June 2013 (Sliding down slippery slope in Syria)
Obama built a slippery slope in Syria and is now sliding down it.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
18 June 2013 (Denied US citizenship because views not based on religion)
Margaret Doughty is being denied US citizenship because her pacifist views are not based on religion.
18 June 2013 (NSA's criterion for wiretapping people)
A discussion between a congressman and an official suggests that NSA analysts looking at people's metadata are allowed to decide on their own which of those people fit a pre-approved general criterion, and then wiretap them.
This supports Snowden's statement that he could listen to anyone's phone calls. Perhaps he would not have been authorized to do this arbitrarily, but he could have done it.
18 June 2013 (Urgent: Let Yemenite prisoners in Guantanamo go home)
US citizens: call on Obama to let the Yemenite prisoners in Guantanamo go home.
18 June 2013 (Urgent: End "signature strikes")
US citizens: call for an end to "signature strikes", a term used, perversely, when they don't know who is being attacked.
18 June 2013 (1000 people killed in May by sectarian warfare in Iraq)
Sectarian warfare killed 1000 people in Iraq in May.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
This is the continuation of Bush's invasion, so the question of how many Iraqis he killed has an answer that keeps changing.
18 June 2013 (Koch brother buys a plaza at the Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Now that one of the Koch brothers has bought a plaza at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, how about an installation of the permanent pile of tar sands waste that his company makes?
17 June 2013 (Wall Street winning war against regulation)
Wall Street Is Winning the Long War against Post-Crash Regulation.
17 June 2013 (Riots in Stockholm caused by kicking poor out of center of city)
The riots in Stockholm were caused by kicking the poor out of the center of the city, which caused segregation and despair.
17 June 2013 (Israel's greatest problem)
Uri Avnery: Israel's greatest victory turns out to be its greatest problem.
17 June 2013 (Urgent: Object to prosecuting man who collected evidence against Steubenville rapists)
US citizens: object to prosecuting the man who collected evidence against the Steubenville rapists, who faces more imprisonment than they got.
17 June 2013 (Tell NSA about security-related bugs before publishing fix)
Microsoft and others tell the NSA about security-related bugs before publishing fixes.
17 June 2013 (Punishment on reiterated criticism of anyone)
Ecuador's new media law imposes punishments on reiterated criticism of anyone.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
While this is not as bad as punishing a single instance of criticizing someone, it still violates freedom of speech.
17 June 2013 (Charged with insulting Islam)
Libyans who published a cartoon in favor of women's rights are being charged with "insulting Islam", plus similar crimes that amount to excuses for censorship. They could be executed.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
If this is what Islam means, mere insults are not enough to do justice to it.
We should not defend them by arguing that the cartoon did not mention Muhammad, since that grants undue legitimacy to the idea that they would be wrong if they had.
17 June 2013 (Australian state removed 13,000 aboriginal children from their families)
The Australian state has removed 13,000 aboriginal children from their families, accusing various kinds of mistreatment or neglect, but without trying to help the parents much if at all.
The population of Australia is around 23 million, so the aboriginal population is around 600,000. If 1/4 of them are children, that means almost 10% of these children have been taken away from their families. That's not an entire "generation", but it is a large fraction.
17 June 2013 (John le Carre on how they manipulate politicians)
John le Carre, a former spymaster, explains how they manipulate politicians as well as the agents they run, and how the UK's secret courts would be unnecessary except to cover up torture, kidnapping and killing.
Just now, as the NSA says "If you knew what we know, you would let us monitor everything about everyone", we must challenge them "Prove it or shut up."
17 June 2013 (US telecom companion outside of US have given NSA back doors)
US telecom companies operating outside the US have given the NSA back doors.
17 June 2013 (US must get agreement in Afghanistan)
A soldier who fought in Afghanistan says the US must try hard to get some sort of agreement as it withdraws troops.
Unfortunately, the Taliban have no reason to think they need to agree on anything.
17 June 2013 (UK's deal for ending tax havens)
The UK's deal for ending tax havens will help investigate specific companies but won't be of much use for preventing corrupt cash flows.
17 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose increasing the US military budget)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter to oppose increasing the US military budget.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
17 June 2013 (Jihadis in Syria obtain shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles)
Jihadis in Syria now have shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles.
17 June 2013 (Thugs attack protesters in Gezi square)
Erdogan's thugs attacked the protesters in Gezi square, and drove them out with tear gas and blows.
17 June 2013 (Democrats defend massive surveillance)
Misguidedly loyal Democrats defend massive surveillance because Obama likes it; meanwhile, some Republicans have started condemning it, and never mind that they loved it when Dubya was doing it.
17 June 2013 (Votes on Reddit in Microsoft's favor)
A whistleblower claims Microsoft has hired people to vote on Reddit in Microsoft's favor.
17 June 2013 (NSA-suggested talking points in support of massive surveillance)
Leaked: the NSA's suggested talking points in support of massive surveillance.
17 June 2013 (House of Representatives in favor of imprisonment without trial)
The House of Representatives voted once again in favor of imprisoning people (even Americans in the US) without trial.
They have effectively declared war on the US.
17 June 2013 (Massive collection of data useless for catching terrorists)
The US government's massive collection of data is useless for catching terrorists because it makes the haystack bigger for the needles to hide in. More precisely, they can't begin to evaluate all the data they get. They got very suggestive evidence about the September 2001 attacks and did nothing with it.
17 June 2013 (Obama's war on leakers)
Obama's war on leakers is selective: it targets only the leaks he doesn't like.
[Reference updated on 2022-07-11 because the old link was broken.]
17 June 2013 (Raped 14-year-old hurt by fanatical Christianity)
A 14-year-old who was raped, then under the influence of fanatical Christianity decided not to have an abortion, is now shunned and alone after receiving sneers from other victims of fanatical Christianity.
Thus, Christianity has hurt her twice.
17 June 2013 (Traitors to journalism)
US journalists that condemn Snowden are traitors to journalism.
A fanatical Republican congressman said Glenn Greenwald should be prosecuted for publishing Snowden's revelations.
17 June 2013 (Nothing to hide)
With so many laws that nobody knows how many, you always have something to hide. You just may not know what it is.
Given complete information about everyone, our plutocratic state will always find an excuse to imprison whoever it wishes to imprison. The fishing expedition against Kiriakou was an example of this.
17 June 2013 (US hospitals charge out-of-state patients illegally high fees)
US hospitals often charge out-of-state patients illegally high fees.
Another argument for single-payer.
17 June 2013 (Using metadata to identify people)
A psychologists points out how metadata could enable Big Brother to determine who his patients are, and how well they are doing.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Using Metadata to find Paul Revere.
This method works just as well to find key people in peaceful democratic protest organizations, and the US is surely using it, since it calls them "terrorists".
In the 1960s they investigated civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr.
17 June 2013 (Verizon wants to limit privacy protections)
Verizon wants the next free exploitation treaty to limit privacy protections for the sake of its profits.
17 June 2013 (Loophole to let US Banks get out of existing regulation)
The House has probably passed, by now, a loophole to let US banks get out of the weak existing regulation.
When businesses say, "Deregulate us so we can compete with foreign businesses", the right response is, "Let's regulate what they can do if they want to sell here."
17 June 2013 (Experts not convinced Assad used chemical weapons)
Chemical weapons experts say they are not convinced Assad used chemical weapons. The evidence is not clear.
I don't think it makes much difference; if there were a good way to intervene in Syria, it would have been justified already.
17 June 2013 (Russia passing law similar to SOPA)
Russia is passing a law similar to SOPA but crazy as well.
17 June 2013 (Impunity for rapists)
US generals are struggling to preserve impunity for rapists.
17 June 2013 (Political change)
People should not give up on political change just because it isn't easy.
17 June 2013 (A criminal and murderer)
Egyptian Ahmed Duma was sentenced to prison for calling Morsi "a criminal and murderer".
The US is still somewhat better than Egypt: many Americans have called Bush a war criminal and we have not been charged with a crime for that. On the other hand, journalists and their sources are being attacked over and over.
17 June 2013 (Africa's birth rate higher than expected)
Bad population news: Africa's birth rate is higher than was expected.
This could lead to a human population of 11 billion, instead of the expected 10 billion.
It's not just Africans' fault, it's our fault too. The US and Europe ought to give poor women (in Africa, and at home) effective birth control, which poor women can't afford.
17 June 2013 (The proposed Nicaragua Canal)
Environmentalists say the proposed Nicaragua Canal would endanger nature reserves and damage water supplies.
17 June 2013 (Spanish scientists protest spending cuts on research)
Spanish scientists marched to protest spending cuts on research.
Spain should spend more on research, on medical treatment, on helping people stay in their homes, on food for the poor, and lots of other things. Deficit spending is the way to get people back to work, and science is a fine way to spend part of that.
17 June 2013 (Nerve damage found in veterans who report Gulf War illness)
Researchers have found particular kinds of nerve damage in veterans who report Gulf War illness.
This does not tell us anything about what caused the illness, or by what mechanism. All human thoughts, knowledge, and tendencies have a biological basis in the brain, so it is not inconceivable that this damage results from certain thoughts or experiences. However, brain damage usually results from trauma or exposure to certain chemicals.
Either way, we now see that the veterans have a real illness; the Pentagon should stop accusing them of malingering or imagining things.
17 June 2013 (Demonstration in support of Snowden in Hong Kong)
A demonstration in Hong Kong calling for not extraditing Snowden attracted hundreds despite heavy rain.
17 June 2013 (From hope to fear: the broken promise of Barack Obama)
From hope to fear: the broken promise of Barack Obama.
17 June 2013 (US "military support" in Syria)
US 'Military Support' in Syria Will Lead to Full-Scale War, Critics Warn.
17 June 2013 (Exxon sued for tar sands oil spill in Arkansas)
Exxon has been sued for the tar sands oil spill in Arkansas, which made people sick.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Tar sands oil is particularly corrosive and thus particularly likely to spill. If the Keystone XL pipeline is built, or Enbridge's stealth pipeline, we will have a lot more spills.
Remember that "xx" stands for the letter exx, which appears in the Exxon logo and is pronounced like "j" in Spanish. Don't pronounce the name as if it were "Ekson". People would think you're talking about part of a gene.
17 June 2013 (Evidence that BPA makes pubescent girls fat)
There is some evidence that BPA makes pubescent girls fat.
17 June 2013 (Urgent: End Obama's "signature strikes")
US citizens: sign this petition calling for an end to Obama's "signature strikes".
That doesn't go far enough; drones should not be used to attack outside of battle zones. But it is still good to sign.
17 June 2013 (Urgent: Protect wetlands)
US citizens: ask your congresscritter to make sure the farm bill protects the wetlands in which northern pintail ducks (and lots of other less visible species) live.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
17 June 2013 (Facebook and Microsoft surveillance figures)
Facebook and Microsoft have published some aggregate data about US government surveillance, while Google is pushing to be able to give more information.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Getting information on 19,000 or 31,000 accounts in these companies with millions of users does not amount to general surveillance. But I do not trust Facebook, Microsoft or the NSA to tell the whole truth, even if they are not lying. (Clapper perjured himself on this very question just months ago.)
Even if those figures are the true answers to a question, there may be some sort of trickery in the question. For instance, these numbers might count only orders that demand something beyond "metadata", while some other general surveillance scheme collects metadata about all users.
Unless we can get to the bottom of things, we don't know what if anything this means.
16 June 2013 (The Education Declaration)
The Education Declaration opposes the business-driven plan to privatize public schooling and thus ruin it.
16 June 2013 (India's cyber snooping agency)
Growing concern about India's 'cyber snooping agency'.
16 June 2013 (High-Tech surveillance and warfare)
Europeans feel threatened by the US push to expand high-tech surveillance and warfare without limits on their use.
16 June 2013 (How NSA threatens human rights internationally)
It's Not Just About US: How the NSA Threatens Human Rights Internationally.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
16 June 2013 (Man with rifle killed four people in Santa Monica)
A man with a rifle killed four people in Santa Monica, and wounded others. This attack was comparable in magnitude to the Boston bombing.
Angelinos clamored immediately for the whole Los Angeles metro area to be shut down, like Boston, but Hollywood told Obama not to do that. So he responded with a plan called Keep Us Really Safe Everywhere, or KURSE, which would implant a radio-transmitter ID in every person in the US and put a detector on every door.
Senator Feinstein said, "Once we put a KURSE on every American, nobody will be able to attack you, unless he does it through a window."
This levity is not intended to make light of the deaths and injuries in Santa Monica, nor those in Boston. Any person's death is a tragedy. The point is to ridicule the idea that certain killings in Boston were far worse than all others.
16 June 2013 (Attempts to demonize Snowden)
Glenn Greenwald talks about the attempts to demonize Snowden, and how loyal Obama supporters defend massive surveillance because it's Obama's policy now.
He makes an interesting point that if PRISM is really nothing more than a streamlined way for companies to hand over what they had been handing over since 2001, its supporters could hardly claim it makes a tremendous difference.
16 June 2013 (Tax cuts for rich and income inequality)
Tax cuts for the rich played a major role in creating the income inequality of the US today.
If we could roll back all changes in the US since 1980, with the exception of useful advances in technology and the few advances in human rights (such as gay rights), we would be a lot better off. The other changes created the plutocracy that now owns our government.
16 June 2013 (US gov't worried about domestic disturbances)
The US government is worried about "domestic disturbances" caused (for instance) by climate disasters or energy shortages, and spying on environmental activists seems to be part of its response — along with martial law.
As the Earth heats up, "disturbances" will happen by and by in many countries, including the US. (Food protests have happened in some countries in the past few years.) Rather than prevent them by curbing global heating, the US government plans to respond to them with repression.
16 June 2013 (Compromise about faith of Gezi Park)
Erdogan has made a compromise with the protesters about the fate of Gezi Park, but this by itself will do nothing to reduce the creeping censorship and repression in Turkish society.
16 June 2013 (Song parody: Edward and the NSA)
Song parody: Edward and the NSA.
16 June 2013 (Artist may be charged with child pornography)
In an exhibition of art in tribute to Mike Brown, an artist convicted of obscenity, a collage was seized and the artist may be charged with "child pornography".
From the description of the collage, it must be unmistakably clear that no real children had sex in the making of it.
This is part of a long pattern of censoring art in Australia.
16 June 2013 (If Australia extracts coal)
If Australia extracts its coal, it will doom itself and the rest of us.
16 June 2013 (Implications of US decision to arm Syrian rebels)
Implications of the US decision to arm Syrian rebels.
I think this is a mistake, and never mind the possible Russian response, because there is no reliable way to support the secular rebels and avoid helping the Saudi-supported jihadi fanatics.
It looks like this is developing into a war between Sunnis and Shi'ites, and it would be bad for the US to take a side in that war. Both sides produce theocracies (Saudi Arabia and Iran) that are among the most evil regimes on Earth.
16 June 2013 (Why you should care about privacy)
Why you should care about privacy.
There is one additional reason. You should care that people who talk to journalists have privacy, because otherwise nobody will dare tell us how the state is lying to us.
16 June 2013 (Unusual ecosystems are found around Rockall)
Unusual ecosystems are found around Rockall, and a ban on fishing is needed to preserve them.
To make this ban reliable and easy to enforce, it should be simple: no fishing within X km of Rockall.
16 June 2013 (Implications of killer robots and bee drones)
On the implications of killer robots and bee drones.
If the developer of the bee drones really believes their main use will be to find people in collapsed buildings, he is a fool. They could be made to kill, perhaps with a poison needle. But even if all they do is take pictures, the NSA could operate hundreds of billions of them to watch everything everyone says and does. We'd have to sweep our rooms frequently for faux bugs.
15 June 2013 (Snowden achieved initial goal)
Snowden has achieved his initial goal: a real debate about massive US government surveillance. Even some legislators say they appreciate his help.
15 June 2013 (Walmart moving increasingly to temporary workers)
Walmart is moving increasingly to temporary workers, who get no benefits.
It continues to get clothing from factories it said it would reject on grounds of worker safety.
15 June 2013 (Standard pattern of retaliation against whistleblowers)
Attacks on Edward Snowden follow the standard pattern of retaliation against whistleblowers.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-10 because the old link was broken.]
TIME Magazine Equates Whistleblowers with Spies in Cover Story on Snowden, Manning & Swartz.
15 June 2013 (Urgent: Support the Arbitration Fairness Act)
US citizens: phone your senators to support the Arbitration Fairness Act, which would stop companies from imposing forced arbitration on customers and employees.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
15 June 2013 (UK gov't could force Bermuda to expose tax evaders)
The UK government could force Bermuda to expose tax evaders, but it might prefer to fail and say "See, we tried."
15 June 2013 (Pakistan extreme heat waves)
Pakistan has had extreme heat waves in recent years; the Indus river has run dry and this is spreading waterborne diseases. Hundreds at least have been killed.
Global heating is partly responsible, and will make things much worse.
15 June 2013 (Nepali gov't to take action against domestic slavery)
A horrible incident has pushed the Nepali government to take action against domestic slavery.
15 June 2013 (Investigate Booz Allan and Clapper)
It's Booz Allan and its former employee Clapper that we need to investigate, not Snowden. Clapper lied to Congress just a few months ago.
Our government should get off the Booz.
15 June 2013 (Haiti can't get enough to eat)
2/3 of the population of Haiti can't get enough to eat. It was caused by US-imposed policies, followed by extreme weather that global heating will increase.
If starving people surround the presidential palace, they could take it; soldiers would only be able to kill a few thousand before running out of ammunition. Then they could kick out the US-imposed "president" and Haitians could have a real election.
15 June 2013 (Expense and oppression of Olympic Games)
Part of the excuse for the expense and oppression of the Olympic Games in London was that it would encourage people to play sports. However, participation is down.
15 June 2013 (Subpoena own phone records from NSA)
A man charged with bank robbery has tried to subpoena his own phone records from the NSA to use in his defense.
15 June 2013 (Kicked out of college for being a lesbian)
Danielle Powell was kicked out of college for being a lesbian, and the school then demanded she repay the scholarship money she was given, and is holding her credits hostage.
15 June 2013 (Copyright claims over Happy Birthday to You to be challenged)
The copyright claims over Happy Birthday to You will be challenged in court.
15 June 2013 (Snowden's revelations as a conflict of asymmetric courage)
Analyzing Snowden's revelations as a conflict of asymmetric courage.
One detail in the article superficially appears to be an error. It says that the US security state has no law. In fact, it does have law at its disposal. It has plenty of laws, designed to allow it to spy, imprison and even kill effectively without limit, and cut off all roads for us to find out what it is doing (except with the help of leakers such as Snowden), let alone control it. However, this amounts to a declaration of lawlessness, so that detail is correct when not interpreted with rigid literalism.
15 June 2013 (Toxic substances from clothing factories pollute rivers)
Clothing factories use toxic substances which pollute rivers.
Before globalization, these were banned, but companies have moved production to countries where they can pollute. Any treaty by which a country pledges not to ban the importation of clothing made in a way that threatens health of workers or people who live near the plant ought to be abrogated just because of that.
15 June 2013 (EU surrendering to pressure to stop protecting citizens' rights)
The EU is surrendering to US and corporate pressure to stop protecting citizens' rights over their personal data.
15 June 2013 (Toxic waste ponds in Canada)
Canada's tar sands companies are failing to clean up toxic waste ponds.
15 June 2013 (Colorado's most destructive wildfire in recorded history)
Colorado's most destructive wildfire in recorded history is burning out of control.
Global heating is part of the cause. Human population growth is also directly implicated (as well as pushing global heating).
15 June 2013 (Urgent: Full public view of "trade" treaty negotiations)
US citizens: tell Obama and the USTR to negotiate "trade" treaties in full public view.
15 June 2013 (When poor single mothers work, their children do better)
When poor single mothers work, their children do better.
15 June 2013 (Obama today vs Obama in 1998)
Compare Obama today with Obama in 2008.
15 June 2013 (Urgent: Release the draft of the TPP)
US citizens: support Senator Warren's call for release of the draft of the TPP.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
We don't need to see it to know it is horrible, but secrecy is what helped them make it horrible.
15 June 2013 (Urgent: Protect forests)
Everyone: tell the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil that cutting down forests is not sustainable.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
15 June 2013 (Urgent: Protection for wolves)
US citizens: call on the US not to remove protection for wolves.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
15 June 2013 (Urgent: End sale of adulterated honey in the US)
US citizens: call for an end to selling adulterated honey in the US.
15 June 2013 (Urgent: Extended bottle deposit bill)
Massachusetts citizens: support the extended bottle deposit bill.
15 June 2013 (Birth defects in Democratic Republic of Congo due to pollution)
Pollution from uranium mines is causing birth defects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Journalists and human rights defenders that investigate secret uranium mining get threatened or killed.
15 June 2013 (Defense lawyers held since January without charges in Turkey)
Turkey has held defense lawyers prisoner since January without charges, apparently for defending people that the state wants to railroad.
15 June 2013 (Massive surveillance goes beyond what recent leaks disclosed)
Senators report that massive surveillance goes far beyond what recent leaks have disclosed.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
15 June 2013 (Free exploitation agreement between EU and US may get thwarted)
Ironically, narrow French business interests may thwart a proposed free exploitation agreement between the EU and the US.
Any such treaty would favor large companies and harm people in the US and Europe. Preventing it, in any manner, would be a triumph. How disappointing that no government in Europe is prepared to oppose it on principle.
15 June 2013 (UK gov't thinking about making student loans more expensive)
The UK government is thinking about making student loans more expensive.
US Republicans are doing just that.
14 June 2013 (Erdogan threatens to attack protesters)
Erdogan threatens to attack the remaining protesters in Istanbul.
14 June 2013 (US says it has confirmed Assad used nerve gas)
The US says it has confirmed that Assad has used nerve gas.
This might be more of a reason to intervene against his rule, if there were a rational and constructive way to do so. But there isn't.
14 June 2013 (FBI head claims total surveillance is what US needed to prevent 9/11)
FBI head Robert Mueller claims that total surveillance is what the US needed in order to prevent the 9/11 attacks.
It is well known that some of the 9/11 hijackers aroused suspicion, which the US government perversely ignored. Evidently, raw data such as the state now collects about all of us not the kind of intelligence that government officials lacked.
14 June 2013 (Thugs in Greece regularly arrest transgenders)
Thugs in Thessaloniki, Greece, regularly arrest transgenders and accuse them, on no particular grounds, of being prostitutes.
There are two injustices at the root of this. One is bigotry against transgenders. The other is persecution of prostitutes.
14 June 2013 (#1 in peace rather than military power)
Suppose the US were #1 in peace rather than in military power.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
14 June 2013 (Drones caused permanent fear & affected wellbeing of children)
UN: Drones Have Caused Permanent Fear & Affected Wellbeing of Children.
In some places children don't dare go to school because of fear of drones.
14 June 2013 (US Supreme Court rules human genes are not-patentable)
The US Supreme Court ruled human genes are non-patentable, which means the tests for certain genes (including those that make breast cancer very likely) can become cheaper.
Patenting any sort of medical procedure can have the same deadly effect.
14 June 2013 (If you want abortion and can't get one)
In the US, if you want an abortion and can't get one, your health and your way of life are likely to suffer.
14 June 2013 (Nile countries heading for war over water)
The Nile countries are heading for a war over water.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
14 June 2013 (Gezi Park protesters strong commitment to nonviolence and decorum)
A journalist in Gezi Park reports on the strong commitment to nonviolence and decorum that he has observed among the protesters there — completely the opposite of the suppression forces.
He also reports on the many journalists who told them that their stories are censored if they criticize the state.
A Turkish activist I know comments on the situation.
14 June 2013 (Iran trying to crack tens of thousands of gmail accounts)
The tyranny of Iran is trying to crack tens of thousands of gmail accounts.
14 June 2013 (US secrecy out of control)
The US secrecy system is out of control, with congressional "oversight" set up as a rubber stamp. Thanks to the use of company contractors for spying, dissidents can now be threatened by companies as well as by the state itself.
14 June 2013 (Varoufakis condemns shutdown of Greek public TV)
Yanis Varoufakis, who was blacklisted by the government from appearing on Greek public TV and radio, condemns its shutdown anyway.
The government plans to create a replacement organization, filled with its supporters of course.
14 June 2013 (MEP proposes to make data vulnerable to US spying)
An MEP proposes to make Europeans' data vulnerable to US spying so as to avoid "stifling business."
Stifling abusive business practices is one of the purposes of government. Ready, aim, stifle!
14 June 2013 (UK austerity attack)
In the UK, workers' pay has suffered more from the current austerity attack than in the Great Depression.
14 June 2013 (Taliban threatens to kill school principals)
The Taliban threatened to kill school principals as blackmail.
14 June 2013 (Israel passes law for imprisonment without trial)
Israel has passed a law for imprisonment without trial to replace the emergency order that had been in effect around 60 years.
Anyone suspected of planning "terrorism" (which would include also resistance against the occupation) or even generally encouraging it could be imprisoned without trial.
Putting this in a "law" is no excuse for it.
14 June 2013 (Society's Decay Rewards Wrongdoers)
Ralph Nader: Society's Decay Rewards Wrongdoers.
14 June 2013 (NSA regularly cracks into Internet backbone computers)
Snowden says that the NSA regularly cracks into Internet backbone computers around the world, in order to look at lots of people's and organizations' data.
I won't criticize the NSA for spying on other countries this way, but the US should not criticize China so much for doing the same thing.
More on non-domestic spying on the Internet.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
14 June 2013 (Urgent: Support public funding of election campaigns)
US citizens: co-sign this letter supporting public funding of election campaigns.
13 June 2013 (Charged for having photos of nude grandchildren playing in backyard pool)
As part of the witch hunt against "child pornographers", a UK man was charged for having photos of his nude grandchildren playing in the backyard pool.
13 June 2013 (Totally Preposterous Plutocracy treaty)
Another dangerous giveaway to business in the Totally Preposterous Plutocracy treaty — this time, exempting big agribusiness from US food safety rules.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
13 June 2013 (What sort of people become whistleblowers)
What sort of people become whistleblowers, and why?
I am not a whistleblower, but I am somewhat like that profile, and that probably has to do with why I started the free software movement (which is very different from the "open source" that some others support) and the GNU operating system.
13 June 2013 (CEOs plan to make billions in offshore havens)
"Corporate Pirates": How "Fix the Debt" CEOs Plan to Make Billions in Offshore Havens.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
13 June 2013 (Snowden: Change you can believe in)
Edward Snowden: Change You Can Believe In.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
13 June 2013 (Organic berries came with Hepatitis A)
"Organic berries from our farm in Oregon" turned out to contain fruit from several other countries, and some of them came with Hepatitis A.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
13 June 2013 (Obama trying to defend massive surveillance makes bogus claims)
The Obama regime, trying to defend massive surveillance, makes bogus claims that this surveillance prevented one terrorist plot and led to conviction of an accomplice to another.
Even supposing massive surveillance prevented a real attack once in a while, that is small potatoes compared with the harm of trashing everyone's privacy, and the even greater harm of catching leakers and thus concealing or facilitating the government's enormous crimes. Those crimes dwarf the crimes of non-state-supported terrorists.
13 June 2013 (US gov't stretching facts and laws to persecute leader of Anonymous)
The US government is stretching facts and laws to persecute the leader of the Anonymous group that found and published the evidence that led to conviction of the Steubenville rapists. He is threatened with a much bigger punishment than the rapists got, over an insignificant excuse.
13 June 2013 (Greek public protesting closure of public broadcasting)
The Greek public are protesting the sudden closure of public broadcasting.
The staff have occupied the building and are broadcasting anyway.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
This is part of a broader attack on critical journalism in Greece.
13 June 2013 (Half the honeybee hives did not survive winter)
In parts of the UK, half the honeybee hives did not survive the winter. Overall, 1/3 of them died.
The specific cause was unusual weather, which will become more common in the future due to the effects of global heating. We can reduce this with the well-known measures that businesses order states not to do.
The same weather also hit agriculture directly, with a bug failure of harvests.
We've seen similar failures in Russia and the US.
13 June 2013 (Refuse to participate in force-feeding)
Professors of medicine have called on the doctors at Guantanamo to refuse to participate in force-feeding in the name of medical ethics.
13 June 2013 (Examining metadata)
It is naive to think that examining metadata won't reveal your most intimate secrets. For instance, people have found this allows identification of people who are gay and don't say so.
13 June 2013 (Urgent: Keep student loan rates low)
US citizens: call on the Senate to keep student loan interest rates low.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
13 June 2013 (Urgent: Call on Obama to debate Edward Snowden)
US citizens: call on Obama to debate Edward Snowden.
13 June 2013 (Urgent: Thank Edward Snowden)
Everyone: thank Edward Snowden for informing the public about government spying.
13 June 2013 (Constitutionality of Israel's anti-boycott law)
The Israeli state wants the Supreme Court to leave the constitutionality of the anti-boycott law undecided so that all Israeli organizations must be afraid it will be applied to them.
This is the law that allows any colonist in Palestine to collect large damages from any Israeli that calls for a boycott of products of those colonies.
13 June 2013 (US policies continue forcing Haitians into hunger)
US policies continue forcing Haitians into hunger despite millions in supposed "aid" that keeps them poor.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
13 June 2013 (Large parts of Palestine managed for the benefit of colonists)
Israel disregards its obligations as an occupying power, by managing a large part of Palestine for the benefit of Israeli colonists and making life very difficult for the Palestinian population.
13 June 2013 (Palestinian minister imprisoned without charges)
Israel imprisoned, without charges, the Palestinian minister for prisoners. He was just released after two years.
13 June 2013 (Israel accelerates construction of colonies in Palestine)
Israel has demonstrated contempt for peace and Kerry by accelerating the construction of its colonies in Palestine.
Kerry calls on American Jews to tell Israel that it needs to make peace; that continuing the occupation of Palestine will lead it to disaster.
13 June 2013 (Without privacy, there is no democracy)
Without privacy, there is no democracy.
Those web site terms that she talks about signing, you don't have to sign. I almost never sign — I won't use most such services. For those that I do consider using, mainly WiFi portals, I check the terms before agreeing to them. And in any case I don't identify myself to them.
13 June 2013 (Project proposed to protect NY from effects of global heating)
Bloomberg proposes a mega-project to protect New York from the effects of global heating, for a few decades.
However, by the end of this century it may need to be surrounded by levees, as New Orleans is today. And so will Newark, Boston, DC, and many other US coastal cities. And you'd be crazy to live in them if you had any choice.
It would be cheaper to launch a national crash program for renewable energy and then lead the rest of the world. Shanghai will be in the same boat and likewise in danger of being swamped; when the Chinese rulers realize that, they will do whatever it takes, if the US is with them.
13 June 2013 (Hong Kong human rights NGOS plan rally in favor of Snowden)
Hong Kong human rights NGOs plan a rally in favor of Edward Snowden.
I a glad they support him, but I am not sure if this is a wise strategy for influencing Hong Kong's government.
13 June 2013 (Data mining and surveillance in US political campaigns)
US political campaigns spend lots of money on data mining and surveillance of the electorate.
13 June 2013 (UK gov't to push for more genetically engineered food crops)
The right-wing UK government will push for Europe to allow more genetically engineered food crops, based on the thoroughly refuted claims that they are "more efficient" and "sustainable". GM crops have been proved to be neither of those.
Then there is the ridiculous claim that otherwise Europe will be "left behind". If you are surrounded by a crowd of idiots who are jumping into a fast-moving, dangerous river, left behind is exactly where you should aim to be. No legislator is such a fool as to be persuaded by this childish argument, but those in the pocket of business might find it useful to pretend they were.
I do not consider genetic engineering as a violation of something sacred. In principle, if done right, and available on ethical terms (no patents), it might do good in some cases. However, you can be sure that Monsanto's genetically modified crops will do harm, by increasing that company's power over society.
13 June 2013 (Ice on Greenland melting faster due to soot)
Soot from combustion is making the ice on Greenland darker, and that has caused it to melt faster than ever observed before.
This means that sea level could rise, in this century, much more than the one or two meters now predicted.
13 June 2013 (NSA's so-called oversight)
Thomas Drake: All you need to know about so-called oversight is that the NSA was already in violation of the [PAT-RIOT] Act by the time it was signed into law.
He also explains, from his own experience, why it is totally useless for whistleblowers to take such complaints to the "chain of command".
13 June 2013 (French teacher suspended for showing horror film to students)
A French teacher was suspended for showing a gruesome horror film to 11-year-old students.
I don't think children should be pressured to watch such a thing. Some can handle it, and some can't, so we should make sure they can easily avoid it if they wish.
I would not want to see it, myself. I avoided the film Alien because, fortunately, I saw the story in a less impactful comic book form and knew what the film would do to me.
However, the fact that some of us find a work disgusting and painful to see is no excuse for censorship.
13 June 2013 (International drug prohibition: scientific censorship)
David Nutt: International drug prohibition amounts to scientific censorship.
13 June 2013 (Time to investigate the legality of NSA surveillance programs)
Before the US prosecutes Snowden, other bigger questions must be resolved.
13 June 2013 (France's system for punishing people who share)
France's current system of punishing people who share has been ineffective for making people pay the record companies, so they plan to replace it with a modified system of punishment for sharing. Sharing is good, and must be made legal.
13 June 2013 (Appeals court holds Monsanto to its word)
An appeals court ruled that Monsanto's statement that it would not sue anyone whose crops were contaminated by patented pollen was legally binding.
12 June 2013 (Australian fossil fuel industry vs wind generators)
The Australian fossil fuel industry has whipped up a rash of apparently psychosomatic health problems attributed to wind generators, as a scheme to impose a regulation that would make them too expensive to use.
Even if this were a real problem of wind generators, it would have to be compared with the health problems due to the likely alternative, coal-burning generators. We know that their pollution (which includes radioactive fallout) kills lots of people today, and that is not to mention the global heating disaster it contributes to.
Coal-burning power plants in Europe cause 22,000 premature deaths each year, in addition to making a much larger number of people sick.
12 June 2013 (Extent of NSA spying still unknown)
Despite recent revelations, we still don't know much about how the NSA spies on us or how much.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
12 June 2013 (TransCanada whistleblower discloses "culture of noncompliance")
A whistleblower discloses a "culture of noncompliance" in pipeline construction in a part of TransCanada, the same company that wants to build the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
12 June 2013 (Obama fires head of Commodity Futures Trading Commission)
Obama has fired the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for supporting better regulation of banks.
As usual, Obama is the banksters' tool.
12 June 2013 (NSA spying is part of general web of militarism)
NSA massive spying is part of a general web of militarism that has trampled most of the amendments in the Bill of Rights.
12 June 2013 (Former US prosecutor sues Obama and the NSA)
A former US prosecutor turned dissident has sued Obama and the NSA over surveillance.
ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality of NSA Phone Spying Program.
12 June 2013 (Slippery Slope to a Totalitarian State)
NSA whistleblower William Binney: "On a Slippery Slope to a Totalitarian State".
Part two.
12 June 2013 (Staff of private NSA contractors can monitor anyone)
Snowden says he and other staff of private NSA contractors can monitor anyone.
A former NSA director describes these companies as "Digital Blackwater".
12 June 2013 (Girl who ran away with teacher is being used)
A British girl who ran away to France with her teacher is being used to convict him of "abducting" her.
Their plan to run away was foolish; even if they had not been pursued, they could not have made a life together that way for very long. Each one of them ought to have been able to recognize this.
However, joining in foolishness is not the same as being kidnapped. That absurd claim is one of the many lies that the legal system uses to smear people.
Since she ran away with him voluntarily, testifying against him now so he will be imprisoned for it is an act of treachery. I suspect that her family has brainwashed her into it. Her former lover will suffer from it for years, but she will suffer even longer, because she will find it difficult to admit to herself what she has done.
12 June 2013 (California thugs beat man to death)
California thugs beat David Silva, who was lying on the street, and did not stop although he begged for his life. After a few minutes he stopped begging, because he was dead.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Then thugs began confiscating the phones with which a crowd had made videos of the killing. They said this was to protect the evidence, as if the people who made the recordings would want to suppress them; but the thugs seem to have already started erasing videos.
Clearly the thugs intend to lie about their actions. Thugs are habituated to lying, even lying in court, which they call "testilying".
In 2003-5, 38 people were killed by US thugs while shackled. I can't find the total number killed by thugs while helplessly subdued in any fashion.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
12 June 2013 (Storage of student data on company servers)
Schools subject their students to surveillance if they lead the students to store data on company servers.
Parents are falling for the bait of the convenience of the associated SaaS facilities, which are in themselves unethical.
12 June 2013 (Both houses of congress want to cut food stamps)
Both houses of congress want to cut food stamps, just as many Americans are starting to need them.
12 June 2013 (Mass Surveillance Is about Power As Much As Privacy)
NSA and GCHQ: Mass Surveillance Is about Power As Much As Privacy.
12 June 2013 (Loyalty to the US Constitution)
Snowden's example shows that loyalty to the US Constitution may require revealing government secrets, even if it is illegal.
12 June 2013 (Unions invite international monitors to Ulster)
Unions have invited international monitors to Ulster in case the UK government crushes the right to protest.
12 June 2013 (Senators propose bill to publish opinions of Fisa court)
Several senators have proposed a bill to publish the opinions of the Fisa court.
12 June 2013 (The drain of bank growth)
The growth of the banks drains the rest of the economy.
12 June 2013 (Turkish thugs and gov't)
Can Oz: I Can Never Trust the Turkish Police And Government Again.
12 June 2013 (Turkish thug provocateurs create excuse to attack protesters)
Turkish thugs attacked protesters in Istanbul after a group of thug provocateurs, pretending to be protesters, staged a phony attack.
Some of their excuses, such as that police would clean up litter, were also used by the Obama regime against Occupy Wall Street.
The protesters fought back for many hours.
Thugs also dragged away lawyers who protested at the main courthouse.
12 June 2013 (Clapper's testimony to Congress about massive US surveillance)
Clapper seems to have lied in his testimony to Congress about massive US surveillance.
12 June 2013 (Thugs attack protesters occupying empty building in London)
Thugs attacked protesters who occupied an empty building in London.
12 June 2013 (Russia to make it a crime to offend religious feelings)
Russia is going to make it a crime to advocate gay rights, and to "offend religious feelings".
12 June 2013 (US whistleblowers enhance US security)
US whistleblowers enhance US security, because government secrecy has killed lots of Americans and harmed the country's interests.
12 June 2013 (Proposed bill to help end wage discrimination against women)
A proposed bill would help put an end to wage discrimination against women in the US.
12 June 2013 (GMO companies claim their crops help the poor)
GMO companies' false claim: that their crops help the poor.
12 June 2013 (Respect for the US Constitution)
The US Constitution was always a piece of paper, but it had real power while people respected it.
Instead of a social contract, what we have now is a business-to-business contract.
12 June 2013 (Urgent: End gene patents)
US citizens: Gene patents kill; call for ending them.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
12 June 2013 (Ai Weiwei condemns massive US surveillance)
Ai Weiwei condemns massive US surveillance, saying it resembles what he knows in China, but he is shocked to find it in the US.
12 June 2013 (India shutting NGOs associated with antinuclear protests)
India is shutting NGOs funded by private foreign donations if they have associated in any way with antinuclear protests.
12 June 2013 (Britons illegally forced to do unpaid work sue)
Unemployed Britons, who were illegally forced to do unpaid work and won compensation in court, and then were denied this compensation by a retroactive law, are suing to overturn that law.
12 June 2013 (UK judge disregards leaked evidence about Chagos marine reserve)
A UK judge disregarded the leaked evidence that the Chagos marine reserve was created to keep the Chagos islanders from returning, then ruled that this couldn't possibly be true.
12 June 2013 (The Listening Tree, by NSA)
The Listening Tree, by NSA.
In reality, it's not trees that have microphones, it's buses, taxis and lampposts. For practical purposes, in a city, that makes little difference — what this cartoon warns about is already true.
12 June 2013 (Republicans pressure Obama to talk about changes to PAT RIOT Act)
Republican pressure is making Obama start to talk about changes to the PAT RIOT Act. Ironic, given their previous support for various kinds of government surveillance.
However, this will not be enough to do the job. We need to make it possible to be an anonymous whistleblower.
12 June 2013 (Obama stops trying to block sale of emergency contraception)
Obama has ceased trying to block the unlimited sale of emergency contraception drugs.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
12 June 2013 (Daniel Ellsberg on Edward Snowden)
Daniel Ellsberg: Edward Snowden: Saving Us from the United Stasi of America.
12 June 2013 (Rules of Catholic hospitals endanger patients)
The rules of Catholic hospitals endanger patients, amounting to medical malpractice in some cases.
12 June 2013 (States can do important work for the good of society)
We must not forget that states can do important work for the good of society. What makes the US government dangerous today is its subservience to business.
The article errs in thinking that Labour might try to change this in the UK. It is clear that Labour aims to get into power while changing the cruel status quo as little as possible.
12 June 2013 (British soldier ordered to shoot unarmed people)
A former British soldier in Kenya says he was ordered to shoot unarmed people and then say they were "terrorists".
12 June 2013 (How many people could Richelieu hang with the data NSA collects?)
How many people could Richelieu hang with the data that the NSA collects about most people today?
12 June 2013 (Path to 5C of heating)
If the world does not take steps now to end global heating, it will be on a path to 5C of heating.
12 June 2013 (Great whistleblowers talk about Edward Snowden)
Great whistleblowers talk about Edward Snowden.
One of them, Ian Foxley, thinks Manning and Snowden should have taken their information to their chain of command. That makes sense for situations like Foxley's, where the commanders may feel they are the victims of the scam. However, when the evil comes down from the top, that probably would have got them arrested without being able to tell the public.
12 June 2013 (Rich parts of China outsource carbon emissions to poorer parts)
Rich parts of China are outsourcing their carbon emissions to poorer parts of China.
A greenhouse gas tax is the best way to stop this. If it were applied to all of China, it would stop this outsourcing within China. If it were world-wide, it would also block international outsourcing.
Although it ought to be world-wide, one should not wait until all countries agree to participate before starting the system. It needs to start somewhere.
12 June 2013 (UK gov't and NSA's excuse to trash rights of people in the UK)
The UK government and the NSA have a clever/stupid excuse to trash the rights of people in the UK, in the name of protecting them of course.
11 June 2013 (Semi-autonomous robot soldiers)
The US is developing semi-autonomous robot soldiers, and nothing would stop them from being made to shoot people.
11 June 2013 (Judicial Lynching of Bradley Manning)
The Judicial Lynching of Bradley Manning, explaining how Manning's trial has barred the most important defense arguments in advance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
11 June 2013 (Free exploitation treaty to force water supplies away from people)
Mining companies are trying to use a free exploitation treaty to force El Salvador to let them take water supplies away from the people.
Can anyone tell me which treaty it is?
11 June 2013 (Felony to harass a thug)
A law in New York State making it a felony to "harass" a thug is tailor-made for the false accusations thugs frequently make.
11 June 2013 (Protest against state's attack on education)
Protests each Monday in North Carolina against the state's attack on education.
11 June 2013 (Repeat of surveillance of dissidents in the 60s and 70s)
The massive surveillance Snowden has demonstrated is a repeat of the massive surveillance of dissidents practiced in the 60s and 70s, updated for the Internet.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
In the first public event in support of Snowden, hundreds rallied in New York City.
11 June 2013 (Meaning of Obama's counter-terrorism speech)
Some questions to ask about the meaning of Obama's "counter-terrorism" speech.
11 June 2013 (Congress ought to want to talk with Snowden)
The US Congress ought to want to talk with Snowden — about how the NSA has misled it.
11 June 2013 (Snowden not necessarily sage in Hong Kong)
Snowden is not necessarily safe in Hong Kong.
11 June 2013 (Tear gas kills people)
Tear gas is presented as a safe weapon, but it regularly kills people or makes them badly sick.
11 June 2013 (Eve of destruction)
Eve of Destruction (or How to Destroy a Planet Without Really Trying).
Chomsky: How to Destroy the Future.
11 June 2013 (World economy is a ticking time bomb)
The World Economy Is a Ticking Time Bomb (and The Fuse is Burning).
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
11 June 2013 (Serfs of the feudal lords of computing)
Users with "cloudy" minds allow themselves to be serfs of the feudal lords of computing.
Where the article errs is when it claims that some sort of "advantage" can justify serfdom, and that we don't have a choice. That sort of defeatism is what leads people to serfdom.
11 June 2013 (What we don't know about spying)
What We Don't Know About Spying on Citizens: Scarier Than What We Know.
11 June 2013 (Urgent: Call on Obama and Congress to stop spying on Americans)
US citizens: Call on Obama and Congress to stop spying on Americans.
11 June 2013 (US states sell data about patients)
US states are selling data about patients, weakly anonymized so that the patients can be re-identified.
11 June 2013 (Tech companies make it easier for US gov't to get data from them)
Even if tech companies have not made back doors for the US government, they have made it easier for the US government to get data from them, with a potential for abuse.
11 June 2013 (Obama regime compares NSA to private company)
The Obama regime claims that NSA snooping on everyone is no different from your bank's knowing about your checks.
11 June 2013 (Urgent: Stop broadcasting Rush Limbaugh on Armed Forces Network)
US citizens: call on the Armed Forces Network to stop broadcasting Rush Limbaugh.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
11 June 2013 (Vulnerability of Turkish media)
What makes Turkish media especially vulnerable to government censorship is that they are nearly all part of conglomerates with other business interests.
11 June 2013 (Blacklisting of whistleblowers and union representatives in UK)
Obama is not the only one that punishes whistleblowers. A rail union accuses a UK railway construction project of blacklisting whistleblowers and union representatives.
11 June 2013 (NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong)
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden fled to Hong Kong before providing his information to the press.
Isn't it a shame to the US when people who reveal government oppression must flee to China?
Here is an interview with Snowden.
This man is a hero comparable to Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning.
11 June 2013 (The only way to influence US politics against global heating)
With Democrats and Republicans bought by fossil fuel money, the Green Party is the only way to influence US politics against global heating.
11 June 2013 (Keystone XL faulty)
Keystone XL isn't even built yet and already it's faulty.
House votes on approving the planet-roaster pipeline were clearly purchased by fossil fuel companies.
11 June 2013 (Germans worry about US data surveillance)
Germans worry about US data surveillance. Everyone in Europe should.
11 June 2013 (Net neutrality a chimera in the EU)
Net Neutrality Is Still a Chimera in the EU.
10 June 2013 (Urgent: Stop excessive force against peaceful protesters in Turkey)
Everyone: Tell Turkey to stop using excessive force against peaceful protesters.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
10 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose intervention in Syria)
US citizens: call on the senate to oppose intervention in Syria.
10 June 2013 (Urgent: Recommend Bradley Manning for Nobel Peace Prize)
Everyone: recommend Bradley Manning for a Nobel Peace Prize.
10 June 2013 (Obama's attempt to legalize illegal surveillance)
Obama said he would end illegal surveillance, but it was a trick what he did was attempt to legalize it.
10 June 2013 (Staff of political NGOs in Egypt get prison sentences)
Staff of some political NGOs in Egypt have been given prison sentences.
Several of the NGOs that were shut down are directly financed by the US, and one by a right-wing German political party. It might be reasonable for a country not to allow that sort of foreign organization to operate.
However, it is absurd to imprison the staff. And other NGOs, not funded by governments, are another matter.
10 June 2013 (Protesters shot by Libyan militia)
A Libyan militia shot protesters calling for militias to disband.
10 June 2013 (Obama's total-surveillance-to-make-feel-safe platform)
Why didn't Obama tell us before the last election that he would run on a total-surveillance-to-make-us-feel-safe platform?
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
10 June 2013 (Requiring court orders to access people's email and phone calls)
Bills to require court orders to access people's email and phone call records have strong support.
However, these bills do not go far enough. They restrict government access to company-held personal dossiers, but don't prevent companies from accumulating these dossiers over long periods of time. These dossiers might consist of records of years of phone calls, or backups of old emails. The state could collect this retroactive information so as to fish for something to accuse you of, as it did with John Kiriakou.
We need to limit the dossiers that can be kept, not just limit access to them.
The crucial criterion for any proposed change in these laws is, would it have protected John Kiriakou from the intense investigation that strained to come up with a crime to charge him with?
10 June 2013 (Women peasants' movement against land-grabs)
Women of the World's Largest Peasant Movement Call the Shots.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
10 June 2013 (Turkish media companies all intimidated by threats from state)
There are many Turkish media companies, but they were all intimidated by threats from the state.
This calls to mind the US intimidation against all the services that wikileaks used.
10 June 2013 (Xiaobo's brother convicted on ridiculous charges and imprisoned)
Liu Xiaobo's brother was convicted on ridiculous charges and imprisoned.
10 June 2013 (Stealth project to build tar sands oil pipeline)
A stealth project to build a tar sands oil pipeline effectively equivalent to Keystone XL.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
10 June 2013 (Urgent: Call for cans of Glade to list chemicals it contains)
US citizens: call for cans of Glade to list the chemicals it contains, some of which seem to be toxic.
10 June 2013 (US Postal Service photographs every piece of mail)
The US Postal Service photographs every piece of mail.
While it is useful to be able to identify the person who sent these ricin-laced letters (perhaps giving a new meaning to the term "poison pen"), the extension of pervasive surveillance to our physical mail worries me more than the ricin.
10 June 2013 (Fourth Amendment not a mere suggestion)
Reminding Senator Spy Feinstein that the Fourth Amendment is not a mere suggestion.
10 June 2013 (EU no longer advocates austerity)
The EU says it no longer advocates "austerity", but doesn't plan to increase euro-zone deficit spending, so in fact it will still practice austerity. However, now it wants to attack workers' rights too.
10 June 2013 (PRISM threat to US Constitution and American values)
Even though PRISM does not allow the government direct access to servers, the government's spying represents a direct threat to the US Constitution and American values.
I disagree with only one point of that article, but it is an important one. Even though big Internet companies sometimes oppose government spying, they are nonetheless part of the problem. If these companies did not collect so much information about Internet users, the government would not be able to make them hand it over.
10 June 2013 (Smartphone works for the surveillance state)
"Your Smartphone Works for the Surveillance State".
I'm glad to see others say what I've been saying: today's digital surveillance is worse than in the Soviet Empire, and it is taking us towards tyranny.
I wish he didn't assert that "we" do all sorts of foolish things. I don't do them. I hope you don't either.
10 June 2013 (Eat less meat)
People in wealthy countries must eat less meat, to reduce pressure on the world's growing capacity and for their own health too.
When I am at home, I eat little meat on most days.
10 June 2013 (Internet surveillance in India)
Massive Internet surveillance in India, together with censorship of opinions that displease, adds up to a step towards oppression.
10 June 2013 (Virtual Iranian presidential election)
A "virtual" Iranian presidential election offers Iranians the chance to vote for candidates who were banned from running.
The system described is ripe for fraud, by voters and by the ones carrying it out. It should never be used or a real election. However, it is ok for this sort of use.
10 June 2013 (Mali prisoners)
Mali has tortured, killed and disappeared prisoners.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
10 June 2013 (France will continue ban on fracking)
France will continue its ban on fracking, taking note of the harm fracking has done in the US.
10 June 2013 (Spreading Sunni-Shi'a conflict)
Studying the spreading Sunni-Shi'a conflict.
Both variants of Islam regularly oppress women and trash the human rights of dissenters and atheists. That doesn't mean this war is likely to make things better for anyone. I think it is more likely to make both sects more fanatical and more oppressive.
10 June 2013 (Blacks in US encounter violence by thugs)
Blacks in the US encounter systematic, frequent and occasionally deadly violence by thugs.
10 June 2013 (Force feeding of Guantanamo prisoners)
Spy Feinstein says force feeding of Guantanamo prisoners is "safe and respectful".
When Obama (and Feinstein) talk about "closing Guantanamo", they do not mean ending the injustice of indefinite imprisonment without trial, or that of torture. What they mean is shifting the same bestial treatment to the US itself. That's what Congress refused to approve.
10 June 2013 (Slot machine technology)
Slot machine technology has advanced, making them more addictive.
Just goes to show how foolish it is to make "innovation" the primary goal. Who will decide which innovations will be used in your life? You, or someone else?
If what the addicts want is the feeling of flow, can't they get the same feeling in a way that doesn't cost them money? Perhaps with a free software slot machine program that pays off in Roulette Rupees instead of real money?
10 June 2013 (Data about supermarket customers)
How supermarkets get data about their customers, and what they do with it.
You can protect yourself by (1) not using a buyer's card, (2) paying cash, and (3) not using any coupons that are given to you by the store when you purchase. (You could trade them with someone else and confuse the store.)
10 June 2013 (Urgent: Discipline racist federal judge)
US citizens: call for a racist federal judge to be disciplined.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
10 June 2013 (PRISM)
It appears PRISM refers to a system by which the US government demands information from companies, and not a back door for direct government access to the companies' servers.
Nonetheless, many companies went out of their way to make it easier to give the data to the government.
The US can do plenty to spy on Internet traffic to these companies even without their cooperation.
The government should be able to get information from individuals and companies for investigations. That part of things is not what's wrong. What is wrong is that Internet sites collect so much information about nearly everyone, which can then be handed over to the US government for an investigation of "terrorist suspects" such as dissidents or whistleblowers.
10 June 2013 (Obama to allow death squads to target wolves)
Obama will allow death squads to target wolves too.
10 June 2013 (Gov't officials condemn heroic whistleblowers)
Government officials condemn heroic whistleblowers and call for investigations to find the "reprehensible" people who told us about how much the US government spies on all of us.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
These investigations will, naturally, require spying more on all of us.
10 June 2013 (Obama orders preparation of list of targets for cyber-attacks)
Obama has ordered preparation of a list of possible targets for cyber-attacks.
I do not consider contingency planning in advance to be an outrage, but Obama has already shown an inclination to launch preemptive attacks.
10 June 2013 (US needs new Church Committee)
The US needs a new Church Committee to deal with the NSA's massive surveillance.
10 June 2013 (Warrant required to install GPS tracker in car)
The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that a warrant is required to install a GPS tracker in a car.
That's the way it should be: tracking cannot be started without a warrant.
Unfortunately, for anyone who has a portable phone, the tracking is done all the time, and the data can be collected (with or without a warrant) retroactively. This is tantamount to maintaining a dossier about every person, which the state can look at retrospectively at any time.
10 June 2013 (The leak about PRISM vs statements made by company executives)
Various experts and activists consider how to reconcile the leak about PRISM with the statements by company executives that they have not allowed the US to establish back doors.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
10 June 2013 (What the government gets when it tracks "metadata")
What the US government gets when it tracks "metadata" such as URLs visited and phone numbers called.
[Reference updated on 2022-07-11 because the old link was broken.]
If you're a whistleblower, it also finds out if you phoned a reporter.
10 June 2013 (Prosecution in the US has become absurd)
329 charges against a kidnapper shows how prosecution in the US has become absurd.
From what I've read, he kidnapped and raped three women, and ought to be charged with this. He ought to get a fair trial, which I suppose would result in his conviction based on the testimony of the victims.
However, anyone who faces 329 charges, even if innocent, is unlikely to ever get a fair trial because he will accept a plea bargain.
10 June 2013 (Obama pushing to shield massive surveillance from courts)
Obama personally has pushed the use of executive privilege to shield massive surveillance from the courts.
This is the same man who said we should trust courts to limit surveillance.
10 June 2013 ("Hunger summit" front for corporate colonization and land grabs)
The "hunger summit" is a front for corporate colonization and land grabs in Africa.
If agribusiness succeeds in boosting food production in Africa, it is likely to be exported, while those dispossessed of their land are forced to cities to look for work.
10 June 2013 (Recovering European fisheries)
Some European fisheries are recovering after fishing was banned — even cod.
Cod in the Grand Banks are recovering slowly also, but have far to go before fishing should be allowed.
10 June 2013 (Victims of British empire war crimes included Israelis)
The victims of British empire war crimes included Israelis, too.
09 June 2013 (PAT-RIOT Act surveillance never proved necessary)
Senators Wyden and Udall say that PAT-RIOT Act surveillance has never proved necessary, and call for the government to publish more information about it.
09 June 2013 (Facebook deleted pages calling for protests in Turkey)
Facebook deleted pages calling for protests in Turkey.
09 June 2013 (States must respect anonymous communication)
States must respect anonymous communication; here are the basic requirements.
I don't think these go far enough, because there are other ways to restrict and surveil people on the Internet.
09 June 2013 (Voter suppression and election corruption)
Republicans in Wisconsin are trying to rush through a law to apply many know voter suppression and election corruption techniques.
09 June 2013 (US is funding death squads)
The US is funding death squads in Honduras.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
09 June 2013 (Big Brother has collected info about credit card transactions)
Big Brother has collected information about credit card transactions, but we can't tell how often.
It amounts to Total Information Awareness by another name.
09 June 2013 (Spy official acknowledged collecting info about all phone calls)
A US spy official acknowledged the practice of collecting information about all phone calls of millions of Americans, and secret back doors into servers of many companies.
As usual, he condemned the patriots who told us how our government is setting up a surveillance state. He's on the side of the bad guys.
The UK government is using this same program to spy on UK citizens, which could mean disregarding and nullifying their legal rights.
It is strange that the NSA confirms this program but executives of the companies involved deny participation. I wonder if employees were coerced into setting up the surveillance without telling their bosses.
I have it on good authority that that is the way the US typically handles PAT-RIOT act seizures. It goes to a sysadmin and telling him to hand over the data and not tell anyone else, or be imprisoned.
09 June 2013 (Urgent: Stop tax havens from functioning)
Everyone: call for action to stop tax havens from functioning.
09 June 2013 (Heroism of whistleblowers)
On the heroism of whistleblowers, and the villainy of the Bush/Obama regime in trying to attack them.
09 June 2013 (What we know about NSA spy program)
Summarizing what we know about the NSA spy program, Prism.
European companies and government agencies should not be allowed to make any personal information available to a US company under any circumstances.
09 June 2013 (Nuclear more expensive than other energy)
Found US nuclear power plants have been closed as they have become more expensive than other energy. Even renewable energy is cheaper.
Nuclear energy is tremendously expensive, and only massive subsidies make it feasible. With similar subsidies, renewable power would take off tremendously.
09 June 2013 (Holder says he will not prosecute any reporter for doing his job)
Holder says he will not prosecute any reporter for doing his job. He aims rather to make the job impossible, by drying up all their sources.
09 June 2013 (Turkey's president says he wants to crush protests)
Turkey's president calls the protests foreign meddling and says he wants to crush them.
He cites European repression of protests to justify his own.
It is true that countries such as the UK and Italy have repressed protests. So what? Injustice in one country does not excuse injustice in another country.
However, this should be a lesson that European countries and the US must not tolerate repression and lying thugs at home.
09 June 2013 (Obama passes the buck)
Obama says he's not responsible for agencies that report to him; their supervision should be left to Congress and courts.
Of course, no sensible American trusts the FISA court to defend our freedom. Whether Congress will do so has yet to be seen. But what good is a president who passes the buck on our freedom.
09 June 2013 (Soil depletion)
Peak Soil: Industrial Civilization Is on the Verge of Eating Itself.
Problems like this must happen sooner or later as the population rises. In addition to eating less meat, and especially less beef, we need to reduce the birth rate so that the population starts to go down.
09 June 2013 (Indigenous group in Peru vows not to allow oil extraction)
An Indigenous group in Peru vows not to allow oil extraction, citing the way other areas' rivers have become polluted.
09 June 2013 (Air and water pollution in China)
Air and water pollution in China are rapidly getting worse.
09 June 2013 (Privatized trains in the UK)
Privatized trains in the UK have been a rip-off, resulting in little private investment, old trains, and high fares.
The profits have come from what are effectively state subsidies that go to the businesses.
Even though this privatization does result in a limited amount of competition for the business of individual passengers, it was not enough to bring about a good result.
09 June 2013 (Tear gas business booming)
Tear gas is a booming business, along with oppression in general.
09 June 2013 (Internet activism can bring about changes in offline activity)
Internet activism sometimes does bring about changes in offline activity.
I don't sign change.org petitions because signing them requires running a nonfree Javascript program. I wish change.org would change that.
09 June 2013 (Insults should not be a crime)
A passenger on a train in the UK is being sought for prosecution for calling a black passenger a "monkey".
Here we see how racism operates. A believed B had woke him up, but instead of rebuking B for doing that, he saw that B belonged to a racial minority and insulted him for that entirely irrelevant point. That was stupid and irrational, as well as nasty.
However, it should not be a crime.
09 June 2013 (Anti-shock doctrines)
Naomi Klein: 'Anti-Shock Doctrines' Show the Way to Resist.
09 June 2013 (Monsanto's supposed tests for GMO wheat contamination)
Some scientists say that Monsanto's supposed tests to find GMO wheat are flawed and cannot be relied on. In other words, we don't know how widespread those genes are.
08 June 2013 (Urgent: Require labeling of GMOs)
US citizens: help convince 10 senators to switch their stand and support state laws to require labeling of GMOs.
08 June 2013 (Urgent: Support tax on financial transactions)
US citizens: call for a tax on financial transactions, to support education.
Such a tax can support lots of things we need.
08 June 2013 (Urgent: Investigate Obama's massive tracking of phone calls)
US citizens: call on Congress to investigate Obama's massive tracking of our phone calls. Please sign both of these petitions.
08 June 2013 (Urgent: Thank senators that put pressure on persecutors of Aaron Swartz)
US citizens: thank the senators that have put pressure on the persecutors of Aaron Swartz.
08 June 2013 (Genetically engineered plants that glow in the dark)
A project to make genetically engineered plants that glow in the dark is getting funding on Kickstarter.
Synthetic biology outside the lab needs to be regulated, and fairly strictly — "Then company told us they knew it was safe" is not enough, not here and not in general.
Plants that glow in the dark could have an effect on ecosystems, so it would be unwise to let such genes loose into the wild. But can these genes spread into the wild? The facts which determine this are probably known, and I wish the author had checked and told us.
08 June 2013 (UK gov't approved torture in Kenya)
The UK government approved torture in Kenya at the highest level.
08 June 2013 (Fossil fuel industry bosses)
Fossil fuel industry bosses really do say the darnedest things (to deny their contribution to global heating).
08 June 2013 (National ID numbers for babies)
Bosnians protested because babies can't get national ID numbers.
They ought to protest against laws that make them need these numbers.
08 June 2013 (Recession in Europe will get worse)
The European Central Bank recognizes that the recession in Europe will get worse this year, and proposes to do something about it by keeping interest rates low.
However, as the US has shown, super-low interest rates are not an effective way to make the real economy better. They let banksters make big profits but don't put people back to work. Thus, they are the choice of governments under the control of the banksters.
Putting people back to work requires deficit spending.
08 June 2013 (1/4 of prisoners in Guantanamo being force-fed)
1/4 of the prisoners in Guantanamo are now being force-fed.
08 June 2013 (Searching people's laptops at border is good policy)
Unsurprisingly, the Department of Homeland Security (formerly called the Committee for Public Safety) concluded that searching people's laptops at the border for no reason is a good policy. It based its conclusion on the premise that even a shadow of a possibility of preventing some crime (which could well be an act of journalism) is more important than your freedom. That premise, which the Obama regime seems to hold with increasing vigor, leads in only one direction: to a total surveillance state.
08 June 2013 (Patent trolls only part of harm)
Patent trolls are only part of the harm done by the patent system.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
08 June 2013 (Urgent: Stop massive tracking of Americans' phone calls)
US citizens: sign the ACLU's petition calling on Obama to stop massive tracking of Americans' phone calls.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
08 June 2013 (Tracking of Americans' phone calls)
Bush and Obama have used a long series of legal tactics to keep their tracking of all telephone calls secret from Americans.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The US government has made sure that nobody is allowed represent the Americans that the US proposes to spy on, even when that is all Americans.
Senator Spy Feinstein says this tracking has been going on since 2006, if not longer, and we should just accept it.
"This is called protecting America," she said, and she's right — that's exactly what Big Brother calls it.
07 June 2013 (Obama nominates Cornelia Pillard to the Court of Appeals)
Obama recently nominated Cornelia Pillard to the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit. I looked her up in Wikipedia. I can't be certain from what it says there, but she seems to have argued for several positions I think of as dangerous.
It looks like she is a supporter of mandatory arbitration clauses, which many companies impose so they can get away with mistreating customers and employees. This is a crucial area for US courts, and I would not want someone with these views to be on track for possibly being on the Supreme Court some day.
It appears she has also participated in efforts to bend over backwards to give thugs impunity, and limit the right to a jury trial.
In other words, she is the sort of candidate that I'd expect someone soft on like Obama to nominate. I will not sign the petition urging the Senate to vote on her nomination.
Obama has nominated two other candidates for that court. With the small amount of research I can do, I did not get enough information to have an opinion about them. Maybe they would be good people to put on the bench, but I'd like to see if someone has actually evaluated them from a progressive viewpoint before I support them in any way.
07 June 2013 (Accused of terrorism for song lyrics)
Cameron D'Ambrosio has been jailed without bail, accused of "terrorism", for his song lyrics.
07 June 2013 (UK wants to let people veto wind generators)
The UK wants to let people veto wind generators in their vicinity, which they might consider unsightly, but not fracking that could make them sick.
07 June 2013 (Turkish journalists injured by thugs)
14 Turkish journalists have been injured by thugs while covering protests.
Meanwhile, the mainstream media continue ignoring the protests much as US mainstream media ignore Occupy Wall Street.
President Erdogan remains totally, absurdly defiant.
07 June 2013 (Activists receive light sentences for protest)
UK activists, accused of a crime that is tantamount to "holding a protest", received light sentences for their protest at a fossil fuel plant.
07 June 2013 (Bill would penalize Walmart for each employee that ends up on Medicaid)
A California bill would penalize Walmart for each full-time employee that ends up depending on Medicaid.
This is a good idea, but if it applies only to full-time employees it will be ineffective. Walmart is making just about all employees part-time.
07 June 2013 (FBI demand a back door in communications software)
The FBI demand to require a back door in communications software would enable all sorts of bad actors, not just the Obama regime, to spy on everyone.
If such a law applies to free programs, it would ban the distribution of versions that are not malicious.
07 June 2013 (Massive surveillance and freedom of expression incompatible)
A UN report recognizes how massive surveillance and freedom of expression are incompatible.
07 June 2013 (Ban use of antibiotics in farm animals)
Health professionals call on Obama to ban the massive use of antibiotics in farm animals, so as to protect humans from drug resistance.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
07 June 2013 (TSA backs down from applying common sense)
Irrationally overreacting flight attendants and congressional fearmongers made the TSA back down from applying a little common sense.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
This one decision is not terribly important in itself — it means one annoyance more, rather than one annoyance less — but it demonstrates how vulnerable the US remains to appeals for repression in the name of a minuscule amount of "security".
This inability to weight different dangers bodes ill for the US response to the bigger threat of total monitoring of phone calls, which is also supposed to be for "security against terrorists". (Of course, the most important of those so-called "terrorists" are really dissidents and whistleblowers.)
07 June 2013 (Urgent: Give US workers a living wage)
US citizens: call on Obama to give US workers a living wage.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
07 June 2013 (ALEX-sponsored changes in budget bill)
Governor Walker has snuck radical ALEX-sponsored changes in education into a budget bill.
07 June 2013 (US "counter-terrorism" apparatus redirected to "all crimes")
How the massive US "counter-terrorism" apparatus of "fusion centers", which was probably not necessary in the first place, has been redirected to "all crimes", including above all the crime of taking democracy seriously. When a citizen sent email to the Phoenix thug department asking the thugs not to harass Occupy protests, the fusion center investigated him too.
07 June 2013 (Emergency contraception without ID needed immediately)
The FDA must immediately make one form of emergency contraception available without an ID.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
07 June 2013 (Gold rush in Uganda)
A gold rush in Uganda probably means a corporate land grab is coming.
07 June 2013 (Malnutrition: main killer of children under five)
Malnutrition is the main killer of children under five.
Global heating is making food prices rise, and is expected to do so further in the coming decades.
The world economic system favors the rich; we need redistribution of wealth. But we also need to stabilize the population, which means, reduce the birth rate considerably. We should provide modern effective birth control gratis to women who can't afford to raise children properly.
07 June 2013 (Obama regime secretly collects records of phone calls)
The Obama regime is secretly collecting records about all phone calls made on Verizon Business Services. I expect it's the same for other major phone companies.
This has been going on since 2006.
These records allow the government to find out who you know and who you talk with.
These records allow the regime to catch any whistleblowers who might talk with reporters about the regime's dirty work. That's the effect that really matters. If this makes it possible to catch some criminals as well, that's a minor side issue. Small benefits cannot justify great harm.
I am glad that the mainstream media are starting to recognize that limiting the use of information the state and corporations collect about you is not enough. We must limit the information that they can collect.
07 June 2013 (Suicides in Europe due to austerity)
Estimating that austerity has led to 10,000 more suicides in Europe.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
07 June 2013 (IMF privately recognizes harm done by austerity in Greece)
The IMF has privately recognized that imposing austerity in Greece did harm.
07 June 2013 (Thugs in Bangladesh attack protesting workers)
Thugs in Bangladesh attacked protesting workers from the factory that collapsed.
07 June 2013 (Abu Nusaybah's arrest)
The reason for Abu Nusaybah's arrest was making statements of his views and helping the publication of other statements.
Comparing his opinions with those of the Conservative Party, which are worse? Both advocate oppression, and call for acts that can kill people, but which one is likely to oppress and kill more? Obviously the Conservative Party.
07 June 2013 (Robert Bales pleads guilty to murdering civilians)
Robert Bales pled guilty to murdering 16 Afghan civilians during night raids.
07 June 2013 (Call for research into patterns of US gun violence)
A report calls on the Centers for Disease Control to do research into the patterns of US gun violence.
Such research has been blocked by NRA lobbying.
07 June 2013 (Turkish thugs arrest people for tweets)
Turkish thugs arrested people for tweets that encouraged or aided protests.
07 June 2013 (Another flood in Dresden)
In Dresden, 11 years after the "flood of the century", there is another flood.
This makes me suspect that global heating is at work.
07 June 2013 (Pre-registration of experimental studies before results come in)
Journal editors call for pre-registration of experimental studies before the results come in.
07 June 2013 (Distributing "anonymized" data is ineffective at protecting privacy)
Protecting privacy by distributing "anonymized" data is ineffective because it proves easy to re-identify the subjects.
07 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose trampling of environment)
US citizens: call on your senators to oppose trampling the environment in immigration legislation.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
07 June 2013 (Connecticut passes bill requiring labeling of food with GMOs)
Connecticut has passed a bill requiring labeling of food with GMOs, but it will only go into effect when four other states pass such a law.
07 June 2013 (War on Whistleblowers)
Obama is trying to make it possible to fire civil service employees arbitrarily if they are in departments related to "national security".
Don't confuse the nation's security with the regime's security.
07 June 2013 (Over 3000 protesters in Turkey arrested)
Over 3000 protesters in Turkey have been arrested, and over 1000 were injured.
07 June 2013 (US wildfires burn faster now than 40 years ago)
US wildfires burn twice as much land annually as they did 40 years ago.
Fires spread much faster now, which means people have much less time to evacuate.
07 June 2013 (Bradley Manning's trial is a show trial)
Bradley Manning's trial is a show trial, complete with rehearsals, and secret witnesses will provide the basis for conviction.
Amnesty International rebuked the court for not allowing Manning to argue based on public interest.
07 June 2013 (American targeted by digital spy tool sold to foreign gov'ts)
American Gets Targeted by Digital Spy Tool Sold to Foreign Governments. It appears to have leaked to a non-state underground movement, which is no surprise.
07 June 2013 (UN shirks responsibility for cholera outbreak in Haiti)
The UN gave cholera to Haiti, but its plans to eradicate cholera there are effectively imaginary.
07 June 2013 (Increasing brutality by both sides in Syria)
U.N. Panel Reports Increasing Brutality by Both Sides in Syria.
How the US Can Facilitate Peace in Syria: Talking to All Sides including Iran.
07 June 2013 (Obama's proposed "trade deal")
Obama's proposed "trade deal" is much more (worse) than a trade deal. It is an agreement to adopt oppressive laws — a Free Exploitation Treaty.
07 June 2013 (US Supreme Court approves law allowing thugs to take DNA samples)
The US Supreme Court approved a state law that allowing thugs to take DNA samples from everyone arrested for "serious crimes".
07 June 2013 (Greece systematically attacks freedom of press)
Greece is systematically attacking freedom of the press.
07 June 2013 (Israeli soldiers threaten Palestinian children)
Israeli soldiers post threatening signs aimed at Palestinian children.
07 June 2013 (Urgent: Support leaders in breaking away from War on Drugs)
Everyone: support Latin American leaders in breaking away from the War on Drugs.
More information.
07 June 2013 (Israel tries to force Bedouin into towns with no employment)
Israel tries to force Bedouin into towns with no employment, by declaring their homes illegal.
07 June 2013 (Civilians killed and mutilated on US/Afghan base)
A series of civilians were brought into a US/Afghan base, and emerged as mutilated corpses.
06 June 2013 (Compensating for CO₂ by planting trees cannot work)
An Australian plan to compensate for CO₂ emissions by planting lots of trees cannot possibly work.
06 June 2013 (US sends more weapons to Syria border)
As UN Warns of 'Human Costs,' US Sends More Weapons to Syria Border.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
06 June 2013 (Tax breaks amount to trillion dollars a year)
America's biggest tax breaks amount to around a trillion dollars a year, and most of it is for the rich.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
06 June 2013 (Purchase of Smithfield by Chinese company is dangerous)
Why the purchase of Smithfield by a Chinese company is dangerous — for reasons having nothing to do with nationalism.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
06 June 2013 (Turkey buys 62 tons of tear gas)
The government of Turkey has bought 62 tons of tear gas in the past 12 years. I guess the government recognized that its repression was likely to provoke resistance.
06 June 2013 (Foreign Shi'ites going to Syria to fight for Assad)
Foreign Shi'ites are going to Syria to fight for Assad.
If this keeps spreading, it could involve the whole Muslim world in a sectarian war.
06 June 2013 (Lawyers block road to protest cuts for poor)
Lawyers in the UK blocked a road to protest cuts in legal services for the poor.
06 June 2013 (Israel demolishes more Arab homes in Jerusalem)
Israel is demolishing more Arab homes in Jerusalem. and seizing land near Nablus.
The fanatical "settlers" are now burning Palestinians' cars as well as destroying other kinds of property.
06 June 2013 (Cancer villages spreading across China)
"Cancer villages" are spreading across China, as polluting factories are built around them.
They exist in the US, too, due to factory pollution from years ago.
Old or new, they result from a failure to regulate business properly. The April Texas fertilizer plant explosion was another consequence of the same problem.
The root cause is that plutocrats dominate the state. Ag-gag laws are another manifestation of the same cause.
06 June 2013 (Vaxevanis faces double jeopardy for publishing Lagarde list)
Kostas Vaxevanis faces double jeopardy for publishing the Lagarde list in Greece.
06 June 2013 (Fracked gas CO₂ emissions)
Burning fracked gas rather than coal has decreased US CO₂ emissions, but methane leaks from frack wells may be canceling-out the decrease.
Meanwhile, US coal extraction has not gone down. The coal not burned in the US is exported instead — so really nothing good has been achieved.
06 June 2013 (Financed by elephant poaching)
The Lord's Resistance Army is now financed by elephant poaching.
06 June 2013 (Urgent: Repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force)
US citizens: call on Congress to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.
06 June 2013 (Palestinian Authority and Kerry)
The Palestinian Authority and Kerry both tell Israel that bad things will happen if it refuses to make peace.
06 June 2013 (New York sues HSBC)
New York has sued HSBC for illegally shafting homeowners.
Bravo! But what we really need is to stop banks from reselling loans divided up into parts. Anyone who gets a mortgage from a local bank should have a right to a local office to discuss an extension with.
05 June 2013 (Fighting back against violent thugs)
Turkey's government has given people plenty of practice in fighting back against violent thugs.
05 June 2013 (Leaving the euro zone)
The debate is on in Portugal about leaving the euro zone.
It is not the euro as such that causes the problem, but rather the deficit spending rules of the euro zone.
A country outside the euro zone could still use the euro as its currency. Panama and Ecuador use the US dollar as their currency, and the US cannot stop them (and probably would not want to, given the advantages to the US of the use of dollars in commerce elsewhere). Likewise, Portugal, Greece or Spain could leave the euro zone and continue using euros.
However, this would have disadvantages as well as advantages. some of these countries may want inflation to reduce their debt, and if they tried to inflate the euro they would arouse much bigger hostility.
05 June 2013 (Eating Pacific bluefin tune is safe)
Eating Pacific bluefin tuna is safe, with less radioactivity than any normal banana. But the fish numbers are greatly reduced by overfishing and they ought to be protected.
05 June 2013 (Gov't contempt for environment fuels protests in Turkey)
Years of government contempt for every aspect of the environment have fueled the protests in Turkey.
Can you see any resemblance between these tricks and what your government does?
05 June 2013 (Google+, think of it as the Matrix)
To understand Google+, think of it as The Matrix.
I never identify myself to any web site, except to post comments — but people and server-side scripts actually do that for me, so commenting never connects my name with machines I connect to the Internet from. If I were posting comments myself, I would do it through other machines or via Tor.
05 June 2013 (Indirect way to talk about Tian An Men massacre)
Chinese find clever indirect ways to talk about the Tian An Men massacre, which leads the censors to block searches for all sorts of words, even "today".
05 June 2013 (Urgent: Support striking workers)
Everyone: sign this petition to the Walmart CEO in support of striking workers.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
05 June 2013 (Jordan imposes filters on 200 web sites)
Jordan has imposed filters on 200 web sites, including such prominent ones as al Jazeera.
The UK is planning more network filtering too.
05 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose uranium mining)
In the US: oppose uranium mining on Mt Taylor in New Mexico.
05 June 2013 (Blacks 8 times more likely to be arrested)
In Iowa, blacks are 8 times more likely to be arrested than whites for use of marijuana.
Of course, nobody should ever be arrested for using marijuana. It should be legal.
05 June 2013 (Urgent: Ban field trials of genetically engineered crops)
US citizens: call on the US Department of Agriculture to ban field trials of genetically engineered crops.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
05 June 2013 (TSA eliminates X-ray scanners)
The TSA has eliminated X-ray scanners. The article is confused, and focuses on certain software for displaying a certain kind of simplified picture of the passenger. However, elsewhere it is clear that switching to this software required removal off all the X-ray scanners.
It's a good thing, because those scanners are potentially dangerous. How bizarre that we could not get them removed because of danger but could get them removed because of a nudity taboo.
05 June 2013 (Sea level rise)
From 2005 to 2011, sea level rose around 2.4mm per year (about 1/10 inch), and it was mainly due to melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica.
That melting will surely speed up considerably over this century, but we don't know how much.
05 June 2013 (Saving the Schaus swallowtail butterfly)
Vigorous efforts might just succeed in saving the Schaus swallowtail butterfly from extinction.
By the second half of this century, governments struggling with failing agriculture won't have resources to put into protecting species or habitats.
05 June 2013 (Vital US gov't programs undermined by sequester)
Some vital US government programs undermined by the sequester that you might not have thought of.
05 June 2013 (Jordan imposes censorship on news sites)
Jordan has imposed censorship on news sites.
05 June 2013 (Taiwanese Internet users protest plans for SOPA-like law)
Taiwanese Internet users protested and blocked plans for a SOPA-like law.
They ought to demand that the government abolish the "intellectual property" office. Any activity based on that propaganda term tends naturally to turn out bad. And why allow any public funds to be spent on pushing for unjust laws?
I do not say all the various laws some refer to as "intellectual property" are bad through and through. Since these laws are totally unrelated, it is unlikely that anything can be validly said about all of them, except that they are all laws.
05 June 2013 (Airlines make a show of reducing greenhouse gas emissions)
The world's airlines have decided to make a show of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, hoping this will convince Europe not to take real action.
04 June 2013 (Special scrutiny by IRS)
It appears that Tea Party groups were just a fraction of the organizations subject to special scrutiny by the IRS on suspicion that they were really political.
04 June 2013 (Google trying to block face-recognition applications)
Google is trying to block face-recognition applications for Google Glasses, which is laudable in spirit, but can only be done by censoring applications, as Apple does — which is hopeless as well as wrong.
04 June 2013 (Charging Manning with aiding the enemy is dangerous)
Laurence Tribe says that charging Bradley Manning with "aiding the enemy" is dangerous to freedom of speech.
Julian Assange rips into a book by Google's leaders, pointing out how digital surveillance technology is leading the world towards "titanic centralizing evil".
04 June 2013 (Democratic Party will do the people no good)
The Democratic Party will do the people no good as long as it runs on funding from plutocrats.
04 June 2013 (Obama using IRS to crush medical marijuana dispensaries)
Obama is using the IRS to crush state-legal medical marijuana dispensaries.
04 June 2013 (Blot on record for chewing pastry into shape of a gun)
School administrators insist on a permanent blot on the record for the kid who chewed a pastry into the shape of a gun.
04 June 2013 (Thugs choked teenager for staring the wrong way)
Miami thugs choked a teenager, then said he threatened them by staring at them the wrong way.
These thugs seem to be acting much like teenage toughs I knew in school.
04 June 2013 (Site of G8 meeting has had a Potemkin village make-over)
The site of the G8 meeting has had a Potemkin village make-over presenting it as prosperous.
The funds were provided by the UK government, and perhaps the intend to disguise the harm done by austerity is meant to affect the outcome of the meeting.
04 June 2013 (Court barred stenographers from Manning's trial)
In a symbolic attack on journalism and the public's right to know, the court barred stenographers hired with donations from Bradley Manning's trial.
04 June 2013 (Jellyfish overrunning the world's seas)
Jellyfish are overrunning the world's seas. Global heating and overfishing are part of the cause.
Puffins in Maine are in trouble because there are no longer herring in the area to feed to their chicks. The problem may not be limited to Maine, and global heating may be the cause.
04 June 2013 (Unemployment continues to grow)
World Faces Lost Decade of Joblessness, ILO Warns.
Projections of improvement by 2017 neglect the likelihood that many more jobs will have been automated.
04 June 2013 (China sends North Korean refugees back to North Korea)
China (and Laos) send North Korean refugees back to North Korea.
04 June 2013 (Greenpeace building attacked with tear gas)
Greenpeace in Istanbul is providing medical aid to injured protesters, and its building has been attacked with tear gas.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
04 June 2013 (Urgent: Stop praising anti-gay legislator)
In the US: call on Students First to stop praising anti-gay legislator John Ragan.
04 June 2013 (Climate refugees from global heating)
How many climate refugees will result from global heating? A middle scenario might lead to hundreds of millions at a time.
04 June 2013 (Confusion results from the term "intellectual property")
More confusion results from the term "intellectual property": research into a virus identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012 is being impeded because the lab that isolated the virus is making other labs sign contracts not to redistribute the virus to other labs.
These contracts are about physical objects (virus particles), but some of the people cited have confused this with a patent. The contracts may be harmful, but they are not a patent.
04 June 2013 (Tunisia stretches definition of terrorism)
Tunisia, like the US and other countries, stretches the definition of terrorism and uses it against dissidents.
04 June 2013 (Taiwan considering version of SOPA)
Taiwan is considering a version of SOPA.
04 June 2013 (Urgent: Tell Nestle to stop bottling water in drought-afflicted area)
Everyone: tell Nestle to stop bottling water from an area of Ontario which is suffering from drought.
04 June 2013 (Urgent: Rebuke Democrat senators who voted for corporate welfare)
US citizens: rebuke the Democrat senators who voted for corporate welfare rather than avoiding food stamp cuts.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
04 June 2013 (Acupuncture)
A long series of studies show that acupuncture does not deliver significant real pain relief. It is nothing but a placebo.
The article includes terse explanations of various sources of error that explain the occasional study that show a positive effect, and why those are to be expected in studies of any popular ineffective treatment.
04 June 2013 (UK cuts in National Health Service undermine public health)
UK cuts in the National Health Service undermine public health including the ability to respond to any outbreak of disease.
04 June 2013 (Spread of Syrian fighting to Lebanon)
Syrian fighting has spread to Lebanon.
It looks like this will develop into a war between Shi'ites and Sunnis across the Middle East.
04 June 2013 (Dissent in Azerbaijan and Russia)
Dissidents in Azerbaijan and Russia all seem to be drug users, according to the state. Similar frame-ups occur in Canada too.
One of the many ways in which prohibition of drugs is harmful is that the thugs can use this very easily to frame people.
More generally, the practice of prosecuting dissidents for crimes that are ostensibly nonpolitical extends also to Canada and the US.
03 June 2013 (Trial of Bradley Manning)
Hypocrisy Lies at the Heart of the Trial of Bradley Manning.
03 June 2013 (Ethiopians protest in the capital)
10,000 brave Ethiopians protested in the capital, demanding freedom for political prisoners.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
03 June 2013 (Supporters of presidential candidate in Iran arrested)
Supporters of one of Iran's presidential candidates were arrested and told not to campaign very hard.
03 June 2013 (Massive corporate land grab in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand)
A massive corporate land grab in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand has forced 400,000 people off their lands. It is financed by Western banks.
03 June 2013 (Protest in Turkey)
More about continuing protests in Turkey.
03 June 2013 (Urgent: Support striking Walmart workers)
In the US: stand with striking Walmart workers.
03 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose deportation of Antonio Venegas)
US citizens: call on Obama not to deport Antonio Venegas for joining in a strike.
03 June 2013 (Urgent: Call on Canada not to allow oil drilling in the Arctic)
Everyone: call on Canada not to allow dangerous oil drilling in the Arctic.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
03 June 2013 (Thugs set off Stockholm riots)
Thugs set off the Stockholm riots by killing a man and then lying about the circumstances.
03 June 2013 (US drone attacks boost support for the Taliban)
US drone attacks in Pakistan boost support for the Taliban and make people regard the government of Pakistan as a tool of foreigners.
In the end, the US does not gain from this. But US politicians gain, because they can say they are "tough on 'terrorists'".
03 June 2013 (Our legislators work for the rich)
Most Americans say they want high taxes on the rich, to help out everyone else.
Thus, most of our legislators are shown to be working for the rich, not for us.
03 June 2013 (UK policies will force migrant children onto the street)
Cruel UK policies will force migrant and trafficked children onto the street or into the hands of anyone that wants to take advantage of them.
The same government advocates censorship to "protect children", but clearly it doesn't really care about children. Sometimes it makes children suffer. Sometimes it cites children as an excuse to persecute someone else. As long as someone is demonized and made to suffer, right-wing politicians are happy.
When a government's only tool is a hammer, it begins seeing people as nails.
03 June 2013 (Absurd patent threatens podcasters)
A search for prior art for a totally absurd patent that is being used to threaten podcasters.
It describes using a web site (or anything somewhat similar) for an activity comparable to publishing a magazine. No sensible person would consider this an invention. The fact that one needs to look for prior art to invalidate this nonsense demonstrates that the US Patent Office still applies ridiculous standards. (And not only in the computing field.)
However, even a "well run" patent system would still be harmful in the computing field, because patents cause grid-lock in any field which involves combining many ideas in one work or product.
To protect against patents by invalidating those that can be invalidated is like trying to protect yourself from malaria by swatting mosquitoes. By all means do swat them, but we need to go beyond that. The US can protect software from patents by exempting them specifically.
03 June 2013 (Universal Music bullies four mayors in Denmark)
Universal Music bullied four mayors in Denmark for whom a company had made a take-off on Gangnam Style, by demanding an unreasonable sum within a day or else it would demand even more.
I suggest that presenting legal ultimatum of this sort, which gives the target insufficient time for proper consultation with a lawyer, ought to be penalized as a crime.
03 June 2013 (Man killed by FBI thugs)
Ibragim Todashev's father: FBI 'bandits' murdered my son.
I think the word "thugs" fits them better, since "bandit" implies "thief" and they were not trying to steal.
It appears to be confirmed that the thugs lied to make up an excuse for killing him.
03 June 2013 (McDonald's CEO lies and lies)
Confronted by Activists at This Year's Shareholder Meeting, McDonald's CEO Don Thompson Lied And Lied.
03 June 2013 (1000 people protest for Bradley Manning)
1000 people protested for Bradley Manning at Fort Meade.
03 June 2013 (Protecting sources is now impossible)
The US surveillance machine tells reporters that protecting their sources is now impossible, so great is the level of surveillance of all our communications.
To maintain control over this rogue state, we must put an end to that surveillance.
Moreover, the article shows that businesses also have ways of cutting off information to reporters. A democracy would legislate to block those methods.
03 June 2013 (Urgent: Adopt strict safety rules for fracking on public land)
US citizens: tell the Bureau of Land Management to adopt strict safety rules for fracking on public land.
03 June 2013 (Right-Wing think tanks accept funds from Big Tobacco)
Prominent UK right-wing think tanks have accepted funds from Big Tobacco to advise the government not to require plain packaging for cigarettes.
03 June 2013 (EU has made advance in fishing policy)
The EU has made a great advance in fishing policy, with a strict 5% limit on fish discards. At the same time, it has blocked Italy from banning disposable plastic bags.
Thus, both good and bad come from requiring governments to get permission from other governments which are generally subservient to business.
03 June 2013 (Aaron Swartz was not depressed)
Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman says that Aaron Swartz was not depressed, in the usual general sense, and would not have killed himself except for the prosecution.
I would not claim that his decision was a mistake. Prison may be worse than death.
03 June 2013 (Global heating deniers use fallacies)
Global heating deniers use several fallacies to deny the fact that climate scientists overwhelmingly agree humans are causing global heating.
03 June 2013 (US military denies injured veterans treatment)
The US military denies injured veterans the treatment they need, and if they complain, they get punished with false discharge.
03 June 2013 (Thugs in France use nonlethal weapons too much)
Thugs in France, like thugs in the US and elsewhere, use tasers and other supposedly nonlethal weapons too much.
03 June 2013 (Germans don't approve of what gov't is doing to Greece)
Germans are protesting in Frankfurt to show that they don't approve of what the German government is doing to Greece and the rest of the euro zone.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
03 June 2013 (FBI Director to preserve war on terror mentality)
New FBI Director Set to Preserve "'War on Terror' Mentality".
03 June 2013 (Increase in water bills thanks to privatization)
Inhabitants of the Thames river valley face big increases in water bills, thanks to the privatization of water supply.
The claim that improvements "would never have been possible under public ownership" presumes a government that fails to tax companies enough. This privatization should never have been done, and it should be reversed now.
03 June 2013 (Tien An Men Mothers continue to call for justice)
The Tien An Men Mothers, relatives of those killed or mutilated by soldiers in Tien An Men Square in 1989, continue to call for justice.
It will take decades more for China to cause this to be forgotten. Obama, take note: you can't cause US torture to be forgotten either.
03 June 2013 (Governor able to veto Medicaid funding for abortions)
In Ohio, the governor will be able to veto Medicaid funding for abortions for women who were raped or could die from pregnancy.
Christian fanatics want to force these women to have children, or die, because they think women deserve to suffer.
02 June 2013 (Turkey's government has generated large opposition)
Turkey's government, increasingly Islamist and repressive, has generated large opposition.
After police repression that blinded one student and left three critically injured, a protest by thousands of anti-Islamists was allowed to proceed.
02 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose new surveillance requirements)
US citizens: oppose new surveillance requirements that the FBI wants.
When whistleblowers need to use spy tradecraft to inform the public, our surveillance is tantamount to a police state. We need to put an end to practices that accumulate an electronic dossier about each person.
02 June 2013 (Urgent: Morality clause in divorce papers)
Everyone: tell a Texas judge not to force a couple to split up through a "morality clause" in one's divorce papers.
02 June 2013 (No-Fly zone in Syria would not do much good)
A "no-fly" zone in Syria would require bombardment and an aerial battle to establish, and would not do much good.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
02 June 2013 (Oil companies inject hydrofluoric acid to melt rock)
Oil companies inject hydrofluoric acid into oil wells to "melt rock" and let oil flow out.
Hydrofluoric acid will burn you terribly if it touches you. Fluorine is very reactive. I don't know whether this endangers people. Perhaps all of it reacts with rock and hardly any of it escapes. Perhaps tiny quantities do no harm to humans. But is this known for certain?
02 June 2013 (1920 pogrom against blacks in Tulsa)
Teaching high school students about the 1920 pogrom against blacks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and how it relates to race-based wealth disparity in the US.
I would suggest using median wealth levels rather than average to measure wealth disparities, because the average is skewed by a small percentage of rich people and does not reflect life for most people.
02 June 2013 (Homeland security organizations spy on environmentalists)
We occasionally get a glimpse of how US "homeland security" organizations spy on environmentalists to aid fossil fuel interests.
I suspect they do this all the time, and only rarely does it leak.
The US government has been systematically corrupted by various kinds of businesses. This includes banks, armament companies, fossil fuel companies, Big Pharma, the copyright industry, and agribusiness, to name a few. Each kind of business, in its area of interest, has turned the state against the people, and each gets various sorts of help from the executive branch. The corruption goes all the way up to Obama.
As a result, in practical terms the US no longer practices democracy. Democracy means that the many non-rich join together to become more powerful than the rich, and stop them from exercising power commensurate with their wealth. What we have in the US is plutocracy, an unjust and illegitimate form of government.
02 June 2013 (California shipping lanes moved)
California shipping lanes have been moved so that ships will kill fewer whales.
02 June 2013 (Italy's criminal libel law)
Italy's criminal libel law is coming under fire.
To make libel a crime is unacceptable.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia has imprisoned a journalist without charges for days for covering mass evictions.
02 June 2013 (Over 1000 killed by sectarian violence in Iraq during May)
Over 1000 were killed by sectarian violence in Iraq during May.
The Iraqi government has the form of a democracy but it isn't much of one.
02 June 2013 (Urgent: extend to renewable energy certain business privileges)
US citizens: urge your congresscritter to support the bill to extend to renewable energy certain business privileges that fossil fuel companies have.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
02 June 2013 (Urgent: Repeal the Monsanto Protection Act)
US citizens: sign this petition to repeal the Monsanto Protection Act.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
02 June 2013 (My Small Mouth)
My Small Mouth
02 June 2013 (Turkey)
Turkey has woken up from its sleep during the AKP's fascist regime (published on stallman.org at the author's request).
01 June 2013 (Wages continue to fall)
The US stock market is going up, and housing prices are rising, but wages are continuing to fall.
01 June 2013 (Head negotiator for Trans-Pacific Partnership resigns)
Chile's head negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership resigned and called for its rejection.
01 June 2013 (Right-Wing extremist hypocrisy )
For right-wing extremists in the US, no form of hypocrisy is too much.
Calling less extreme right-wingers such as Obama "Liberals" is another dishonest tactic that they have used since around 1990.
They use the same tactic regarding our right-wing Supreme Court.
01 June 2013 (British Columbia rejects tar sands oil export pipeline)
British Columbia rejected a tar sands oil export pipeline.
01 June 2013 (Seafood may be gone by 2048)
Seafood May Be Gone by 2048, Study Says.
01 June 2013 (World Bank pressures governments to deregulate)
The World Bank pressures governments to deregulate, but they are organizing to fight back.
01 June 2013 (Europe heading for Great Depression)
Europe is heading for something like the Great Depression if it does not change its austerity policy to a job creation policy.
01 June 2013 (If US reads your email would you ever find out)
If the US reads your email, would you ever find out?
01 June 2013 (Bill to require warrant for cell phone tracking)
Maine's legislature is working on a bill to require a warrant for cell phone tracking.
I can't tell whether this bill would allow the phone company to continue to keep a full location dossier about someone without a warrant. If it does, it is inadequate.
01 June 2013 (NYC plants to close 60 libraries)
New York City plans to close 60 local public libraries.
01 June 2013 (New laws to trample people's rights)
Australian politicians want to use one killing in London as an excuse for new laws to trample people's rights.
01 June 2013 (Urgent: Pardon John Kiriakou)
US citizens: call on Obama to pardon John Kiriakou.
I signed this, not expecting Obama to do it, but to add to public condemnation on people who tell us the nasty things that the government is doing to us.
01 June 2013 (Australia's National Party funded by big mining and agribusiness)
Australia's National Party is directly funded by big mining and agribusiness.
You might as well vote to sell the whole country to them.
01 June 2013 (NPR omits cause of melting glaciers from story)
An NPR story on viable plants exposed by melting glaciers mysteriously failed to say why they are melting.
You don't need to be near sea level for your house to be threatened by melting glaciers.
01 June 2013 (Abortion in El Salvador)
El Salvador has given up on stopping a badly ill woman from aborting a fetus that has no brain and would die shortly after birth.
01 June 2013 (Florida school takes iris scans of students without permission)
A Florida school took iris scans of students without getting permission, in order to track their movements around school.
Of course, they say this is for "safety", but this has almost nothing to do with real safety.
01 June 2013 (Cancer rate in Basra)
Cancer has become so common in Basra that half the population will get cancer, and the only likely cause is dirty ("depleted") uranium (DU) from US weapons.
This only scratches the surface of the US war crimes in Iraq. Obama protects the criminals.
US allies should realize that they do not dare let the US defend them from attack, because it would spread cancer there too. Likewise, if the US ever had to fight an invasion, it would poison its own population.
01 June 2013 (Qatar's planned "cyber crime" law)
People fear Qatar's planned new "cyber crime" law will trample freedom of speech.
Note that making libel or "false news" a crime is an injustice directly, aside from what its consequences for journalism might be. States often claim that true news reports are false.
It's even worse in other nearby countries.
01 June 2013 (Search engines: journalistic investigation engines)
If we describe a search engine as a journalistic investigation engine, people might see why its reports should not be censored.
01 June 2013 (Modeling faces based on DNA)
DNA people leave behind on cups and chewing gum can be used to produce a probable model of the person's face.
In general, the threat that the state will do this (to dissidents, labeled of course as "terrorists") worries more than the the danger that someone else will do this.
01 June 2013 (Iranian and Syrian dissidents denied secure communications)
Trade sanctions deny secure communications to Iranian and Syrian dissidents.
01 June 2013 (US to delete copies of material from David House's laptop)
David House won a personal victory against the US, which will delete its copies of material seized from his laptop.
This does nothing to limit the US power to investigate and harass dissidents at the border.
01 June 2013 (Turkish gov't attacks human rights protesters)
The Turkish government attacked thousands of human rights protesters in the center of Istanbul.
01 June 2013 (Force-fed Guantanamo hunger strikers)
Guantanamo prisoners being force fed point out that they cannot trust the doctors involved in this to treat them, and call on those doctors to examine their consciences.
01 June 2013 (Holder says he won't search journalists' communications again)
Holder told a few journalists, in a restricted meeting, that he would not repeat the searches of journalists' communications.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
If he really means this, he should announce it publicly. I do not trust Holder, or Obama, in any issue of human rights. We should not let them off the hook without a clear end and reliable to the War on Journalism and the War on Whistleblowers.
01 June 2013 (Reducing use of fossil fuels compared with quitting tobacco)
Comparing reducing use of fossil fuels with quitting tobacco.
This looks at individual decisions, but fossil fuel use is mostly controlled by government decisions, and the fossil fuel companies have more power than the tobacco companies ever had.
01 June 2013 (Last political prisoner from Tien An Men protest released)
The last political prisoner from the Tien An Men protests has been released, after 23 years.
01 June 2013 (UN Committee Against Torture criticizes UK policies)
The UN Committee Against Torture has 40 criticisms of UK policies.
Has it examined the US recently?
01 June 2013 (Urgent: Oppose purchase of cotton picked by slaves)
Everyone: call on Nike to commit not to buy cotton picked by slaves in Uzbekistan.
01 June 2013 (Urgent: Call on Obama not to intervene in Syria)
US citizens: Call on Obama not to intervene in Syria.
With or without using chemical weapons, Assad's regime is a horrible tyranny, and if it were opposed by rebels we could confidently expect to be better, they would deserve our help. However, the strongest rebels groups are would-be Islamist tyrants, and replacing Assad by them would not be a step up.
01 June 2013 (Urgent: Block planned slaughter of fin whales)
Everyone: call on the Netherlands to block the planned slaughter of fin whales for dog food by refusing to let the meat through.
01 June 2013 (Urgent: Require warrant for gov't to access your email)
US citizens: support the bill to require a warrant for the government to access your email.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
01 June 2013 (Urgent: Support striking Walmart workers)
Everyone: state your support for striking Walmart workers.
31 May 2013 (Imprisoned whistleblower)
Imprisoned whistleblower John Kiriakou writes about life in prison, including how the US government violates an agreement approved by the judge in his case, and how the guards tried to trick him and another prisoner into fighting, by lying to them both.
Once he gets out, I hope he will dedicate his life to organizing opposition to the dishonest and secretive regime that has taken control over the US.
31 May 2013 (Political confusion)
The US distorts the concept of "weapons of mass distraction" for purposes of political confusion.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
31 May 2013 (Canadian thug)
A Canadian thug was caught on video threatening to attack a man and frame him for carrying cocaine.
In response, the thug force "disciplined" him, but did not even fire him. It is a real shame that no witness will step forward to get tried and jailed. However, if the only thing they can accuse him of is "assault with a weapon", that means the laws are weak. Is it not a crime to threaten to frame someone?
31 May 2013 (Prisoners remain on hunger strike)
Guantanamo prisoners remain on hunger strike, not believing that Obama's speech will change anything.
31 May 2013 (Divest from fossil fuel companies)
Why it is crucial to divest from fossil fuel companies, as a step towards stopping them from destroying the biosphere
31 May 2013 (No better than Bush)
Obama's pick to head the FBI was part of the team that justified illegal wiretapping for Bush. He also supported the decision to hold a US civilian in a military prison without charge for 3 years.
Don't be fooled. Where human rights are concerned, Obama is no better than Bush.
31 May 2013 (Companies want to bribe people to accept TVs)
Companies want to bribe people to accept TVs that keep track of where they are looking while watching.
I am glad the article takes account of the difference between getting a patent on a technique and using it. The patent, as such, does not mean Microsoft uses or will use this technique. It only enables Microsoft to sue anyone else that uses it.
Alas, we can't count on Microsoft to use that to protect us from this abuse. It is not altruistic enough for that. More likely it will let everyone else do this in exchange for paying Microsoft.
I don't think they will stop with "bribes" — like the "savings" from identifying yourself to a store, by and by it will morph into paying extra for not being monitored. And eventually they will try to turn off other options.
This won't affect me: I don't have a TV, because I'd rather spend my time on other things. However, if I were inclined to have a TV, I certainly would not accept one like this.
I wonder what these systems do if you block the camera, put a photo in front of it.
31 May 2013 (Banksters ordered subservient congresscritter)
US banksters ordered their subservient congresscritter to pass a bill to reduce the weak US regulations on banks.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
31 May 2013 (Urgent: Political spending and US Chamber of Commerce)
Everyone: call on Google to disclose its political spending and stop funding the US Chamber of Commerce.
31 May 2013 (Urgent: Support increase in social security payments)
US citizens: support Senator Harkin's bill to increase social security payments.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
31 May 2013 (Apple locates itself in Ireland but not a resident there or US)
How Apple locates itself in Ireland and arranges not to be considered resident either there or in the US.
It's easy to see how to change US law so that this particular trick won't work — if the US government represents Americans rather than Irish companies such as Apple. Just require that a company can't have a US tax exemption based on being located in some other country unless it is treated as resident by that country.
But Apple uses other tricks too, such as the "unlimited companies". The US could make that stop, too, with a similar condition on taxes.
Here's Apple's bullshit excuse, compared with facts.
31 May 2013 (Lessons from the suffragettes)
Lessons from the suffragettes for feminists and other activists today.
31 May 2013 (Rights for dolphins and whales)
India has established certain rights for dolphins and whales, including the right not to be captured.
31 May 2013 (Stratfor part of a dangerous centralization of power)
Julian Assange explains how Stratfor is part of a dangerous centralization of power under the rubric of "national security".
31 May 2013 (Visa Iceland to cut off donations to Wikileaks)
Visa Iceland has found a new excuse to cut off donations to Wikileaks and nullify its court victory, but people can donate easily through June 30.
After that, indirect donations will still be possible, and not very hard.
31 May 2013 (Holder appears to have lied to Congress)
Attorney General Holder appears to have lied to Congress when he said had never "heard of a potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material."
31 May 2013 (Egypt considers law to control NGOs strictly)
Egypt is considering a law to control NGOs strictly, which threatens to stop international human rights organizations (such as Amnesty International) from operating there.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
31 May 2013 (Strain of unapproved GMO wheat found growing in a farm)
A strain of GMO wheat that was never approved for commercial use was found growing in a farm in Oregon.
31 May 2013 (UK thugs serve Hollywood)
UK thugs, operating as auxiliaries for Hollywood, arrested a man and then let Hollywood's flunkies interrogate him.
31 May 2013 (What we can learn from Denmark)
Bernie Sanders: What Can We Learn From Denmark?
31 May 2013 (Israeli soldiers harass Palestinian students at school)
Israeli soldiers frequently harass and block Palestinian students at school or trying to go to school.
31 May 2013 (US officials refusing to take calls from reporters)
The Obama regime has investigated so many officials, as well as so many reporters, that officials now refuse even to take calls from reporters.
Attorney General Holder was directly involved in seizing records from a reporter.
31 May 2013 (Cost of the Wall Street bailout)
What did the Wall Street bailout cost Americans?
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The costs are still mounting up.
31 May 2013 (Countries where taxes on the rich have decreased the most)
The countries where the rich have gained the most are also the countries where their taxes have decreased the most.
31 May 2013 (Religious censorship in Turkey)
Religious censorship in Turkey has reached the point of imprisoning people even for criticizing the boundaries of religious censorship.
Anyone who thinks that that statement should be punished for "insulting religious values" deserves to have his religion insulted every five minutes.
31 May 2013 (Ugandans protest closure of newspapers and radio stations)
Ugandans protested the forced closure of newspapers and radio stations, so the thugs attacked journalists covering the protest.
These newspapers and radio stations were closed because they reported a plot by the president to set up a dynasty, effectively eliminating democracy. I conclude that the report was accurate.
31 May 2013 (Website technician jailed for "defaming the police")
In Djibouti, a website technician was jailed for "defaming the police" because he posted photos showing the thugs breaking up a demonstration.
Strange how governments and thugs blame the people who show their despicable acts to the public, instead of blaming themselves for carrying out those acts in the first place. A lot like criminals.
31 May 2013 (Singapore imposes censorship on Internet news sites)
Singapore has imposed its censorship for mainstream media on some Internet news sites.
31 May 2013 (Bosnian Croat leaders convicted of planning ethnic cleansing)
Bosnian Croat leaders were convicted of planning the ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims.
31 May 2013 (More time given to European countries for budget cuts)
The masters of European austerity have given several prostrate countries more time for their next round of required budget cuts.
The article is right that this, in itself, is no big change. But there is hope that the banksters will be compelled to keep giving them more time, and more, and it will result in effectively canceling the requirement.
31 May 2013 (Republicans attack Obama for his War on Journalism)
Amazingly, Republicans have started attacking Obama for his War on Journalism.
What's amazing is that they are attacking Obama for something that is actually bad.
Obama's idea of "reviewing" the War on Journalism is to let the Attorney General review his own conduct.
31 May 2013 (Farming tends to breed useful nutrients out of plants)
Farming tends to breed the useful nutrients out of plants, even if that is not specifically intended.
31 May 2013 (Israeli housing units on Palestinian territory)
Israel has built 16,000 housing units on Palestinian territory in the past 3 years, and attacks against Palestinians and their property are increasing too.
31 May 2013 (Prohibition)
Prohibition of fairly safe drugs fuels the invention of legal mimics that might be dangerous.
31 May 2013 (Man accused of "terrorism" after giving broadcast interview in UK)
A man who knows Adebolajo, one of the Woolwich killers, was arrested in the UK just after giving a broadcast interview about Adebolajo.
He was accused of "terrorism" but believes he was arrested for saying things that the state finds embarrassing.
One article refers to this man as Abu Nusaybah, while the other refers to him as Ibrahim Hassan, but they clearly both mean the same man. I don't know why the discrepancy in names.
31 May 2013 (Toronto thugs break man's ribs for filming them)
Thugs in Toronto broke a man's ribs and arrested him because he filmed their excessive violence against someone else.
It is clear that their accusations, at the time, were dishonest and meant solely to intimidate someone from exercising his civic rights and duties.
It's not enough for the city to compensate their victim. These thugs need to be jailed.
30 May 2013 (Arrested for a topless protest)
Members of Femen were arrested for a topless protest at the "justice" ministry in Tunisia.
The charges are a clear sign of tyranny.
30 May 2013 (Urgent: Call for continued protection of wolves)
US citizens: call for continued protection of wolves.
30 May 2013 (Expelled from school for no good reason)
The charges against Kiera Wilmot were dropped, but she remains expelled from school for no good reason. She writes about the consequences, including going to a school that wastes the time of any intelligent student.
I hope she learns to feel more indignation.
"Zero tolerance" means declaring rigidity the highest principle.
30 May 2013 (Israel keeps demolishing Arab homes)
Israel keeps demolishing Arab homes in Jerusalem even when Israeli courts say not to do it.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
30 May 2013 (Blocked from treatment by Israeli paperwork)
A gravely injured Palestinian, in danger of death from his wounds, was blocked from treatment all day by Israeli paperwork.
If Palestine were not occupied, a Palestinian hospital would have been equipped to treat him.
Another Palestinian boy of 13 was attacked by Israeli colonists while on his land, and broke his foot. Israeli soldiers captured him and tortured him for hours, keeping him from medical treatment.
30 May 2013 (Genetically modified salmon )
Genetically modified salmon can hybridize with brown trout and the hybrids can outdo natural populations.
30 May 2013 (Moratorium on autonomous killer robots)
Proposing a moratorium on autonomous killer robots.
30 May 2013 (Burmese forced to work as slaves)
Burmese men in Thailand are forced to work as slaves on fishing boats, and murdered if they try to escape.
30 May 2013 (UK holds around 90 prisoners in Afghanistan)
The UK holds around 90 prisoners in Afghanistan, and won't hand them over to the Afghan government for fear they might be tortured.
Combatants captured in a war zone can legitimately be treated as prisoners of war, which means they don't have to be accused of a crime, and are also not supposed to be punished, let alone tortured. However, I'm not sure what international law says about people captured and called combatants who say they were not involved in fighting.
I don't see a right answer to this issue.
30 May 2013 (Lost report exposed genocide of indigenous people)
A lost 1967 Brazilian report which exposed the genocide of indigenous people, using chemical and biological weapons as well as bombs and torture and starvation, has been found and parts leaked.
No one was punished for it then, and the impunity continues today, with indigenous people under the most furious attack since the military regime ended.
30 May 2013 (Poor people pushed off their land)
Around the world, poor people are being pushed off their land by foreign purchasers who give them no choice.
The companies grow food for export, and the people are forced to flee.
30 May 2013 (Hammond pleads guilty to extracting Stratfor's files)
Jeremy Hammond pled guilty to extracting Stratfor's files for publication, but courageously refused to apologize for trying to inform the people.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Stratfor, which was one of Hammond's targets is more dangerous to Americans than Hammond. It is part of the tendency for the US government to work secretly with corporations against Americans, which also shows up in other forms.
However, I do not approve of using people's credit cards that were obtained from Stratfor.
30 May 2013 (Evacuation of Arctic research station)
Russia Evacuates 'Drifting' Arctic Research Station As Ice Floe Melts.
30 May 2013 (Loss of biodiversity threatens humankind's survival)
Loss of biodiversity is a threat to humankind's survival, and agribusiness corporations are a substantial part of the problem.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
30 May 2013 (Teacher faces punishment for reminding students of Fifth Amendment)
Teacher John Dryden faces punishment for reminding his students of their Fifth Amendment rights before giving them a non-anonymous survey that asked about their drug use.
Note the absurdity of claiming that the survey is "proprietary business information" — that is, a trade secret — after showing it to hundreds or thousands of students. But this sort of impudence is normal for business today.
The school says the survey results "won't be shared with police", and maybe that describes the school's intentions, but the school is not really in a position to keep the state from getting these surveys.
I wish I could sign the petition in support of Dryden, but the site it is on requires running nonfree Javascript.
30 May 2013 (Colorado passes laws regulating marijuana sales)
Colorado has passed laws regulating marijuana sales, which are now legal.
I'm not sure there is a reason to limit how much a person can have, or driving under the influence of marijuana (it doesn't seem to lead to car accidents), but they are a minor issue compared with the evils of prohibition.
But we can expect Obama to attack with cruel force, just as he has done against medical marijuana.
30 May 2013 (Facebook's censorship power)
A campaign convinced Facebook to ban images that endorse violence against women.
The photos described sound really disgusting, but the censorship power that Facebook has is what frightens me most.
30 May 2013 (Crime generally goes down after disasters)
After disasters, most people stay calm and help each other, and crime generally goes down. However, the major media (and Hollywood) spread the myth that riots and fighting (and even disease) are normal.
By the way, I see nothing even slightly wrong with taking food from food stores after a disaster that prevents the stores from opening. To criticize this seems like Randian nonsense.
30 May 2013 (Sireen Khudiri Sawafteh arrested without access to lawyer)
Sireen Khudiri Sawafteh has been arrested without access to a lawyer, because Israel considers her Facebook page a "danger to security".
30 May 2013 (Ireland to require plain packages for cigarettes)
Ireland will require plain packages for cigarettes.
The arguments against this measure are full of obvious holes; they will convince only those who don't want to think carefully about them.
29 May 2013 (Urgent: Oppose giant coal mine on US public land)
US citizens: file a comment opposing a giant coal mine on US public land.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
29 May 2013 (Hounded by press after having sex change operation)
What lessons can be learned from the case of teacher Lucy Meadows, hounded by the press after having a sex change operation?
Keeping such a thing secret is impossible, and censorship is disastrous, but society can learn to recognize that a sex change is nothing for adults or children to be afraid of.
29 May 2013 (Solitary confinement for years)
A UK private prisons company is accused of keeping people in solitary confinement for years, and denying them medical treatment.
Their denials are not credible. If someone is put in a private cell for his own protection, there is no reason to make that a harsh regime.
29 May 2013 (Twitter a monopolistic outlet)
Twitter threatens to become a monopolistic outlet for all major news media.
29 May 2013 (Reconnaissance drones are useful)
Reconnaissance drones are useful for tracking destructive logging, poaching, fishing and and farming activities.
However, they can also see whatever you do in your backyard.
29 May 2013 (Google to show customized maps)
Google plans to show people "customized maps" as a way to pressure stores to pay to be visible — but the harm can go far beyond squeezing money out of all retail businesses.
If you ever do a search through Google, do it from a machine shared with many others, and make sure you have no permanent cookies at the start of your session. Best of all, do it from a machine from which you have never identified yourself to any web site. Many sites report all their visitors to Google through Google Analytics, so if you identified yourself to any of them, Google knows.
29 May 2013 (Long prison terms for medical marijuana)
Several Americans that use medical marijuana to cope with grave physical conditions are about to start long prison terms.
I hope Duval destroys his house, making it worthless, before the US government can seize it.
29 May 2013 (Mental disorders should not be hastily defined)
Mental Disorders Should Not Be Hastily Defined.
It comes down to a philosophical question about the meaning of "healthy". There is more than one way to interpret the same facts.
29 May 2013 (Another pesticide found to harm honeybees)
Another pesticide, fipronil, has been found to harm honeybees.
29 May 2013 (Syrian rebels treated for damage from chemical weapons)
Hundreds of Syrian rebels have been treated for damage from chemical weapons.
29 May 2013 (200 million people refugees by 2050)
Global heating's effects could make 200 million people refugees by 2050.
Of course, this is a rough estimate. It could be less, or it could be more.
29 May 2013 (The smart city)
The "smart city" threatens to be too smart for the residents' good.
29 May 2013 (Americans' outrage and empathy)
The extent of Americans' outrage and empathy for various acts of violence is not proportionate to the acts themselves.
At least 460 were killed in Iraq in April.
Ironically, the first article starts out by endorsing Americans' inordinate feelings of anguish and fear about the Boston bombing, and claiming falsely that we "all" feel it that way. The reason many Americans do feel that way is because they are bombarded by messages telling them that they should and that everyone else does.
To get Americans on the right track, we must urge people to feel more concern for other victims, but also stop encouraging a spirit-sapping excessive reaction to one comparatively small act of violence. Every death is a loss to the world, but if you don't know the person who died and you don't have a chance to prevent the death, don't let it overcome you.
28 May 2013 (Euro zone to attack rights of European workers)
The euro zone's next plan is to attack the rights of European workers.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
In other words, they want to get rid of the laws that make Europe a better a place to live, for most people, than the US.
28 May 2013 (Swedish gov't cutting taxes on rich, hurting the poor)
The Swedish government is cutting taxes on the rich and hurting the poor.
Rioting is unpleasant. Under ordinary circumstances, it is not justified. However, the wrong that is being done to these people is much worse than the wrong they did. We must focus on ending the deeper wrong, the original wrong.
28 May 2013 (UK accuses passengers of "endangering an aircraft")
The UK has accused two passengers of "endangering an aircraft", but the alleged crime consisted of making empty threats with no real substance.
It is legitimate to punish threats of violence, but empty threats are not a real danger and it is dishonest to claim that they "endangered" anything.
28 May 2013 (Austerity in the UK a boom for banks)
Austerity in the UK has meant a boom for banks, but it is about to break the food banks.
28 May 2013 (Obama's speech)
Obama's speech allows progressives to imagine that Obama supports their goals, and allows hawks to imagine he supports theirs, and does not say much about what he will actually do.
That means we have to keep pushing.
28 May 2013 (UK pressured to stay and suffer new free exploitation treaty)
Pressuring the UK to stay in the EU so it will suffer from a new free exploitation treaty.
The treaty is likely to include a nastier version of ACTA, as if the Digital Economy Act were not unjust enough.
Escaping from this will require every country to leave the EU.
The rest of the treaty will be harmful as well. In general, "free trade treaties" give business increased power over the government. What does business do with this power? It imposes austerity, evades taxation, trashes the environment, and hurts workers. The exact opposite of what the UK and all countries need.
28 May 2013 (Thugs crush protest in Cambodian sweatshop)
Thugs crushed a protest in a Cambodian sweatshop by people working directly or indirectly for Nike.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
28 May 2013 (Google drops support for federated XMPP chat)
Google has dropped support for federated XMPP chat, in a move that tends to lock users in.
The change also hurts users' privacy and downgrades the use of free software clients. It is better to use other XMPP chat servers which continue to federate and thus don't lock people in.
28 May 2013 (Thugs in Houston block presentations of rap video)
Thugs in Houston blocked street presentations of a rap video by threatening to arrest the fans.
28 May 2013 (Swedish thugs' oppression of blacks)
Swedish thugs' oppression of blacks is surprisingly similar to that of US thugs.
28 May 2013 (Mt Everest amusement park)
There is a serious proposal to install a ladder on Mt Everest to avoid a bottleneck in the climb.
This demonstrates that Mt Everest has become an amusement park rather than a real adventure. How silly to put so much effort and money into such a thing.
28 May 2013 (US copyright industry wants to imitate gangsters)
The US copyright industry is not satisfied with imitating dictators; now it wants to imitate gangsters.
You could tell the report was going to spout nonsense simply from the terminology used to refer to the act of sharing copies.
"Intellectual property" is propaganda; worse, it spreads confusion because it misrepresents various unrelated laws by treating them as a single thing. See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.html.
"Theft" is a falsehood: copying, even when unauthorized, is not theft under any legal system I know of. See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Theft
28 May 2013 (Political will and firmness required to confront corporations)
Robert Reich: with exploiting corporations playing one country against another, peoples and states ought to unite against them.
His reasoning is applicable when states, if united, use their power against corporate dominion. (Sometimes the EU does put real limits on corporations.) United, they can be stronger, in principle.
However, what is usually lacking when states ought to confront business is not strength, but political will and firmness. That does not require a large country, and it does not benefit from union with other states whose governments don't have political will and firmness.
Exiting the EU can in principle be a good thing, if it gets a country out of a free exploitation agreement that the EU imposes, or an unjust EU directive such as the Copyright Directive that requires countries to ban DRM-breaking programs. Exiting the EU might be absolutely necessary if it is the way to escape a disaster such as the euro's deficit limit. However, it could also be a path to an even more abject surrender to corporations, as Reich suggests.
28 May 2013 (Systematic infiltration and obstruction of anti-corporate protests)
The full, sad details of systematic US infiltration and obstruction of anti-corporate protests.
This demonstrates that the US government is on the side of the plutocrats, and the enemy of the plutocrats' victims (most Americans).
28 May 2013 (Bahrain continues to respond to peaceful protest with repression)
Bahrain continues to respond to a peaceful protest movement with repression which goes as far as torture.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
28 May 2013 (24 people killed, nearly 400 injured in Oklahoma tornado)
The Oklahoma tornado killed 24 people and injured almost 400.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
What fools, Americans, to be far more worried concerned about smaller events such as the Boston bombing, especially since extreme weather events are more common as well as more dangerous.
28 May 2013 (Deforestation in Indonesia)
Deforestation in Indonesia goes with taking poor people's land.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
28 May 2013 (Get Apocalyptic)
Get Apocalyptic: Why Radical is the New Normal.
28 May 2013 (US govt gives corporations precedence over people)
The US government officially and openly gives big corporations precedence over people.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
28 May 2013 (Urgent: Stop the use of drones as death squads)
US citizens: support the ACLU in calling on Obama to stop using drones as death squads.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
28 May 2013 (Worst kind of negotiations for free exploitation treaty approved)
The European Parliament approved the worst kind of negotiations for a free exploitation treaty with the US.
28 May 2013 (Phone location data)
Texas is on the way to pass a law requiring the state to get a warrant before it can look at phone location data.
While this law would be a step forward, it is far from adequate, because it is simply intolerable for anyone to accumulate a complete dossier about your movements regardless of what limits are placed on subsequent access to the data. When the state wants to attack dissidents, journalists and whistleblowers, it will get a warrant.
28 May 2013 (Masturbation Is at the Root of the Culture Wars)
Masturbation Is at the Root of the Culture Wars.
28 May 2013 (Urgent: Amendments to the farm bill)
US citizens: phone your senators about amendments to the farm bill.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
Here are some Nasty things in it.
28 May 2013 (UK gov't wants to block access to web sites)
The UK government wants to block access to web sites because of the views they express.
27 May 2013 (Two million protested Monsanto)
Two million people protested Monsanto's growing domination of the global food supply.
27 May 2013 (USDA responded to WTO)
The USDA responded to a WTO ruling against labeling meat by country of origin by requiring more information rather than less.
It is good to see a little bit of defiance of the empire of the megacorporations, but real defiance would mean putting an end to the WTO. Its "benefits" are for the rich anyway, and we could do without them.
27 May 2013 (Another Lebanese civil war)
The Syrian civil war may trigger another Lebanese civil war.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
27 May 2013 (Patent on a simple of timing in IVF)
The patent office granted a patent on a simple matter of timing in IVF.
I agree that the patent office should not stretch what is patentable.
As a practical issue, the BRCA1 and BRCA2 patents do far more harm, because they kill people. These patents prevent births but do not kill.
In an age when human population growth threatens to cause the collapse of civilization, and destroy most of the natural world either before or just after the collapse, nobody should be doing IVF. If you yearn to raise a child, adopt one. Channel your instinct in a direction that makes the world better, not worse.
27 May 2013 (Apple refuses to pay fair share of taxes)
Why Should Apple Have Access to Consumers If It Refuses to Pay Its Fair Share of Taxes?
27 May 2013 (Austerity myth)
The austerity myth: there has never been any evidence that it was eventually good for most people.
However, its purpose was to be good for the plutocrats, and the myth was needed only as an excuse.
If you buy the book, don't get it from Amazon!
27 May 2013 (Reverse love affair with cars)
Walking Activist Fights to Reverse Our Love Affair With Cars.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
I wish writers would stop saying a mistake is "ours" when I refuse to make it.
27 May 2013 (Companies to size forest from indigenous people)
Indonesia welcomes multinational companies to seize forest from indigenous peoples and cut them down.
Half of the forest in Sumatra and Borneo has been cut down in a short time.
The "moratorium", which only covers new approvals, is like Israel's current "moratorium" on new colonies.
27 May 2013 (NAACP launching civil disobedience protests)
The NAACP in North Carolina is launching large civil disobedience protests against the Republican War on the Poor.
27 May 2013 (Exxon lied about pollution from oil spill)
Exxon persistently lied about pollution from its tar sands oil spill in Arkansas.
These companies lie when accidents happen, which helps them get away with downplay the danger of the systems they are asking for permission to build.
27 May 2013 (Hezbollah fighting to stop control of Syria)
Hezbollah says it is fighting to stop the US, Israel and Salafists together from taking control of Syria.
This is ridiculous, since Salafists and Israel could never cooperate, but there's a grain of truth in it, in that they all seem to be opposing Assad.
27 May 2013 (Scripps reporters branded "hackers")
Scripps reporters branded "hackers".
What a gross error — whoever accused them of breaking security meant to say "crackers". However, the point is, these reporters did not break any security.
Prosecuting unwelcome access even though no security was broken is a common practice in the US; it was applied to Aaron Swartz and to Weev, who was actually convicted.
And Republicans want to make things even worse.
26 May 2013 (Anonymous US gov't spokesman claim presented as certainty)
US newspapers quoted an anonymous US government spokesman claiming that there are Iranian soldiers fighting in Syria, and presented it as certainty.
26 May 2013 (Criminalizing homelessness)
Criminalizing homelessness, Houston style: it is a crime to get food out of a dumpster, or give food to the hungry.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The most ironic thing is that the people responsible for this are Christians, and yet they have criminalized acting the way Jesus was said to act.
26 May 2013 (US doesn't require paid vacations)
The US is the only wealthy country that doesn't require paid vacations for workers.
26 May 2013 (Dynastic succession)
Uganda's president is trying to institute dynastic succession and shutting newspapers that criticize.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
26 May 2013 (What must be done about Monsanto)
Green Shadow Cabinet: What must be done about the Monsanto Corporation, and why.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
26 May 2013 (Arpaio racially profiled Latinos)
Joe Arpaio Racially Profiled Latinos in Arizona, Judge Rules.
26 May 2013 (Koch brother blocked movie that criticized him)
One of the Koch brothers is on the board of two major PBS stations, and used that to block broadcast of the movie that criticized him.
26 May 2013 (Prohibitionists try to make pot seem dangerous)
Prohibitionists still scrape the bottom of the barrel to try to make pot seem dangerous.
26 May 2013 (Internet repression)
China plans to ramp up Internet repression by tying Internet users' IDs to all other activities.
People won't dare lend their accounts to dissidents if that means lending their bank accounts too.
The US copies most of the repressive tactics used in China, so I expect the US to copy this one, though it will require several steps and many years.
26 May 2013 (Obama's talk about drones and Guantanamo insufficient)
Amnesty International explains why Obama's talk about drones and Guantanamo is still insufficient.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
26 May 2013 (Burma imposed limit of two children)
Burma has imposed a limit of two children per family on Rohingyas in the region where most of them live.
Limiting on the number of children per family is legitimate. People cannot be fundamentally entitled to have however many children they wish, since that can lead to predictable disaster. However, such a limit should not be applied selectively to a second-class group. It should be applied to everyone.
26 May 2013 (Photographers arrested in Spain)
Two photographers were arrested in Spain, not at a protest, but in their homes because the state is out to get them.
26 May 2013 (Legalizing solely marijuana is misguided goal)
David Simon says legalizing solely marijuana is a misguided goal, because it would help American whites while allowing the War on Drugs to continue oppressing blacks who take and sell cocaine.
He also says that they need to sell cocaine because that's the only work available to them.
I am not convinced. I think each time we deal a setback to the War on Drugs will help get rid of the rest of it. Meanwhile, if cocaine were decriminalized enough to end the oppression of the War on Drugs, it would also become far less lucrative. It would no longer be able to support all the blacks who can no longer find any other industry.
What we really need to do is end the oppression of the surplus Americans. A lot more Americans are going to become surplus in the next decade due to robots and AI.
It is the plutocrats who have decided to condemn these people to poverty, so we must redirect the War on Drugs into a War on Plutocracy.
26 May 2013 (Awareness of global heating in China)
An art exhibition in China aims to raise awareness of global heating.
The Chinese government decided to allow this exhibit, since it would close anything it regarded as unfriendly. Ironically, the Chinese government may be more resistant to plutocratic control than the US government. The Chinese rulers are the plutocrats, rather than the servants of the plutocrats, and they realize that China as a whole (including them) will be poorer if the environment is destroyed.
26 May 2013 (Obama should follow international law)
Human Rights Watch: regarding "War on Terror" and Guantanamo, Obama should follow international law, which the US has so far ignored.
26 May 2013 (Urgent: Repeal 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter and say to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
26 May 2013 (Urgent: Oppose bill requiring back doors in communication software)
US citizens: call on Obama not to support a bill to require back doors in all communication software.
More information.
26 May 2013 (Urgent: Drop charges against Kaitlyn Hunt)
US citizens: call for dropping charges against Kaitlyn Hunt, accused of having a girlfriend a few years younger than her.
While I am prepared to believe that bigotry against gays was part of the motive for this wrong, the wrong is independent of that. the prosecution would be equally wrong if either or both of the teenagers involved were male.
26 May 2013 (Some web sites that attract users by not tracking them sell out)
Some web sites attract users by not tracking them, then sell out to companies that will track visitors heavily. Tumblr seems likely to be the next example.
To end this problem, we need to shift the Internet from an advertising-and-surveillance model to a pay-for-access model with an anonymous payment scheme. Perhaps one can be built on Bitcoin.
26 May 2013 (Vladimir Putin's goal)
Vladimir Putin's Goal Is to Destroy Russian Civil Society.
26 May 2013 (Thugs in UK steal homeless people's possessions)
Thugs in the UK stole homeless people's possessions.
Why are they being "criticized" instead of prosecuted for theft?
26 May 2013 (UK gas companies falsely claim gas shortage emergency)
UK gas companies falsely claimed there was a gas shortage emergency, for speculative profits apparently.
Isn't this a crime?
26 May 2013 (Economic damage caused by shutdown of Boston)
The unnecessary one-day shutdown of Boston caused around 200 million dollars of economic damage (see note 1).
This was directly harmful, since it shows any future terrorist how to magnify the effect of his attack. Aside from that, was that money well spent?
200 million dollars could pay for vitamin A supplements for a year for all the 190 million children that need them, world wide, which would save the lives of 600,000 children, more or less.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
350,000 additional children would be saved from blindness. This costs one dollar per child per year, so 200 million is exactly the amount needed.
If we limit our consideration to American lives, it costs around 100,000 dollars (very roughly) to treat cancer. This means with 200 million dollars we could save 2000 Americans who have cancer and can't afford treatment.
Every year, 10000 Americans with no insurance get cancer and can't afford treatment. Obamacare may correct some of this problem, but not all; they may not be able to afford the deductible and their food.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
How stupid to spend over 200 million dollars to avoid the unlikely chance that a wounded man, on the run and with few supplies, might kill another handful. And if we don't reject the idea that this was a wise decision, it will be repeated over and over, doing damage each time.
26 May 2013 (Obama to "fast track" more free exploitation treaties)
Obama plans to "fast track" more free exploitation treaties.
26 May 2013 (Terracide)
Bigger than genocide is terracide: killing off the earth for profit.
I suggest setting up a web site to record the identity and deeds of the terrarists, so they can be punished later, perhaps by taking the ill-gotten gains away from their descendants. If they see that their descendants won't be able to buy their way out of sharing the fate they impose on the rest of humanity, they may decide not to go down that path.
26 May 2013 (Urgent: Oppose law that forces 40,000 Bedouin from their homes)
Everyone: call on the Israeli parliament not to pass a law to force 40,000 Bedouin from their homes.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
26 May 2013 (Urgent: Oppose letting Koch brothers take over newspapers)
Everyone: urge Tribune Company's owners not to let the Koch brothers take over their newspapers.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 May 2013 (76 countries have drones)
76 countries have drones. Would the US government like to see other countries use them the way the US does?
25 May 2013 (Urgent: Support Warren's bill on student loans)
US citizens: support Senator Warren's bill to give student loans the same interest rate that the big banks pay when they borrow.
25 May 2013 (Sex-related speech)
The US government is trying to make universities ban and punish all "unwelcome" sex-related speech, even "dirty jokes".
25 May 2013 (Urgent: Release conscientious objector)
US citizens: call on Kerry to push Israel to release conscientious objector Natan Blanc from prison.
25 May 2013 (Urgent: Arming the Syrian rebels)
US citizens: call on the senate not to endorse arming the Syrian rebels.
25 May 2013 (Kim Dotcom becomes patent aggressor)
Kim Dotcom becomes a patent aggressor, with a rather absurd patent.
25 May 2013 (Urgent: Funding for US national parks)
US citizens: call for proper funding for US national parks.
25 May 2013 (Victims of US Drug War)
Honduran Victims of US Drug War Still Await Justice.
25 May 2013 (Banksters trying to weaken Dodd-Frank)
Banksters are trying to weaken the Dodd-Frank law by policy laundering through free exploitation treaties.
25 May 2013 (Did Pentagon cry wolf over sequestration)
Did the Pentagon cry wolf over sequestration?
The US military budget could and should be cut a lot more. The US ought to increase government spending to get people back to work, but military spending makes fewer jobs than other kinds of spending, so it would be advisable to transfer money from the military to programs that are really useful and make more jobs.
25 May 2013 (Boy Scouts to allow gay boys as members)
The Boy Scouts of America voted to allow gay boys as members.
That is a reduction in discrimination, but when will it allow atheists?
25 May 2013 (Urgent: Protect Indonesian rainforests)
Everyone: Encourage the president of Indonesia to turn his conservationist sentiments into practice.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 May 2013 (House passes bill to allow student loan interest rate increase)
Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a bill which would avoid an immediate rise in student loan interest rates but would let them increase even more in the future.
25 May 2013 (Humanity faces water shortage in two generations)
Most of humanity will face a water shortage in two generations.
Ruining water sources with fracking is really dumb.
25 May 2013 (Illegal road being built through Peruvian national park)
A local government in Peru is building an illegal road through the biggest national park.
25 May 2013 (Redd threatens control over land in Panama)
Indigenous people in Panama say that Redd, intended to encourage forest conservation, instead threatens their control over their land.
25 May 2013 (Inquests into killing of prisoners in Iraq)
A court ruled the UK must conduct inquests into the killing of prisoners in Iraq.
25 May 2013 (Free US workers losing jobs to prisoners)
Free US workers are losing their jobs to prisoners.
This practice forces poor Americans into crime, whereupon they become prisoners. It's great for the privatized prison industry.
Privatized prisons should be banned, because they give companies an interest in putting more people in prison. Prison laborers should be payed a fair wage.
25 May 2013 (Urgent: End old-growth logging in Tongass National Forest)
US citizens: call on the Forest Service to carry out its plan to end old-growth logging in the Tongass National Forest.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 May 2013 (Urgent: Boycott Intercontinental Hotels)
Everyone: support the boycott of Intercontinental Hotels (which includes Holiday Inn) for building a hotel in Lhasa.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 May 2013 (US gov't buys secret descriptions of software vulnerabilities)
The US government pays big bucks for secret descriptions of software vulnerabilities — not to fix them, but to exploit them.
Not very different from gangsters, ultimately.
25 May 2013 (Obama's War on Journalism)
First the US came for brash leak sites, and I said nothing because my newspaper was not a brash leak site. Then the US came for me.
If Obama wins his War on Journalism, the government will decide what Americans are allowed to know.
That way leads to corruption, even atrocities.
25 May 2013 (Weasel-words in proposed legal criteria for drone attacks)
The ACLU explains the weasel-words in Obama's proposed legal criteria for drone attacks.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
25 May 2013 (Journalists sue to end extreme secrecy in Bradley Manning's trial)
Journalists have sued to end the extreme secrecy in Bradley Manning's trial.
25 May 2013 (New budget proposal from Congress)
Congress: From "Starving the Beast" to Starving Real People.
25 May 2013 (Proposing a treaty to ban armed drones)
Proposing a treaty to ban armed drones.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The article points out that the Ottawa Treaty that banned antipersonnel landmines has been fairly successful even though the US, China and Russia have not signed it.
25 May 2013 (Proposing a constitutional amendment to guarantee right to vote)
Proposing a constitutional amendment to guarantee in a positive way the right to vote.
25 May 2013 (Tibetan activists launch boycott of Intercontinental Hotels)
Tibetan activists have launched a boycott of Intercontinental Hotels for building a luxury resort in Lhasa.
24 May 2013 (Horse meat and putrid old beef)
A Dutch meat-processing plant included horse meat and putrid old beef in its shipments for five years, processing them outside normal working hours to keep the secret.
It used migrant workers who would communicate little with anyone around them.
24 May 2013 (Senate has no problems with bankster crony)
The Senate seems to have no problems with Obama's billionaire bankster crony Pritzker.
I guess they suspend their usual obstructionist approach when it comes to actions that will benefit their masters.
24 May 2013 (Ukraine banned gay pride rally)
Ukraine banned the annual gay pride rally.
24 May 2013 (Malaysia arrested opposition leaders)
Malaysia has arrested opposition leaders for "promoting hatred against the government".
A government that arrests people for this, deserves all the hatred people choose to give it.
24 May 2013 (Single murder reason for massive surveillance)
One single murder is being cited in the UK as the reason for massive surveillance.
24 May 2013 (Urgent: Big Oil stop fighting SEC requirements)
US citizens: tell Big Oil to stop fighting the SEC's transparency requirements.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
24 May 2013 (Right to know how our food is produced)
Do Americans have the right to know how our food is produced?
24 May 2013 (Overreaction of the shutdown of Boston)
If Americans do not condemn the absurd overreaction of the shutdown of Boston, it risks to become standard practice. That would crush Americans' human rights, while handing any terrorist or madman a lever to cause tremendous damage.
24 May 2013 (Unusually sever hurricane season)
NOAA predicts an unusually severe hurricane season for the US east coast.
24 May 2013 (Steps to control drone attacks by law)
Obama proposed steps to control drone attacks by law, and steps towards reducing the number of prisoners in Guantanamo.
When we know more, we will see if these are steps forward. However, they certainly don't go far enough. Any prisoners in Guantanamo that ought to be tried should have real trials, not military kangaroo courts.
24 May 2013 (My big fat Greek minister)
Greg Palast: My big fat Greek minister.
24 May 2013 (Israeli soldiers shot and killed Muhammad al-Dura)
Israeli soldiers in Gaza shot and killed Muhammad al-Dura, age 12, in 2000. A cameraman make a video, which was broadcast. Now Israel claims that the whole thing was faked — but Muhammad's father asks, "If he's alive, where is he?"
Nowadays, in Syria, anonymous rebels fake video of atrocities. It is not absolutely impossible that Palestinians in Gaza would have done so. But the death of one Palestinian was so common that there was no need for anyone to fake that. (Israeli troops shot the ambulance driver!) This video was made, and sworn to, by a respected journalist. So the Israeli accusation has no credibility.
23 May 2013 (Methane hydrates under the ocean bottom)
Methane hydrates under the ocean bottom could offer many times the existing fossil fuel reserves.
What good is that? To burn that fuel is disaster. We already need to leave 4/5 of the known reserves in the ground, to have a good chance of avoiding global heating catastrophe. If we find more, we can't use it.
23 May 2013 (Urgent: Protests against Monsanto on Saturday)
Everyone: join protests on Saturday against Monsanto and GMOs.
23 May 2013 (Urgent: Drop charges against Cameron D'Ambrosio)
In the US: call for dropping charges against Cameron D'Ambrosio.
His rap rant was twisted by thugs into a terrorist threat, and he faces 20 years in prison.
23 May 2013 (Urgent: Legalization of growing hemp)

US citizens: call for legalization of growing hemp.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 May 2013 (Urgent: Keep fracking out of US national forests and parks)
US citizens: call on Obama to keep fracking out of US national forests and national parks.
23 May 2013 (Urgent: Close The Guantanamo Prison)

US citizens: call on Obama to close the Guantanamo prison.

23 May 2013 (Urgent: Cut CO2 Emissions)
US citizens: Call on Obama to act now to cut CO2 emissions.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 May 2013 (Urgent: Fire Elizabeth Lederer)
Everyone: sign this petition calling on Columbia University to fire Elizabeth Lederer.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Lederer bullied people into false confessions for a murder even though DNA evidence suggested the culprit was someone else.

This was a callous disregard for justice, not a mere mistake, so it deserves punishment. For her to be fired from teaching is not an adequate punishment for this, but it is better than nothing.
23 May 2013 (Urgent: Change cruel Islamic law)
Everyone: call on the president of the Maldives to change the law under which a teenager was sentenced to flogging for being raped.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]

This change is just a first step, because it is also wrong to flog people for having sex voluntarily. (Or for anything else.) This is just one part of the systematic injustice of Islamic law, and the elimination of that form of cruelty must be the goal.
23 May 2013 (Urgent: Require US contractors to pay workers a living wage)
US citizens: call on Obama to require US contractors to pay workers a living wage.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 May 2013 (Urgent: Repeal Monsanto Protection Act)
US citizens: sign this petition to repeal the Monsanto Protection Act.
23 May 2013 (Mount Everest's Glaciers)
Mount Everest's Glaciers have shrunk 13% in 50 years.
23 May 2013 (Ruins of Mes Aynak)
The Taliban destroyed the Buddha statues of Bamiyan. Karzai is letting a Chinese mining company destroy the ruins of Mes Aynak, but at least they will be studied archeologically first.

However, leaving the site unguarded could be even worse.
23 May 2013 (FBI shoots and kills suspect under interrogation at home)
The FBI shot and killed a suspect who was under interrogation in his home.

It sounds to me like "shot while trying to escape".

Reportedly he was suspected of murder. Reportedly he expected to be shot. Reportedly this was not the first interrogation, yet apparently he did not have a lawyer present. Did the FBI read him his Miranda warning?
23 May 2013 (Men armed with knives kill British soldier in London)
Men armed with knives killed a British soldier in London, then said it was revenge for killing Muslims.

The jihadis' theocratic agenda is horrible tyranny, but they have a valid grievance about US-UK violence. On this occasion they attacked a military target, so if you want to think of this as war, the attack was not a war crime. However, they threatened to attack civilians, which would be a war crime.

The US admitted that four US citizens were killed by US drone attacks.

The US and UK should stop killing civilians around the world. Whether they are Muslim (as is usually the case today) or Christian (as was typically the case in the 70s and 80s) is an insignificant detail.
23 May 2013 (Monsanto's new Omega-3 soybean)

Monsanto's new Omega-3 soybean was engineered to offer what hemp seed offers naturally.

I wonder if Monsanto is paying congresscritters to oppose legalization of hemp.
23 May 2013 (Student faces prosecution for having a younger girlfriend)
A high school student faces prosecution for having a younger girlfriend.

This sort of "protection" is not good for anyone.
23 May 2013 (PBS cancels showing of documentary to avoid giving offense)
PBS canceled the showing of a documentary to avoid offending the Koch brothers.
23 May 2013 (Riots in Sweden)
Right-wing policies in Sweden have led to growing inequality, which resulted in riots.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 May 2013 (Humanity on course to run out of fresh water)
Humanity is on a course to run out of fresh water.

The problem will show up mostly in poor countries at first. Many of them have rapidly growing populations. A comparatively small investment in birth control and sterilization could avoid a good part of this problem.

Or would you rather see the population held down by diseases spread by drinking unsafe water?
23 May 2013 (CIA'a Global Detention Program)
Mapping the CIA's global kidnap and secret detention program shows the participation of other countries.
23 May 2013 (Italian Thugs)
A documentary shows how Italian thugs attacked protesters while they rested for the night in a school in Genoa, then tried to frame them
23 May 2013 (Significant publisher stops selling through Amazon)
A significant publisher has stopped selling through Amazon.
23 May 2013 (Rapists pressure victims into marriage in Malaysia)
In Malaysia, rapists avoid punishment by pressuring the victim into marriage.
23 May 2013 (The Nakba)
Yerachmiel Kahanovich says he shot Palestinian civilians in 1948, under orders, and drove out the population of villages.

When he says he fired one or two shots at a village, I can't tell whether he means he shot a couple of people or fired in the air.

The Arabs sought in that war to expel the Jews, and initially they seemed to have a real chance of succeeding. The two sides were roughly in moral parity. How different from the situation today, where Israel is not threatened at all but calculatingly continues its land grab.
23 May 2013 (Tax-exempt status of right-wing groups)
The IRS had good reason to question the tax-exempt status of some right-wing groups.
23 May 2013 (A call for education to be free)
The US Green Party calls for education to be free.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 May 2013 (Lake Malawi running out of fish)
Lake Malawi is running out of fish, and drying up.

This is due to human activity, including global heating.
23 May 2013 (How big do the biggest banks have to get?)
"How big do the biggest banks have to get before we consider breaking them up," asked Senator Warren.
23 May 2013 (Dutch criminal investigation of construction of Israeli colonies)
A Dutch criminal investigation puts companies on notice that they may be prosecuted for collaborating with the construction of Israeli colonies in Palestine or the annexation wall.
23 May 2013 (Israeli soldiers destroy Palestinians' crops)
Israeli soldiers keep on destroying Palestinians' crops and irrigation systems, and demolishing their buildings.

The default policy of the Israeli army, when colonists commit crimes against Palestinians, is to defend the culprits and aggravate the crimes. Sometimes they arrest the victims too.
23 May 2013 (Apple demands the US reduce its tax rate)
Apple arrogantly demanded the US reduce its tax rate, and then Apple will deign to allow some of its foreign income to be taxed.

The Home of the Brave would punish Apple for this by doing exactly the opposite of what it wants: taxing foreign income anyway.
23 May 2013 (America)
How America could become a third-world country.
23 May 2013 (UK to use secret hearing to snuff out Abel Hakin Belhaj's lawsuit)
The UK will use a secret hearing to try to snuff out Abdel Hakim Belhaj's lawsuit about handing him to Gaddafi for torture.
23 May 2013 (Fraudulent DMCA takedowns for documentary about the Pirate Bay)
Hollywood companies are sending fraudulent DMCA takedowns for a documentary about the Pirate Bay.
23 May 2013 (Obama's misuse of AUMF unconstitutional)
Green Party: Obama's misuse of AUMF is unconstitutional, unconscionable.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
23 May 2013 (Peru sued for ordering company to clean up lead pollution)
Peru ordered a mine to clear up lead pollution that poisoned many children, so the company is using the US - Peru free exploitation treaty to sue Peru.
All the free exploitation treaties starting with the WTO are an injustice, and the ones with this "investor-state" provision are the nastiest of all. Countries must free themselves from these treaties.
23 May 2013 (Oklahoma senators worked to undermine disaster relief)
Before Deadly Tornado Hit, Oklahoma Senators Worked To Undermine Disaster Relief.
23 May 2013 (Congressman denounces food stamps as stealing)
Congressman Who Gets Millions In Farm Subsidies Denounces Food Stamps As Stealing Other People's Money.
This greedy bastard called recipients of food stamps "unwilling to work", which is lie, given that his plutocrat cronies have left the US with too few jobs.
23 May 2013 (Replacement of human workers by robots)
Confronting the prospect of massive unemployment, as robots replace human workers while doing a worse job.
23 May 2013 (Recruiting company lied to recruit Indian guest workers)
The ACLU and others are suing a recruiting company that lied to recruit Indian guest workers.
Isn't this fraud? Can't it be prosecuted as a crime? I guess the "Justice" department has its hands full prosecuting so many whistleblowers and journalists.
23 May 2013 (Telecommunications in Burma)
"Telecom companies that rush into Burma before rights protections are in place risk complicity in illegal surveillance, censorship, and other repression."
It bothers me that these things happen in Burma, but as a patriotic American, it bothers me more that they happen in the US.
23 May 2013 (Russian mass surveillance technology in use in the US)
Russian technology for mass surveillance is in use in the US.
23 May 2013 (UK's plan to encourage creativity)
The UK's plan to "encourage creativity" is rote memorization.
To make sense of this apparent idiocy, first recall that the only thing the government really wants in regard to schools is to cut expenditure, and whatever it says is an excuse. An idiotic excuse is fine if people accept it. I suspect that somehow or other this will provide an excuse for cuts.
23 May 2013 (Urgent: Marine reserves in the Bering Sea)
US citizens: call for marine reserves in the Bering Sea.
22 May 2013 (States to lure and pressure people to give private info)
It's bad enough that corporations lure people to give out lots of personal information. Even worse, states are going to join in luring or pressuring people to do so.
The "Internet of Things" is one of the stratagems.
22 May 2013 (Support of Guatemalan dictators from US)
The invisible elephant in the room during Rios Montt's trial was the support that a string of Guatemalan dictators got from the US government.
22 May 2013 (Urgent: Arrest the bankster)
US citizens: phone the White House and say, arrest the bankster, not the protesters against "Too Big to Jail".
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
22 May 2013 (Assange got notes from UK spy agency)
Julian Assange got notes that a UK spy agency had about him, in which the spooks speculated that the charges against Assange were trumped up.
22 May 2013 (Arrested for making video)
New York thugs violently arrested a woman who was making a video of them, and her boyfriend. They tried to steal the video, but they got the wrong video card, so they were busted.
How often do they steal the right video card and get away with their crime? Shouldn't they be prosecuted for obstruction of justice whenever they destroy evidence?
22 May 2013 (Sectarian fighting in Iraq)
Analyzing the sectarian fighting in Iraq.
22 May 2013 (In jail for feeling forced and abusive marriages)
Hundreds of Afghan women are in jail for fleeing forced and abusive marriages.
Others are in jail for being raped.
Instead of propping up Karzai's government, we should arm Afghan women.
22 May 2013 (Rios Montt's trial has to be done over)
Guatemala's constitutional court says that part of Rios Montt's trial has to be done over.
22 May 2013 (Iran holds 2600 prisoners)
Iran holds 2600 political prisoners, and it's actively looking for more.
22 May 2013 (Corporations force for destruction)
Corporations have become a marauding force for destruction and suffering around the world.
Apple and such are too busy causing our worst problems to bother trying to solve them.
22 May 2013 (Surveillance of Occupy Wall Street)
The giant US "counter-terrorism" apparatus was systematically aimed at surveillance of Occupy Wall Street and other protest movements, in close cooperation with corporations being protested.
More "security" means less democracy. It's not just a theoretical possibility, it's an established fact.
22 May 2013 (Urgent: Support extended bottle bill)
Citizens of Massachusetts: call on your state senator to support the extended bottle bill.
22 May 2013 (Urgent: Ban Pebble Mine)
US citizens: call on the EPA to follow its own conclusions and protect Bristol Bay, by banning Pebble Mine.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
22 May 2013 (Urgent: Stop deportation of unconscious injured patients)
In the US: call on UnityPoint Health to stop deporting unconscious injured patients to avoid treating them.
22 May 2013 (US military grants itself power to enforce domestic law)
[US] Military Quietly Grants Itself the Power to Police the Streets Without Local or State Consent.
22 May 2013 (West Virginia proposes to "protect" girls by punishing them for sexting)
West Virginia proposes to "protect" girls from the risk of embarrassment due to sexting by piling punishment on top.
When sex is concerned, we see many proposals to punish those who are mistreated in one way or another. I think that this is just prudery at work — the talk about "helping" or "protecting" is just a disguise.
If we really want to help people, we need to think about why they get hurt. The US has a ridiculous taboo on nudity, and women who show their sexuality are sneered at. This is tied up with sexism, misogyny, and religion. If a girl feels hurt due to publication of a nude photo of her, this stigma is probably why it hurts.
One way to de-stigmatize something is to get lots of people doing it. I made the suggestion that Facebook should require every user to provide a nude photo. This was a joke — no one should use Facebook! — but also serious. If lots of teenagers post nude photos, so that it becomes normal, the stigma will be gone.
22 May 2013 (Hurdles to peace talks for Syria)
On the hurdles peace talks for Syria face.
And even more hurdles.
22 May 2013 (230 killed in Sunni-Shi'ite conflict in the past week)
The Sunni-Shi'ite conflict in Iraq has killed 230 people in the past week.
22 May 2013 (Kerry says he is trying to restart Arab/Israeli peace talks)
Kerry keeps saying he is trying to restart Arab/Israeli peace talks, even though Netanyahu demonstrates total contempt for the idea of peace.
22 May 2013 (FBI reads reporter's email to find his source)
The FBI read a reporter's email to find his source, and claimed his investigation was a "criminal conspiracy" because he was asking the source questions.
That reporter and his source tried to conceal their communication. This was presented as a sign of guilt, but it is simple common sense for journalists working in a state that persecutes journalists. It is a shame they did not follow best secrecy practices.
I am glad that Obama's War on Journalism is finally getting condemnation. When journalists investigate what our government is doing, they and their sources our country and protect it from the biggest internal threat it faces: the national security state which is dominated by plutocrats.
22 May 2013 (Apple routes billions in profits to subsidiaries that pay no taxes)
Apple has routed billions of dollars in profits to subsidiaries that claim to belong to no state and pay no taxes.
I've proposed a way to cut through this problem.
[Reference updated on 2022-07-15 because the old link was broken.]
22 May 2013 (Arabs with pressure cookers)
If you look Arab and you carry a pressure cooker, watch out!
22 May 2013 (Aquifer running empty in many areas Kansas)
Farming in Kansas is running into a brick wall: the aquifer is running empty in many areas.
22 May 2013 (Moving communities to higher ground)
Alaska provides an initial test case for moving communities to higher ground, so we can learn and prepare for moving millions of people from cities like NYC and Washington.
Global heating is expected to force hundreds of millions of people to try to migrate from land become uninhabitable.
22 May 2013 (Excuse for massive collection of biometric information)
Humanitarian goals now provide the excuse for massive collection of biometric information.
22 May 2013 (Crucial victory in civil rights movement)
Thousands of teenagers and children, marching for freedom and equality and getting arrested in large numbers, won a crucial victory in the civil rights movement.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
It's too bad Americans don't have this sort of spirit nowadays to campaign for freedom and equality.
22 May 2013 (Firing Edward DeMarco too little, too late)
Green Party: firing Edward DeMarco was too little, too late.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
22 May 2013 (Obama follows in Nixon's footsteps in attacking journalism)
Obama is following Nixon's footsteps in attacking journalism that investigates what the state does in the name of "security".
22 May 2013 (Bill to end teaching of biology in Louisiana public schools)
A bill in Louisiana proposes to end the teaching of real biology in public schools there.
22 May 2013 (Deforestation in Indochina)
Half the land in Indochina has been deforested in 40 years.
Many species will be wiped out before we know they exist.
22 May 2013 (Journalist accused of committing crime by asking questions)
The Obama regime accused a journalist of committing a crime by asking questions.
Thus, the War on Whistleblowers is growing into a War on Journalists.
22 May 2013 (40C (104F) temperature in Pakistan)
Pakistan is short of electricity as people try to use air conditioning to cope with temperatures of 40C (104F).
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
As global heating continues, things will get much worse.
22 May 2013 (Reshaping of Iraq structured by oil)
Oil is structuring the reshaping of Iraq and perhaps Syria along ethnic and sectarian lines.
22 May 2013 (Episode of Myth-busters on RFID payment systems canceled)
A planned episode of Myth-busters which would have exposed the lousy security of RFID payment systems was canceled by the channel because advertising clients didn't want this exposed.
22 May 2013 (Global heating deniers attempt to cause confusion)
James Hansen says, ignore global heating deniers' attempts to cause confusion by picking at minor and short-term details.
It was recently understood that in the past decade, global heating did not slow down; rather, a larger fraction went into the ocean rather than the atmosphere.
21 May 2013 (Motive behind Boston bombing)
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left a note saying the Boston bombing was meant as retaliation for US violence in Afghanistan and Iraq.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
It won't be the first time people attacked Americans with that motive.
To some extent, his idea is simplistic. The US intervened in Afghanistan on the side of some Afghan groups against others. Once the Taliban started fighting back, the US and the Taliban both started killing civilians.
Islamists tend to blame the US for when it kills civilians, and not blame the Taliban for doing likewise, even when the Taliban do it more deliberately. So we get this sort of response.
The US aerial death squad merits condemnation for other reasons. It is in the practical interest of the US, as well as its moral duty. to shut it down.
21 May 2013 (Saudi arrested for getting flustered)
A Saudi was arrested for getting flustered when asked why he was bringing a pressure cooker into the US.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
This is the sort of thing that happens when fools demand that the government make them perfectly safe from dangers which are so small as to be negligible in the first place. About 4 million people die each year in the US, and the fraction of those deaths due to terrorism is minuscule.
21 May 2013 (EU acceptance of tar sand oil)
James Hansen tried to convince UK ministers to end their secret support for EU acceptance of tar sand oil.
21 May 2013 (Journalists attacked by pro-government mob)
Journalists in Ukraine were attacked by a pro-government mob as thugs did nothing.
21 May 2013 (Rat poison killing birds of prey)
The rat poison d-CON is killing birds of prey that eat the poisoned animals.
21 May 2013 (Urgent: Make Plan B available with no limitation)
US citizens: tell HHS Secretary Sibelius to make Plan B available with no limitations.
21 May 2013 (Banks' latest nastiness)
Banks' latest nastiness: refusing to let porn businesses have bank accounts.
21 May 2013 (Global heating to kill 30 people per year)
Global heating is expected to kill around 30 people per year in Manhattan in the 2020s, just via the direct effects of heat.
In subsequent decades it will get worse. And this is only one of the ways that global heating will kill.
21 May 2013 (Recommendation for shield law)
Reporters Without Borders presents recommendations for a shield law to protect journalists from investigation for doing their job.
21 May 2013 (Weakened protection for safety at work)
Right-wing government in the US has weakened the protection for safety at work.
21 May 2013 (Cover for sponsors of Attack Ads)
Lax State Rules Provide Cover for Sponsors of Attack Ads.
21 May 2013 (Writer sentenced to five years in prison)
A Tibetan writer was sentenced to five years in prison for his writings.
21 May 2013 (Unemployment insurance is being reformed)
US unemployment insurance is being "reformed" to push people into lower-paying jobs.
This is part of the plutocrats' plan to use the crisis to reduce the general standard of living of most Americans. The GNP is up, but the rich are unwilling to share that with the rest.
21 May 2013 (Urgent: No fracking on public land)
US citizens: tell the Bureau of Land Management not to allow fracking on public land.
21 May 2013 (Imposing accountability on Wall Street)
Imposing accountability on Wall Street (i.e., the banksters) is the root cause behind many causes we need to fight for.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
21 May 2013 (Evidence that humans wiped out mammoths)
Evidence that human hunters wiped out mammoths.
21 May 2013 (EU to buy oil from Islamist fanatics in Syria)
The EU has decided to buy oil from Islamist fanatics in Syria.
It is a mistake to speak of "al Qa'ida" as if it referred to a single coherent organization. The Islamist fanatics in Syria probably don't regard the US as an enemy, but they would like to oppress everyone in Syria that isn't a Sunni male, and even those are likely to face repression.
21 May 2013 (Urgent: Stop wage theft by fast food companies)
In the US: call on fast food companies to stop ripping off their workers' wages.
21 May 2013 (Herod's temple)
How the remnant structure of Herod's temple has been used politically throughout history.
21 May 2013 (Assad says agreement with rebels impossible)
Assad said, in an interview, that it would be impossible to make an agreement with the rebels because they are fragmented and nobody speaks for them all.
It is not quite impossible; if a few main rebel groups reach an agreement, they could perhaps prevail on the rest. But it would certainly be difficult.
Syria is degenerating into warlord-ism. One writer claims that this is what the US wants.
When that happened in Afghanistan, religious fanatics (the Taliban) received popular support, even though most people did not like their religious strictness, because they offered a chance to end the constant fighting between warlords. A similar thing happened in Somalia. The same might happen in Syria.
20 May 2013 (US hospitals raising prices rapidly)
US hospitals are raising prices rapidly, though their costs have not increased much.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The burden of these increases falls hardest on those with no insurance.
20 May 2013 (Rethink of the War on Drugs)
Latin American governments have pushed for a global rethink of the War on Drugs.
20 May 2013 (Syrian government torture chambers)
Human Rights Watch asks Syrian rebels to secure the evidence in a government torture chamber.
20 May 2013 (Another nasty pollutant from tar sands)
Another nasty pollutant from Alberta tar sands oil: piles of carbon, not safe to burn because of sulfur contamination, and hard to dispose of.
20 May 2013 (Global heating affects ocean)
Global heating affects the ocean, and this is making many fish species move to different areas.
Some fish species, that need other special conditions as well as a particular temperature range, won't find any place they can move to. They will go extinct.
20 May 2013 (Urgent: Support food stamps for veterans)
US citizens: support food stamps for poor veterans.
20 May 2013 (Ice on Mount Everest is melting)
The ice on Mount Everest is melting, since the temperature has gone up by 1C.
20 May 2013 (Obama caves to fracking industry)
Obama Administration Caves To Fracking Industry in New Proposed Rules.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
But frackers are still not satisfied: they want carte blanche.
Years of corruption combined with cowardice have taught businesses to expect the US government to take orders from them.
20 May 2013 (Urgent: Raise minimum wage)
US citizens: sign this petition to raise the minimum wage for restaurant workers.
20 May 2013 (Obama should break a union)
"Liberal" pundits said Obama should break a union, to show he is as tough on workers as Reagan was.
This illustrates how the mainstream media often presents a spectrum of views stretching from extreme right wing to not-so-extreme right wing, and calls the latter "Liberal". The views of most Americans, on many scales, are much more Liberal than that whole spectrum.
What we need is a president who is tough against the powerful that are doing tremendous harm, such as the banksters, Big Pharma, the copyright lobby, and fossil fuel companies.
20 May 2013 (GMOs dangerous and testing inadequate)
Thierry Vrain, a scientist who promoted GMOs for the Canadian government, states why their testing is inadequate, and how science has found they are dangerous.
20 May 2013 (Threatened with $1B suit)
Blogger Writes about Predatory Publishing, Is Threatened with $1B Suit.
20 May 2013 (Requiring court order to seize phone records)
Lawmakers Introduce Bill Requiring Court Order to Seize Phone Records.
This is a partial step forward but not adequate. Obama's War on Whistleblowers could surely get a court order to pursue the next Ellsberg or Manning.
Obama's proposed law to "shield" journalists would really make journalists (and our right to know what the state is doing) more vulnerable.
To get back our privacy rights, we need to end the practice of making complete dossiers of everything we say, to be looked at later.
19 May 2013 (Urgent: Support the Home Defenders League)
US citizens: state your support for the Home Defenders League, who are pressuring the Department of Justice to prosecute criminal banksters.
Here's more about their week of action, now in progress.
19 May 2013 (California suing JP Morgan)
California is suing JP Morgan for fraudulent and illegal practices in thousands of lawsuits against people who may or may not really have been in arrears on their credit cards.
19 May 2013 (Has your doctor received gifts from Big Pharma)
Has your doctor received gifts from Big Pharma?
19 May 2013 (Twisted theocratic Christians)
Twisted theocratic Christians in the US teach their children to feel they are being discriminated against if they do not dominate all social institutions.
There you have it: Christian values say you're oppressing Christians if you don't let them dominate everyone else.
Twisted Islamic fundamentalists in the Afghan parliament blocked a law to ban the selling of women, saying it violates Islamic values.
There you have it: Islamic values call for treating women as property.
19 May 2013 (Urgent: CO2 emissions from aviation)
Everyone: call on United Airlines to stop opposing world-wide measures to reduce CO2 emissions from aviation.
19 May 2013 (Urgent: Call on EPA to reduce allowed levels of roundup)
US citizens: call on the EPA to reduce, not increase, allowed levels of roundup in animal feed.
19 May 2013 (Urgent: Resist Monsanto)
US citizens: call on Congress to resist Monsanto and not ban states from requiring labeling of GMOs in food.
It is ironic that Republicans who used to claim they were for "states' rights" support a measure like this. Really they stand for nothing except the companies that get them elected.
19 May 2013 (Monsanto wants ban requiring labels on GMOs)
Monsanto wants Congress to ban states from requiring labels on GMOs.
19 May 2013 (Obama regime to continue war for a decade)
The Obama regime admits it plans to continue "war" for a decade or more against a vague association of terrorist organizations, many of which are not interested in the US at all.
During that time, some of these organizations will be wiped out, but US killings of civilians will inspire new ones. By ten years from now, freedom in the US will be an irrelevant platitude, and there will be new enemies to justify endless war.
19 May 2013 (Mistaken moralistic economics)
Paul Krugman explains how psychology predisposes people towards mistaken moralistic economics which treats a depression as punishment for previous "excesses".
Keynes's discovery, that governments can end a depression with deficit spending or else perpetuate it, delivers useful advice instead of the morality play that people are looking for. This plays into the hands of those who profit from a crisis.
19 May 2013 (New Yorker set up secure leak-receiving system)
The New Yorker magazine has set up a new secure leak-receiving system that was developed by Aaron Swartz.
19 May 2013 (Falsely claiming wolves and wolverines are real danger to humans)
A supposedly factual program about wildlife in Alaska got a big audience by falsely claiming that wolves and even wolverines are a real danger to humans.
I wonder if the interests that want to eliminate protection for wolves in the US had something to do with making this program.
19 May 2013 (UK cut its team planning for how to cope with effects of climate change)
As climate change heats up, the UK has cut its team planning for how to cope with the effects from 38 people to 6 people.
If you are rich, you will take care of yourself; as for the rest, losing their homes will help make them poorer.
19 May 2013 (UK gov't suppressed evidence about murder of Litvinenko)
The UK government has suppressed evidence about the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in order to suck up to Putin.
Litvinenko was killed by a dose of radioactive polonium, and the suspicion is that it was given to him by Russian agents.
19 May 2013 (Obama regime to extract more oil)
The Obama regime's new Arctic policy is to take advantage of disappearing ice to extract more oil.
As we roar towards the edge of the cliff, he wants to step on the gasoline.
19 May 2013 (Denial of human-caused global heating)
Denial of human-caused global heating is a zombie theory, dead in scientific terms though it seems alive when viewed through mainstream media.
It's fossil fuel money that keeps the zombie moving.
19 May 2013 (Urgent: Arms Trade Treaty)
US citizens: call on Obama to sign the Arms Trade Treaty promptly.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 May 2013 (Canadian artist censored by gov't)
Canadian artist Franke James was censored by the government for not toeing the tar sands party line. She obtained the emails discussing how to censor her, and turned that into worse embarrassment for the state.
19 May 2013 (Pope condemns "cult of money")
The pope condemned the "cult of money" of the banksters which legitimizes their political power.
19 May 2013 (Anti-sharing organization in legal trouble)
The "six strikes" anti-sharing organization CCI has run into legal trouble and has had to suspend activities.
I don't think this will kill the scheme, though.
19 May 2013 (UK agency admits mistake of not prosecuting thugs)
The UK agency to investigate crimes committed by thugs has admitted that it made mistakes when not prosecuting the ones that killed a prisoner.
19 May 2013 (Urgent: Senate investigation report into CIA torture)
US citizens: call on Obama to cooperate with the Senate investigation report into CIA torture.
19 May 2013 (Microsoft accesses URLs mentioned in Skype chat messages)
Microsoft accesses URLs mentioned in fools' Skype chat messages.
I say "fools'" because non-fools use other communication methods.
19 May 2013 (Leaking information about government crimes)
People who want to leak information about government crimes must now follow spy tradecraft so as not to be caught by Obama's War on Whistleblowers.
Nixon was famous for secrecy, but Obama is worse.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
19 May 2013 (Corporate resistance to necessary regulation)
When a business practice kills people, the resistance to necessary regulation follows a predictable pattern.
18 May 2013 (Austerity grab is killing people in poor countries, too)
The austerity grab is killing people in poor countries, too, as they are forced to cut spending to help the poor, on public health, and on agriculture.
17 May 2013 (Bigger IRS scandal)
Although the IRS was wrong to choose groups to investigate based on their political affiliation, those groups' applications showed dishonesty that called for action.
A bigger IRS scandal is not doing enough to scrutinize all such applications.
17 May 2013 (Urgent: Support the SANE act)
US citizens: call your congresscritter to support the SANE Act, which would cancel expensive "upgrades" to US nuclear weapons.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
17 May 2013 (Internet of Things means total surveillance)
The "Internet of Things" means total surveillance.
17 May 2013 (Chinese would join protests to protect environment)
A poll finds most Chinese would join protests to protect the local environment.
They are not yet sensitized to the greater long-term world-wide danger of global heating.
17 May 2013 (MD whistleblower privatized tests biased)
An MD whistleblower says that the UK's privatized tests of whether disabled people are fit to work are systematically biased.
17 May 2013 (Florida wants to speed up death penalty)
Florida wants to speed up the death penalty so that doubts about someone's guilt don't need to cause embarrassment.
17 May 2013 (Catholic Church taking control of US hospitals)
The Catholic Church is taking control of a growing fraction of US hospitals, and makes those hospitals deny various kinds of health care.
I think that general hospitals should not be allowed to deny care based on prejudices. Limited-duty clinics, which don't accept emergency patients and do not count as a hospital, perhaps can be allowed to do so.
17 May 2013 (Buying immunity)
Corporations that spend money on state judge elections effectively buy themselves immunity.
17 May 2013 (Unstudied new drugs in UK)
200 unstudied new drugs are being sold in the UK.
This is partly a side-effect of prohibition. If the basically safe drugs, such as pot and MDMA, were legal, most people would stick to them.
Some of them might be dangerous, while others might be fairly safe. Even those that are safe, in themselves, might become dangerous due to prohibition, which means you can't be sure what you're getting or how much.
There are some young people that will try any drug. A few such people were present in the AI lab in the 70s. The rest of us told them this was foolish.
17 May 2013 (Urgent: 50 states united for healthy air)
US citizens: Tell your senators you support 50 States United for Healthy Air.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
17 May 2013 (Austerity as cruelty to children)
The UK medical doctors' union condemns government austerity as cruelty to children.
It is blindness to discuss the topic of child abuse without including the abuse that is done by the state.
16 May 2013 (Anonymity Impossible)
Has Big Data Made Anonymity Impossible?
This applies to people who use digital technology in the surveillance-prone ways many people do. If you use technology the way I do, people get far less data about you.
16 May 2013 (Organic Farms suing Monsanto)
US organic farms are suing Monsanto to protect themselves from being sued if patented genes contaminate their crops.
16 May 2013 (Distribution of child pornography)
We are asked to believe that the distribution of child pornography — and I mean real child pornography — leads people to commit sexual abuse of children. But evidence suggests it's not so.
There are two arguments for prohibition of "child pornography". One is that "it was made in a real act of sexual abuse". In some cases, that is true. However, in many countries, the "child" may be an adult, or even nonexistent, since the censorship extends even to drawings. Meanwhile, in the US, the "child" may be 17 years old and taking the photos. This argument does not apply to those cases.
The other argument is based on the supposition that looking at these images leads people to commit sexual abuse. The article casts doubt on that supposition.
Making child pornography through real sexual abuse of real children can be prosecuted without censorship. Likewise selling it in a commercial arrangement with those who made it. There is no reason for the censorship which has generated a witch hunt that has ruined the lives of people not even alleged to have harmed anyone.
16 May 2013 (Digital revolution gift to the power of the state)
The digital revolution turns out to be a gift to the power of the state, and those who exercise the power are the ones who determine its limits.
We need to make sure there are lots of people who are not going to be easy for Big Brother to spy on, on line. We also need to reject the "Internet of things", which means in practice that the appliances in your house keep records for Big Brother to access, with or without a subpoena.
16 May 2013 (Half of EU in recession)
Almost half the EU is in recession thanks to austerity policies.
"Recessions can hurt, but austerity kills".
If oppression drives you to the point of suicide, why not die fighting your oppressors instead?
16 May 2013 (Congress fussing about artificial scandals)
Congress, fussing about artificial scandals, shows no interest in real Obama scandals involving stretching US and international law about use of armed force.
In the case of Libya, one can argue that Congress effectively approved the aerial intervention by not objecting to it.
16 May 2013 (Amazon stretches UK tax law)
Amazon stretches UK tax law to the breaking point.
16 May 2013 (Republicans plan to cut food stamps)
Republicans plan to cut food stamps but continue big handouts to big agribusiness companies.
16 May 2013 (US bans particular bitcoin trade)
The US government has banned a particular kind of bitcoin trade.
16 May 2013 (Urgent: Support bill to increase social security benefits)
US citizens: Support the bill to increase social security benefits.
16 May 2013 (Cambodian shoe factory collapse kills workers)
Several people were killed when a Cambodian shoe factory collapsed.
They were killed by psychopaths (corporations). Americans should cease their inordinate preoccupation with a comparatively small killing in Boston, which is unlikely to be repeated, and focus on these bigger killings which we know will be repeated.
16 May 2013 (Rapid erosion forces Alaskan town to relocate)
A small Alaskan town is forced to relocate as rapid erosion is making the town fall into the adjoining river.
This is a more important issue than it might seem, because it's going to happen to millions of Americans (and millions of others) as global heating makes sea level rise and make storms stronger. The proper response would be to curb global heating, but our governments, corrupted by fossil fuel businesses, lack the political will to save us.
16 May 2013 (Mass protest in China against new chemical plant)
A mass protest was held in China against a new chemical plant suspected of planning to produce para-xylene, which is carcinogenic.
Maybe this plant won't produce para-xylene, but with governments and companies so dishonest (and not only in China), how can anyone believe that? Everyone is better off if states force companies to be honest.
16 May 2013 (Urgent: Investigate threat to journalism)
US citizens: sign this petition for Congress to investigate the threat to journalism posed by the investigation into Associated Press journalism.
16 May 2013 (Attempt at shutting down North Dakota's only abortion provider)
Christian fanatics are trying to shut the only abortion provider in North Dakota by imposing impossible arbitrary restrictions.
The clinic is suing to overturn them.
16 May 2013 (Charges against NY thug who killed unarmed teenager dismissed)
A New York thug who killed an unarmed teenager in his family home had charges dismissed.
It is quite difficult to hold them responsible, and partly this is because the rules give them lots of excuses.
16 May 2013 (Drugs used for executions in the US)
Arkansas plans to use untested drugs for executions, but the manufacturer won't sell any more for that use.
I condemn the death penalty, but I don't expect it can be stopped this way. European companies won't be able to maintain control for long over how drugs are used once sold to the US.
16 May 2013 (Boko Haram forcing people to join)
Boko Haram is forcing people to join or be killed.
16 May 2013 (Urgent: Rep. Grijalva's letter)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter and say to sign Rep. Grijalva's letter that urges Obama not to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
16 May 2013 (Israeli gov't demolishing Palestinian homes in Jerusalem)
The Israeli government is demolishing Palestinian homes in Jerusalem to force Palestinians out.
16 May 2013 (Norman Finkelstein)
Norman Finkelstein, who was fired from a tenured US professorship for condemning Israel's policy of occupation, says that he no longer needs to do that because American Jews now understand the issue and no longer support Israel's conduct.
16 May 2013 (Israel only pretends to have halted settlement construction)
Israel pretends to have halted settlement construction, but really is allowing construction to go ahead.
16 May 2013 (Israel makes Palestinian teenagers incriminate each other)
Israel makes Palestinian teenagers incriminate other Palestinian teenagers, on charges that are sometimes absurd. When accused in court, they don't understand what they are accused of, but they know it doesn't matter.
16 May 2013 (Tax-paying Arab neighborhoods denied vital services)
Arab neighborhoods formally included in Jerusalem, although outside the annexation wall, have to pay the same taxes as the rest of the city, but they don't get vital services such as sewers or garbage collection.
It reminds me of the way Chicago treated minority areas until Mayor Washington.
16 May 2013 (Israel demolishes "unrecognized" village again)
Israel demolished an "unrecognized" traditional Bedouin village in the Negev, for the 15th time.
16 May 2013 (China closing micro-blog accounts)
China is closing the micro-blog accounts of influential people who have posted criticism.
Murong Xuecun, one of them, writes about what it is like to be "reincarnated" on the Internet.
16 May 2013 (Student debt)
Student Debt and the Crushing of the American Dream.
Education is one of the things the US needs to support more by taxing the rich and the companies more.
15 May 2013 (Surveil thousands of millions non-suspects)
The more government agencies surveil thousands or millions non-suspects, the more blame they will get when one of them surprisingly commits a crime — but they won't be able to anticipate who.
15 May 2013 (Weak US reaction to shootings in New Orleans)
Note the contrast between the weak US reaction to the shooting in New Orleans and the exaggerated response to the bombing in Boston.
15 May 2013 (UK wants Europe to import tar sands oil)
The UK government wants Europe to import tar sands oil from the Keystone XL pipeline.
15 May 2013 (Palestinian prisoners pay for medical care)
Israel forces Palestinian prisoners to pay for their medical care while in prison.
15 May 2013 (Missing from Arab peace plan)
Missing from the Arab peace plan: an Israeli partner.
The Arab peace plan is quite similar to what the US government has advocated for years, but the US does not pressure Israel to accept it.
15 May 2013 (Safety inspections in Bangladesh)
Walmart refuses to sign the agreement requiring safety inspections of factories in Bangladesh.
I hope this leads to a public pressure campaign.
15 May 2013 (Urgent: Treat tomato farm workers decently)
In the US: call on Wendy's to sign up to treat tomato farm workers decently, as other major US food chains have already done.
15 May 2013 (IRS increase scrutiny of political spending)
The IRS must increase scrutiny of political spending (but not in a biased way).
15 May 2013 (Amazon staff in Germany on strike)
Amazon staff in Germany have gone on strike.
Amazon abuses its staff in the US, but the US government gives less support to workers.
15 May 2013 (BP and Shell accused of fixing prices)
BP and Shell have been accused of fixing prices for a decade.
Since this is in Europe, they may actually be prosecuted.
15 May 2013 (Westerners in tizzy about Syrian rebel who ate part of corpse)
Westerners are in a tizzy about a Syrian rebel who ate part of the corpse of a dead government soldier, for revenge.
Such ado about so little. Whatever you do to a corpse, it can't really hurt anyone (except you, if you catch some disease from it). The worst it can do to others is offend their feelings.
What worries me about the Syrian rebels is what they might do to living people, if they set up an Islamic tyranny like the one in Saudi Arabia.
15 May 2013 (UK austerity policies)
The UK austerity policies are designed to fall mostly on the poor.
Massive youth unemployment in the UK is making young men hate themselves, and they take it out on the usual scapegoats such as women and gay men.
15 May 2013 (Vermont legalizes assisted suicide, but only for terminally ill)
Vermont has legalized assisted suicide, but only for those who are terminally ill.
It is a shame to limit this to people whose suffering is going to end soon anyway, and exclude those in unbearable pain that could continue for decades. So it is a mistake to use the slogan "death with dignity", which presumes we're talking about someone who will die soon in any case and the issue is only how. We must advocate the right to give assistance in suicide to those who want that assistance.
15 May 2013 (AP-gate and Watergate similarities)
The similarities between AP-gate to Watergate.
Unlike the writer, I will not give Obama the credit of supposing he was in any way reluctant to do the bad things he is doing.
15 May 2013 (Major "American" companies raise profits by paying workers less)
Major "American" companies' profits are up, mainly because they are paying workers less.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
15 May 2013 (Supreme Court rules for Monsanto, against farmer)
The Supreme Court ruled for Monsanto and against a farmer who bought seeds from a grain elevator (many of which contained a patented Monsanto gene).
This means that Monsanto has been given control over all ordinary seed supplies for the plants that are effected.
15 May 2013 (Roundup can harm human health indirectly)
Roundup is not directly toxic to humans, but it can harm human health indirectly.
15 May 2013 (Increase in US oil production)
US oil production has increased greatly and is expected to increase more.
This is something the world cannot afford.
15 May 2013 (The subpoena against AP phone call records)
Why the subpoena against AP phone call records is dangerous to freedom of the press.
Of course, the entire thrust of Obama's war on whistleblowers is not merely harmful to our human rights, it is aimed directly at them.
15 May 2013 (Use of IRS for politically motivated investigations)
Presidents since Roosevelt have used the IRS for politically motivated investigations.
It looks like Obama did not ask for the IRS to target tea party front groups. However, some years ago I saw reports that right-wing churches illegally endorse candidates and that the IRS had failed to make them stop.
15 May 2013 (University research centers sponsored by oil companies)
University research centers sponsored by oil companies provide the latter with a form of legitimacy that they cannot buy in any other way.
15 May 2013 (Cables show US has pushed countries to accept GMO crops)
Cables show that the US has actively pushed countries around the world to accept GMO crops.
15 May 2013 (Urgent: Prosecute the banksters)
US citizens: call on Obama and Holder to prosecute the banksters.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
15 May 2013 (Urgent: Protect Indonesian rain forests)
Everyone: call on the President of Indonesia to protect rain forests from a plan to cut them down for palm oil.
15 May 2013 (Urgent: Preserve conservation requirements in the farm bill)
US citizens: call on your senators to preserve conservation requirements in the farm bill.
15 May 2013 (Urgent: Object to giving award to Henry Kissinger)
Everyone: object to giving Henry Kissinger an award for defending freedom and democracy.
15 May 2013 (China trying to use torture to stop prostitution)
China is trying to stop prostitution by torturing accused prostitutes into confessing.
There is nothing ethically wrong with prostitution, so the state's only legitimate goal in this area is to make sure nobody is coerced into prostitution and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases by prostitution. Prohibition and repression of prostitution get in the way of those goals.
15 May 2013 (Force-feeding of prisoners in Guantanamo)
A broad movement condemns force-feeding of prisoners in Guantanamo, which is very painful and degrading to the prisoners.
In addition, the prisoners are now forced to undergo a strip search before meeting with a lawyer.
15 May 2013 (Obama regime collects Associated Press's phone records)
The Obama regime collected two months of the Associated Press's phone records to try to find the source of a leak.
15 May 2013 (Clothing chains sign on to fund safety inspections in Bangladesh)
Several Western clothing chains have signed on to fund safety inspections in Bangladesh.
This will probably do some good, and the proposed changes in laws could do more good. However, what we really need is to change the free exploitation treaties so that they no longer pressure countries to compete to offer the worst working conditions.
15 May 2013 (Face recognition)
More nasty applications for face recognition.
15 May 2013 (The "right" of businesses to secretly make data out of your data)
Some in the European Parliament propose to protect the "right" of businesses to secretly make money out of your data.
14 May 2013 (Deforestation of Amazon will mean less rain)
Deforestation of the Amazon will mean less rain, which means giant hydro-power programs will provide less electricity than expected.
It will also mean disaster for agriculture in Brazil.
14 May 2013 (Catastrophic 4C rise in temperature)
If current trends continue, humans will emit enough CO2 to probably cause a catastrophic 4C rise in temperature by 2041.
However, if the climate system is more sensitive than that, the catastrophe made be locked in by 2021.
14 May 2013 (Candidate for mayor denounces stop and frisk)
A candidate for mayor of New York denounces the thug department's "stop-and-frisk" practice for its evident racial bias.
However, it will be difficult to prevent the decision to search a particular person from being based on race, unless the thugs must show a specific justification for each instance. In other words, searching a person must require probable cause.
Street crime is much less than it was 20 years go, perhaps due to the removal of lead from the children's environment. Even if there was once a reason to allow thugs to search people arbitrarily, it is gone.
14 May 2013 (Comparing US with Atlas Shrugged)
Comparing today's US with the fictional world of Atlas Shrugged makes a strange contrast.
14 May 2013 (Easier for workers to unionize)
Bangladesh has made it easier for clothing workers to unionize.
14 May 2013 (Interventions in Syria and oil pipelines)
Interventions in Syria's civil war may be motivated by oil pipelines, part of the root cause was the effects of global heating.
14 May 2013 (Road to victory over access to Plan B)
The road to the victory over access to Plan B: "We followed a cardinal rule of the radicals of the 1960's Women's Liberation Movement: we demanded what we really wanted, rather than toning down to be respectable."
This is my rule too. Many others demand small changes in the DMCA or DRM, or talk about "open source", and say it's because they don't want to be dismissed as "radical". It means they can't reach for much.
14 May 2013 (Bad or difficult option on Syria )
The US has several bad or difficult options to choose from if it is to intervene in Syria.
14 May 2013 (Thugs prioritize War on Drugs)
Systematic reasons cause thugs to prioritize the War on Drugs over investigating reports of kidnapped people.
14 May 2013 (Additional security powers)
If thugs demand additional "security" powers, remember that they have lied about this before.
"Security" measures are only addressed to a narrow part of the spectrum of crime. The biggest and most damaging crimes in the US are committed by banksters, and the state refuses to prosecute them even when they are caught. The "security" apparatus did nothing to the perpetrators of foreclosure fraud even though their victims number in the hundreds of thousands (at least).
14 May 2013 (Urgent: Ban neonicotinoids)
US citizens: call on the EPA to ban neonicotinoids.
14 May 2013 (1/3 of animal species will be hit by global heating)
1/3 of all animal species will be hit by effects of global heating.
14 May 2013 (Prejudice against prostitutes)
In Palestine, prejudice against prostitutes combines with circumstances that leave some women no other way out. This drives many to suicide.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Such contempt for women that is found across the Muslim world, and partly continues to exist in the west too.
13 May 2013 (UNESCO trying to save Great Barrier Reef)
UNESCO is trying to save the Great Barrier Reef from damage from coal shipments, but half its coral is dead already due to environmental degradation and global heating.
Ocean acidification will kill all the rest, if we burn all that coal.
13 May 2013 (Murder out of superstition )
Murder out of superstition didn't disappear after the Salem witch trials. It still occurs today.
13 May 2013 (Fictional candidate for president)
Many Iranians can only support a fictional candidate for president.
In the US, things are not that far gone. We can vote for candidates that stand for good principles; we just know that it would be a miracle for one of them to win.
13 May 2013 (Can't US keep guns away from children)
Can't the US keep guns away from children?
13 May 2013 (Global heating threatens to destroy cassava)
Global heating threatens to destroy cassava, the principal food of millions in Africa, via insects and disease.
13 May 2013 (Urgent: Tell EPA not to let companies block pollution standards)
US citizens: tell the EPA not to let oil companies block new pollution standards for cars and trucks.
13 May 2013 (Largest companies running 8000 tax doges)
The UK's 100 largest companies are running 8000 tax dodges.
I would expect that most of them are lawful, and take advantage of laws that need to be changed.
13 May 2013 (Colleges selling out poor to court rich)
How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich.
13 May 2013 (Don't let CIA control torture narrative)
ACLU: President Obama, Don t Let the CIA Control the Torture Narrative.
13 May 2013 (US drone attacks war crimes)
Pakistan's high court ruled that US drone attacks in Pakistan are war crimes.
13 May 2013 (Urgent: Support the Local Farms, Foods, and Jobs Act)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support the Local Farms, Foods, and Jobs Act.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
13 May 2013 (House of Representatives passes bill to end overtime pay)
The House of Representatives passed a bill to end overtime pay in the name of "flexibility" and "caring".
13 May 2013 (US-educated minister added to politburo of Vietnamese gov't)
A US-educated minister has been added to the politburo of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
I guess that means more crushing of human rights to cater to global business.
13 May 2013 (America's attitudes towards children)
America's contradictory attitudes towards children.
13 May 2013 (Pretense that the UK gov't is trying to rescue Shaker Aamer)
The Pentagon has punctured the pretense that the UK government is trying to rescue Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo.
13 May 2013 (Not enough nurses after cuts to the NHS)
The conservatives have cut the NHS to the point where hospitals no longer have enough nurses to keep patients safe.
13 May 2013 (US support for Rios Montt's crimes against humanity)
Now that Rios Montt has been convicted of crimes against humanity, we must look at the evidence that the US under Ronald Reagan knowingly supported those crimes.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
13 May 2013 (Urgent: Decent working conditions for Publix farm workers)
In the US: call on Publix to join the agreement to demand decent working conditions for the farm workers who grow its tomatoes.
13 May 2013 (Proposed treaty for copyright exception)
Hollywood influence threatens to block a proposed treaty for a copyright exception for books for blind people.
I have mixed feelings about this treaty. Blind people deserve to escape from digital handcuffs, and so do the rest of us. A treaty that removes some of the harmful effect on blind people is a step towards that goal, but it might also serve as an excuse to resist the further change needed to free the rest of us.
I think, therefore, that we should direct our efforts towards the cause of abolishing DRM, not this treaty.
13 May 2013 (Psychotherapy)
Offering a little psychotherapy to people who go through a trauma is unnecessary, and some methods actually tend to make people suffer more.
13 May 2013 ("American" corporations get special tax deal)
"American" corporations get a special tax deal for foreign earnings, which favors them over real citizens.
The point is not that we should give people the same deal; rather, we should take it away from corporations.
13 May 2013 (Chad arrests opposition journalists and bloggers)
Chad has arrested many opposition journalists and bloggers.
13 May 2013 (Corruption drains wealth out of Africa)
Corruption drains wealth out of Africa, twice as much as it gets in foreign aid.
13 May 2013 (Pakistan elections)
Extremists' violence was unable to prevent Pakistan from holding a more or less democratic election.
13 May 2013 (The "one state solution" myth)
Uri Avnery: why the "one state solution" is a myth.
13 May 2013 (Real motive for austerity in the UK acknowledged)
A right-wing politician embarrassingly acknowledged the real motive for austerity in the UK.
13 May 2013 (USDA to do environmental impact study on proposed GMO crops)
In response to many public complaints, the USDA has decided to do a full environmental impact study on proposed multi-herbicide-resistant GMO crops, rather than approve them without one.
13 May 2013 (The US-Korea free exploitation agreement)
A year after signing the US-Korea free exploitation agreement, US exports to Korea have gone down 10%.
In other words, this treaty failed even to provide the benefit the US was supposed to get. Of course, it did the other harm these treaties always do.
You can pretty much count on a free exploitation agreement to boost profits and reduce wages. Nowadays they also directly attack the rights of the citizens of both countries, with "investor-state" provisions that privilege foreign companies over the country's citizens.
13 May 2013 (Urgent: Letter to Obama opposing Keystone XL)
US citizens: Phone your congresscritter to co-sign Rep. Grijalva's letter to Obama opposing the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
13 May 2013 (Urgent: Steps toward ending imprisonment without trial)
US citizens: call on Obama to take two important steps towards ending imprisonment without trial.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
12 May 2013 (Millions to privatize public schools)
The "American Federation for Children" spent millions to support state legislature candidates that want to privatize public schools.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
This is the kind of predator that US parents really should be worried about, since they can hurt a lot more children than any other kind of predator.
12 May 2013 (US planned to meddle in Venezuelan politics)
A Wikileaks cable shows how the US planned to meddle in Venezuelan politics to try to defeat Chavez.
I don't agree with all the opinions in the article; for instance, I think he's bending over backwards to defend North Korea, which is as nasty a tyranny as you can find on Earth.
12 May 2013 (Woman asks court to let her have an abortion)
A woman in El Salvador has asked the Supreme Court to let her have an abortion, because otherwise she is likely to die from her pregnancy.
The sacred fetus that the Catholic Church would kill her to save cannot survive anyway, because most of its brain is missing. But even if it were healthy, she should not be forced to bear it.
12 May 2013 (Auto-destructive response to Boston bombings)
Campaigning against an auto-destructive response to the Boston Bombings.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
12 May 2013 (FBI screwed up testing evidence)
The FBI screwed up testing evidence against 137 people, but only informed the lawyers of 30 of them. Others have languished in prison for years.
12 May 2013 (Facebook leads people to forget all the people they give info to)
How Facebook leads people to forget all the different sorts of people they are giving their information to.
This is not to mention Facebook itself, a perpetual lurker whose presence is dangerous to overlook.
12 May 2013 (Officials vote to tear down and rebuild Sandy Hook school)
Some Newtown officials voted to tear down and rebuild Sandy Hook elementary school at the cost of 57 million dollars. In these days of austerity, surely there is something more useful to do with that money.
I think that it was a mistake to move the students to another building after the shooting, because that encouraged them to feel they should be unable to cope with being in that building, which is why people are considering spending 60 million dollars replacing the building. When you fall off the horse, you should get right back on it, and that applies here too.
12 May 2013 (New Zealand rejects software patents)
New Zealand has passed a bill to reject software patents, more or less.
I hope that lawyers don't succeed in gaming the new law by cleverly writing the applications to squeeze around it. Also, if there are existing patents in New Zealand that cover computational ideas, I don't think this law gets rid of them.
I recommend a more thorough and immediate solution.
12 May 2013 (Bill to fix one of the injustices of DMCA)
A bill has been introduced to fix one of the injustice of the DMCA, but it is limited to unlocking devices.
This would be a substantial step forward, but not enough to fix the DMCA, because the broader prohibition on breaking digital handcuffs would remain. Digital Restrictions Management ought to be banned outright.
12 May 2013 (Urgent: Support the Arbitration Fairness Act)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support the Arbitration Fairness Act (H.R. 1844, S. 878), which would stop companies from imposing arbitration on their employees and customers.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
12 May 2013 (Unsupported safety standards in California endanger wildlife)
Food processing companies have imposed unsupported safety standards in California, which endanger wildlife.
12 May 2013 (Attachment toward corpses)
On the foolish and absurd attachment many people feel toward corpses.
While criticizing this attachment, the article supports it by using terms such as "laid to rest". I never use such terms, both because they endorse superstitious ideas and because euphemisms strike me as encouragement of cowardice.
12 May 2013 (The "center" according to NY Times Magazine)
The New York Times Magazine labeled as the "center" the place between a right-wing extremist economist and a somewhat right-wing economist.
12 May 2013 (Urgent: Disclosure of political spending by publicly traded companies)
US citizens: Once again, call on the SEC to require publicly traded companies to disclose their political spending.
12 May 2013 (Irish gov't shields companies that sold horse meat as beef)
The Irish government is shielding the companies that sold horse meat as beef.
If the Irish government intended, in February, to put meat businesses gently on notice so they would cease this practice, that's not wrong in principle. It was a way to put an end to the practice. However, blocking an investigation is going too far.
I see nothing wrong in principle with putting horse meat in a burger, as long as it is processed safely and announced on the label. The same is true with the other kinds of filler that are normally included in cheap burger patties, whose purchasers typically assume they are buying pure beef.
11 May 2013 (UK plan to privatize public defenders)
The UK plans to privatize public defenders, which implies that executives will pressure the lawyers to do a hasty and inadequate job.
The result will be that one company can "represent" you, give you bad advice, then be paid to run the prison they put you in.
11 May 2013 (Urgent: Support Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act)
US citizens: sign this petition to support the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act, which would charge student loans the same interest rate that big banks get.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
11 May 2013 (Healthy farm system)
Recommendations on a healthy farm system, from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
11 May 2013 (Encryption can be broken by Apple)
Encryption in the iThings can be broken by Apple.
11 May 2013 (Urgent: Avoid killing marine mammals)
US citizens: Call on Hagel to tell the navy to take precautions to avoid killing an estimated 1000 marine mammals through deafening underwater sound.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
11 May 2013 (Prospect of peace with the Taliban)
Greg Palast interviews Karzai's advisor, Yahya Maroofi, about the prospect of peace with the Taliban.
There is no reason why the Taliban and the US have to be enemies. They are likely to continue oppressing Afghan women, and if I imagine myself magically transformed into an Afghan women, I would be thinking about how to kill Taliban. However, the other parties in Afghanistan are not much better, not enough to continue the bloodshed over.
11 May 2013 (Prime Minister of Japan refuses to acknowledge aggression)
The Prime Minister of Japan persistently refuses to acknowledge Japan's aggression in World War II.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
This is not excused by US officials persistent refusal to acknowledge US aggression against Iraq.
11 May 2013 (Are FBI and IRS reading email without warrant)
Are the FBI and IRS Secretly Reading Your Email Without a Warrant?
11 May 2013 (Against connecting Dots)
Against Connecting Terrorist 'Dots'.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
As Bruce Schneier pointed out, the metaphor of "connecting the dots" is misleading; only in hindsight can one distinguish the dots that connect from the millions of other dots that don't add up to anything.
11 May 2013 (Right-wingers dehumanize poor)
Right-wingers dehumanize the poor, so that many people see them as "other" and thus not worthy of help.
Forced into deeper poverty by budget cuts, the poor may look more unsavory, and some may try desperate methods to get a little money. These can provide more excuses to step hard on the poor, and the cycle continues.
What's the purpose of this? Politicians can get elected by demonizing someone, and the poor may be a handy target, just like an ethnic minority. But there is a specific motive, too: to knock down wages and help businesses impose worse working conditions.
11 May 2013 (US-supported dictator guilty of crimes against humanity)
US-supported Guatemalan dictator Rios Montt has been found guilty of crimes against humanity.
Dubya's crimes are far worse; when will he be tried?
11 May 2013 (Urgent: Oppose US military intervention in Syria)
US citizens: oppose military intervention in Syria.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
11 May 2013 (Hidden in immigration reform: biometric database)
Biometric Database of All Adult Americans Hidden in Immigration Reform.
I am more concerned with this issue than with immigration as such.
11 May 2013 (FBI proposal for wiretap-ready Internet)
FBI's Latest Proposal for a Wiretap-Ready Internet Should Be Trashed.
The article has some errors. It uses the nebulous term "cloud" as if it meant something coherent. It recommends "secure" services that use encryption which users can't trust, because they require a nonfree client program — that is, a program not under the control of its users.
The article also has the bizarre idea that using encryption you can really trust is only for criminals, and that they will have to write it for themselves.
Everyone who wants to communicate confidentially on the Internet needs trustworthy encryption, but you don't need to write it. The GNU Privacy Guard, free/libre software for encryption, has been available for over a decade. Unless you're a sucker with a clouded mind, GPG is for you.
11 May 2013 (Enron fraud king gets himself out of prison)
Enron fraud king Skilling has got himself out of prison in exchange for not suing his victims any more, and paying them money he won't miss.
11 May 2013 (UN Ambassador Rice's description of the Benghazi attack)
It appears staff in the State Department told UN Ambassador Rice to change her description of the Benghazi attack, so as not to give Republicans ammunition.
I don't see anything wrong here. UN speeches are public statements, and we should expect any government to plan carefully what to say in them. As far as I can tell, the changes were not lies and did not cover up any facts.
It's not as if intelligence agencies had been pressured to misinform the rest of the government, as was done to fabricate an excuse to conquer Iraq.
There are plenty of good reasons to condemn Obama, but you can rely on Republicans to find bad ones.
11 May 2013 (Fast-food workers' protests)
Fast-food workers' protests spread around the US.
Of course, fast food was never meant to be eaten in the first place. It was meant for fasting, not for eating.
11 May 2013 (More about censorship order for 3d-printer gun design)
More about the censorship order for the 3d-printer gun design.
11 May 2013 (Bahraini blogger describes torture, conviction and escape)
Bahraini blogger Ali Abdulemam describes how he was tortured and convicted in an absurd "trial", then released, and then had the good fortune to be out protesting when the thugs came for him again.
Obama downplays the repression in Bahrain, which his regime supports.
11 May 2013 (Efforts to stop global heating sabotaged)
Fossil fuel companies have sabotaged all political efforts to stop global heating. Governments have been corrupted and stopped from really trying.
Only a surprising technical advance — that is, amazingly good luck — can avert global catastrophe if governments fail to try.
11 May 2013 (Urgent: Jobs not Wars rallies)
In the US: participate in Jobs not Wars rallies.
11 May 2013 (Salmon farm overwhelms Scottish lake with pesticide)
A salmon farm as overwhelmed a Scottish lake with high levels of pesticide.
11 May 2013 (45 million dollars stolen from banks)
A large conspiracy stole 45 million dollars from banks by counterfeiting prepaid debit cards.
In the past, I would have said this was wrong, but now that banks are robbing people every day, I don't care if banks get robbed.
10 May 2013 (Women found alive 17 days after collapse of factory)
A woman was found alive in the rubble, 17 days after the collapse of the factory in Bangladesh.
Credulous crowds shouted, "God is great," but what about the thousand workers who were killed? If you believe that a god decides who personally will live and who will die, it must have decided to kill all those people. Shall we shout, "God is lousy"?
I'd rather say, "There are no gods."
10 May 2013 (Police corruption protected murderers)
UK police corruption protected the murderers of a private detective who was investigating police corruption.
10 May 2013 (UK lawyer speaks in favor of Stuart Hall)
A UK lawyer speaks in favor of Stuart Hall, saying the crimes he is accused of are minor and should not be prosecuted at all.
I don't know whether I agree, because I don't know in concrete terms what Hall has been accused of. In the articles in the Guardian, all specifics are hidden behind abstract terms equivalent to "something sexual which is considered nasty". Does that mean rape? Making a pass? Stealing a kiss?
10 May 2013 (Transparency is a two-edged sword)
"Transparency" is a two-edged sword when applied to governments and data.
Keep in mind that Obama is also an enemy of transparency, as regards anything the US government does for our "security", up to and including death squads.
I think the proposed European "right to be forgotten" is ok as long as it is limited to databases and does not apply to anyone's works of authorship.
Here's what the ACLU got for a FOIA request for a document stating general policies (not information about any specific case).
10 May 2013 (Rating for business climate)
Rating states for their "business climate" has no economic validity; it is just right-wing propaganda to pressure for deregulation.
10 May 2013 (Cutting Amazon rainforest to plant soy)
Cutting down the Amazon rainforest to plant soya will be self-defeating: it will change the local climate, making agriculture less productive.
10 May 2013 (Species driven to extinction)
Another species driven to extinction — all three mangarahara cichlids known are male.
10 May 2013 (Marshall Islands face shortage of drinking water)
Parts of the Marshall Islands face a shortage of drinking water due to drought.
I can't assume that global heating helped cause this drought, but it is expected to make for worse droughts in general. However, in a few decades these low islands will have plenty of water, all the time.
10 May 2013 (US censored 3d-printer gun plans)
The US government censored the publication of 3d-printer gun plans by claiming vague, broad censorship power.
I am not particularly in favor of homemade guns, which can be dangerous to their users as well as to everyone else. However, censorship power like this is a bigger a threat.
10 May 2013 (Angola's war on the poor)
Angola's war on the poor: evicting them and demolishing illegal homes to make way for the wealthy.
For the long-term, Luanda needs a smaller population. I am sure many women there have more children than they want. Donating reliable birth control would go a long way.
10 May 2013 (Urgent: Equal pay for equal work)
US citizens: support strengthening the law requiring women get equal pay for equal work.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
10 May 2013 (Urgent: Stop sale of neonicotinoids for home use)
In the US: call on major US stores to stop selling neonicotinoids for home use.
10 May 2013 (Hawking withdraws from President's Conference in Jerusalem)
Stephen Hawking withdrew from a conference hosted by the President of Israel, after Palestinians colleagues urged him to do so.
I upheld the academic boycott during a visit to Israel and Palestine sponsored by Palestinians, but I don't advocate a complete academic boycott. However, this conference is not an academic event. It is state-sponsored business booster-ism.
10 May 2013 (Obama repeats that he wants to close Guantanamo prison)
Obama recently repeated that he wants to "close the Guantanamo prison", but what he actually tried to do was continuing holding prisoners without trial indefinitely — just not in Guantanamo.
Obama's statement, "When we transfer detention authority in Afghanistan, the idea that we would still maintain forever a group of individuals who have not been tried, that is contrary to who we are," condemns imprisonment without trial regardless of details. I can't read it any other way. I don't see any weasel-words in that sentence, but when will he start acting accordingly?
10 May 2013 (Protests at ALEC meeting)
ALEC's latest meeting was surrounded by protesters that outnumbered the attendees.
But that is not enough to stop the corporations and the sellout legislator from making corrupt deals.
To conceal them, ALEC encourages its member legislators to defy requests under state freedom of information laws for copies of ALEC model bills.
10 May 2013 (500 US children per year killed accidentally with guns)
500 US children per year are killed accidentally with guns.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Usually they are killed by a child (the same one, or another) who finds a gun at home.
10 May 2013 (Urgent: Stop destruction of rainforest in Sumatra)
Everyone: call on Asia Pacific Resources International Limited to stop destroying rainforest in Sumatra.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Previously such campaigns were directed against Asian Pulp and Paper. Greenpeace says that company has agreed to stop destroying its parts of the rainforest.
10 May 2013 (Syrian Islamist extremist group)
The Syrian Islamist extremist group al Nusra is attracting fighters away from the non-Islamist rebels. This is due to its successes, which are in turn due to the arms it received from countries such as Qatar. The fighters joining al Nusra can probably get better arms too.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Reportedly the US wants to attack al Nusra, but why did the US not pressure Qatar into not arming al Nusra?
I don't think it is possible for any small intervention to enable any other force to win in Syria.
10 May 2013 (Atmospheric CO₂ at levels from 3 million years ago)
The last time Earth had as much atmospheric CO₂ as it has now was 3 million years ago, and it was 8C hotter than now.
Sea level was 40 meters higher (120 feet). So if we don't get this CO₂ out of the air, we're sunk!
10 May 2013 (Chilean marines convicted for disappearance of leftist priest)
Two Chileans marines have been convicted for the disappearance of a leftist priest who was killed by Pinochet's men.
10 May 2013 (US to keep nine bases in Afghanistan)
The US won't keep permanent bases in Afghanistan, but will continue to run 9 bases until hell freezes over.
09 May 2013 (Obama regime retroactively declare information secret)
A common tactic in the Obama regime's war on whistleblowers is to retroactively declare information secret, then prosecute the whistleblower for disclosing that.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
09 May 2013 (Tory historians whitewash racism, violence and torture)
Tory historians are trying to whitewash the racism, violence and torture of the British empire.
09 May 2013 (Privately imposed labor standards don't do the job)
An academic who studies the effect of privately imposed labor standards says that they don't do the job: workers need the support of governments.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Progressives promote the privately imposed standards approach because the globalization "free trade" led governments to effectively abandon their workers to the mercy of the plutocrats. Of course, progressives fight against free exploitation treaties too, but so far the only one we have (mostly) defeated was ACTA.
Alas, the private standards are often not really enforced. This study shows we need to end "free trade" as a system, so that governments go back to serving the people instead of foreign business.
09 May 2013 (Assata Shakur labeled as a terrorist by FBI)
Assata Shakur was convicted of murdering a thug, though someone else killed him, but she escaped and received asylum in Cuba. Now the FBI has labeled her as a "terrorist".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
It appears Shakur wanted to launch a rebellion of US blacks. I don't support that cause, but rebellion is not terrorism. She may have committed violent crimes; if so, that doesn't excuse the dishonest effort to pin other crimes on her, or shooting her when she had her hands up, or falsely claiming she then fired a gun (it's probably false given her wounds made her unable to even try).
09 May 2013 (US military pervaded by attitude that encourages and excuses rape)
The US military is pervaded by an attitude that encourages and excuses rape. Hardly anyone accused is prosecuted. Since soldiers can get away with rape through influence with their commanders, it is not a big surprise that the officer in charge of the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office was arrested for sexual assault. He assumed he could get away with it.
09 May 2013 (UK trying to destroy NHS)
The UK government, trying to destroy the National Health Service, has cut preventive and home care; the result is so many emergency cases that the system can't cope.
09 May 2013 (3d printed guns could shatter when fired)
3d-printed guns could shatter when fired, and kill the person that fired them.
09 May 2013 (NYT gives full backing to claims that Assad used chemical weapons)
The New York Times gives its full backing to uncertain claims that Assad used chemical weapons, just as it did to Dubya's claims that Saddam had chemical weapons.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
09 May 2013 (Earth sciences lab funded by Shell)
An "earth sciences" lab at Oxford, funded by Shell, could be a pathway for Shell to corrupt climate science.
09 May 2013 (Campaigners face threats)
Campaigners against female genital mutilation face threats from people in their communities that want to keep the practice secret.
09 May 2013 (Fire in Bangladesh factory)
A fire in a Bangladesh clothing factory killed only 8 people because it occurred when not many were at work.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
By contrast, the Boston bombing killed only 3 people, though several others were permanently injured.
09 May 2013 (China investing in education)
China is investing in education, and working hard so that everyone does well, not just the smartest students.
09 May 2013 (Expensive food imports)
Half the world's population could be dependent on expensive food imports by 2050.
09 May 2013 (Keystone XL pipeline)
In effect, a preliminary half-capacity Keystone XL pipeline is already being hooked together.
Sabotaging this pipeline would be morally and legally justified under the principle of necessity — preventing a bigger crime. Global heating is forecast to kill a hundred million people by 2030 (and larger numbers later on). This pipeline would not be the whole cause but it would be a substantial cause — more than .01%. If destroying the pipeline prevents even .01% of those deaths, that would mean ten thousand lives saved. Surely that would be enough to justify the action.
09 May 2013 (Spain rejects Swiss request to extradite Herve Falciani)
Spain has rejected the Swiss request to extradite Herve Falciani, who leaked the "Lagarde list" of possible tax evaders.
09 May 2013 (Death toll from Bangladesh factory collapse)
The death toll from the Bangladesh factory collapse was over 800.
I suppose there were also many serious injuries, but I have not seen figures.
By comparison, the Boston bombings were a minor thing.
09 May 2013 (Thugs arrest activists seeking disclosure of Chinese officials' assets)
Chinese thugs arrested activists campaigning for officials to disclose their assets.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
09 May 2013 (Whistleblower Ellsberg supports Manning at SF Pride Board meeting)
Whistleblower Ellsberg to SF Pride: Manning Should be Lauded as "Hero That He Is".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
09 May 2013 (Chinese Mines Pollute Tibet's Rivers, Streams)
Chinese Mines Pollute Tibet's Rivers, Streams.
09 May 2013 (US stock market)
The US stock market is zooming, although for most Americans there is no recovery.
This demonstrates that the US stock market is no measure of how the real economy is doing. It may be the other way around: the sequester cuts that will shaft most Americans could be boosting stocks because they are good for the plutocrats.
09 May 2013 (Israeli thugs arrest family for complaining about trespassers)
The Zaro family complained to the Israeli thugs about "settlers" who repeatedly trespassed on the family's land, so the thugs arrested the family.
09 May 2013 (Israel bars human rights defender from traveling)
Palestinian human rights defender Shawan Jabarin is arbitrarily barred by Israel from traveling, so he has been unable to travel to receive an award in Denmark or to meet with Human Rights Watch in New York.
09 May 2013 (Urgent: Inspections of US clothing brands' foreign factories)
Everyone: call on US clothing brands to pay for inspections of foreign factories.
09 May 2013 (Cut in UK budget for elderly care)
The UK budget for caring for old people has been cut by 20% by the current government, which means people who need help to do ordinary things won't get that help.
09 May 2013 (State of Georgia goes from extreme drought to floods)
The State of Georgia has gone from extreme drought to floods. These are two sides of the same global heating coin.
09 May 2013 (Abstinence-based education teaches rape victims to feel worthless)
Elizabeth Smart found out how abstinence-based education teaches people to feel worthless if they have been raped.
She dedicates herself to teaching kids that mistreatment by others has no effect on their worth.
09 May 2013 (School principal fires security guards, puts money into art education)
The principal of Orchard Gardens primary school fired the security guards and spent the money on art education. The school improved academically, and no longer has any apparent need for security guards.
09 May 2013 (School thug beats up and arrests student for falling asleep)
A school thug beat up Ashlynn Avery (she needed a cast afterward) and then arrested her — for falling asleep while waiting in a punishment room.
I don't think the fact that she is diabetic makes a crucial difference. This treatment would be just as wrong if done to a non-diabetic student.
09 May 2013 (China halts publication of magazine after exposé of forced labor camps)
China is blocking the next edition of a magazine that published an exposé of forced labor camps.
09 May 2013 (Opposition activists arrested in Afghanistan)
Opposition activists were arrested at a peaceful protest in Afghanistan. That shows how well we have done at giving Afghanistan freedom and democracy.
09 May 2013 (Saudi regime represses founders of human rights group)
The Saudi regime is repressing the founders of a new human rights group.
09 May 2013 (Algeria convicts human rights defender for handing out leaflets)
Algeria convicted a human rights defender of the "crime" of handing out leaflets criticizing unemployment.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
09 May 2013 (Automated license plate readers)
Automated License Plate Readers Threaten Our Privacy.
The UK has a network of license plate readers that track all motor vehicle traffic in the country and make a complete dossier about each vehicle. The US does not say it is setting up such a network, and maybe has no plan for a complete network, but the proliferating automatic license plate readers have the effect of approximating one.
All automatic license plate readers, no matter who operates them, should be required by law to ignore any plate that isn't on a specific list. And a plate should get on that list only by court order.
09 May 2013 (New excuses for austerity)
The plutocrats' elected servants want austerity, so now that the economic excuse they cited has been shown to be false, they invent other ridiculous excuses.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
09 May 2013 (Inflaming sectarian conflict)
The Bush forces intentionally planned to keep Iraqi sects divided, and the US may be planning the same thing for Syria.
That this had the effect of strengthening forces linked to al Qa'ida was not considered a problem.
08 May 2013 (Zero Dark Thirty edited under direction of CIA)
The torture-apology movie Zero Dark Thirty was edited under the direction of the CIA.
08 May 2013 (1/4 of children in UK will live in poverty)
A report predicts that 1/4 of the children in the UK in 2020 will live in poverty, thanks to cuts in aid to the poor.
08 May 2013 (Obama did it for the money)
Obama (and Pritzker) did it for the money.
08 May 2013 (Urgent: Make large banks hold bigger reserves)
US citizens: sign this petition supporting the bill to make large banks hold bigger reserves.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
This does not go far enough — we need to break up the big banks — but it is a step in the right direction.
08 May 2013 (States and cities restrict discrimination)
Some states and cities have restricted discrimination against people with a criminal record unrelated to the job.
However, at the same time, there are many official forms of discrimination against everyone with a criminal record, in employment, education, and housing.
08 May 2013 (Selling technology product for less than cost)
The practice of selling a technology product for less than cost, and making people pay the rest of the price over time through tied services, is resented by users.
It is also a major obstacle to making the devices run free software, because they are designed to require the user to use the specific services tied to their sale, and proprietary software is what imposes that restriction.
I hope users will resent this enough to start paying for the devices all at once and insisting on control of them.
08 May 2013 (Bangladesh faces shortage of safe water to drink)
Bangladesh faces a shortage of safe water to drink, and the aquifers it uses are rapidly emptying and will salt up with sea water. Meanwhile, global heating has reduced the rainfall.
Part of the problem is caused by having too many children. There are limits to what is possible, and if they keep making the problem bigger, they will sooner or later reach an impossible point. There is not much further to go.
08 May 2013 (Peace activists face 30 years in prison)
Peace activists who entered the Oak Ridge refined uranium storage facility as a protest face 30 years in prison.
I do not advocate unilateral nuclear disarmament for the US, but what I have to say is independent of whether I agree with them. It is tyranny to punish peaceful protesters that way.
Partly this is to express resentment that they exposed weak security that results from privatizing the security.
The single guard who was sent to investigate the intrusion was scapegoated and fired, which caused him to lose his house. Few Americans work as guards in nuclear facilities, but many are in the same vulnerable position, and that is the fault of government with the wrong priorities.
08 May 2013 (Urgent: Confirm Gina McCarthy as head of EPA)
US citizens: phone your senators and ask them to confirm Gina McCarthy as head of the EPA. Also sign this petition, but a phone call carries more weight.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588
08 May 2013 (Ocean acidification)
Ocean acidification (due to the CO₂ we pump into the air) can wipe out brittle stars, as well as coral and crustaceans.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Islands in the western Pacific are expected to lose marine resources due to this, as well as due to effects of global heating.
07 May 2013 (Demanding prosecution of atheists)
Protesters in Bangladesh, demanding prosecution of "atheists", fought with the thugs.
It appears the thugs attacked first, which is bad, even though the cause these protesters support is pure injustice.
I suspect that the "atheists" are not really atheists, just secular, but still deserve freedom of speech anyway.
07 May 2013 (Maimed by Pinochet's torturers)
Leopoldo Garcia Lucero was maimed by Pinochet's torturers; his case will be judged by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
07 May 2013 (Boston bombings are not a reason for more surveillance)
The Boston bombings are not a reason for more government surveillance.
07 May 2013 (Privacy-invading potential of eye tracking technology)
The Privacy-Invading Potential of Eye Tracking Technology.
07 May 2013 (Unemployment form might violate your civil rights)
That Unemployment Form Might Violate Your Civil Rights.
07 May 2013 (Streamlined inspections for fertilizer plant)
The Texas fertilizer plant that exploded benefited from a program for "streamlined" inspections (which turned out to mean none at all).
07 May 2013 (Journalist imprisoned due to request from Obama)
The US condemned repression of journalists, but didn't mention the journalist imprisoned in Yemen due to a request from Obama.
07 May 2013 (GOP attacks on due process)
What the Framing of a Terror Suspect Says About GOP Attacks on Due Process.
07 May 2013 (Rich people profit from austerity)
Rich people want austerity because they profit from it. Erroneous economics that supports austerity received widespread acceptance because it gave the rich an excuse to pretend it was good for others as well.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
This demonstrates that money corrupts economics just as it does other fields of science where money is at stake, such as medicine and public health.
Not everyone goes along with the corruption. Paul Krugman champions economics that remembers what the banksters want forgotten.
Citizens are right to distrust the politicians, but what the politicians did wrong before was obey the banksters. They let banksters create bubbles and dangerous derivatives. Now, with austerity, they continue obeying the banksters.
We must support politicians that will treat the banksters as a threat to society. Of course, there are good ways to fight them and bad ways; hurting the banksters is not a sufficient condition for a wise policy. However, it is a necessary condition.
07 May 2013 (Politics of envy)
George Monbiot: Why the Politics of Envy Are Keenest Among the Very Rich.
07 May 2013 (UK official backed plans to discredit tax whistleblower)
A UK official supported a plan to discredit a tax whistleblower by telling lies to the press.
07 May 2013 (Mexican journalist's sons murdered by gunmen)
A Mexican journalist's sons were murdered by gunmen who chased them in a car.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
It is unusual to kill a journalist's relatives instead of the journalist. Maybe it had nothing to do with their parents.
07 May 2013 (Protest in Moscow)
Around 20,000 protested in Moscow, demanding the release of political prisoners who protested a year ago.
07 May 2013 (Birth control)
Time To Demand All Birth Control Pills Be Sold Over-The-Counter.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
I agree, as far as that goes, but daily birth control pills are not the modern reliable method of birth control. We need to focus on encouraging the use of the more effective forms — and a major barrier to their use is the expense.
07 May 2013 (Discriminatory laws against Ahmadis in Pakistan)
The four million Ahmadis in Pakistan are effectively excluded from politics by discriminatory laws, and face execution for blasphemy if they make a misstep.
It is rather strange to claim to be a Muslim while denying one of the principal tenets of Islam, like claiming to be a Christian and saying Jesus never lived. But Christianity and Islam are full of claims that are hardly rational, and religious freedom includes the freedom to believe any or all of them. Islamic governments generally do not respect people's religious freedom, and Pakistan is one of the worst.
This is why Pakistan is on my list of countries I would not visit.
07 May 2013 (Sallie Mae)
Most Americans think of Sallie Mae as a government institution. It was one. Now it is a privately-run bank which is nasty to the students that have borrowed, and is a member of ALEC.
07 May 2013 (Jihadis sponsored by the CIA)
The Tsarnaev brothers may have got their inspiration from jihadis sponsored by the CIA with the idea of weakening US rivals such as Russia.
07 May 2013 (Public defender system understaffed)
The US says that those accused of felonies must be given legal representation, but the public defender system is so understaffed that they cannot do an adequate job.
Totally aside from problems with the legal system, it is absurd for such things as putting your feet on a seat in a train to be prosecuted as crimes at all.
07 May 2013 (Data on would-be terrorists)
It is silly to expect the FBI to detect would-be terrorists, or to criticize when it overlooks one, because the significance of the data is not clear except in hindsight.
"Trying harder" (by invading our freedom even more) would not make the effort much more successful.
Fortunately, the casualty rate from terrorism in the US is so tiny (compared with other causes of casualties) that "trying harder" is not necessary.
07 May 2013 (Pesticide washed into sea bottom makes seafood unsafe to eat)
A pesticide formerly used on bananas in Guadeloupe and Martinique has washed into the sea bottom, and now makes seafood around the island unsafe t o eat.
It will remain unsafe for decades more.
06 May 2013 (Pinch-Penny Pritzker)
Billionaire Burglar Breaks into Obama's Cabinet.
06 May 2013 (Proposed bill to repeal Authorization for Use of Military Force)
Rep. Barbara Lee proposed a bill to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
Some senators are also reconsidering it.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
06 May 2013 (Protest in Paris against centrist policy)
200,000 protested in Paris to call on Hollande to replace his centrist policy with a progressive policy.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
06 May 2013 (Public banking: alternative to US Federal Reserve)
Public banks, and other alternatives to the US Federal Reserve Bank.
06 May 2013 (UN army sent to D.R. Congo)
A UN army has been sent to the D.R. Congo to suppress a rebel army that commits atrocities.
06 May 2013 (Russian dissidents face prosecution)
Many Russian dissidents face prosecution for protesting against Putin.
06 May 2013 (50-year coverup of British repression in Kenya exposed)
A 50-year coverup of British repression in Kenya is being exposed.
06 May 2013 (Obama nominates wealthy bankster for Secretary of Commerce)
Obama has nominated wealthy bankster Penny Pritzker as Secretary of Commerce.
She is also known for union-busting and closing public schools.
For this Obama calls her a "distinguished business leader", perhaps distinguished by how much she contributed to his campaigns.
06 May 2013 (Public banking: answer to artificial scarcity)
Public Banking as an Answer to Artificial Scarcity.
06 May 2013 (Companies fight to deny toxicity of chemicals used in products)
Companies are fighting to deny the toxicity of chemicals used in products we are all exposed to, just as companies previously fought to deny the toxicity of asbestos and lead.
06 May 2013 (Sweatshops)
Refuting the right-wing argument in favor of sweatshops.
I think the article concedes too much to that argument. I agree that safety standards should apply the same to all countries, but I don't agree that replacing a high-wage job with a low-wage job is good merely because the low-wage job is in Bangladesh. That's a big loss for one worker, and a tiny gain for another worker, and the difference goes to the owners.
Companies that want to produce for the US in poor countries, and pay less than US wages, should be required to pay considerably more than the usual wage standards of those countries, as well as taxed for doing this, so that most of the benefit goes to workers and only some to the owners.
06 May 2013 (Prominent gay activists support Bradley Manning)
Prominent gay activists have published an open letter in support for Bradley Manning.
For me, the fact that he is gay is a side issue. He is a hero for resisting tyranny.
06 May 2013 (Drone attacks and Guantanamo)
Dubya's assistant in regard to drone policy criticized Obama for using drones to kill people rather that arresting them and putting them in Guantanamo.
Killing people might be more humane than putting them in Guantanamo for life, but why limit the choices to those two? Outside of true war zones, the right thing to do with someone suspected of planning terrorism is to watch him until there is enough evidence to try him, then arrest him and try him in a regular court. No drones, no Guantanamo.
06 May 2013 (Having children leads people to subordinate the future of society)
Having children typically leads people to subordinate the future of society to the success of their own offspring.
In other words, taking care of only your own family is just a kind of selfishness.
06 May 2013 (Repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force)
Congress needs to repeal the "Authorization for Use of Military Force" that permitted Dubya and then Obama to attack people around the world.
06 May 2013 (UN failed own recommendations for preventing cholera)
The UN, after bringing cholera to Haiti, has failed to carry out its own recommendations for preventing that sort of UN gift to other countries.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
06 May 2013 (News sites in Malaysia face raids)
Independent news sites in Malaysia face raids by thugs and blockage by filters on the Internet, as well as the virtual equivalent of state-organized "spontaneous protests".
06 May 2013 (Privatized prison a disaster)
A privatized prison in Ohio has become a disaster.
The company needs to make money somehow.
06 May 2013 (Ecuador moving to cancel trade treaty with US)
Ecuador's legislature is moving to cancel a trade treaty with the US, and is organizing resistance throughout Latin America.
Hooray, Ecuador! With this example, it will be easier to knock out the rest of them.
06 May 2013 (US punishes governments that make exceptions to medical patents)
The US government, subservient to Big Pharma, tries to punish governments that make exceptions to medical patents in order to save the lives of people that can't afford monopoly prices.
It is unfortunate that the article cites the propaganda term "intellectual property" without condemning it as propaganda.
06 May 2013 (Selling companies access to politicians)
Prestigious US newspapers and magazines set up events to sell companies access to politicians.
06 May 2013 (JP Morgan manipulated accounts to cheat)
JP Morgan manipulated its accounts in order to cheat on requirements for backing its risky investments with real assets.
06 May 2013 (Israel/Arab peace talks)
Uri Avnery: Kerry, trying to restart Israel/Arab peace talks, will find that Israel will negotiate ad infinitum, just as before. An agreement will require pressuring Israel to make a deal.
06 May 2013 (Facebook offering paltry settlement)
Facebook is offering a paltry settlement to the people whose names were used in advertising without their permission.
06 May 2013 (Sufferings caused by force-feeding in Guantanamo)
A Guantanamo prisoner on hunger strike explains the series of sufferings caused by force-feeding.
Former Guantanamo prisoners point out that the US continues to abuse prisoners in Guantanamo, and call on doctors and nurses to refuse to cooperate with force feeding.
06 May 2013 (Clothing industry intentionally subcontracts to sweatshops)
Subcontracting to sweatshops is the clothing industry's intentional business model. (They call this "flexibility".)
The famous brands' response to the resulting disasters is, in most cases, to try to avoid association with them rather than to prevent them.
However, disasters that kill hundreds of workers at once are a small part of the suffering caused by sweatshops. People are regularly overworked until they develop medical problems. Their pay is small, and often they don't receive that pay.
To eliminate these problems, we must eliminate the flexibility of subcontracting. We must tell companies, "Put your factory where you wish, but it has to be your factory, the workers must be employees of your company, and you won't be able to move it easily." The exception would be for commodity sub-products not made specially for one company.
06 May 2013 (Fined for mere insults in the UK)
In the UK, people are being fined for mere insults.
The article criticizes the absurd examples but grants unjustified legitimacy to the general practice. Racism is nasty, but you can't stop racism by banning insults, and insults alone do not generate violence.
06 May 2013 (Urgent: Job Preservation and Sequester Replacement Act)
US citizens: support the Job Preservation and Sequester Replacement Act.
Here's more information about the bill.
06 May 2013 (Urgent: Support Safe Chemicals Act)
US citizens: ask your senators to support the Safe Chemicals Act.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
06 May 2013 (Proposed law to bar former Gaddafi officials from jobs)
Human Rights Watch: Libya's proposed law to bar former Gaddafi officials from many kinds of jobs is too broad and lacks safeguards.
06 May 2013 (Ratio of CEO pay to workers' pay)
Bloomberg news has published a list showing the ratio of CEO pay to workers' pay, for some US companies.
06 May 2013 (Urgent: Support LA Times workers)
Everyone: express solidarity to the LA Times workers who announced they would quit if the paper is sold to the Koch brothers.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
06 May 2013 (Urgent: Support Guitar Center workers)
In the US: support Guitar Center workers in unionizing against Bain Capital.
06 May 2013 (Urgent: Oppose uranium mining near Grand Canyon)
US citizens: call on the US Forest Service not to approve uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.
05 May 2013 (Hamas is Talibanising Gaza)
Hamas is "Talibanising" Gaza, step by step, and inspiring resistance.
05 May 2013 (Democracy activists in Azerbaijan)
Democracy activists in Azerbaijan get little support from the West.
Greg Palast has described how the government of Azerbaijan works hand in hand with international oil companies. That's why the US cooperates with Azerbaijan's dictator, and tries to destabilize Venezuela.
05 May 2013 (Humans are wiping out songbirds)
If you love listening to birds sing, remember that humans are wiping out songbirds through pesticides and global heating.
05 May 2013 (Women in Pakistan face threats if they try to vote)
Women in Pakistan face threats of attacks if they try to vote.
05 May 2013 (UK libel law)
Even after libel reform, UK libel law prevents publication of books available in the US.
05 May 2013 (Safe room for drug injections)
In Copenhagen, a safe room for drug injections protects addicts while reducing theft.
I am sure it also reduces transmission of HIV.
05 May 2013 (Bangladesh factory collapse)
Investigation of the Bangladesh factory collapse leads to suspicion of corruption at many levels.
The practice of outsourcing to local contractors facilitates corruption because the Western companies that sell the goods can disclaim responsibility. If American companies ran their own factories in Bangladesh, they could be prosecuted in the US for paying bribes there.
05 May 2013 (Wild fire has burnt 43 square miles)
A wild fire in Ventura county, north of Los Angeles, has burnt 43 square miles.
Due to the severe drought, wild fires are burning already with the intensity usually observed in September. By this September they will probably be even worse.
And global heating will make it even worse.
05 May 2013 (Where have all the jobs gone)
In the US, where have all the jobs gone?
The article cites various causes of lack of jobs, but the root cause is that business dominates government policy.
When the article states that more global trade is good, it is only half right. More international trade means more total wealth, and that's good all else being equal. But all else is not equal. Globalization gives business more power to dominate government policy. If obstructing global trade is necessary to strip business of its power, so be it.
1/4 of Americans aged 25 through 34 are now unemployed.
The solutions suggested by this article are inadequate, even useless. Not everyone has the ability to practice an educated profession; society must offer a decent life to the rest, also.
We can't reduce unemployment much by helping workers improve their skills. Even if every worker or would-be worker in the US were to become more employable, that would have only a little influence on the total number of jobs. To increase that requires other government policies.
College is too expensive now for most Americans anyway, because governments have ceased to support it. Many Americans are saddled for life with college loans they cannot pay back or get rid of. It's a risk I would not advise anyone to take.
Improving workers' productivity does the workers little good under our current anti-worker political system. American workers' productivity has increased greatly in the last 30 years with no increase in wages.
05 May 2013 (Iran prohibits labor unions)
Among many other nasty things, Iran's government prohibits labor unions.
US state governments are moving in the same direction.
05 May 2013 (China hospitalization of the insane)
China has adopted a law about hospitalization of the insane, but that law won't help dissidents that are put in mental hospitals.
05 May 2013 (Jordan prosecuting dissidents)
Jordan is prosecuting dissidents for their words.
05 May 2013 (Internet filters to block sharing)
Norway is considering a law to impose pushing Internet filters to block sharing.
If you are Norwegian, please try to fight this.
05 May 2013 (Little appreciation for human rights)
UN Finds Little Appreciation for Human Rights Among US Businesses.
"It's a sad thought that our politicians are so crooked that we have to ask the United Nations for help, but no one else will listen."
05 May 2013 (Drone Attacks destroy moral codes)
US drone attacks destroy traditional moral codes in the victim societies and in the US.
I don't think it makes a difference directly whether people are killed by a remotely piloted plane, a manned plane, an artillery shell or bullets. Any of them can kill innocent people, depending on how much the soldiers care to avoid this. However, drones are easier to use in places around the world where there is no war going on.
05 May 2013 (The US records all phone conversations and emails)
An ex-FBI agent confirms that the US records all phone conversations and emails so as to look at them later — universal wiretapping by Big Brother.
This is more dangerous than a few people running around with bombs.
05 May 2013 (Ruling party in Malaysia accused of election cheating)
The ruling party in Malaysia seems to be cheating in the election.
05 May 2013 (Modern civilization denies children freedom)
In modern civilization, children have no freedom — they are either kept isolated or regimented, and never free to do things on their own.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
This reaches an extreme in the US, where parents are rebuked if they allow their children to go anywhere on foot, but resent the need to constant drive them around. Of course, the resentment is taken out on the child.
05 May 2013 (Copyright theft)
Enemies of sharing often rant about "copyright theft", a term that they use in a misleading way. Here's a real case of alleged copyright theft.
You can point to this example to refute their misuse of the term.
04 May 2013 (US worked with Osama bin Laden and al-Zawahiri)
Sibel Edmonds says secret government documents she translated showed that the US government worked with Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri until 3 months after September 11, 2001.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
What were they doing together? Supporting terrorism (destabilization).
04 May 2013 (Urgent: Call on Egypt to drop charges against dissidents)
Everyone: call on the government of Egypt to drop charges against dissidents.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
04 May 2013 (Urgent: Sign another petition to close Guantanamo)
US citizens: sign another petition calling on Obama to close the Guantanamo prison.
04 May 2013 (Inconsistent history of US opposition to chemical weapons)
The inconsistent history of US opposition to chemical weapons.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
04 May 2013 (Urgent: Sign petition to support closing Guantanamo)
US citizens: sign this petition to support closing the Guantanamo prison.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
04 May 2013 (Urgent: Call on Congress to pass stricter gun control)
US citizens: call on Congress to pass stricter gun control.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
04 May 2013 (Chief prosecutor in Guantanamo calls for real trials)
Morris Davis, formerly chief prosecutor in Guantanamo kangaroo courts, calls for giving real trials to those prisoners who deserve prosecution, and releasing all the rest.
I will not recommend signing his petition on change.org, because that site requires running nonfree software. Instead, I've recommended other on-line petitions for supporting this cause.
04 May 2013 (Law to ban fracking upheld on appeal)
The law adopted by Dryden, NY, to ban fracking was upheld on appeal.
04 May 2013 (Abortion rights activists risk imprisonment)
Abortion rights activists in Ireland risk imprisonment by distributing abortion information in violation of censorship laws.
04 May 2013 (Divest from fossil fuels)
Pressuring environmentalist organizations with large endowments to divest from fossil fuels.
04 May 2013 (Baba Mousa death farcical trial)
Although it is clear that British troops in the Bush forces tortured Baba Mousa to death, a farcical trial ensured that no one would be held responsible.
04 May 2013 (The right to die)
Supporting the right to die, by showing people what it's like not to be allowed a comfortable death.
04 May 2013 (UK lets Goldman Sachs off 20 million pounds of tax owed)
The UK let Goldman Sachs off 20 million pounds of tax owed to avoid "embarrassing" a pro-bankster minister.
04 May 2013 (Piracy almost nonexistent)
Piracy is almost nonexistent.
04 May 2013 (China's CO₂ emissions continue growing)
China is investing heavily in renewable energy, but its CO₂ emissions are growing greatly anyway.
04 May 2013 (Using pride to protect apes)
Teaching Africans to be proud of having apes in the nearby forest.
04 May 2013 (Chomsky on Boston marathon bombings)
Chomsky: The Boston Bombings Gave Americans a Taste of the Terrorism the U.S. Inflicts Abroad Every Day.
Chomsky's statement that "There are few in Boston who were not touched in some way by the marathon bombings on April 15 and the tense week that followed" is true, but only because of the ridiculous shutdown of Boston's transit system on April 19, together with the media blitz. If not for those, only a fraction of the population of Boston would have been affected. It would have been good to spare the rest.
Notwithstanding this small point, I agree with Chomsky's conclusions. I can feel sad and angry on behalf of the victims of any injustice, but what really preoccupies me is that these events will lead to injustice against all Americans — if they are used as an excuse to curtail our freedom.
04 May 2013 (US employers often steal workers' wages)
US employers often steal their workers' wages. If once in a rare while they get caught and fined, it's just part of the "cost of doing business" for them.
04 May 2013 (Spy software pretending to be Firefox)
The Mozilla foundation threatens legal action against the company whose spy software pretends to be Firefox.
04 May 2013 (Surveillance requests granted by secret FISA court)
The secret FISA court has not said no to any surveillance requests in 2011 or 2012.
This laxity probably encourages the FBI to make such requests without good reason. Meanwhile, the requests are formulated in such broad terms that each one permits the FBI to wiretap almost anyone.
04 May 2013 (Obama only talks about closing Guantanamo)
Obama can get most of the way towards closing Guantanamo without any help from Congress.
So Obama should start doing, not merely talking.
04 May 2013 (Boy kills sister with gun made for kids)
5-Year-Old Boy Killed Sister With Gun Made For Kids.
If you have a gun in your house, even if there are no little kids there, it is still much more likely to kill you than to protect you.
04 May 2013 (Exxon fails to recover half of tar sands oil spilled in Arkansas)
Exxon has recovered less than half of the tar sands oil that it spilled in Arkansas.
04 May 2013 (Committee vote on bill to wipe out clean energy program falsified)
North Carolina's ALEC-corrupted Republican senators are so determined to pass a bill to wipe out a clean energy program that they falsified a committee vote on the bill.
04 May 2013 (NY State to hand over all student records to Rupert Murdoch's company)
New York State, and other states, plan to hand over all students' academic records to a company owned by Rupert Murdoch, and many related companies too, for data mining and commercial abuse.
This new intrusion is an indirect consequences of the US imposition of oppressive standardized tests, which does other kinds of harm directly.
04 May 2013 (Arrests for "trespassing" in Grand Rapids)
Thugs in Grand Rapids arrest people without warning for "trespassing", even drivers resting in their cars in a gas station.
I wonder if they choose the people to arrest based on their race. I have no information about the race of these victims, but that's a common behavior pattern for thugs in the US.
04 May 2013 (Ethiopian blogger faces 18 years in prison)
In Violation of Constitution, Ethiopian Blogger Will Face 18 Years in Prison.
04 May 2013 (Taking it out on kids)
Expel and Arrest the Best Students: The USA's Road to Ruin.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
03 May 2013 (Urgent: Reject neonicotinoid-like pesticide sulfoxaflor)
US citizens: call on the EPA to reject the new neonicotinoid-like pesticide, sulfoxaflor.
The US is considering this new pesticide while refusing to take action against existing neonicotinoids.
03 May 2013 (The chemical-heavy industrial agriculture system)
The chemical-heavy industrial agriculture system is a major contributor to global heating.
03 May 2013 (Urgent: Fix the filibuster)
US citizens: call on the Senate to fix the filibuster.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
03 May 2013 (Neonicotinoids may kill birds as well as bees)
Neonicotinoids may kill birds as well as bees.
The US government is failing to take the bee loss crisis seriously.
The government study shielded the neonicotinoids by citing other factors that contribute to bee colony collapse.
What if that study is right? What if the varroa mites are the main cause of the problem, and neonicotinoids are a secondary factor?
We don't know how to get rid of the varroa mites, and we urgently need to save the bees (not just domesticated honeybees). If the only factor we know how to eliminate is the neonicotinoids, we had better do so forthwith.
03 May 2013 (Measures to make life safer can backfire)
Some people appear to be driven to seek a certain level of risk of danger; as a result, measures to make life safer around them can backfire.
Not everyone seeks danger. Thus, I am skeptical of the conclusion that automobile seat belts are self-defeating. Many drivers (and passengers!) use them without looking for other dangers to replace the avoided danger of a car accident.
However, if some people seek danger, we should try to help them get the danger they want in a way that does not endanger others or cost a lot. Identifying the best methods may be a subtle question.
03 May 2013 (UN officials condemn force-feeding)
UN officials condemn force-feeding of hunger strikers in Guantanamo.
03 May 2013 (Governor signed bill to abolish death penalty)
Maryland's governor, who is thinking of running for president, signed a bill to abolish the death penalty.
03 May 2013 (Bangladeshis latest casualties of global business)
400 Bangladeshis (actually 500) were the latest casualties of the global business pressure to mistreat workers and cut their pay.
03 May 2013 (Greed of the rich a major world evil)
Pope Francis continues to condemn the greed of the rich as a major world evil.
03 May 2013 (USAID connected with attempt to overthrow government of Bolivia)
USAID was connected with a 2008 attempt to overthrow the government of Bolivia.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
03 May 2013 (CEOs enjoy taxpayer-subsidized pay)
CEOs Pushing Austerity Enjoy Taxpayer-Subsidized Pay.
03 May 2013 (Make big banks maintain reserves to avoid bailout)
Banksters absolutely hate the bill to make big banks maintain reserves to avoid a bailout.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
If they didn't hate it, that would be a sign it was ineffective. However, it does not go far enough. To address other evils of big banks, such as their ability to conspire to defraud the rest of us, we need to break them up.
03 May 2013 (US pressured Mexico to imprison corrupt official)
The US pressured Mexico to imprison corrupt officials, so it picked some officials and framed them.
03 May 2013 (Who served their country better)
Who Served Their Country Better: George Bush or Kimberly Rivera?
Dubya deserves a life sentence for the crime of aggressive war.
03 May 2013 (French President encourages election defeat of Merkel)
French President Hollande is trying to encourage the election defeat of Merkel, the queen of euro-austerity.
That's the right thing to do, and yet the article derides him for having "bad relations" with Germany, which is an inevitable consequence of trying to do this. It's like criticizing a vaccine because the needle hurts.
03 May 2013 (Arctic sea ice melting faster than expected)
Arctic sea ice is melting faster than expected, which means the extreme weather effects already caused by reduced Arctic ice will get even worse in a few years.
This means food will get more expensive, world wide. People in poor countries will die of this, and since millions Americans already find it hard to pay for food, some Americans may die too from it too.
03 May 2013 (Urgent: Oppose eviction of Jacqueline Barber)
Everyone: sign the petition against the eviction of Jacqueline Barber, whose pension won't pay for her cancer therapy and her mushrooming mortgage payments.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
03 May 2013 (Urgent: Oppose funding of ads for Keystone XL and Arctic drilling)
Everyone: call on Mark Zuckerberg to stop funding ads that endorse the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline and drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
03 May 2013 (Rate of deforestation in Indochina)
Indochina has lost 1/3 of its forests in 40 years.
With increasing population, the rate of loss is likely to increase if the cause of the problem is not corrected.
03 May 2013 (First do no harm in Syria)
In regard to Syria, the first principle is "Do no harm".
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
03 May 2013 (Repeal the sequester)
Repeal the Sequester — And the Insanity Behind It.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
02 May 2013 (Americans have forgotten Iraq)
Americans have forgotten Iraq now that Americans are not dying there, but plenty of Iraqis are being killed.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
02 May 2013 (Blocking chemical in mouse brains makes them live longer)
Blocking a certain chemical in mouse brains makes them live 10% to 20% longer.
I predict we will eventually find that humans have already pushed this life-extension mechanism to its limit. Mammals' life spans tend to be inversely proportional to their heartbeat rate, but humans are the exception, with a lifespan four times that of other mammals with the comparable heartbeat rate. This long life is the result of adaptations in whatever mechanisms could adapt easily. That means that simple means that extend the lifespans of other mammals have probably been used already in humans.
Too bad.
02 May 2013 (Greek xenophobe party to hand out food to hungry)
The Greek xenophobe party plans to hand out food to the hungry, excluding those they don't consider Greek.
The state wants to ban this food distribution, but that is the wrong response. The hungry in Greece deserve food. The proper response is for the state to pre-empt the Neo-Nazis by offering food to everyone who is hungry. That is the state's responsibility, after all. It is the state's failure to carry out its responsibility that gives the Neo-Nazis this opportunity.
It would also be legitimate to legislate that anyone distributing food in a public place must not discriminate: all orderly persons must be offered food just the same, and if a price is charged, it should be the same for everyone.
02 May 2013 (Civil war destroying Syrians)
Civil war is destroying Syrians, while Assad's regime hangs on. The rest of the world ought to do something, but is there anything effective that could be done?
02 May 2013 (Scheme to avoid proper environmental impact review)
US agencies connived at a scheme to avoid proper environmental impact review for genetically engineered salmon.
02 May 2013 (Burden of state taxes)
Plutocrat-funded organizations advocate a radical shift of the burden state taxes from the rich to the poor, so that smaller shifts will appear to be "the center".
02 May 2013 (Impunity index)
Measuring impunity for killers of journalists: the "impunity index".
02 May 2013 (Pesticide linked to low number of aquatic insects and mollusks)
Imidacloprid one of the neonicotinoid pesticides that Europe has just decided to ban on certain crops, has been linked to low numbers of aquatic insects and mollusks.
Once used, it gets into streams. The EU pollution standard is too weak; even streams that meet the standard show reductions in wildlife. Some streams were so polluted that their water could be used as pesticides.
Furthermore, the case of imidacloprid was approved shows that the way pesticides are judged for approval in the EU is totally inadequate.
02 May 2013 (Obama appealing court ruling on emergency contraception)
Obama is appealing the court ruling to make emergency contraception available without a prescription to people of all ages.
One of the problems with the FDA's decision is that it makes emergency contraception unavailable to someone who has no government-issued proof of age. People under 18 normally have no need for that.
02 May 2013 (Alec conceals draft laws)
Alec, the organization that recruits state legislators to pass laws to please business, is now actively concealing the draft laws it sends to its members.
02 May 2013 (Urgent: Oppose ag-gag bill)
Everyone: implore the Governor of Tennessee not to sign an ag-gag bill.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
01 May 2013 (Profiteers want parents to buy bulletproof vests for children)
Profiteers invite US parents to spend thousands of dollars on bulletproof vests for their children, to protect them against the minuscule chance of shootings in school.
The American children that face the largest chance of being shot are the ones whose parents can't afford such protections.
01 May 2013 (Student faces felony charges for making a small pop)
A Florida high school student faces felony charges for a chemistry experiment that caused a small pop.
The "authorities" try to justify their conduct by appealing to strictness for strictness' sake.
Americans, your choices have consequences too. If you freak out about comparatively small acts of violence, just because they are called "terrorism", and you demand that the government do "everything possible" to punish people who do anything like that, it will cause this sort of result.
01 May 2013 (President Morales expels USAID from Bolivia)
President Morales has expelled USAID from Bolivia, accusing it of funding opposition groups.
The danger of a US-organized coup is quite real.
01 May 2013 (Impoverished people in Spain committing suicide)
People in Spain are committing suicide from poverty, but other movements are fighting back against austerity.
The right wing politicians hardly dare show themselves in public, but they continue to push the country into suffering.
The woman who set herself on fire in a bank was reported in the Spanish press, but they did not give her name. I think the name reported here was spurious, since "Inocencia Lucha" means "Innocence Struggle". Anyway, it's too bad the bank didn't burn down.
01 May 2013 (SEC caters to companies' lobbyists)
The SEC is supposed to require publicly traded companies to publish the ratio between the CEO's pay and the workers' pay, but it has dawdled for three years, catering to those companies' lobbyists.
01 May 2013 (Monitor employees 24/7)
Another danger in proprietary software: employers can use it to monitor employees 24/7.
01 May 2013 (Endless economic growth)
Endless economic growth is neither necessary nor sufficient for general well-being.
01 May 2013 (Effect of drone bombings in Yemen)
The full text of Ibrahim Mothana's speech in the US Congress about the effect of drone bombings in Yemen.
01 May 2013 (Companies corruptly utilize logging permit)
International logging companies in Africa corruptly utilize logging permits meant for local inhabitants.
01 May 2013 (In some places wind or solar cheaper than gas or coal)
In some places, wind or solar electricity is cheaper than gas or coal, or would be if not for the subsidies given to fossil fuel.
01 May 2013 (CIA has been dropping bags of cash in Karzai's office)
The CIA has been dropping large bags of cash in Karzai's office since 2003.
Thus, the CIA is the "biggest source of corruption in Afghanistan".
This made sense in the short term, as a way to oust the Taliban, but was not the way to build a state that could stand up to a long-term guerrilla campaign.
The CIA has handed out "ghost money" to overthrow governments in various countries.
I wonder if they include Honduras and Paraguay, victims of recent US-arranged coups.
01 May 2013 (Prisons in US)
Prison in the US often means being raped, beaten, driven mad by isolation, or killed by denial of medical care.
01 May 2013 (Ground turkey in US contaminated)
Ground turkey in the US is contaminated with dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In response, the US government plans to reduce inspections.
01 May 2013 (Do young people care about privacy)
Do Young People Care About Privacy? Yes, they do.
01 May 2013 (Democrats share blame for sequester)
The sequester is harmful, but Democrats cannot deny their share of the blame.
Recall that the sequester results from a deal that Obama agreed to, after he adopted the Republican goal of deficit-cutting.
The politicians that deserve our support are those who rejected this goal.
Austerity kills, and makes people sick.
01 May 2013 (Half of US remains in drought)
Despite heavy rain and consequent flooding in some areas, almost half of the US remains in drought.
01 May 2013 (Banks collude to rig more interest rates)
Banks colluded to rig more interest rates, just as they colluded on the LIBOR rate.
This means that making the big banks protect themselves, so they won't need a bailout, is not enough. We must break them up into a large number of smaller banks — at least 10 times as many.
01 May 2013 (Proposed no-gun list would deny people their rights)
There is a campaign to extend background checks for gun purchases to block people in the secret "terrorist watch list".
Being placed in a no-gun list, or a no-fly list, is a denial of a person's normal rights, so it must not be done without due process of law.
The US no-fly list is an injustice. People are placed on the list without a hearing, perhaps based on false rumors, and they do not discover this until they arrive at the airport and are not allowed to travel. Then they have no recourse. They have been denied their rights arbitrarily in secret.
What's proposed here is a second similar injustice. Anyone can be "suspected" of terrorism, perhaps falsely — even you. US dissidents are frequently accused of terrorism, and investigated on that pretext.
The "terrorist watch list" works like the no-fly list: people are placed on the list without a court hearing, are not informed about it, and have no way to get off it. That's acceptable if the list is only a way for the FBI to remind itself to pay attention to that person. However, denying people rights on that basis would be another form of secret arbitrary punishment.
The US needs stronger gun control, but it must be done in a way that respects basic principles of justice and the rule of law, not secretly by decree against specific people.
01 May 2013 ("Ag-Gag" prosecution)
First "Ag-Gag" Prosecution: Utah Woman Filmed a Slaughterhouse from the Public Street.
Thanks to a strong public response, the charges were dropped, but not irrevocably.
We must not be complacent. Ms Meyer could be prosecuted later. So could others. These unjust laws, designed to shield businesses from investigation of practices that are nasty, illegal, and/or threatening to public health, can still be enforced elsewhere, and more states are attempting to pass them.
01 May 2013 (Will face recognition software be tested at the Statue of Liberty?)
Will face recognition software be tested at the Statue of Liberty? A journalist reports the developer tried to bully him into silence about the question.
I think we must pass laws about the use of face recognition technology, especially by or in cooperation with the state, so no person can be included in the data base except through due process of law.
01 May 2013 (Muckrock seeks volunteers to file Freedom of Information requests)
The investigative group Muckrock asks for volunteers to help them continue to file Freedom of Information requests in all states of the US.
01 May 2013 (Ireland proposes to legalize abortion)
Ireland proposes to legalize abortion, only in cases of medical necessity.
It is a small step forward, but may provide a base for further advances.
01 May 2013 ("Morning after" pill without prescription only for age 15 and over)
The "morning after" contraceptive pill will be available in the US without prescription to anyone age 15 and over.
Is there a medical reason for that age requirement, or is this the last gap of the "pregnancy is your punishment for having sex" political philosophy, perversely applied to a group that we strongly hope will avoid pregnancy?
01 May 2013 (EU-imposed austerity narrowly accepted by Cyprus's legislature)
Cyprus's legislature voted to accept EU-imposed austerity rather than leave the euro, but the vote was quite close.
Opposition parties are demanding to leave the euro. That means that suffering Cypriots will have an alternative to vote for, next time around.
01 May 2013 (Israeli soldiers defy Israel's high court)
Israeli soldiers revel in arbitrary dishonesty when helping colonizers steal Palestinian shepherds' grazing land.
They do this in defiance of Israel's high court.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
01 May 2013 (Israeli soldiers attack protest)
After Israeli colonists attacked the Palestinian village of Deir Jareer, the people held a protest, which was then attacked by Israeli soldiers.
Part of the protest was nonviolent. The part that involved stone-throwing youths was violent, but less so than the state-tolerated attacks against Palestinians.
01 May 2013 (Israeli colonists accuse human rights defender of terrorism)
Israeli colonists in Palestine have accused human rights defender Issa Amro of terrorism and asked for him to be imprisoned without trial.
Is Israel no better than Saudi Arabia?
01 May 2013 (Urgent: Repeal the sequester)
US citizens: call on Congress to repeal the sequester.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]
01 May 2013 (Demolition of Palestinian homes)
The Israeli army continues demolishing Palestinian homes.
Demolitions have made 355 Palestinians homeless since the start of this year.
01 May 2013 (Austerity in Greece)
Austerity in Greece has made sales fall by 30%. This means tax revenues have fallen too.
This demonstrates the futility of trying to satisfy the euro-zone limit on national budget deficits through spending cuts. The effect of the cuts is to make the economy smaller, and the deficit bigger.
What Greece needs is to increase government spending. If that requires leaving the euro, it must leave the euro.
01 May 2013 (Workers in Bangladesh need support)
Workers in Bangladesh need our support as they organize for decent wages and working conditions.
What they get from the US is just the opposite. I am sure it is no coincidence that the Bangladeshi government attacked unions (and therefore Bangladeshi workers) with non-union "export processing zones" at the time "American" companies started outsourcing production (and therefore ceasing to be American). The US government helped them outsource, so I expect it helped pressure the Bangladeshi government into attacking workers.
I think we also should make western outsourcer companies legally responsible for any injuries to the workers of their suppliers, and require them to declare all suppliers (including subcontractors) in advance. That will help end the practice where a subcontractor folds when there is a disaster, or shuts down owing workers back pay.
01 May 2013 (Over-testing in schools)
How to End Over-Testing in Schools: Kids Should Answer Only Half the Questions.
[Reference updated on 2018-03-08 because the old link was broken.]

Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.

2013: May - August Political Notes - Richard Stallman